Sunny Ways

Hope. Today Ottawa was simply oozing with it. I even witnessed a few conservatives confess excitement.

Hope. “Sunny Ways” are what Justin Trudeau promised in his acceptance speech on election night. Today he was sworn in as prime minister along with his cabinet ministers. And it was certainly sunny today, except in the shade, as one news broadcaster had to point out jokingly, “already broken promises.”

Hope. 50% gender parity in the new cabinet, much to the chagrin of “guys everywhere who are suddenly concerned about merit.” When questioned by a journalist about why this was so important to him, our new PM had the best response (hint: it wasn’t a long one).

Hope. A First Nations female Minister of Justice (Who better to lead the charge of justice for “Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women”?) . Canada’s first astronaut in space as Minister of Transportation (spaceships for everyone?). Another minister (my MP!) of a re-named portfolio, Environment and Climate Change (I’m guessing she’s not going to deny the existence of climate change). An Afghanistan refugee now heading our “Democratic Institutions” portfolio. The list goes on.

Hope. Skeptics (like me) everywhere taking a breather to allow a little optimism to surface. Here’s to hoping Canada’s Prince Eric won’t let us down.