Maiden Speech
MR. SPEAKER « » : Order, please. I thank the honourable member for her address, but I will remind her and all members of this House that it is appropriate to address members by their constituency and not by their name. I'm sure you'll remember that as we move forward. It happens a lot.
The honourable member for Dartmouth South.
MS. CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : May I make an introduction before I begin? I would like to recognize my mother, Julie Chender, who is in the gallery. I hope that the other members will join me in welcoming the reason I'm here today, the best support of my life: my mother. (Applause)
So, to begin, I would like to offer congratulations to our Leader, the Leader of the Official Opposition, the honourable Premier, and all new and returning members of the House. A special note of congratulations to my neighbour and friend, the member for Dartmouth South, for her excellent campaign and victory.
It's truly an honour and a privilege to be able to address this House. Of course, I did not get here on my own. You just heard about my mother, my campaign staff, my EDA; my family and others not only created the conditions for my success, they did a huge amount of the work. For their confidence, trust, and generosity, I am forever in their debt. This may sound hyperbolic but I assure you that it's true. You can ask my family, particularly my husband, who I am sure will agree without hesitation.
My comments will be somewhat brief tonight but I would like to start by addressing the Speech from the Throne in some areas that jumped out to me. But before that, I would like to note that the other evening at a dinner, the Minister of Community Services mentioned recently that in its entire illustrious history only 50 women have been elected to this Chamber, and while gender is certainly not a determinant of everything, I think that issue is worth noting. So, I will go further to say that the fact that I am part of a caucus with 10 per cent of the women who have ever sat in this Chamber, is something of which I am extremely proud.
As far as the Speech from the Throne goes, the Leader of our Party has taken us on an instructive and a very colourful journey through the Throne Speech. There is little I can add there. Nor can I attempt to match his rhetorical flourish. But in my own way I will say a few words and these are the points that I think are worth making.
First, and generally, I am dismayed that although there are many worthy and excellent sentiments in the Throne Speech, one is still left with the impression that this government believes that the core focus of our attention ought to be on numbers. While every government must manage the books to the very best of their ability, I worry that this one seems to have forgot to what end this exercise is undertaken, and that is to make sure that all Nova Scotians have the opportunity to survive, thrive, and flourish.
At a time when Nova Scotia has the highest poverty rate of any province, when food bank use is exploding, when tuition fees continue to increase, when 125,000 people find themselves without primary health care, I submit that the metric by which we measure success should be how well we are taking care of people. The context for determining this should be: how much compassion are we showing to one another as a province?
This is a core concern around which I believe our budgets ought to be built. Sadly, it seems that we may have lost sight of this cornerstone of the contract that we hold with Nova Scotians, that we will take care of the people of this province and ensure no one will fall through the cracks. This is who we are as Nova Scotians, Mr. Speaker. This is what we are known for. This is what we aspire to. We are good neighbours, we are good to each other. We volunteer, we bring food, we make calls, and we show up. We should expect our government to reflect these values.
This and any government has a huge challenge with health care. When we are told, however, that health care investments will be forthcoming, what can we do but shrug our shoulders when this same government was elected on the promise of a doctor for every Nova Scotian in 2013, especially when we know that the last four years have seen the health budget underspent?
We have been told more times than I can count now, how exciting this government's investment in pre-Primary is. And I was honoured to be there today for the announcement that it had finally begun. I will be the first to say that it is exciting. It is exciting every time we can offer a universal program that serves the children of this province. However, this program appeared nowhere in the last budget that was tabled, nowhere in any plans that we've been able to find, and the rollout has been rushed. I spoke to a parent enrolled in the program yesterday who told me that when she asked the school for details last week, their response was, we have no idea - you know more than us. Comforting words for any parent to hear. We now know that this program was launched this week, but we were unable to get a direct answer to that question on Friday. The rollout has been hasty, and the measure of success seems to have been that it will happen.
I believe it should happen well. It should happen in a way that considers the impact on pre-existing child care supports and the workers and businesses critical to the sustainability of the sector. Regulated child care providers are suffering from the loss of children in their programs, loss of qualified staff to those programs, and the lack of a new funding formula that allows them to be sustainable.
