I’m following up on my promise to use my podcast as a platform to participate in democracy.

Every election, I try to meet with the candidates in my riding and talk to them directly about the policy issues. I want to get to know who they are and what their values are. This time, I’m asking them if they’re willing to be recorded for the podcast.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to talk to the NDP candidate in my riding, Salman Tariq. I got to talk to him about his story and why he is running, climate change and the NDP’s policy promises, our role in Indigenous reconciliation, and racism in Canadian politics. He was very honest and was gracious in his time.

I also wanted to add that I had the chance to talk to the Conservative candidate, Hani Tawfilis. He actually gave me an hour of his time to talk about the issues. He wanted to talk off the record first before recording, but unfortunately, we talked too much that we ran out of time to record the podcast. He’s a principled person and I appreciate his honesty. However, I had my disagreements with him and that does affect my vote.

At this point, I am still unsure about my vote this election. I am still trying to talk to the Liberal candidate Iqra Khalid and Green candidate Remo Boscarino, but they’re both a little difficult to reach. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a chance to speak to them soon.

Thank you to Salman for coming onto my podcast and for both him and Hani for taking the time to speak to me. Election Day is Monday October 21st! Exercise your democratic right and vote!