CANDIDATE BRINGS DIVERSITY TO THE RACE

Marijuana Party candidate John Akpata doesn't mince words. The
poet-turned-political hopeful is blunt when sizing up his competition
in Ottawa Centre.

"Let's be real. You can't vote for the Liberals because they're the
sponsorship gang. You can't vote for the Conservatives because they
are Texas in Canada," Akpata said. "You can't vote for the Green Party
because in the future they will sell you sunshine, charge you for
water, tax you for wind."

"Me? I think for myself and use my own mind and I encourage everyone
else in the world to do the same."

So far Akpata, 33, is the only visible minority registered to run in
one of the city's most multicultural ridings.

According to Statistics Canada, one in five Ottawa-Centre residents
are visible minorities. Akpata says he represents the diversity of the
riding, unlike the other four candidates.

"No disrespect to the white men, but they're just not cutting it,"
Akpata said. "For all the people that are excluded from the white male
power structure, hopefully some of them will vote for me out of spite
or out of principle."

Akpata is currently the only candidate who is not affiliated with a
major political party. In the last election voters chose from nine
candidates, including four from "fringe" parties and one
independent.

The Marijuana Party's platform hinges on their policy to decriminalize
marijuana. Akpata says the current legislation infringes on human rights.

"We want to change the law because if the government says it's illegal
for you to grow food and medicine, which is what marijuana in Canada
is, then they're violating your human rights," he said.

A popular local poet who has won several poetry competitions, Akpata
is also a photographer, a documentary filmmaker, freelance journalist
and hosts his own weekly radio show on CHUO 89.1 FM.

"I'm a high-profile guy and Ottawa Centre is a high-profile riding,"
Akpata said. "I'm a poet first and foremost and that's what my role is
in society, to bring new words and new ideas to the people and have
them think about it."

This isn't the first time he's tried his hand at politics. He was the
Marijuana Party candidate in Ottawa South in the June 2004 election,
garnering 495 of the 59,230 votes cast in that riding. Although he
admits his odds of winning this time around are slim, Akpata says he
hopes his party's message strikes a chord with young voters in his
riding.

"My job, really, is to get young people to participate in the
political system. If you scream for more, chances are you might get
it," he said. "My whole thing is it's not a racial thing, it's not a
minority thing, it's a John Akpata thing. I'm tired. I can't take it
anymore."