My Experience as a Canvasser/Regional Director in the Anti-HST Campaign in Vancouver BC

Submission to the Common Ground Magazine, July 24, 2010

I was just going along with my friend to keep her company at a rally at Kitsilano High School.

Admittedly when she mentioned that the HST would result in less money in my pocket, I paid attention. But historically I do not get involved with protests. I am more apt to join a group of people who are “for” something, rather than “against”.

Mr. Vander Zalm’s message had a clear ring of integrity and sincerity. I did not hear or feel an intention to “fight” or to “resist” anything.

He invited volunteers to come together to stop the implementation of a bad tax that would cause financial struggle for people already stretched beyond their limits.

I felt like he was speaking to me – a retired senior citizen on a very low fixed income.

After the rally I happily signed the petition and eagerly registered to become a canvasser to collect signatures for the petition.

And the rest is history – actually her-story – my personal story of my experience in the HST Initiative Petition campaign.

Will this go down in history? You bet it will!

Was it a walk in the park? No!

Was it a challenging experience? Yes!

Would I do it again? Not until I restore my life to normal and dance and play with friends for a while.

Without a doubt, this has been one of the most rewarding and liberating experiences in my life.

What have I learned from this intense and demanding project? More than I can write about here, that’s for sure.

I feel very privileged to be a part of the first Citizens’ Initiative in British Columbia since it came into force in 1994. No other province in Canada has recall legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Vander Zalm, for introducing this legislation which allows citizens of BC to exercise their democratic right to express their opinions about new legislation between elections, and to recall politicians who are not listening to their constituents.

The original group headed up by Chris Delaney and Bill Vander Zalm created a highly motivated human organism that has accommodated the desires of most of the citizens of BC to send a clear message to the government – STOP THE HST NOW. [Note to editor – please help with the wording – I want to say in human terms a well greased machine]

One of the highlights that impressed me in this province wide adventure was how easily and eagerly individuals from all walks of life – blue collar workers, white collar corporate executives from all political parties, retired and working senior citizens, teachers, parents, healthcare practitioners, and still others, joined together and so generously and graciously volunteered their energy, their valuable time and in many cases financial contributions.

Vancouver was the last area in BC to achieve their targets – I don’t know why and leave that to the strategists to figure that out. But what was so gratifying was that canvassers in nearby ridings offered to travel the distance and spend time canvassing here until we met our targets.

They arrived in vans and cars in large groups; they came in pairs independently and canvassed on busy street corners. In the pouring rain, for example, at City Square, they joined our canvassers and collected as many signatures as they could until they were soaking wet and finally headed for their homes for relaxing hot baths.

Their generosity leaves me speechless.

Volunteers not eligible to sign the petition also came on board. One that I know, a 16 year old Vancouver high school student assisted official canvassers in Pt. Grey. His job was to qualify people for eligibility to sign and their ridings, to speed up the signing process. His motivation was to learn more about the BC election process and to gain experience as a volunteer for credits at school. I think he was thrilled to take part in such a significant history making event.

Over 6,500 volunteers were approved by BC Elections as Canvassers to collect signatures for the petition. Regretfully not all of them made it to the starting gate.

Some of those approved were invited to act as Regional Organizers and Team Captains to motivate and support the canvassers.

Together, with their combined impressive talents and expertise, with remarkable perseverance, persistence, patience and sincere desire to exercise their democratic rights, they achieved incredible and exceptional results.

They exceed expectations and the targets - first the BC Elections 10%, then the internal campaign's 15%. By the end of June when the petition will be submitted to BC Elections the results will show many ridings have exceeded 20% of the registered voters.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world ; Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

Other highlights of the campaign that warmed my heart:

A personal incident

The joy of receiving a rare phone call from my son in Toronto after he and my 5 year old granddaughter were surprised to hear my voice on the car radio. I was being interviewed downtown at the Vancouver Public Library one very rainy day by CBC Radio and TV.

Restrictions that hampered our progress

And on that very day, while being interviewed and filmed a very official looking woman representing the library approached me and asked me if I had permission to be there with our table and signs collection signatures.

When I admitted that we did not have permission, she asked us to pack up our things and leave. I then asked her where else we could go, and with the media cameras still trained on us, she directed us to the north side of the building under the protection of the canopy there. What a stroke of luck that was – permission to canvass on the VPL property.

