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Day One: “Together we can do better”, Crewson off to encouraging start Saturday, January 31, Ed Crewson formally launched his campaign to be the Dufferin-Caledon Liberal candidate in the upcoming federal election at DS Handling Systems on Riddell Road in Orangeville. As the clock hit 3pm, the scheduled start of the event, guests continued to stream in as video footage of Ed Crewson working in his community and attending events dressed as everything from Champlain to Santa Claus rolled across a large screen. The support was palpable and “exciting” was the word that continued to echo through the room. Day one of Crewson's pledge to “do better” was off to an encouraging start. Steve Marr the owner and President of DS Handling welcomed the crowd, “I offered to kick off Ed's campaign because I do not feel Dufferin-Caledon has the representation in Ottawa that we deserve.” He said he is “positive that Ed Crewson can deliver.” Marr introduced speakers that included WWII veteran, and friend of Ed Crewson's father, Dave Barr; Janet Horner Executive Director of the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance and the Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee; Ken and Faye Brett local market garden operators; Geoff Dunlop Deputy Mayor of Shelburne; and Carl Cossack past president of the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) and current board member working towards improving farmland and source water protection in the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA.) A message of support came from Murray Calder the former Liberal representative of Dufferin-Caledon. Horner, a newly elected member of Mulmur Council said that as Dufferin-Caledon gets to know Ed they will learn to love him: “whatever he chooses to do he is all in; he is true to what he believes, honourable and can not be bought; he is an open book; a successful business man who understands the importance of good jobs and keeping the brightest young people in Dufferin-Caledon; he knows when to make a stand and when politicians should get out of the way; most importantly, his family supports him and recognizes their duty to serve the community.” Faye and Ken Brett attested to Crewson's character as a friend, a businessman and a politician, sentiments that were echoed by Deputy Mayor Dunlop, who also stressed Crewson's “prudent financial record.” Barr called him a “great supporter of the Legion” and veterans. Carl Cossack said Crewson had a “true calling for public service” and an “exceptional skill set” for the job. He said Ed had earned his respect over three decades of “fair and just conduct” and that he would bring “the same service to our nation's capital.” Steve Marr treated Crewson and the crowd to some fun as the hydraulic stage lifted Ed and his wife Wendy off the floor to the triumphant theme from Rocky. Crewson thanked the speakers and crowd for their support, and his campaign team for sacrificing their time. Crewson voiced objections that lay not only with current Conservative MP David Tilson, whom his campaign refers to as an “entrenched incumbent” and Crewson says, “never showed up at a single Shelburne or County Council meeting,” but also with the Harper government's “systematic destruction of the social safety net.” He said his dedication as a Liberal lies more in “who I was than who I am.” He recalled his youth and the support his dying father, a hardworking family man who had served in three campaigns in WWII, received under the 1970 Liberal implemented health care plan. He said, after his father's death Canada Pension supported his mother and he received funding that put him through university, allowing him to become a successful businessman and community leader who “values tradition and loves his family.” He wants to be part of the next government to “restore Canadian values and our stature in the world.” Crewson said there was a need in Dufferin-Caledon to “engage more discussion with healthcare providers and not dictate.” He called “support for people with mental health issues very weak in this area. We need to make it better.” Crewson was instrumental in implementing assisted living housing in Shelburne, but says Harper's Federal government “is retreating from housing projects that care for people in need.” He referenced concerns about the Free Trade deal with China; a billion dollars sitting in Veterans Affairs funds while vets committed suicide; protection for the environment and farmland: “Why does Shelburne need an environmental assessment to dig a well, but a corporation like the Highland Companies can dig a mega mine without one?” Having won every election he has entered in the last 26 years, Crewson concluded his speech by pledging, “To listen and advocate and work hard everyday to earn your trust with honour, integrity, and a sense of humour.” By Marni Walsh  Photo by Marni Walsh |
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Post date: 2015-02-04 17:54:48 Post date GMT: 2015-02-04 22:54:48 Post modified date: 2015-02-11 12:18:27 Post modified date GMT: 2015-02-11 17:18:27 |
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