I’m a local businesswoman who grew up in Whitehorse. I’ve been pretty disillusioned by politics for a decade now. When I heard that Kevin Barr was seeking the nomination to run as MP, I felt a jolt of inspiration return.
Barr is a performer, and has that First Nation trickster air about him. Some people may be nervous about that, not sure whether his free-spirited nature can be trusted.
I am offering my voice as a woman who has seen Barr up close in a variety of professional situations, often working with vulnerable people in our community. I have watched him question his own strength. I have seen him bring wisdom and a very competent approach to meetings with lots of tension and hard questions.
Barr is a talented performer who knows how to read a crowd, and that will serve him well in Ottawa. But more than that, he has a depth and commitment to Yukon people and social justice that make him quite different from run-of-the-mill politicians. He speaks his mind and is comfortable in his own skin. He knows how to listen. He knows that he doesn’t know it all, and he admits it.
Barr comes from a practice of listening to his elders. He has a very male, “warrior” energy, but I have seen him drop this to listen to wise women.
I believe Barr really “gets it”- that he understands the need to speak out on behalf of the planet, and the communities that are threatened by the way we treat each other and the earth.
Barr is always available for gatherings and events, pushing himself way out of the comfort zone where most of us live. He knows where he comes from, and knows that he speaks for those who don’t have a way of being heard.
I thank him for offering to speak for us in Ottawa.
Heather Finton
Whitehorse