Two candidates for the Canadian municipal elections want to give animals a voice in local policy
Next Saturday, the 20th of October, municipal elections will be held in Canada. Two members of the Animal Protection Party of Canada will participate in two different municipalities. Both candidates plead for inclusive municipalities where compassion is the guiding principle and where both people and animals can live safely.
Candidate-municipal council members Vicki Van Linden and Jordan Reichert
The two candidates are Vicki Van Linden and Jordan Reichert. Van Linden is a candidate for the city of London in the Canadian province of Ontario and she is a feminist, the founder of the interest group named “Friends for Captive Animals” and has been working hard for animals in her municipality for years.
Van Linden: “My campaign slogan is “Room for All of Us”. With that I mean an inclusive and respectful society, which offers room to people from all layers of society. My goal is a healthy economy, an inclusive community that is led by compassion and a clean environment for all Londoners. “Room for All of Us” also means creating room for animals by better protecting their habitat and by accepting that wild animals are part of our urban environment.”
Reichert is a candidate in the city of Victoria, province of British Colombia, and he is a social worker, a vegan, a professional in the area of mental health and addiction, and is a great advocate for animal rights. He too wants politics to start taking more account of the interests of the most vulnerable in this municipality: From animals and nature to the homeless and people with a low income.
Reichert: “I want to be there for everyone in our community: For people and for animals. It is my goal to always speak straight from the heart. People are yearning for politicians who are genuine and not just occupied with their own short-term interests. We must prioritise things that are highly important for our existence, such as a clean living environment, a healthy climate, nature, environment, human and animal rights. These key conditions for our existence are now considered as luxurious and this is truly a case of the world being turned upside down.”