Beyond On-Call

It's not easy being Green

Turning their backs on the traditional parties, two Canadian docs make time for politics. Just say no — to TV

By Julia Cyboran

When folks think of the Green Party they probably wouldn't picture their family doctor. Instead, most see an erstwhile hippie still holding onto the ideals of the 60s, determined to "Give Peace a Chance." But the Greens aren't quite so straightforward, and neither are their candidates.

Take two fresh faces new on the Greens scene — Dr Chris Milburn and Dr Sanjeev Goel — both MDs and both looking to make a difference in their respective communities in the upcoming federal election.

OUT OF THE MARITIMES
Thirty-four-year-old Dr Chris Milburn credits his brother for introducing him to the party back in the 80s but his real leap into politics didn't happen until he was in med school at Queen's during the late 90s. "I got directly involved in Kingston when I helped out during a provincial campaign," he explains.

He was asked to run for a federal spot in the Kingston and Islands riding during the 2000 elections. "It was a pretty big thing for me because I'm a terribly nervous public speaker — it was like shock therapy," he recalls. He was defeated by Liberal Peter Milliken, but did manage to scoop 5.2% of the vote — tripling the Greens' votes from the previous election and scoring "the best overall Green result east of the Rockies, and fourth in the country overall."

Last year, Dr Milburn returned to his native Nova Scotia to practise emergency medicine in Sydney and Glace Bay on Cape Breton Island. Ever the eager beaver, he picked right up where he left off, politically speaking. In this federal election he's running for a seat in the Sydney-Victoria riding. How does this busy doc find the time to balance shifts at two ERs and run an election campaign? "I don't watch TV," he explains. "That pretty much frees up 20-plus hours per week over the average Canadian. It's like having an extra day and half to do things each week."

AN ACTIVIST AT HEART
Dr Sanjeev Goel, also in his early 30s, got involved with the Green Party last year while protesting against the war in Iraq. He has been involved in several semi-political pursuits for several years. The community website he runs with his wife Dr Lopita Banerjee, www.truthforce.ca, is a testament to the couple's progressive ideals. So why, on top of everything he has on his plate, did this busy Brampton GP choose to go into politics?

"Sometimes you feel powerless as an FP," he explains. "With the Green Party I'm trying to change things." Dr Goel, who recently became a father, is doing all he can to fit politics into his life. "I've been taking afternoons off to do coordination for the campaign and I just have to be okay with less money," he says.

Dr Goel is the Greens' foreign affairs critic and is running against high profile Tory candidate Tony Clement in his hometown riding of Brampton-West. A lot of people see him as courageous for running in this federal race. "One guy told me that he thinks it's great and brave — especially because I won't win." So why dive head first into the shark pool that is politics? "I'm trying to send the message out to people to start getting involved in politics."

CAREER CONFLICT
Good intentions aside, some people might find it hard to fathom that a career in politics and a career in medicine can jive. But these docs insist the two go hand in hand. "There's a lot of overlap," says Dr Milburn, "you can't separate them." He explains that his work in the community fuses political and medical pursuits.

Dr Milburn believes strongly in Green values and a Green lifestyle and sees these as viable choices for a better life. This is especially true in a have-not area like Cape Breton, home of the notorious noxious tar ponds that have been blamed for the island's uncommonly high cancer rates. "The individuals in my community can't be healthy unless we work to have clean air, clean water, access to healthcare and health education, safe infrastructure for a physically active lifestyle and access to healthy and safe food," he says. "My involvement in politics may do more for people's physical well-being in Cape Breton than my work as a doctor will ever do."

Some docs may still find it hard to figure out how Green values can actually work for them. "It's not doctors who are usually drawn to the party," admits Dr Goel. But they insist that the Greens aren't a one-trick party and have a lot to say about the issue already looming large in this election — healthcare. Drs Goel and Milburn certainly have a bird's eye view of this matter.

"What we're trying to say is that we shouldn't throw more money at the system," says Dr Goel. "That's just a Band-Aid fix. We believe in prevention as a long-term solution."

Dr Milburn agrees. "Healing the sick is fine and noble," he says, "but sometimes we get so caught up with illness-care that we forget that it's better for people if we work to keep them well in the first place."

"The Greens have not only made commitments to sustainable longterm funding of our present system," he adds. "The other parties are only paying lip service to prevention and seem happy to keep throwing their money down a well."