I’d like to take this time to celebrate with you. In my role as MLA, I had the opportunity this fall to nominate some incredible people for the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. One of the people I was so proud to nominate was the editor of Boyle McCauley News, Paula Kirman.

If you know Paula, you’ll know a couple of important things about her. One is that she works exceptionally hard to build and strengthen our community. Another is that she doesn’t like to brag about this work. So I would love to use my update space, this time, to tell you about just some of the work that Paula does!

Paula is a well-known activist in Edmonton, and her strong sense of social justice is evident in her presence here in our communities of Boyle Street and McCauley, and beyond! Her commitment to anti-poverty and accessible housing initiatives, the peace movement, as well as environmentalism, bears out in the fact that you can find her at seemingly every rally, protest, and community gathering in support of these issues. By photographing and writing about these events, Paula also ensures that our community’s activism is recorded so that we can look back to see how far we’ve come, and can chart a path forward.

Rather than seeking recognition by speaking over community members whose voices have so often gone unheard and unrecognized, Paula chooses to support these folks and to do all she can to help amplify their voices. It’s rare to spot Paula in photos of community events, because she’s the one taking the photos! Through her work as editor here at Boyle McCauley News, Paula also makes very intentional choices about which stories the paper covers, and whose voices take precedence. She ensures that issues that aren’t featured in other media have a place in this paper. And as printed news is becoming increasingly harder to find, Paula shows great commitment to ensuring that the news is available in hard copy for those who cannot or prefer not to access the news online.

If you know Paula, there’s at least one more thing you know about her: she loves our communities. This love is so clear in all the work she does to ensure that our communities are both strong and compassionate. Friends, please join me in thanking Paula – for everything.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact our constituency office if we can offer any support. We’d love to hear from you.

Janis Irwin
MLA, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood
Email: Edmonton.HighlandsNorwood@assembly.ab.ca
Phone: 780-414-0682
Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood Constituency Office: 6519 112 Ave. NW