According to other ridings in BC, including Burnaby and Surrey/Delta , local businesses, community centres, shopping malls, large grocery chains and parks generously offered their property for signing locations.

But Vancouver was unique in that there seemed to be a fear of annoying customers with what they called a political campaign. I thought this odd because their customers were writing emails and calling our website suggesting we set up locations where they could easily find us – for example, at their favourite grocery stores.

Humanitarian Gestures

Other stories of humanitarian gestures by local businesses offering us shelter from the weather while canvassing, are very touching.

A local delicatessen owner provided food and beverages for one of our team meetings; a local coffee shop provided coffee and snacks for our Sunday petition counting group.

My own experience from working with teams of volunteers has accelerated my personal growth in leaps and bounds.

Yes I ran into challenges dealing with a few folks, but as I always see conflict as about me rather than the other guy, once acknowledged and accepted I have moved on.

I have nothing but pure love and admiration for every single volunteer and every person who signed the petition.

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Determination to sign

Here is a story of a very determined woman who became my personal project. I was responding to phone calls to the website phone number. Most of the calls were from people who wanted to know where to sign the petition, and they did not have access to the internet. I don’t know how they got the phone number, but I’m glad they did because I was able to help many folks that way.

This woman, Barbara was able to get out of the house and to travel by skytrain but not for extended periods of time. I wanted to find her a signing location that she could get to and from easily and quickly. I emailed volunteers in her riding with her phone number and asked them to contact her with locations. I also told Barbara to call me on Friday if she had not heard from anyone.

Most people by now would have given up and decided not to sign the petition, but not Barbara. She called me on Friday feeling very disappointed and worried that she would not get to sign. I did have a thought that perhaps I should drive to her and bring a petition sheet to her, but frankly I was bogged down with work (all HST stuff) and I probably would have in the next round of attempts.

Finally I was able to put her in touch with a team captain who directed her to a very nearby location and Barbara signed the petition, returned home and called me to say thanks for the trouble.

Needless to say, I felt great that we were able to accommodate her and she was a happy camper. How rewarding is that?

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Shopping mall security guards also wanted to sign the petition. I met one in a mall and asked him who I should talk to about getting permission to set up tables in the mall. He gave the name and phone number of the appropriate person in the administration offices. He clearly sympathized with our plight and asked where he could sign the petition.

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On another day, while using the parking lot to meet visiting canvassers from Surrey, Delta, White Rock and Langley, we waited under the canopy of the grocery store because once again it was a rainy windy day.

While handing out supplies and signs to our visiting canvassers, a security van pulled up, a security guard jumped out and ran over asking to sign the petition. Then he got back into his van and drove away. I was very grateful, realizing that he was going out on a limb for us.

As soon as customers noticed that we were canvassers for the HST petition, we were inundated with requests to sign. For two hours we had a steady flow of customers signing until a different security guard arrived and reluctantly asked us to leave. He was very patient while we had to turn away several folks who wanted to sign.

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The majority of the public were so kind and grateful for being available at central signing locations. We were asked why we were not door-knocking because many had expected us to show up at their homes.

We did try to get into apartment buildings and condominiums but found that managers and strata councils decided not to allow us in to canvass door to door, nor even to set up tables in their lobbies.

I feel badly for people who cannot leave their homes but it was out of our control.

We know that had we time, energy and lots more canvassers we would have reached much higher numbers of signatures.

Viva le differance

Thoughts of the day...
When the salesman at Atkins and Grainger was surprised that I had never heard the nickname, Wack Bennett, my feelings were not hurt, but they could have been had that happened ten years ago.
I have never figured out why people have a need to act so superior because someone else doesn't know what they know. Not true. I do know why they do it - they do it because they have a need to be right and they get a boost to their ego if they know something that someone else doesn't - how bazaar is that?

In Ontario it is no different - actually I often felt somewhat bruised by others' reactions when I honestly declared that I didn't know something or someone. On first impulse, without thinking, I admit my ignorance. I notice that I put myself down quite often with "oh how clever you are...I'm not that smart or quick thinking." And guess what, when I do that my friends usually feel quite comfortable pointing out my shortcomings.

