Perth, says Wikepedia, is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, over 200 years old. It’s on the Tay River, 83 kilometres (52 mi) southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. Population is around 6,500.

I stayed at an Airbnb hosted by a jaunty fellow named Marcel. Originally from a place outside of Sudbury called Azilda, he has lived in a series of small towns. In his living room hangs a caricature of him done up like Marcel Marceau, the famour mime. But the Perth-based Marcel is not silent. He has a lot to say about Canadian democracy. He also comments on the February 2022 Ottawa convoy. An expressive guy holds forth on his views.

Was in Rockland, Ontario, about 45 km east of Ottawa. Just before I checked into the Airbnb for that evening, a townhouse in a pretty new neighbourhood, these two young men approached me. They were fundraisers for Plan Canada.

I told them that I too was fundraising, in my case for @TheMosaicInstitute and @antihateca, and offered to make a donation. When they heard I was riding in part for anti-racism, each of these pleasant fellows opened up. One is First Nations, the other is Egyptian (and has lived in Saudi Arabia).

The stories they told of raw discrimination against them when they were younger, in smaller towns, made us all bristle. They do feel that things have improved overall, and are thrilled to be living in Canada.

DemocraCycle interview 3, Kingston NS, dismantling prejudice against mental illness

15 views Jul 12, 2022 As I rode into Kingston, Nova Scotia on my bike ride to raise funds for The Mosaic Institute (dismantling prejudice), I passed by a home with a huge poster in front. It showed an image of a young man who had taken his own life in 2015.

The poster urged us to focus on love, not hate. And its mention of Clinical Depression struck a personal nerve: I live with a form of that medical condition, that mental illness. Mine is known as dysthymia (a chronic but somewhat lower level version of Depression, which I manage through medication, but I used to do a lot of talk therapy with a psychiatrist too.

I stopped in to this home and had a very moving conversation with the mom. She was really honest about some of the discrimination her son had faced. Here is the raw interview.

Please contribute to The Mosaic Institute, a charity for which you’ll receive a tax receipt.

Was cycling down a beautiful trail in Sackville, Nova Scotia, on the way from Halifax to Newport Corner, day one of my #DemocraCycle ride. Came upon a couple friskilly motoring away, each on a one-wheel electric skateboard. Looked like a riot of fun.

Approached them and asked if I could interview them for my blog. They live in Nine Mile River, Nova Scotia (about 60 km north of Sackville). Here’s what they had to say about #CanadaDay and Canadian democracy. Thank you both for sharing!

I wasn’t thinking of asking strangers to be interviewed about their views on democracy and prejudice this afternoonm seeing as I’d just flown in from Toronto yesterday, and had just exited a Sobey’s with my bike pannier in hand, filled with snacks to sate my hunger as I start my 2,000 km ride to Toronto tomorrow.

But I was here to hear from locals, and at the bike lockup was a young couple, so I pounced on the opportunity to chat with them. A really nice first inerview for my Democracyle blog.