Author: Jerome

A Response to the Controversial Statements of Senator Pierr-Hugues Boisvenu

Photo Credits: @globeandmail

 

Many columnist and writers across Canada including Prime Minister Stephen Harper have indicated and suggested that Senator Boisvenu comments can be understood and somewhat justified considering his prior experience with the criminal justice system. After all he is the founder of “Murdered or Missing Persons Families Association” (MMPFA), and a man who has greatly been personally affected by a thoughtless and heart wrenching crime.

However we live in Canada and as a Canadians we are fortunate to have rules of law that govern us. No mans personal “feelings”, “emotions” or “thoughts” are above the law or our countries constitution. It is for that reason it is not hard to believe why Senator Boisvenu statements insulted millions of Canadians and provoked a re-opening of the capital punishment penalty in Canada. In my opinion his comments were indecent and surprising especially when considering how pro-life (fiscal conservatives) tend to be. His statement is selective, extremely bias, and more concerning lacks basic human empathy and compassion that I always thought separated Canadians from other nations throughout the world.

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How Good Was Your Day?…Honestly

In business and specially in accounting you have to track everything. First and most fundamental  is tracking your  Debits & Credits vs Account Type,  click the link to get a basic overview of this principle.  Inspired by this basic principle it got me thinking about the balance sheet of my day, and how positive or negative it might be? and how I can answer a simple question with complete honesty and statistical evidence.

Everyday presents a new wave of emotion that comes from our every day activities and life events.  Constantly  connected to our smart phones  it is difficult to accurately process and respond to information, and complete desired task.  (Twitter, Facebook, Email, RSS Feeds, etc.. get in the way of “Getting Things Done” (#GTD), so I developed a new end of the day activity to help accurately determine how good my day actually was.

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Relationships, Stress, & Perseverance (Intro)

“Trust your gut, take care of yourself, and remember if your not mentally strong and in a good place, either is your business and your ability to grow. ” 

This is an introduction to a 3 part blog posting that will focus on Relationships, Stress, and Perseverance. I will attempt to show how understanding these three things are crucial to developing a successful business venture. I will use examples reflecting on my own personal experience, I’m living it, this is as authentic as it gets.

Relationships (Part 1)

In the first post I will focus and look at relationships such as family, personal, business, and  those that are simply just to complicated to even explain. These relationships can cloud your vision, and severely hinder your mental health. In the last year I have learned that “managing” these relationships are a fundamental pillar and the most important thing any young entrepreneur or aspiring young professional can do. I have made many mistakes, but I  have also learned from each one.  I thought sharing this knowledge would go a long way to help others avoid some unnecessary avoidable problems.

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Recapping The Past & Moving Forward

Finally, my first real post. 

When I set this website up 3 years ago its original and sole purpose was to serve as my campaign website for the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Election’s in 2008.Since that time my life has changed significantly so now this site is going to be a simple blog that will focus on Entrepreneurship, Politics and Business.

An Early Start

I was 23 years old straight out of university and working for the bank when I first decided to run. I had big ideas, huge goals, and large ambitions; probably inspired by all the progressive higher learning I was doing at Mount Allison University. Deep down I knew I had to run at a young age because that experience would help me in the long run in the future. I also wanted to give back to the community that helped raise me. Coming back from school I witnessed a city that was once very proud and united, divided and not confident. Something needed to be done, someone had to step up,  so I did. Ex. (I wanted to talk about things like Re-investing in youth recreational programs, and development  not about “cat bi-laws” and “decaying buildings.”) It was never about my ego, just common sense.

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Citizens For Halifax Candidates Survey

Written By Downey Campaign Official Agent , for Citizens For Halifax

The following survey was completed October 2008  for Halifax Regional Municipal Election (HRM). The organization responsible for this survey is called Citizens For Halifax. It is an independent grassroots society that was  built to promote change and progressive ideas within the HRM; they plan on doing this by encouraging and engaging the community to be active,  within the democratic process. Citizens for Halifax encourages and supports candidates for civic office. They advocate intelligent, thoughtful, fiscally responsible civic government. Their core goal as an organization is to enhance the progress of the HRM with a bold vision for a more prosperous city of the future.

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Divisive Development

Written by Victoria Goodday, Editorial Intern at Corporate Knights

The A. Murray MacKay Bridge looms behind local politician Jerome Downey; a small memorial is all that marks the community destroyed for its construction. Photo by Paul Trussler.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a small port city rich in Maritime history and down-home hospitality. Known for its hard-partying students and sailors, the city’s lively cultural scene has earned it the nickname of “the New Orleans of the East”. The similarities between the two cities don’t stop there. Like New Orleans, Halifax has an urban core characterized by a sharp racial divide and a population plagued by racial tension.

A history tainted by discriminatory policy decisions has left Nova Scotia’s capital fighting to achieve an inclusive society. Home to the largest proportion of Canadian-born blacks in the country, its racially disparate downtown and isolated black neighborhoods challenge Canada’s “cultural mosaic” moniker.

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Halifax Downtown Four-Way Fraces

Written by Tim Bousquet, News Editor at The Coast

The downtown Halifax council election heats up in District 12, with the incumbent facing the young scion of an old political family, a student and an environmental consultant.

For local politics, downtown Halifax is the place to be this year.

In the battle for media attention, Halifax elections lag behind coverage of the American and Canadian federal elections, and what press coverage locals do get is mostly focused on the mayoral race between Peter Kelly and Sheila Fougere. But the most dynamic and interesting local election is arguably the council contest for District 12.

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Downey Seeks Downtown Halifax Seat

Written By Halifax Chronicle Herald

Left: Jerome Downey, Right: Graham Downey

Jerome Downey, grandson of long-time Halifax city councillor Graham Downey, announced he’ll be running for office in this year’s municipal election. He’ll be vying for the Halifax-Downtown seat.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to represent and make the progressive changes Halifax-Downtown residents, visitors and business owners desperately desire,” says Downey. “I’m working to make sure our best interests as a community are being addressed and heard in city council. My platform is based on rejuvenation and a change of attitude and actions in city hall. We need to enhance our community’s vibrancy, protect our local economy and make our streets safer.”

Downey was raised and continues to reside in downtown Halifax. He graduated from St. Patrick’s High School and is a graduate of Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Currently, he is an account executive with a major financial institution in Halifax.