The Mississauga Muse
Active Member
Q&A: CAROLYN PARRISH
No politician's safe from her quick wit
BIO
Age: 60
Nickname: CP or Mom
Education: Kipling Collegiate, University of Toronto, Ontario College of Education.
Profession: Secondary school teacher for English and sociology.
Passion: Politics, change, improvement.
Fears: Spiders and trigonometry.
Pet: Favourite dog Texas, a 12-year-old boxer, died a year ago.
Favourite pastime: Working at the office and my garden and entertaining people at home.[/I][/COLOR]
Jun 05, 2007 04:30 AM
Phinjo Gombu
Staff Reporter
Mississauga Councillor (and former MP) Carolyn Parrish tells the Star that Stephen Harper lacks personality, Hazel McCallion doesn't frighten her and Toronto's politicians just aren't tough enough.
What is the key to a politician getting elected again and again?
All successful politicians that I know are people who are willing to take a stand on big issues such as the war in Iraq, or Mississauga where we are fighting Queen's Park to give us more money for clean transportation. One of the reasons Hazel has been so popular over the years – I don't always agree with her – is she does her homework and takes a firm stand on things.
Who is the better politician? Prime Minister Stephen Harper or Paul Martin?
Jean Chrétien. Harper is a cold fish. He has no charisma and approachability. Martin was a great finance minister but he was a very poor leader who lacked self-confidence. I watched Chrétien when the entire caucus was against something and he'd stand up and say, okay, I listened to you but my best judgment tells me this and this is what I'm going to do and I'm going to take the blame for it.
Are you scared of Hazel McCallion?
Noooooooooooooooo. You can't be afraid of somebody who looks like your grandma. But more importantly, I respect her a lot. I wouldn't go into a debate with her unprepared. She has a phenomenal institutional memory. She is as sharp as the first day I ever met her 25 years ago and she's very famous for saying, do your homework. She's a brilliant politician. I have an awesome respect for her abilities.
You've been described variously as a loose cannon and quick to quip. Shooting first, considering later?
That's not true. I'm a very passionate person. I tend to be criticized as a loose cannon by people who are on opposite sides of an issue and want to dismiss me. I'm not afraid to take a stand and I'm not afraid to change my mind. I'm quick with the quip and I'm very open to the media, which can be a mistake at times.
Have you always been political?
In university I was very passionate in the anti-Vietnam War movement because I was at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. We had a lot of American students and if they didn't get good marks at Christmas, they were scooped into the army and sent overseas and we'd get lists of those who had been killed. I didn't actually get into politics until my kids were in elementary school and I decided to run for school trustee.
What does your BlackBerry mean to you?
I'm a totally crackberry addict. I have it on my bedside table at night. I sleep very shallowly. I send messages to my assistant at his computer in the middle of the night.
What kind of person were you in high school and university?
I hate to admit this but I was in the gifted programs all through school so I thought I was very smart. I was also a social butterfly and very athletic, although you wouldn't know it by my body today. I, however, hit a brick wall in Grade 13 called trigonometry and ended up repeating Grade 13.
For 25 years, I had nightmares about being in a math class and not having my trigonometry done.
What is the biggest misconception that people have about Mississauga?
They think we are a suburb of Toronto which is absolutely incorrect. We have 57 Fortune 500 companies. Seventy per cent of our population could work right here in Mississauga. If we didn't live as close to Toronto, people would treat us the same as they do Calgary.
What are your feelings about Toronto?
I think Toronto is one of the best economic engines for the country and for the province. I don't particularly think their politicians are doing a great job ... We could have gotten away with a 3.2 per cent tax increase in this year but we put away another 1.5 per cent for future capital expenditures. Hazel and the other politicians in Mississauga plan for the future. We don't whine, we don't fuss. We just put the nose to the grindstone and we do what has to be done."
I hope that Torstar does that for other politicians from other municipalities so TO Forumers can read and then comment on how "honest" they've been with the Star.
