From people of faith to politicians, artists to tradespeople, student activists to senior citizens, the fight for preserve our communities isn't isolated to one section of residents or another. We've been seeing it in the audiences that have been coming out and the people who have put us up. In Saint John, it was Chris and Claudine, a young artist couple, who put us up and showed us around town. In Moncton, it was Marco, a young father and researcher with the student union at the University of Moncton who organized the screening. In Summerside and Charlottetown, it has been Jacquie Robichaud, daycare worker and NDP activist, Leo Cheverie, union activist and UPEI employee, and Kay Profit and her son, Fr Jim Profit in town visiting from Guelph where he helped lead the stand-off against Wal-Mart. Monday night, it was Kirk and J'nan Brown, who, according to Kirk, came to the island for five years and haven't left for 30.
At the screening on Sunday night at the Trinity United Church in Summerside, the crowd was an older group, but from a mix of backgrounds -- farmers, tradespeople, union organizers, people of faith. Last night in PEI we got our highest turn out in the east so far, 85 people: students, teachers, municipal and provincial politicians, farmers and fishermen, and, it seemed, many city residents who came out of pure curiosity to see what the film was about. We even had some special musical guests: the PEI Raging Grannies gave us a rousing welcome with two anti-Wal-Mart songs that set the easy, informal tone for the evening, including the discussion that followed.
Fr Profit, who was in Summerside visiting his mother, lived the fight against Wal-Mart firsthand when the store moved to Guelph. He runs and lives in the Jesuit retreat beside which Wal-Mart had decided it would build, and was at the forefront of the fight to keep the store out. Following Sunday night's screening, he spoke eloquently about the new links that have grown in Guelph following the city's ten year fight with Wal-Mart, and that have continued even after the big box behemoth has moved to town.
A major part of the battle in Guelph involved the municipal council. For years, the council had supported the fight against Wal-Mart building on the outskirts of Guelph. It was only once pro-development candidates -- many of whom received campaign contributions from Wal-Mart's development partner -- were elected that the Ontario Municipal Board found the lee-way to go along with Wal-Mart's challenge and overturn.
Seeing how key having a strong, community centred city council was, Fr Profit told of how the wide range of citizens who had come together over the past 10 years -- from business owners to stay-at-home moms to seasoned activists -- came together again to try and ensure that a more progressive council was once again elected.
Sergeo Kirby and I happened to be in Guelph last November to show Wal-Town at the Guelph International Film Festival. There was a real tension in the air -- the municipal elections, and the opening of the new Wal-Mart, were both only a few days away (the store opening on Nov. 8th, the elections shortly after) and no one could tell who would win.
It was only a few months later that I would find out, at the Summerside screening, that Karen Farbridge, the mayor who had helped fight Wal-Mart, was re-elected by a solid majority and that all but one of the pro-development councilors had been defeated (with 9 of the 13 councilors elected being women, to boot).
The message wasn't lost on the audience, many of whom had clearly seen Summerside transformed over the past decades since the arrival of the big box stampede, including the Mart. It wasn't always this way in PEI -- until the mid-80s there was an island-wide ban on big box stores. But residents haven't given up. On an island known for its agriculture, residents spoke with outrage at finding dairy, eggs and beef imported from across Canada, and as far away as Latin America. As one woman pointed out, if it is cheaper to ship in beef from a continent away, imagine what the farmers there must be getting paid. "It isn't just Island farmers who are getting the short end," she said to a sea of nods.
It is by coming together around these clear issues of food, labour, the environment, that we will make sure our towns remain strong and vibrant, and help ensure that we are not contributing to the detriment of others' homes and livelihoods.