A frequent one here in Vancouver is, "you don't have a very good sense of direction do you." Now that one really gets me. No kidding, in Toronto, the city of my birth, as a real estate agent I had a gift for finding my way - it was easy because I automatically used the Lake as my point of reference, but even without even knowing which direction the Lake was - I seemed to know instinctively. Admittedly, when I travelled west to locations around the Lake, the directions became more difficult - because the Lake was now East or even North as I drove around it to Niagara Falls.

In Vancouver, the mountains are to the north - easy - as long as I know where they are:)

Anyway, another difference between the BCers the Ontarians - is their attitudes. In Ontario a person with a need to know seems more aggressive than the BCers.

Evolution of Bonobos to Human Beings

How far removed are human beings from Bonobos?

Bonobos are apes - the bonobo shares more than 98 percent of our genetic profile, making it as close to a human as, say, a fox is to a dog - says scientist, Frans B. M. de Waal, http://songweaver.com/info/bonobos.html.

My interest in Bonobos arises from my curiosity about sexuality in men and women - particularly men.

I learned about sexual tension early in my life. In the bedroom next to mine, I frequently overheard my mother crying over her suspicions and chastising my father for being with other women. Without understanding the sexual intimacy between my parents, I was aware that my mother was blocking affection from my father.

The topic of sex was taboo in our Canadian household as I suspect that it was in most families in the 40s and continues to be so even now in 2010. My mother and father never even used the word "sex" in front of my sister and me. Nor did they use proper language to describe body parts. In fact my mother covered herself up if I, her eldest daughter, suddenly surprised her in her bedroom while she was dressing.

Perhaps my mother is laughing now at how ridiculous we all are in this human form on this planet earth. And maybe she is applauding me for finally going out on a limb - another limb - to delve into "taboos".

My natural curiosity drives me and questions even the idea of taboos. How can anything be wrong and forbidden?

I love Rumi, "Out there beyond the ideas of wrong doings and right doings is a field, I'll meet you there." How can anything be wrong or right - everything just is.

To say that my entire life was destroyed because of society's bazaar attitude toward sexuality is a huge understatement.

In fact, how strange is it that I am only now in my sunset years exploring sexuality and coming to the realization that humanity in general has been deceived by "religious zealots", and philosophers, and royalty whose very devious intentions to control mankind by oppressing sexuality wreaked havoc on the entire planet.

Of course I could be dead wrong about that, but this is the beginning of my research to uncover what the hell went wrong with human beings that caused me to miss out on the magnificent experience of sexual freedom.

Why is sex still taboo? You might say well, it isn't any more. You can find all the sex you want on the internet.

If sex has risen to a new level of acceptance why are there still advocates for monogamy.

Examine the sexual patterns of Bonobos:

First, anything, not just food, that arouses the interest of more than one bonobo at a time tends to result in sexual contact. If two bonobos approach a cardboard box thrown into their enclosure, they will briefly mount each other before playing with the box. Such situations lead to squabbles in most other species. But bonobos are quite tolerant, perhaps because they use sex to divert attention and to diffuse tension.

Second, bonobo sex often occurs in aggressive contexts totally unrelated to food. A jealous male might chase another away from a female, after which the two males reunite and engage in scrotal rubbing. Or after a female hits a juvenile, the latter's mother may lunge at the aggressor, an action that is immediately followed by genital rubbing between the two adults.

What happened way back in time to crush our natural sexual expression? The result of trying to crush mother nature is that she always manages to escape from the bondage imposed on her. Man simply cannot keep what is natural from having its way and what has been oppressed escapes in unpleasant ways.

I suggest that aggression is the result of sexual oppression - war is the result of sexually frustrated human beings - mostly males.

See how Bonobos deal with aggression and conflict...

During reconciliations, bonobos use the same sexual repertoire as they do during feeding time. Based on an analysis of many such incidents, my study yielded the first solid evidence for sexual behavior as a mechanism to overcome aggression. Not that this function is absent in other animals--or in humans, for that matter--but the art of sexual reconciliation may well have reached its evolutionary peak in the bonobo. For these animals, sexual behavior is indistinguishable from social behavior. Given its peacemaking and appeasement functions, it is not surprising that sex among bonobos occurs in so many different partner combinations, including between juveniles and adults. The need for peaceful coexistence is obviously not restricted to adult heterosexual pairs.