me to discuss matters of importance to them. They would tell me that they did not feel comfortable speaking with the elected members in their own electoral ridings. I would often also discover that they didn’t vote. Their excuse was that they believed that their votes didn’t matter because their voices were never heard. I would tell them that they could only expect to be taken seriously if they voted. Votes are important. Votes are powerful. Votes matter to politicians. But when I would passionately advance the issues of those whose voices had often been ignored, with strong and convincing evidence-based arguments for my proposed solutions … good public policy … not only for the good of those Minorities, but also for the good of the broader society, I would find little or no resistance from my colleagues in elected office. Instead, I think I earned their respect, because I always kept at the forefront of my mind, why I had sought elected office … the desire to serve the public good. But it was also obvious to me, that had I not brought those policy proposals forward, no one else might have done so. The Minority voices might not have been heard. 6