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Episode 311: Sonia Furstenau
Sonia Furstenau is a Canadian politician who is currently the leader of the
Green Party of British Columbia.
Sonia Furstenau grew up with a strong sense of
the importance of democracy. As a child, she travelled with her father to his
native East Germany. It was there she realized that democracy is something that
must be nurtured and protected.
After moving to B.C. at the age of 20, Sonia
studied at the University of Victoria, where she completed her BA and MA in
History, and her Bachelor of Education degree. She has worked as a waitress, a
bookkeeper, as the National Administrator for Results Canada, and as a high
school teacher in Victoria and Shawnigan Lake. She is the proud parent of three
children and two step-children.
In 2013, Sonia learned that the provincial
government was considering granting a permit to a company to dump contaminated
soil in a quarry at the headwaters of her community’s drinking watershed. Sonia
began organizing alongside her community, questioning the evidence behind the
government’s decision to issue the permits. In 2014, she was elected Area
Director for Area B of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
In 2017, after years of hard work and
advocacy, the Ministry of the Environment did something unprecedented: it
revoked the permit. Months later, Sonia was elected as the first B.C. Green MLA
for Cowichan Valley. In October 2018, she stood with the Environment Minister
as they introduced legislation to reform the province’s use of professional
reliance, the broken system that led to the Shawnigan permits being issued in
the first place.
As a B.C. Green MLA, Sonia served as the lead
spokesperson for seven different government files. She has successfully
advocated for changes to the child welfare system; worked with the government
to make reforms to environmental legislation and to develop childcare and early
childhood education programs; and stood up against the government’s tax breaks
to the fossil fuel industry.
Sonia lives in the
Cowichan Valley with her husband Blaise and their children.
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By John A. Brink
5
1111 ratings
Sonia Furstenau is a Canadian politician who is currently the leader of the
Green Party of British Columbia.
Sonia Furstenau grew up with a strong sense of
the importance of democracy. As a child, she travelled with her father to his
native East Germany. It was there she realized that democracy is something that
must be nurtured and protected.
After moving to B.C. at the age of 20, Sonia
studied at the University of Victoria, where she completed her BA and MA in
History, and her Bachelor of Education degree. She has worked as a waitress, a
bookkeeper, as the National Administrator for Results Canada, and as a high
school teacher in Victoria and Shawnigan Lake. She is the proud parent of three
children and two step-children.
In 2013, Sonia learned that the provincial
government was considering granting a permit to a company to dump contaminated
soil in a quarry at the headwaters of her community’s drinking watershed. Sonia
began organizing alongside her community, questioning the evidence behind the
government’s decision to issue the permits. In 2014, she was elected Area
Director for Area B of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
In 2017, after years of hard work and
advocacy, the Ministry of the Environment did something unprecedented: it
revoked the permit. Months later, Sonia was elected as the first B.C. Green MLA
for Cowichan Valley. In October 2018, she stood with the Environment Minister
as they introduced legislation to reform the province’s use of professional
reliance, the broken system that led to the Shawnigan permits being issued in
the first place.
As a B.C. Green MLA, Sonia served as the lead
spokesperson for seven different government files. She has successfully
advocated for changes to the child welfare system; worked with the government
to make reforms to environmental legislation and to develop childcare and early
childhood education programs; and stood up against the government’s tax breaks
to the fossil fuel industry.
Sonia lives in the
Cowichan Valley with her husband Blaise and their children.
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