In Memorial: Jack Layton

The first time I heard Jack Layton speak I was 16. It was a cold day in late February 2003, I was 16 and attending my first Peace Vigil. The war in Iraq was fast approaching and I was attending a student's peace vigil at Mississauga City Hall, armed with a hand made sign. I don't remember exactly what Jack said but, standing only a few feet from him, I remember being impressed that he would find time to come and speak to a couple of hundred students and that I was touched by what he said.

This experience laid the foundation for my interest in the NDP even though at the time I felt that the NDP was not a contender in National Politics I agreed with their foreign policy. This was also the start of my civic involvement. Much to my mother's shagrin I attended the much larger March 15th protest opposing the war two weeks later.

Eight years later in January of 2011 I found myself job hunting. A number of people had suggested I try my luck with a political party, and the NDP was the only party I would consider. Through my job search I was invited both to volunteer with the All Party Parliamentary Committee on the Prevention of Genocide and other Crimes Against Humanity which was run from Paul Dewar's office and working on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Campaign in Megan Leslie's office, both opportunities which I jumped at.

Over the following four months I became intimately acquainted with the staff of both MP's offices and the Confederation building. I enjoyed working with both and so when the election was called I naturally volunteered to canvas for Paul Dewar in Ottawa Center. This was also an experience which I immensely enjoyed.

Because of my volunteer work in late April I was invited to a breakfast which Jack Layton was attending and I stood behind him as he delivered a Press Release. His determination and optimism was evident as he smiled while he walked with his cane towards the podium. The orange crush had begun.

On May 2nd, everyone cheered at Paul Dewar's victory party when it was announced that Mr. Layton had succeeded in becoming the leader of the official opposition, a first for the party.

Yesterday I was very sad to learn that Jack Layton had lost his battle with cancer. However, I am certain that he lives on through the inspiration which he created through his fight for social justice in Canada and beyond.

Here is a Link to Jack's Final Letter to the Canadian Public: http://www.ndp.ca/letter-to-canadians-from-jack-layton

Moving Forward

My last days at DFAIT were interesting. I completed a 50 page standard operating procedure for the program I was working for and said my goodbyes. My director thanked me for the "Thankless work" I had done for the group.

When I started at foreign affairs I was really excited to be working with a programming unit. I thought that working for a program would expose me to fewer of the elements I disliked about working as an assistant policy analyst, which I had (incorrectly) identified as relating to policy analysis. I felt that by working with a program I would be able to see the tangible impact of my work. And to an extent I did, I saw the photocopies I made and sat in on the meetings I arranged, but as it turned out, it was the administrative components both part of my positions at Foreign Affairs and Public Safety that I found most uninteresting.

Also, being exposed to the programming environment also regularly caused me to return to questions raised in my course work at Dalhousie. Is it adequate to use standard formatting for tasks such as monitoring and evaluation? Was the work that was being done actually meeting the needs of the program beneficiaries, or was Canada the real beneficiary? and what role is any should the political branch of the public service play in programming (in my opinion this should be close to none but it doesn't always work that way). However, I can definitely see value to these questions being raised in an employment setting and so it was an interesting experience.

I'm also glad to have had that experience because it made me realize I would prefer to work in a policy setting rather than a program setting (at least while I am still working at the assistant or officer level). Further, I feel like working at Foreign Affairs was possibly the first time where I successfully developed strong (and perhaps lasting) professional relationships.

So in the end I suppose the experience was not time wasted.

For the last two weeks of August I am back to canvassing for Amnesty International with Public Outreach. This may surprise you to read but I actually quite enjoy working for Public Outreach. I am happy to have an opportunity to talk to the general public about issues relating to Human Rights. I also love the people who I work with, many of whom are students. My colleagues are from many different educational and professional backgrounds, all of whom have at least a passing interest in the issues we talk about on a daily basis.

There are some things about working with Public Outreach that discourage me as well. I feel that there is a startling amount of disengagement in issues which people view as third world problems and I have met more than a few people who seem to feel no obligation to support human rights and dignity for people outside of their immediate circles. I also am a bit discouraged about the way some people treat canvasser, particularly those canvassing on the street rather than door to door. Street canvassers put a lot of themselves out there to try to get people's attention and engage in meaningful conversations but many people react abrasively. Perhaps they feel guilty that they cannot help, they are disinterested or just really busy, but it would seem to me that the decent thing to do would be to politely acknowledge someone rather than ignoring them or being rude.

Also you should know that you may think that you don't have $10 a month to give to charity, but neither do the people who live in houses with 3 car garages.

Meanwhile, I'm also packing up and getting ready to go to Mississauga before I come back to Ottawa and move on to Uganda. Should be easy right?

Not a chance.

To give you an idea I have had 2 dentist appointments 3 optometrist appointments, a travel doctor appointments, multiple goodbyes, packing, attempts to give away and sell my things and even trying to secure Christmas presents for my family.

All that on top of my normal activities (swing dance, running, friending etc.)

So it's been interesting and continues to be.

But as always, I'm moving forward.

So one day you're walking along, and then you're headed to Uganda

So there have been some interesting developments in my life recently. As I think I mentioned in an earlier post I found out that my contract was not going to be renewed at DFAIT and I was in a bit of a funk. I had come to Ottawa one year earlier for an FSWEP position with Public Safety Canada in the Emergency Management Policy Division which ended up being a job that frustrated me but I loved. It gave me the opportunity to expand my writing ability to the field of policy, produce papers which were read by a wide audience and develop new skills like drafting correspondence.

Naturally I was very upset when I concluded my FSWEP position without being bridged into a position with the group I was working with. Nevertheless I continued to look for work within the government, this time with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, a department which I was always interested in working for.

Through a series of information interviews I eventually was introduced electronically to a deputy director with the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program who expressed interest in my CV and would eventually hire me as a program Assistant. The position was initially set out as a casual position which had the opportunity for me to be bridged in within DFAIT if everything went well.

There was a 3 month period between Public Safety and Foreign Affairs where I canvassed for the Red Cross and Amnesty International. This was a trying time for me as I tried to reconcile my expectation of work which matched my education with my desire for work that was meaningful, which working for Public Outreach (the organization I canvassed through) and continues to be.

You can imagine I was over the moon when I started to work with the ACCBP but I soon discovered that my position was filling much more of an administrative role than I had originally thought.

Before being told that my contract would not be extended I had wondered whether if it were to be extended if I would take the job. I was increasingly feeling discouraged about working for the government in general but my job prospects didn't look good.

When I heard the news I was very angry and had trouble continuing at work. The reason I was not being bridged in was because the person who had to be promoted in order for me to take their place had not yet been promoted and so there was no job for me to be given.

I immediately started looking for a new position outside of the government ranging from settlement work positions, to CIDA internships to positions within Canadian charities. By mid July I was extremely frustrated as I had not yet heard anything back from the positions I applied to and was forced to give notice for my apartment because my land lady wanted me to sign a new lease.

It was at that point that I received a phone call inviting me to an interview for a Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment Officer internship with the Canadian Cooperative Association in Uganda.

I spent a very nervous two weeks following the interview waiting for news and yesterday I was offered the position. Talk about a change of direction.

So I guess that means that this will soon return to being my travel blog. Funny how life turns out sometimes.