Congratulations are in order for Memramcook Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton. The local Green politician announced recently on social media that she is pregnant, and expecting early this summer.
CHMA called up Mitton to get the news straight from the source:
“My family and I are excited to announce that we’re expecting a baby early in the summer,” says Mitton.
As exciting as that news is, there are practical realities for Mitton to face, one of which is the lack of accommodations in place for new parents in New Brunswick’s legislature.
“Frankly, there is no plan in place for when MLAs have babies,” says Mitton. “And the most recent MLA to have a baby while in office was Carolle de Ste Croix, and that was over 20 years ago now.”
Readers might recognize Carolle de Ste Croix as the director of alumni engagement at Mount Allison, and the co-chair of the Tantramar COVID-19 Task Force. She also represented Dalhousie-Restigouche East as a Liberal MLA from 1995 to 1999.
Not much has changed since then, says Mitton. And it seems the lack of accommodations in policies is both a symptom and a cause of the lack of diversity in New Brunswick’s legislature.
The lack of supports in place, “sends a message that certain people aren’t welcome in the legislature,” says Mitton. “That young people and women, people who are wanting to start a family, they can’t see themselves there.”
But Mitton is looking at the situation as a challenge. “We can change this,” she says. “We make the rules, so we can change this.”
Mitton is starting with some research and some easy fixes. Thanks to her request, legislature bathrooms will get change tables installed. Then there’s the issue of an infant being considered a “stranger” on the legislature floor, and therefore not allowed to be present. Mitton is hoping for a rule change there so she can, “have my infant with me as needed.”
“I’ve looked at what has happened in other legislatures and parliaments, what rules need to be changed, best practices,” says Mitton. “And so I’m hoping that my colleagues in the legislature will be on board with making these changes in order to make the legislature more gender inclusive, and make it so that ultimately, we would have better representation of all New Brunswickers.
“One of my priorities is also making sure that when I need to take a period of time off to give birth, that there’s support for my constituency office,” says Mitton. New Brunswick doesn’t have a lot of resources for MLA constituency offices, says Mitton, with only have one part time staffperson. “That’s not enough on a good day,” she says. The MLA hopes to get additional resources to help, “make sure that my office can can keep running and supporting everyone in the riding.”
As it stands now, Mitton is not entitled to maternity leave as an MLA, but she is hoping to change that, citing other jurisdictions where that’s happened, such as Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec, and New Zealand. Jacinda Ardern was cited as the first world leader to take maternity leave, and the second to give birth while in office, after Benazir Bhutto in 1990.)
“I’d argue it’s not rocket science,” says Mitton. “Most other workplaces have policies, so we can bring our legislative policies into this century, modernize them and make sure that they’re supportive of MLAs who are expecting.”