SDSG – Another candidate has joined the fray locally for the upcoming federal election. The Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry riding association for the Green Party of Canada announced that Raheem Aman will be their candidate.
Originally from the Toronto area, Aman holds a Bachelor’s of Justice, Political Philosophy, and Law degree from McMaster University.
This is not his first foray into politics. Four years ago he ran for the Green Party in the riding of Hamilton-Mountain, while attending McMaster. Aman was born in Mississauga and raised in Brampton. His parents immigrated from Barbados and Jamaica. He moved to the area in 2018 and is recently married.
A local issue for Aman is integrity, citing the recent SNC Lavelin controversy with the current federal government, and where donations come from.
“Unforeseen issues are going to rise more and more,” he said. “How can we respond to that? Not just someone who is part of the political engine, but someone who has a moral compass.”
He says he was motivated to get involved in politics by environmental advocates including national Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner. Schreiner was elected in Guelph in 2018 as the first Ontario Green Party MPP.
Aman said that jobs are an issue for him in SDSG and he believes the Green Party platform will help with that.
“We have to think more locally, and use a triple bottom line for making decisions,” he said. “We have to look at how a decision impacts financially, morally, and what’s best for the environment.”
Aman said he believed that for jobs, that SDSG could be a hot bed for jobs supporting renewable energy.
“There will be literally thousands of jobs created as we go more towards renewables,” he said. “This area can be the one that can spark that change.”
Aman’s campaign headquarters will open in the next few weeks, and he is already in the process of campaigning in the riding.
For nearly six months, the local election scene has been a two-candidate race between Conservative Party of Canada nominee Eric Duncan, and People’s Party of Canada nominee Sabile Trimm.
The local Liberal and NDP riding associations have not announced any candidates vying for those party nominations. The NDP announced a nomination meeting for August 8th, but announced on August 7th that it was postponing the meeting for a few weeks. The Liberals have not announced any nomination meetings as of yet.
Voters head to the polls in SDSG and across Canada October 21st.
