Getting Disengaged From Politics
At the close of 2003, Paul Martin finally won the decade-long civil war he had waged inside the federal Liberal Party, sending Jean Chretien into retirement and taking the reins…
David Graham
Early experiences in media and performance
In the summer of 1997, between 10th and 11th grade, a movie production company approached my parents, well-known local realtors at the time, for help scouting locations around Sainte-Agathe for…
Keeping Track
The one common thread of my life has been my love of trains. I was obsessed with trains, ships, and planes as a child. As a grown-up, I took photos…
Early lessons in Canada’s telecom industry
In early 2001, my grandfather wanted to show my generation his birthplace while he was still healthy enough to do so, and so much of my extended family travelled together…
False equivalency
There is said to be an ancient curse: “may you live in interesting times.” With attention-grabbing existential wars taking place in the middle east and eastern Europe, and both the…
Career One: High Tech
My first practical political experience came through my involvement in the world of free software. I stumbled into a career in the community when I was only 18, and spent…
A Brief Attempt at University
In 1998, on the advice of my school guidance counsellor, my parents sent me on a 22-day Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School course in northern Ontario. It consisted of an…
Why the Liberals and the NDP should not merge
Whenever the Liberals are down in the polls, pundits come out of the woodwork demanding the NDP and the Liberals merge to unite the left and save the country from…
Studying in the US
In 1995, I left Canada to study, giving me my first real sense of direction. I was already politically active by then. When I was 12 years old, my parents…
Family time and early education
We did not have much in the way of family time for most of the year, making up for it with an annual drive to Florida to visit my grandparents,…
Learning community engagement
Aside from growing much of their own food, running a high workload business, and raising a family, my parents were constantly involved in the community throughout my growing up, and…
Origins
As we go are in the holiday season, I want to take some time to reflect on my upbringing and how it guided me into public office in the first…
Housing: where we are headed, and why
As I take possession of my new home in the red hot Moncton, New Brunswick market, where values have more than doubled in five years, I am left to contemplate…
Linguistic Nationalism Is Ethnic Nationalism
The issue of linguistic minority rights between Quebec and the rest of Canada is one that has not in any way been resolved. Defending English in Quebec is to defend…
Using Private Members Business To Attack Minority Rights
Near the end of the 42nd Parliament, the Bloc brought forward two bills to curtail minority English language rights in Quebec. One mandated that federally-regulated business be subject to Quebec’s…
On being a Jewish MP
The first time I rose in the House of Commons in December 2015, it was to mark the start of Chanukah. Given the short sitting calendar in the weeks following…
Bill S-201 and the breakdown of caucus unity
Private Members’ Business offers the occasional opportunity for a backbench to collectively disagree with their leadership. One of the sharpest examples of this in my four years was Bill S-201,…
The ever-increasing dichotomy of America
Seven years ago, Donald Trump was elected 45th President of the United States. And he’s trying to come back for another round. The forces that brought him to power in…
Making National Seal Products Day A Thing
On the opposite side of the issue from my “friendly fire” post on October 25th, and later in the same year, my former boss, Newfoundland MP Scott Simms tabled a…
The Role of Political Parties
Good morning. My name is David Graham. I served as a Member of Parliament from 210 pounds to … 260 pounds. Politics is not really the vocation of the healthy.…