What kind of person are you? What do you care about? What is important?

This week is Earth Day. Next week is the election.

For me, these two events are linked. The way we treat each other. The way we treat our Earth. The choices we make.

I want a world where my child can live safely. Where she has clean air and water, food, equal rights and opportunities. What I want for her, I want for everyone.

Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives do not. His statements on minorities, the environment, and human rights represent a future that I do not want for my daughter. His voting record shows he repeatedly refuses to help those who need it most.

He is following a path laid by Donald Trump.

Every so often you hear people say, “If I was in Germany in the 1930s, I would have spoken up. I wouldn’t have gone along.” This is the moment to not go along. To ensure we do not put self-interest, fear, the economy ahead of human rights and the well-being of our fellow humans. This is not about taxes or tariffs. It is about how we exist in the world and who we are.

Government is flawed. However, government holds a lot of power. The officials we elect decide about drilling, pipelines, mining, logging, damming and how we treat our environment. They decide how we treat each other, particularly those who are different than us or in the minority.

It can feel like we are powerless to affect any change. Voting is one way to exercise some power.

In answering the questions at the start of this post, I think most people would say that they are kind, considerate, helpful. Now is the time to prove it. Vote with kindness and consideration. Vote to help those who need it.