Canada’s female athlete of the 20th century stopped in Parksville on Tuesday to support Conservative James Lunney’s candidacy in the Nanaimo-Alberni riding.
Nancy Greene Raine, from Rossland, B.C. won worldwide fame taking many skiing titles in the 1960s including gold and silver in the 1968 Olympics. She’s an officer of the Order of Canada and is currently director of skiing at Sun Peaks Resort and chancellor of Thompson Rivers University.
Bringing the big guns to town attracted 40 people to a meet and greet with Lunney and Raine, who was appointed as a Conservative senator in 2009.
She started her brief talk by saying she was new to politics, “I’ve never really been active in politics, but I’m learning.”
She said the Liberals called the current election because they’re not allowed to “throw out their leader unless he’s defeated, so they’re getting Canadians to do their dirty work.”
She spoke of the important work the senate does providing sober second thought and that they meet with the Conservative caucus for two and a half hours behind closed doors every week in a very warm communicative environment to talk things out.
There are no phones or Blackberries allowed, she said and everything stays in caucus.
She curiously suggested “the reason the media rants about the closed caucus” is that they are jealous no information leaks out.
She pointed out it was a Senate report that led to canceling the plan to de-staff lighthouses.
She stressed the importance of people taking care of their own health rather than the increasing dependence on the health care system.
Her main message, she said was that now that people have seen the Harper government in action “people are no longer afraid,” and need to give them a majority to continue with a steady government.