In her address to delegates Wednesday, Sonia Furstenau, leader of the BC Green Party, reflected on meeting in person for the first time since 2019, and reminded delegates that it is a “chance to reconnect” and commented on “how inspiring it is to be among people who are so dedicated to their communities.”
Furstenau shared that it is currently harder to focus on the future because of the overlapping crises facing local governments and communities. She offered examples of the housing, climate, and health care crises as exacerbating each other and taking so much attention and energy to manage, making it much harder to look to the horizon for solutions.
In closing, Furstenau referred to the words of Tsleil Waututh speaker, Cedar George-Parker, about the need for humanizing politics, and indicated that collaboration and cooperation will be needed to solve the complex problems facing local governments.