Signed,
The Mississauga Muse
No politician's safe from her quick wit
BIO
Age: 60
Nickname: CP or Mom
Education: Kipling Collegiate, University of Toronto, Ontario College of Education.
Profession: Secondary school teacher for English and sociology.
Passion: Politics, change, improvement.
Fears: Spiders and trigonometry.
Pet: Favourite dog Texas, a 12-year-old boxer, died a year ago.
Favourite pastime: Working at the office and my garden and entertaining people at home.[/I][/COLOR]
Jun 05, 2007 04:30 AM
Phinjo Gombu
Staff Reporter
Mississauga Councillor (and former MP) Carolyn Parrish tells the Star that Stephen Harper lacks personality, Hazel McCallion doesn't frighten her and Toronto's politicians just aren't tough enough.
What is the key to a politician getting elected again and again?
All successful politicians that I know are people who are willing to take a stand on big issues such as the war in Iraq, or Mississauga where we are fighting Queen's Park to give us more money for clean transportation. One of the reasons Hazel has been so popular over the years – I don't always agree with her – is she does her homework and takes a firm stand on things.
Who is the better politician? Prime Minister Stephen Harper or Paul Martin?
Jean Chrétien. Harper is a cold fish. He has no charisma and approachability. Martin was a great finance minister but he was a very poor leader who lacked self-confidence. I watched Chrétien when the entire caucus was against something and he'd stand up and say, okay, I listened to you but my best judgment tells me this and this is what I'm going to do and I'm going to take the blame for it.
Are you scared of Hazel McCallion?
Noooooooooooooooo. You can't be afraid of somebody who looks like your grandma. But more importantly, I respect her a lot. I wouldn't go into a debate with her unprepared. She has a phenomenal institutional memory. She is as sharp as the first day I ever met her 25 years ago and she's very famous for saying, do your homework. She's a brilliant politician. I have an awesome respect for her abilities.
You've been described variously as a loose cannon and quick to quip. Shooting first, considering later?
That's not true. I'm a very passionate person. I tend to be criticized as a loose cannon by people who are on opposite sides of an issue and want to dismiss me. I'm not afraid to take a stand and I'm not afraid to change my mind. I'm quick with the quip and I'm very open to the media, which can be a mistake at times.
Have you always been political?
In university I was very passionate in the anti-Vietnam War movement because I was at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. We had a lot of American students and if they didn't get good marks at Christmas, they were scooped into the army and sent overseas and we'd get lists of those who had been killed. I didn't actually get into politics until my kids were in elementary school and I decided to run for school trustee.
What does your BlackBerry mean to you?
I'm a totally crackberry addict. I have it on my bedside table at night. I sleep very shallowly. I send messages to my assistant at his computer in the middle of the night.
What kind of person were you in high school and university?
I hate to admit this but I was in the gifted programs all through school so I thought I was very smart. I was also a social butterfly and very athletic, although you wouldn't know it by my body today. I, however, hit a brick wall in Grade 13 called trigonometry and ended up repeating Grade 13.
For 25 years, I had nightmares about being in a math class and not having my trigonometry done.
What is the biggest misconception that people have about Mississauga?
They think we are a suburb of Toronto which is absolutely incorrect. We have 57 Fortune 500 companies. Seventy per cent of our population could work right here in Mississauga. If we didn't live as close to Toronto, people would treat us the same as they do Calgary.
What are your feelings about Toronto?
I think Toronto is one of the best economic engines for the country and for the province. I don't particularly think their politicians are doing a great job ... We could have gotten away with a 3.2 per cent tax increase in this year but we put away another 1.5 per cent for future capital expenditures. Hazel and the other politicians in Mississauga plan for the future. We don't whine, we don't fuss. We just put the nose to the grindstone and we do what has to be done."
I hope that Torstar does that for other politicians from other municipalities so TO Forumers can read and then comment on how "honest" they've been with the Star.
Signed,
The Mississauga Muse