This is a good and even noble idea, and with consultation and time, it could be great. Programs and services delivered by our government should aspire to be best in class, to serve the people of Nova Scotia with nothing less than a standard of excellence. With no consultation, a hasty roll out, little communication with parents, and yet another entire sector of frustrated folks in its wake - in this case the ECEs - the program does not seem to live up to that aspiration, not by half.
Speaking of frustrated sectors, this announcement comes on the heels of an unprecedented and likely unconstitutional routing of the collective agreement for teachers across this province. While teachers are still reeling and still struggling with lack of supports in their classrooms, challenging conditions, and a general lack of trust in and support from the government, they're now told that they must wait for the findings of the Commission on Inclusive Education before any additional supports are delivered. Many of these teachers and parents are crying foul.
I am very hopeful, Mr. Speaker, that the budget delivered on Thursday in this Chamber will have the requisite funding set aside to implement these findings immediately before more families fall through the cracks of the current system.
I would also echo the statements that our member for Halifax Needham made last week about the shocking lack of even a mention of climate change in the Speech from the Throne. It is, I submit, the singular issue of our time. It is the thing which, if we don't wrestle with it, will and already does wreak havoc on all of our interests inside and outside of this Chamber.
We heard almost nothing about culture or our beautiful cultural sector in the Speech from the Throne. Culture, as I'm sure you'll hear from our very able spokesperson, is the lifeblood of this place. Like a phoenix, the cultural sector, and film in particular, is rising from the ashes, but we have lost so many bright, young, creative taxpaying Nova Scotians due to the bungling of this file.
I mention culture for a very important reason. It's not just the lifeblood of Nova Scotia but indeed of Dartmouth South. We have amazing artists in Dartmouth South - painters, filmmakers, musicians, film industry workers, printmakers, and the list goes on and on. They have chosen Dartmouth South as their home and have benefited our community immeasurably.
I would like to thank the people of Dartmouth South, the aforementioned artists and also the chefs, the athletes, the grandparents, the parents, the small business people, the makers, the workers, the doctors, the lawyers, and everyone else, especially all of those who elected me to this very humbling position. At this early moment, I can't say that I quite know what I'm in for, but this past summer has really been nothing but a joy. Chalk it up to early naïveté, but this is a job I truly feel that I can be proud of.
When I miss dinners or bedtimes - check both of those boxes for tonight - I'm often excited to tell my kids where I have been and what I'm doing. That brings me a lot of joy as a parent. It's one of the ways that, as a resident and now representative of Dartmouth South, I know that I'm in the right place. Part of my family's love for Dartmouth South comes from the fact that it orients around the axis of its families. I would speculate that over 75 per cent of the events in my constituency that I have had the honour of attending have also welcomed my little zoo with me. While the member for Dartmouth North and I were making pancakes on Canada Day, my little ones were eating them. When we had the largest ever Switch: Open Street event in downtown Dartmouth this summer, my girls were on stage right alongside me welcoming the community, and they were thrilled. It's the small things like that that let me know that I'm in the right place.
Before I talk a little bit more about Dartmouth South, I also want to note that much of the historic City of Dartmouth sits within the boundary of my constituency. I'm very proud to represent it - from the Nantucket whalers to the early African Canadian settlers through to our most recent Syrian arrivals, we truly have a unique and historic community, one that I continue to enjoy learning about.
Today, Dartmouth South is a community of many vibrant neighbourhoods. In the south are Russell Lake West and Portland Estates, with their beautiful new buildings and subdivisions full of families and seniors, the community hub of the Woodlawn Public Library, their robust residents' associations and lots of wonderful events.
From there you move on to Southdale and North Woodside, where you have the excellent Dartmouth General Hospital - one of the busiest in the province, with one of the best teams you can imagine, as I've gotten to know over the past several months. It's currently undergoing a massive and exciting renovation, and as a community, we are so eager to see the results.
Across the street is the Nova Scotia Community College, with its gorgeous green building and unparalleled view, which offers an incredible education to people across the area - one we think ought to be free. The best story I heard about the NSCC was that one Dartmouth General emergency doctor, who I think has quite a big administer of responsibility, got a music diploma there recently in her spare time. She'd run across the street with her cello on her back during her breaks. That's the mettle of which emergency room doctors are made: they go and get extra degrees while they're practising.
