Just out of university and age 27, Colin Standish of
Cookshire-Eaton has plunged into active politics. The young man plans to stand
for nomination in Compton-Stanstead under the banner of the Liberal Party of
Canada, in anticipation of the next federal election.
His campaign has already
started, and his website should be up as of this past Monday.
Standish
said he is passionate about making a difference, and thinks that he can do so.
Despite his youthful age, he is not lacking in political experience, and his CV
already includes some interesting achievements. While he was studying history
and politics at Queen's University, he worked for the president of the House of
Commons, Peter Milliken. He was also president of the Liberal association at
his university. More recently, he has just completed a Bachelor of Law degree
at Laval University in Quebec City. While there, he was editor-in-chief of that
university's student law journal.
Standish
said he chose to attend Laval University in order to perfect his French, making
him fluently bilingual. The candidate was recently involved in the provincial
political scene when he responded to an article in the New York Times by
Jean-François Lisée about the Charter of Values. He also wrote about the effect
of the proposed Law 60 on a person's fundamental rights in LifeinQuebec.com.
His article was entitled "Twenty-four word title obscures real changes and
scope of ‘Values' Charter."
He
was also involved in opposing Bill 14 (revisions to Bill 101), the "Loi
modifiant la Charte de la langue française, la Charte des droits et libertés de
la personne" (law modifying the charter of the French language, the charter of
human rights and freedoms). Speaking in French, Standish said, "Among other
things, this law would have revoked the bilingual status of many municipalities
across Quebec, removed the children of military families from their schools,
placed heavy burdens on small and medium-sized businesses, and withdrawn the
right of ethnic minorities to make appeals to international courts of justice.
I had several articles or opinion pieces about it published in the National
Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Record, the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, and
LifeinQuebec.com."
The
young man was also interviewed on a number of radio and TV programs for CBC,
CJAD, Radio-Canada, Sun News, Global TV and CTV. That included participating in
Radio-Canada's popular show, Tout le monde en parle.
Objectives
Standish
said he intends to finish his bar exams at the Université de Sherbrooke before
the next elections, and will spare no effort to win the Liberal nomination in
Compton-Stanstead. He has already begun working on the ground, and said he has
received the support of a majority of members, as well as that of the former
Liberal deputy, David Price. "My family has been here for more than 225 years.
I am the right person to speak for both the English-speaking and the
French-speaking communities. We have a beautiful bilingual community that gets
along well together, and I can represent it with pride and passion," he said.
The four major issues Standish
intends to defend are bilingualism, human rights, communities, and renewal of
federalism. He who is in electoral mode for nomination in the Compton-Stanstead
riding invites people to consult his website, www.colin-standish.com.
