Local local local gets you re-elected - international moves you up the Cabinet level ladder

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

May 4th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Gould in the Legion kitchen

She gets right into the trenches with her constituents – this time it was a Legion kitchen.

Karina Gould is a Mother, a Burlingtonian, a graduate of McGill University and Oxford University. She is a Member of Parliament and a member of the Justin Trudeau Cabinet.

When she writes to her constituents she talks to her people. In her most recent missive she had this to say:  “Let’s get through the local stuff.” Karina has been doing BIG stuff at the world level as well.

“This is mental health week, I encourage you to check in on someone new every day. Whether it is a family member who you have talked to this week, or a colleague who you have not seen since social isolation began, I am sure they would really appreciate to hear from you.

“I know many members of our community might be struggling in other ways as well. COVID-19 has caused many to become food insecure and they may not be sure how to access the supports that are available here in Burlington. To assist those in need, the City of Burlington has compiled an extensive list of resources that residents can access to get the help they need or offer supports to the community. To access this page, please consult the link found here.

WHO director general

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization had a conversation with Minister of International Development  Karina Gould that he isn’t likely to forget. He won’t be looking forward to the follow up call he will be getting either.

“I know that accessing supports for the first time can be nerve racking but I can assure you the teams at the Burlington Food Bank, Food for Life, and the United Way are some of the most compassionate people out there. They understand the situation that you’re in and they don’t care about your income, they just care that you have access to food. Should you have any questions about accessing supports in Burlington, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

“I have some good news. In many parts of the country, the curve has flattened. This means that we are seeing some progress because of the commitment and determination shown by Canadians to stay home and practice physical distancing is paying off.
“To continue to improve on our results and ensure that we beat COVID-19 we must continue to stay home, wash our hands, and when we go out, stay two meters away from one another.”

Karina Gould - fingers apart

Karina Gould – punches well above her weight.

Local matters, especially when you want to get re-elected. During the month of April Gould had conversations with the people at the World Health Organization (WHO). Right now the world is struggling to control COVID-19 disease but there are a lot of people who wonder and are concerned that the WHO did not do the job that could and should have been done to warn the world what was likely to be coming our way.

The perky, always smiling mother of one child, can also be very firm and persistent at making her point. She advised WHO that they have been put on notice by the government of Canada.

This is a woman who punches well above her weight.

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10 comments to Local local local gets you re-elected – international moves you up the Cabinet level ladder

  • Roger

    I have found Karina to be less effective as a local MP- she initially campaigned as representing Burlington in Ottawa- to often Burlington gets forgotten – the comment “Let’s get through the local stuff.” Karina has been doing BIG stuff at the world level as well” – quite often the message from the office is that she is busy – you know she is a cabinet minister – not sure if this is a reason or an excuse – she has lost her independent thinking voice – if the opposition can get a good and I mean good local candidate and a leader that does not look like they are from the lunatic fringe – Karina’s re-election is doubtful

    • Roger, Anne was a Burlington candidate for MP (Canadian Action Party) in 1997 and the PC candidate was Mike Kuegle. We were very impressed with him and do not believe any of the later candidates, regardless of party came close to him in terms of merit.. We have lost touch with him but sure there are those who know where to find hin.

    • Phillip Wooster

      Good observations, Roger. I was impressed by her masterful display in the six months prior to the last federal election as she suddenly rediscovered Burlington–her facebook site and coverage in the local press set photo-op records that even JT can’t match–I don’t think so go anywhere without a photographer in tow. And you are certainly correct that she doesn’t return calls or answer questions. In fact, she went so far during the last election to delete comments and block responders on her facebook account–and she was the Minister of Democratic Institutions!!!!!!

    • dave turner

      I would suggest one is being a bit naive if one thinks that any MP/MPP of any political stripe who has progressed from just being a common a garden backbench MP/MPP to one holding a cabinet position would not find it difficult to pay the amount of attention to local matters that they used to as a backbencher or that one would like them to do.

      Further, one would be naive if one did not expect any individual of any political stripe to not play to the local electorates’ ears in the run up to, and during an election.

      I’m sure if for example the John St Bus Terminal issue had involved a degree of federal jurisdiction, we would have seen Gould there fighting for Burlington, just as McKenna did.

  • Rob Allan

    I used to be Conservative but since they were ousted by Karina Gould I have voted for her as she represents Burlington and her country with class. She is a hard-working, intelligent, articulate and personable lady. I would be surprised and disappointed if she doesn’t move up the political ladder!

  • Carol Victor

    We knew about her many talents and work ethic when many of us worked on her campaign….
    Keep up the good work for our community and for Canada Karina!

  • Phillip Wooster

    Gould is an excellent retail politician whose FB page is a masterpiece of shameless self-promotion–her “achievements” are more apparent than real. And as this article proves, you can fool some of the people all of the time.

    • Perryb

      But no t you, eh Phil. Booo!

      • Phillip Wooster

        No, Perry, not me! I listened to the wisdom of my grandfather who frequently said, “I may doubt what you say but I believe what you do”. I voted for Karina in 2015 but I was disappointed, initially by the poor performance of the government in relation to its election promises. And then by the poor performance of Karina Gould. She is a master of the photo-op and plays on her “nice person” image. But that all came undone when during the Lavalin Scandal she shamelessly supported JT as he threw two women cabinet ministers–far more accomplished and possessing far more integrity than Gould, under the bus. She exposed herself as just another tawdry political opportunist.

        • dave turner

          Some might say that she showed her loyalty to the PM and to the party that she stood for and got her elected. Some might say those two cabinet ministers to whom you refer displayed their disloyalty to both the PM and the party that got them elected. The correctness of your view or the view stated here depend upon your personal perspective. Each is just a different point of view!