Remembering Ron Kelly

November 27, 2021/NDP PEI

Knowing Ron Kelly was knowing what a good and caring person he was; how committed he was to social justice in that he talked and walked the commitment.

I first met Ron in the 1980s when we were both involved in NDP activities but it wasn’t long before I realized he was in the social justice movement in many other ways: union and general labour causes and other groups addressing social inequities. Ron was involved in the very first on-the-ground grass roots efforts to bring about proportional representation in PEI in the late 1980s. He continued to be involved in that group to this day. Affordable public transportation was another campaign where one would encounter Ron. Co-operatives: I believe he was one of the founding members of a co-op store in Charlottetown. In fact, Ron was a strong proponent of public ownership of many key services so you can bet he was on board for public health care and housing. Ron’s roots were in Summerside so it is a bittersweet irony that Ron has left us just as his hometown is in the midst of celebrating 100 years of municipal ownership of its electric utility.

A specific skill that our Ron had was his ability for detail and analysis, at times to the bafflement of the rest of us. It was Ron we turned to for advice on policy. It was Ron who was the constitutional expert for the NDP PEI and other organizations. If anyone could filter out “grey areas” it was Ron.

Ron contributed much to the discussion of legal personhood for people with disabilities. His participation in the PEI Supported Decision-Making Coalition and as a member of a supported decision-making circle was based on a firm belief in the right of every person to dignity and self-determination.

He was concerned about matters abroad too and was an active member of Trade Justice PEI recently appearing on Compass talking about the problem of corporate ownership of patents for COVID vaccines.

Yet throughout everything he was calm, respectful and could be relied on to still troubled waters. Not to go unnoticed was his great sense of humor, puns being one of his “specialties” ; that and his love of and musical gifts.

Good bye, dear friend, you will be sorely missed.

Forever in solidarity in memory of the social justice movement ,

Edith Perry

Posted in Uncategorized

NDP PEI

The New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island holds firm to the belief that the dignity and freedom of the individual is a basic right that must be maintained and extended. We are proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world and to share the struggle for peace, international co-operation and the abolition of poverty.

Support Island New Democrats

As the true progressive party representing Islanders from tip to tip, we rely on your support to stand up for policies that matter to Prince Edward Island. Health, education, agriculture, environmental, women's, BIPOC and SOGI issues need New Democratic voices in the legislature.

Please donate below to support that fight

Donation

$ Donation Amount:

Make this donation every

Dedicate this Donation

Yes, please
No, thank you

Dedication Type

In honor of
In memory of

Honoree Details

First Name *

Last Name

Notification Details

Personalized Message * 255 Characters left

First Name *

Last Name

Email Address *

Personal Info

First Name *

Last Name

Email Address: *

Phone

Create an account

Credit Card Info

This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

Billing Details

Country *

Address 1 *

Address 2

City *

Province *

Zip / Postal Code *

Subscribe to our newsletter

Donation Total: $20.00 One Time

Tax credit on contributions

You can claim a tax credit on contributions made to recognized Prince Edward Island political parties, and to candidates who were officially nominated under the Elections Act of Prince Edward Island. The annual maximum credit is $500 and is calculated as follows:

First $100 contributed - 75%
Next $450 contributed - 50%
Next $600 contributed - 33 1/3%