Kathleen Wynne, United Church Member

                                                      Kathleen Wynne, former Ontario Premier

 It's taken me a while to get to today's blog entry because we headed out fairly early for our paddle of 2022. The day didn't look promising in terms of rain and wind but we thought we might get a window of reasonable weather to be on a stretch of the Salmon River north of Napanee. Lo and behold the day got better and better and we had some time amidst the birds, including herons and kingfishers, and the buds of the swamp maples. 

I figure I should note yesterday's farewell speech in the Ontario legislature by former premier Kathleen Wynne. One commentator said that he'd heard many speeches in that chamber and her's was one of the best.

Wynne was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty and when she became premier she ended up wearing the animosity of a public which had grown weary of a regime which had its fair share of controversies. Add to that the misogyny and homophobia directed her way in abundance. I can't say I ever warmed to Wynne but I did admire her resolve and some of the choices her government made for a more equitable society, including the pilot project for Guaranteed Livable Income. 

Wynne was open about being a Christian and a member of the United Church, a denomination which accepted her as an LGBTQ2 person when she came out more than thirty years ago. Back in 2020, just before the beginning of the pandemic. Wynne spoke in Waterloo and an article in the Waterloo Region Record began this way: 

 Former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne says her faith grounded in the United Church was instrumental in the decisions she made in political life. "It was seamless for me," Wynne told about 100 people gathered in the chapel at the Martin Luther University College on Friday. "The two were inextricably linked," she said.Wynne said her moral code is rooted in her faith - that of the United Church since she was a child.

It's always refreshing when politicians uphold having a moral code or compass and attempting to live by rather than weaponizing faith. 

I appreciate Kathleen Wynne's public service and wish her well in future endeavours. Maybe she'll have more time and opportunity to be part of her faith community.