very passionately invested in the success of our se- lected team. We can even wish for some mistakes or misfortune to befall the competing team so that our team is victori- ous. There is great satis- faction in backing a win- ning team. We feel proud and triumphant and maybe even a bit supe- rior. But, paradoxically, we also need the compet- ing teams to thrive. If the other teams did not exist, or if they could not play well enough to inspire our teams to their best performances,


Trudy Schroeder Random Notes


we too


would suffer. This is the dilemma of a system that is competitive but also collaborative. We need the suc- cess of our competitors in order be successful our- selves.


Competitive sports teams are not the only systems in our society that require robust health from the op- posing teams to create a thriving system. Our demo- cratic governments that we say we value so dearly also depend on parties with differing perspectives on the best solutions for current problems. The specific problem of unpredictable thinking that has been a challenge to me has been the appar- ent decrease in our value of democracy. We say that we believe that democracy, while it has flaws, is the best available form of government. Fundamental to a functioning democracy is the presence of political choice. If we do not have at least two political options at the time of an election, we do not have a democ- racy. Of late, I have found the level of animosity between the political parties in our neighbour to the south and even in Canada quite undemocratic. If we want our political system to function at its best, we have to hold our politicians and the media to standards that sup- port democracies. The demonization of parties or in- dividuals holding differing views is truly not helpful. Despite our professed love for democracy, we can easily revert to a more clan or tribal competitive mod-


A world of paradoxes W


hen we cheer for the Jets, the Blue Bomb- ers, the Moose, the Goldeyes or our child’s soccer or volleyball team, we can become


In these divided times, it seems we’ve forgotten the value of community.


el of thinking. In defending our personal political views of choice, we can forget that for a democracy to function optimally, we need all of the political parties to operate as well as they possibly can. Truly, it is not desirable for one political position obliterate other political perspectives. Criticism of a political party in power or the specific policies of a government is deeply supportive of democracy and the values we claim to endorse. It would be interesting to see how our national con- versations would evolve if humans were fully rational and predictable thinkers. If all individual citizens had a similar understanding of critical thinking, logic, and evaluation of ideas, perhaps we would live in a more peaceful and productive country. If we all were well trained to identify logical fallacies, we might hold


ourselves, our nation, and our politicians to a much higher standard.


Several years ago I read with interest an article about the conditions in which groups of animals or insects thrive. The group running the experiment had started out with the belief that the Darwinian princi- ple of “survival of the fittest” was the operating model they would find lead to the most successful groupings of animals. To their surprise, they found that animals that had evolved to be the most philanthropic and socially supportive of the weakest members of their group had the best overall results. I’d say we have something to re-learn from the most successful ani- mal groups. Trudy Schroeder is the Executive Director of the Win- nipeg Symphony Orchestra.


My experience serving Charleswood I


have had the privilege of represent- ing the constituency of Charles- wood in the Manitoba Legislature for over 20 years. It has been an incredible hon- our for me to serve the public in such a way. Being of is


service others to something


that I have strived to do throughout my entire life. Before entering politics, the path that I chose was rooted in my strong de- sire to make a difference. I had a rewarding career as a registered nurse with experience


in general


enthusiastic to serve the constituents of Charleswood as I was then. Two local achievements of mine have shown how politi- cians can make a big dif- ference in a community. In 1999, the United Na- tions declared the year the International Year of the Older Persons. A part of this declaration asked people all over the world to look


around


duty, nursing education, quality assurance, medi- cal and nursing research, patient education, and nursing admin- istration. It was during my time as a nurse that I became passionate about finding ways to strengthen our health care system. I later became the president and ex- ecutive director of Child Find Mani- toba. I was passionate about this cause and it was through this determina- tion that this organization was able to grow into today’s Canadian Centre for Child Protection which is now recog- nized across Canada and the world as a key player in child protection issues. When I decided to enter politics,


I did so because I wanted to make a difference. Years later and I am still as


June 2019


Myrna Driedger Broadway Journal


their


communities to see what is being done for older community members. I noticed that Charleswood was lacking


dedicated


programming for the se- niors of our community. So, I brought seniors to-


gether to find ways to celebrate our seniors. Our group held many events for


seniors and created a newslet-


ter. These seniors went on create the Charleswood Seniors Centre, now the Charleswood 55+ Active Living Cen- tre, which now boasts over 400 mem- bers and has become a significant asset to Charleswood. Another community initiative I started is the Charleswood Community


Leaders Networking


Luncheons. I started this network- ing initiative to bring together com- munity leaders from Charleswood to network and hear from special guest speakers about issues of importance to our community. It became an oppor-


tunity for our community to strength- en itself from within. Being the MLA for Charleswood has meant that while I have been so privileged to be able to work within the


constituency, I have also been


able to represent Charleswood at the Legislature. I am proud of the di- verse roles I have had including that of Deputy Leader, Critic for Health, Status of Women, Finance, Civil Ser- vice & Crown Corporations Council, Child & Family Services, Education, and Legislative Assistant to the Min- ister of Family Services and Minister of Health. I have been a member of the Public Accounts Committee and the Standing Committees of WCB & Children’s Advocate. It is rare that an opposition MLA


can have a Private Members Bill passed but I am humbled that I have had five of my Private Members’ Bills passed. It is my great honour to have been able to bring together MLAs of all po- litical stripes to support these bills that have promoted women and women’s health, worked to prevent the possi- bility of date-rape in bars, and led to the establishment of a monument of Nellie McClung and the Famous Five on the grounds of the Manitoba Leg- islature. I have had the opportunity to work with colleagues


all throughout the


Commonwealth. In 2011, I was elect- ed for a 3-year term as Chair of the Canadian Region of Commonwealth


Women Parliamentarians (CWP) by my peers from across the country. In September 2012, I was also elected the Vice-Chair CWP International. CWP works for better representation of women in legislatures throughout Canada and the Commonwealth and strategizes and acts on gender-related issues in Canada and internationally. I am honoured that my professional achievements have earned me recog- nition in the "Canadian Who’s Who” and also recognition as a Manitoba Legislative Assembly “Trailblazer of the First 100 Years”. For service to my community, I was presented the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal as well as being made an honourary Rotar- ian. I am also a member of Women of Winnipeg, an organization of women identified as leaders in the community. My most recent role has been that of Speaker of the Manitoba Legisla- tive Assembly. This is a position I was elected to on May 16, 2016. It has been a great privilege to be in this role. I am only the fourth female Speaker in the history of the Manitoba Legis- lative Assembly and am currently the only female Speaker in Canada. Representing Charleswood in the Manitoba Legislature has been a true privilege and I am so grateful for the support given to me by my constitu- ents.


Hon. Myrna Driedger is MLA for Charleswood and Speaker of the legisla- tive assembly.


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