Salt Spring Islanders and members of local MLA Adam Olsen’s family and staff enjoyed a two-hour gathering and tribute to Olsen, who is not pursuing a third term as the Saanich North and the Islands Green Party of BC rep, at Lions Hall on Sept. 13.
The event saw numerous people speak, everyone in the crowd sharing a word or thoughts about Olsen (with some written on maple leaves for Olsen to take with him in a gift basket), two songs from Bill Henderson, a giant “group hug,” cake and finger foods to share.
Olsen is the Greens’ campaign chair for the upcoming provincial election.
Following are photos from the Sept. 13 event and some excerpts from speakers.
A video of Olsen’s address to the crowd can be viewed here.
Briony Penn: “I really suggest everyone do this: Go to Adam’s blog and go to his “response to bills.” If I feel depressed, I just go to Adam’s response to bills. I look at it and it just makes me feel better, because it’s just like someone is out there . . . .”
Penn had picked five quotes from Olsen’s blog for posting on the wall at Lions Hall, including these two:
Laura Patrick: “As Briony pointed out, read his blog. Read those speeches; the thought, the care, the effort . . . every speech that he’s delivered in the House is amazing.
“We owe it to Adam to be better citizens, to listen to each other. We need to learn from the past; we have to open our hearts and minds to the future so that we can be prepared for what’s coming. Thank you, Adam, for serving as our MLA of Saanich North and the Islands. You are going to be dearly missed.”
Gary Holman, speaking on Olsen’s collaborative nature: “It’s not just a skill, it’s who he, it’s the nature of bringing people together. On so many fronts — the Salish Sea trail, the Southern Gulf Islands Forum, you were one of the initial advocates for the ASK Salt Spring institution that Gayle Baker runs now — it’s become, you know, like this, where people can reach out to their elected officials and have a good conversation. That’s just by your nature, but also by your First Nations background. That’s what you do.”
Sylvia Olsen: “There was no surprise in our family that Adam should end up being a politician. There is not a microphone or a stage that Adam has not loved, or a tiny space in a conversation that Adam has not been able to fill.”
“When he went into politics, people said, ‘Oh, Sylvia, politics is really going to change your son.’ And I said, ‘No, it’s not’ — you know what I’m going to say — ‘My son is going to change politics.’ I think he did.”
“What do you want for a son that is smart and big — short and big? You want the world to challenge him. You really do. You don’t want him to just walk through the world. You want it to beat him up, and you want him to be proud of who he is, and you want him to be able to be wrong. All those things came in his experience. So his experience being in politics was really, really good for him.
“And the last thing I want to say, and it’s because of people like you, because while [however] dark and cynical and nasty the world is, it isn’t as well. It really isn’t, because Adam has had the support of the most amazing people, like Tom [Mitchell], who’s there for him all the time . . . all of you people I’ve seen over the years that are there for him, to soften the blow for him. And so he isn’t cynical, he isn’t angry, he isn’t all those things. He is in love with his people, and that’s you, and that’s because you have been in love with him, and honestly, there’s nothing better than that. Thank you all for taking care of my crazy ass son.”
Robin Jenkinson, of Island Pathways: “One of the ways that Adam has contributed to this island is helping us all be able to move closer to being able to walk and ride our bicycle safely from one end to the other, and holding this vision of the Salish Sea trail loop, a network that can connect many communities . . . Adam’s been holding meetings to advance this walking and cycling trail for almost three years every month. He is consistently there and consistently showing up on your bicycle or right across the island and meet us all. So Island Pathways wanted to present you with the most important safety equipment out there, which is a rear view mirror, so you can look back on your time here.”
Elizabeth May: “The word colleague is really important. Adam innovated something so cool: people might not know about the Southern Gulf Islands Forum. Adam’s idea was that we would get together, without any regard to jurisdictional barriers, at least once a month — your MLA, your MP, islands trustees, CRD and other forms of local government, Indigenous leadership — and meet around the table to figure out, if we’ve got a shared problem, “Has anyone heard of a new program?” We’ve got a shared problem, we write a joint letter to the people who are the decision makers on this shared problem. We are committed, and we had a meeting recently at the forum where there were people literally very close to tears over knowing that this was Adam’s last meeting, but all of us, regardless of where we sit on a jurisdictional basis, are saying we’re committed to keeping this going, whoever the next MLA is and regardless of the party. The Southern Gulf Islands Forum will continue, because we get more done when we don’t care who gets the credit, and we pull down those silos.
“I love you so much, Adam. I’m going to miss you more than you can imagine. I know you’re not going far, but we’ve been privileged as a group of citizens in Saanich North and the Islands to have you being our MLA. To say you’ve done us proud is an understatement.
“HÍSWKE SIEM. Forever and forever and forever we are in your debt, and we hold you in a place in our hearts, close and tight, and know that whatever you do next will be the right thing.”
Young before giving a toast to Adam Olsen.
