WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Eganville public school teacher Eileen Jones-Whyte won the federal NDP’s nomination in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke in a vote against Deep River nuclear engineer Kurt Stoll at the Royal Canadian Legion here.
Ms. Jones-Whyte gave a spirited and articulate speech in which she blasted incumbent MP Cheryl Gallant and the Conservative party for its attacks on vulnerable people and inaction on the climate crisis.
“In Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, we recently lived through two ‘floods of the century.’ We have experienced summers hotter and drier than our previous norm. Our last winter ended with record snow melt. Ontario Hydro scientists say we are witnessing climate change. For ten years, Cheryl Gallant sat on the backbenches of a government which ignored climate science and muzzled scientists. We, our children and grandchildren are the vulnerable people who Ms Gallant and her cohorts think should merely ‘adapt.’ For the rich, adaptation is always easy. For the rest of us, it’s a struggle.”
Her speech focused on her two “umbrella issues,” which, she said, are intertwined: social and climate justice. “The NDP has always been at the forefront of environmental protection. As far back as when I was in high school I remember marching with the NDP to protect environmentally sensitive areas.”
She repeatedly took aim at Ms. Gallant in her speech, questioning the MP’s fixation on guns. “Ms Gallant is once again spreading fear and division saying that the current talk of banning handguns and assault weapons is a threat to rural lifestyle. She maintains that it threatens the rights of hunters and farmers. I admit that I am not a hunter or a farmer,” she said. “I do know though, that handguns and assault weapons are not used for either hunting or farming.”
“While sowing seeds of division, Ms Gallant, fails to address the issues that lead to violent crime, like breaking the cycle of poverty, supporting low-income families, improving access to mental health, providing opportunities to improve employability.”
Ms. Jones-Whyte says she entered teaching to support her beliefs. She has taught school for over 25 years in Ontario, Newfoundland and in Munich, Germany.
“I became a teacher,” she says, “because I saw education as a means to give all people a chance of a better future. As a teacher, I have seen how education can lift people up and help them fulfill their potential. Not everyone comes to school equally advantaged. This is true of our overall society. Many can benefit from supports which overcome their obstacles and help them achieve fulfilling lives. Investments in people not only help individuals but create a richer and more caring society.”
She is active in the community as a past Chair of the Training and Learning Centre of Renfrew County and as a coach, a co-founder and Director of the Upper Valley Basketball Association. “Coaching is my way of helping youth learn sportsmanship and to be strong and resilient.” She is an avid outdoors person who canoes, hikes, cycles, swims, skis and snowshoes.
She shares this love of being active outdoors with her husband, reporter Mark Jones and their two adult children, Naomi, a raft guide on the Ottawa River and Ramsay Jones, who studies at Brock University and serves in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves. She studied French and German at McMaster University and Education at the University of Toronto. She also served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves.
Kurt Stoll, who ran against her, campaigned all summer and spring in support of people working in the public sector, public enterprise, and the need for investment in critical infrastructure
“Public institutions are required to create jobs, process our natural resources, create public wealth and extend at-cost services to the public,” he said in his speech. He spoke too with pride about his work in the nuclear industry.
“Now, populist, labour-friendly building is again required. Both the recession and climate change will be beat by building public infrastructure and by leveraging the talents of the country’s most talented workers and scientists – like those in Chalk River.”
About $8,000 was raised to support the election campaign at the well-attended meeting.
“I was delighted with the turnout and the quality of the two candidates,” said election planning chair Kathy Eisner. “Both of them made us proud. I expect a lot of people will go NDP orange in support of Eileen.”
