My introduction from the riding association vice president kicked things off nicely. She was warm, funny, and sincere. Buoyed by this sharp introduction, I launched into my speech with confidence and enthusiasm.
“Thank you for the kind words Betty.”
“Fellow residents of Dartmouth and Cole Harbour and guests, thank you for the opportunity to speak.
“My name is Troy Myers. I am the fourth generation of my family to live in Dartmouth. My family originally settled on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia as United Empire Loyalists at the Head of Jeddore. My great grandfather, William Myers, went down the road to Dartmouth and we have been here ever since.
“Building on these strong Dartmouth roots, I have had the good fortune to work overseas. I have spent a year teaching English in France, two years as a librarian in Africa, and I have been on several missions monitoring elections in Africa and the Balkans.
“My time overseas has had a great influence on how I ended up on this stage tonight.
“To begin with, my work in Malawi instilled in me a clear understanding of how public service needs to be community based. My first posting was with the Government of Malawi’s Ministry of Works. More specifically, I was the Chief Librarian responsible for servicing the information needs of the country’s engineers, architects, and surveyors.
“Considering my first university degree was a BA in English Literature, I figured I may have a challenge on my hands…
“Deciding early, that it is best not to fake an understanding of the information needs of scientists, I decided my best approach was to engage my colleagues in discussion so we could clarify their needs. In short, I went to them and asked what their needs were and how best we could satisfy them, together.
“This proved to be an eye-opening experience on both sides. Not only did I learn quickly the needs of scientists, but they participated in the process with such enthusiasm! One particular colleague, the Chief draftsman for the ministry, exclaimed, ‘This is great, no one ever asked us what we need before!’
“Having learned this lesson early in my career, I brought it back to Dartmouth when, in 1995, I was recruited to come home and set up a branch library in North Dartmouth for the Dartmouth Regional Library Board.
“Being true to this concept of community-based public service, I proposed that, before we built the library, we should ask the people of the area what they wanted to find in their new public library. To do this, I designed a survey and for three weeks took it to every door I could find, and exactly like my experience in Africa, I found the people of Dartmouth were very keen to discuss their needs.
“So, when we opened the doors of the Dartmouth North Library people found a collection which directly reflected the demands of the community. Today, the library is the crown jewel of the Dartmouth North Community Centre playing its role as the friendly, energetic hub of the community.
“While it is true that if you build it they will come, I believe that if you engage citizens in designing public projects, not only will they come… they will bring their family and friends and they will stay.
“I would like to shift focus away from Dartmouth for the moment and move back overseas this time to Bosnia and the Ukraine as my time in Eastern Europe also has had a role to play in my being here before you tonight.
“Having worked on election missions in Bosnia and the Ukraine, I had the sobering experience of seeing firsthand what happens to a country when people lose faith in the political process and civil society breaks down.
“I can clearly recall my first visit to Sarajevo, contrasting my hopeful memories of youth watching the winter Olympics in 84, to the devastation I was witnessing only thirteen years later. It was a profound experience, to see the once proud city shattered by war, and while some may say war was inevitable as the former Yugoslavia moved from a socialist state to a democracy, I do not believe this is true. Strong central Governments do shift to active democracies without bloodshed…. Joseph Howe proved that in Nova Scotia 160 years ago.
“My time in Eastern Europe showed me that we as citizens must be thoughtfully engaged in the political process if civil society is to thrive and Canada is to remain a beacon of democratic hope for people worldwide. Our current Liberal government is leading us down a slippery slope that I, for one, do not want to be on. For the sake of the people of Dartmouth and Cole Harbour, for all Canadians in fact, this shift from good government must be stopped! Canadians deserve better!
“To finish the story of how I ended up on this stage tonight, I would like to bring us back to Dartmouth to tell you about Bill Murphy, the man I give the most credit to for building the Dartmouth North Library and also for getting me engaged in the political process.