Down the road you can get an awesome meal at the Pleasant Street Diner or John's Lunch, and then hop down the road to what must be one of the busiest rec centres in the municipality - and with the very best view - the North Woodside Community Centre. Just below that is the incredible COVE project that's taking shape at the former Coast Guard station. From there you reach the residential neighbourhoods of Hawthorne, Portland, and Pleasant Streets, with their beautiful homes and views, schools, parks, and playgrounds. Across Sullivan's Pond, past Lake Banook with its rowers and dragon boaters and swimmers and kids, and on to my own beautiful flower streets.
Around the corner is Park Avenue, with its stunning cherry trees and a true community gem: the Park Avenue Oven, which sits at the entrance to Leighton Dillman Park. If you've never been to the Dartmouth Common and you only think of Halifax when you hear "the Commons," I really suggest you all come for a visit. (Applause)
This is truly a vibrant place, and I haven't even mentioned our exploding downtown, with businesses opening what seems like every other week, almost all independently owned and operated for and by people in our community. Restaurants from diners to fine dining, coffee, records, comics, haircuts, tattoos, spas, breweries, bakeries, fitness centres, health food stores, gift shops, and local crafts can all be had within a few square blocks around the Alderney Market and radiating upward along Portland Street.
For those not quite at the bricks-and-mortar stage, the Alderney Market has truly become the best farmers' market in the municipality and an absolute jewel of our city.
Dartmouth South is home to many active, engaged senior citizens, and we work hard to support all of the excellent organizations that serve them. From the Dartmouth Seniors Service Centre next door to my office, which not only hosts an impressive roster of events but has a daily eat-in or Meals on Wheels lunch service - which is delicious, and for which my CA has the calendar posted just by her desk, so if it's mac and cheese day or turkey dinner, we know where we're having lunch - and of course, the many churches throughout our downtown district.
We also have a lot of struggling folks who call our district home: people who are un- or underemployed; people who suffer from mental or physical health conditions that prevent them from participating fully in their community; new arrivals who struggle to find work and to find their place; or young people searching for work so that they can stay here in the place they love - and I'm very happy to have hired one of those recently.
Many folks are squeezed by rising rent and lack of truly affordable housing. It's those folks I see in my office most often, and who I keep in the front of my mind as I sit in this Chamber.
I would not be here if it were not for so many people, as I mentioned earlier, who worked so tirelessly on my campaign. First, my family: my husband, Jamie, and my children, Ana, Molly, and Samuel, ages six, six, and four, who have been so generous with their mom; also my parents, who called and visited hundreds of people in Dartmouth South, which was the best vote of confidence I could receive. I think they all thought that the election victory was the end of those long hours, so they're also my first big test of managing expectations.
After hearing the member for Chester-St. Margaret's, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my grandparents. One was born in Canada - his parents arrived via Pier 21 in the early 1900s - but the rest escaped Nazi-occupied Germany and it goes without saying that had they not made that treacherous journey and had a mix of grit and perseverance and luck, I would not be here today.
The Dartmouth South EDA, our President Deborah Martinello, our Treasurer, Dennis Theman and many other have been nothing short of amazing and other Dartmouth NDP stalwarts like Richard Starr and John Holm have offered great encouragement along the way.
Dartmouth South has an incredible political legacy. The incomparable Wendy Lill cannot go without mention, and I am so humbled and just lucky that she agreed to work on my campaign. Marilyn More, who offered advice and friendship, was wonderful and I can't pass up a chance to thank Marian Mancini, a class act. It's a distinct honour to have such role models to look up to and such big shoes to fill.
To our fierce, funny, kind and dedicated leader, the member for Halifax Chebucto, thank you so much for believing in me and in all of us, for taking our measure and giving us the opportunity to show up in the roles and conversations we are most passionate about. To my colleagues around me, our team is small but mighty and has been, and will continue to be, a pleasure to work with.
To our caucus staff, thanks for starting early, staying late and showing me the ropes. To all of you in this House, I look forward to this session and the next and the next, where we have been given the responsibility of representing our constituents, developing policy, debating the issues and acting in the public interest. I look forward, with all of you, to doing the work that Joseph Howe defined for us so long ago, to asking the question of what is for the public good and governing accordingly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Applause)
Published by Order of the Legislature by Hansard Reporting Services and printed by the Queen's Printer.
Available on INTERNET at http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/proceedings/hansard/