Ford, John

Ontario, Ottawa South, Green Party of Canada

After high school and a brief stint in the Naval Reserve, John headed for Waterloo to study Engineering. After working for IBM, he moved to Ottawa, where the developing high-tech centre became home for the next twenty-five years. He has been providing analysis and problem solving skills to many local high-tech and telecommunication firms as an independent consultant for the last fourteen years. In addition, he writes a regular monthly newspaper column, and runs a small business to promote household energy efficiency. He has been a resident of Alta Vista and Ottawa South for over seven years.

It was the wealth of natural recreational activities and cultural facilities that kept him in Ottawa, and developed his deep appreciation for the National Capital Region. He is an avid all season user of Gatineau Park and the Rideau Canal. Whether it is canoeing, hiking, cycling, skiing, or skating, he has not left much of the region untravelled.

John's love of cycling ranges from commuting in town, to seeing the developing world from a bike saddle from Katmandu to Timbuktu. It's the view from this perspective that has heightened his awareness of sustainability issues and caused him to start asking why we don't do things differently.

He is committed to being a contributing member of the community, and has been an active member of community-based organizations all of his life. John believes we need to change our approach to global and local public policy issues, and joined the Green Party with the goal of bringing a more sensible long-term perspective into government - sooner, rather than later.

majority seats = 155