“For those of you who did not know Bill Murphy, Bill was a long-time resident of the north end. He was a self-made man who took a strong work ethic and a great attitude and built a successful plumbing and heating business, but Bill was more than the successful business and family man, he had that special something that gave him vision beyond his own experience. Vision to see that communities must be constantly invested in to be strong, and even though he turned out fine by doing without, he believed that others needed help to help themselves.
“I can still remember the first time I met Bill. Bill was a member of the Dartmouth Regional Library Board, and he was the first person from the Board to welcome me after I was recruited to the project. Bill shook my hand heartily and with a quiet smile, said, ‘Welcome aboard, my boy, we are going to do a great thing in Dartmouth North. We are going to give books to children’.
“We found out later that Bill was sick through the final building phase of the library, so sick that he missed the library’s official opening. I remember feeling bad for Bill missing the opening, so I went to visit him in the hospital. As sick as he was, he was genuinely pleased the opening went well.
“Not long after, Bill Murphy passed away succumbing to the cancer he had quietly battled.
“I remember sharing the grief of the community and hearing what a tragedy it was for Bill to pass without having the opportunity to enjoy the library he built. While I would agree, I found strength by focusing on that gracious space that remained in the community even though Bill was gone, and by knowing that for Bill, the library was not for him, it was for his grandchildren and the grandchildren that would come after them.
“So, from Bill Murphy—the plumber who built a library—I take my greatest inspiration to get up before you this evening. Bill showed me that One person can make a difference.
“Now that you have heard how I ended up before you tonight, we should get to the big question… why me? Why should you, the people of Dartmouth and Cole Harbour pick Troy Myers to be your federal conservative Candidate in the coming election?
“Let me give you a few reasons….
“First, there are the issues I support:
“I believe broad based tax relief will stimulate our local economy.
I believe the federal government must pay more to protect universal health care and equip our military properly.
“I believe by promoting more prudent monetary and fiscal policies such as: lower trade barriers and more flexible labour practices we can boost growth of the Canadian economy, and, as a public librarian who for the price of one book can promote reading to one hundred people… I know your public money can be better managed.
“On the local level, I see our harbour—the same harbour which has served this country well since the first days of confederation, through two world wars, through decades of international trade and immigration—and I say the federal government must do more to protect this national resource. As climate change comes we must be ready to adapt!
“I also see the idle surplus federal lands in the riding, places like Shannon park, which need to be developed with full input from the community. Input from you.
“On top of a solid grasp of these issues, I believe my family’s commitment to Dartmouth, illustrated by four generations of residency, is well established.
“As well, my work and volunteer experience in Dartmouth and Cole Harbour shows I have an established community network we can build on. Which we can win on!
“Lastly, I believe, having grown up in Woodlawn, having coached in Cole Harbour, having worked in Dartmouth, where I continue to be an active resident, that I have the broadest appeal that will win this seat for the Conservative Part of Canada.
“Previously, I mentioned the great Nova Scotian Joseph Howe, the self-described conservative reformer. In this, the 215th anniversary of his birth, I would like some of my last words to be his…taken from his long campaign to bring responsible government to Canada….
“In this country, the government is like an ancient Egyptian mummy, wrapped up in narrow and antique prejudice—dead and inanimate—but yet likely to last forever. We my friends are desirous of a change, not such that will divide us, but which will ensure to us what they enjoy…
“Gentlemen, all we ask is for a system of responsibility to the people, extending to all the Departments supported at the public expense… Of one thing however, I must remind you—that you can do nothing if you are divided. …If you expect to do anything here, you must cast aside your petty jealousies and personal feelings, and act for the general good.” (Novascotian Dec 22, 1836) This is an editorial that would not be out of place in today’s newspapers.
“Fellow Conservatives of Dartmouth and Cole Harbour the time to act is now. The leadership of our party has come together—strong and united. We, as a local association, have come together—strong and united.
“Choose me tonight as your voice and we will have the best chance to gather all the people of Dartmouth and Cole Harbour—strong and united, … and in this year—2019—on the 2015th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Howe—the father of responsible government in Canada—we will carry the winds of change to Ottawa and put the responsible back into responsible government!
Troy Myers 