The pandemic and the death of a friend’s mother to COVID-19, lit the “now or when?” fire in Rana Nelson.
It just so happened to come around the same time that the Green Party of Canada was calling for nominations.
Nelson and her family made a pro-con list, which she described as a long list of pros and one major con–time away from family. But they were supportive saying ‘if you have been thinking about doing this you need to do it.’
“Zack actually said ‘if you don’t win, will you run again?’ And I said ‘yes’. And he said ‘well that’s good because it would be like quitting’,” she said, in awe of her 11 year old son’s wisdom.
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Nelson, as the wife of an RCMP officer, has lived in various locations around Canada, but she said she has gained a broad understanding of the province and the human experience because of that. She has worked in many positions, including patient relations at a Toronto Hospital and WorkBC here in Revelstoke.
“The most important part of being in service to the public, I feel, is listening, understanding what people need and the barriers to getting that,” she said.
The Green Party was appealing to Nelson because of their six core values, which they share with green parties around the world: sustainability, non-violence, social justice, ecological wisdom, participatory democracy and respect for diversity.
“I feel like a doomsday proclaimer when I say we are running out of time, but I think we, as humans, don’t do anything until we absolutely have to,” she said.
Individual actions such as biking and recycling won’t be enough, she said. We need bold action against climate change.
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Though there has never been a Green MP elected in the Kootenay-Columbia riding, Nelson is in it to win it and invested in doing her best even if she is in a position of opposition.
“I have no problem speaking up when I see injustice, that’s what I do,” she said.
Nelson won the nomination by acclimation, which she said took the fun out of it.
Rob Morrison is the current Member of Parliament representing the Kootenay-Columbia region. He was elected in 2019. Wayne Stetski, the former MP, is the candidate for the NDP.
In the 2019 election Abra Brynne was the Green candidate on the ballot. She won 5,846 votes, which is around nine per cent of the vote.
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