I’m Gordie Canuk, publisher of the blog Canadian Soapbox….and I am non-partisan.

What does that mean? Well…I’ve voted Conservative, I’ve voted NDP and I’ve voted Liberal. I must admit that I even flirted with voting Reform back when Preston Manning was championing the cause for deficit reduction/elimination.

Does being non-partisan mean I don’t have any affinity for any party at any particular time? No…in any given election I weigh my options, taking into account leadership and party platform, as well as local candidate…and then I make my decision.

Right now I’m undecided…hovering between the Libs/Greens/NDP. When our next election comes I intend to make an endorsement on my blog for the party I’ll be supporting, and the reasons why.

To me being non-partisan means more than just being politically unaffiliated. It means taking the time to try and understand not just party platforms but the rationale behind the planks that parties run on. Often I find that while I don’t agree with them, that I can actually understand the motivation and reasoning behind the ideas.

There’s far too much jingoism out there, Harper is Evil, the coalition 3 stooges…ugh. Reasoned discourse is far more preferable.

Gordie

Daphne Moldowin and I maintain the blog Challenging the Commonplace, which was begun last March. Since then, our readership has grown rapidly.

Daphne is an energetic advocate for women’s equality and actively encourages people to re-view their outlook on society’s treatment of women. She is also a noisy voice against the control of our food sources by global corporations, encourages others to embrace veganism and supports local food security initiatives.

I am the Founder and former Coordinator of WISE, which was a Canadian group and national movement of low-income women. It was through WISE that Daphne and I met. From community development inspired by the grassroots to media campaigning and lobbying, WISE women advanced awareness of the links among policy, poverty and health; action to address them; and implementation of creative, inexpensive solutions at the local level. Continuing community-based action research and advocacy now on my own, I remain focused on connecting the dots between health inequalities and societal structures, including our political institutions. I direct my most ardent attention to democratic and electoral reform and to broadcasting the perspectives of people who are homeless or living in poverty.

As proud uppity women with no allegiance to any political party, Daphne and I happily skewer all political types who fall under our critical gaze. No topic is out of bounds. The personal IS political, after all.

Currently, there are just the two of us. However, we expect other feisty women will join us as our stars align.

We appreciate being welcomed to the Blogging Alliance of Non-Partisan Canadians.