The Nova Scotia NDP held a town-hall meeting with leadership candidate Claudia Chender at the Mic Mac Aquatic Club in Dartmouth Tuesday evening to give an opportunity to people to ask her questions as she tries to earn their votes.
Chender, Dartmouth South MLA , is the unopposed candidate running to become the next leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.
Her candidacy was declared after Gary Burrill announced he will be stepping down as leader of Nova Scotia's NDP, saying the time has come for a new leader.
Chender would be the fourth woman elected to lead the province's NDP party following Alexa McDonough, Helen MacDonald and Maureen MacDonald.
During the event, people in the crowd asked Chender questions regarding the environment, housing crisis, opioid addiction, and the health care system.
People in the crowd asked Chender questions regarding the environment, housing crisis, opioid addiction, and the health care system. Photo by Sara Gouda.
She explained in the meeting what the top priorities for the NDP caucus incorporate.
"I think in terms of our party, our top priority is really spending as much time talking to people right across the province. We know what the big issues are health care, cost of living, the environment, the economy, but those impact different places across this province in really different ways."
In an interview with CKDU, Chender said the health care system is suffering and that over 90,000 Nova Scotians do not have access to a family doctor.
"We hear about the weights in emergency rooms, we hear about the surgical delays, and so we need to address all of that, I think that one of the most important interventions we can make is to attach Nova Scotians to primary care."
The former lawyer has been the Dartmouth South MLA for five years after being elected in 2017. Currently, she is the NDP House Leader and critic for justice, the status of women, economic development, natural resources and renewables and fisheries and aquaculture.
In her brief introduction at the town hall, Chender discussed growing up in Nova Scotia, her three kids, and her passion for politics.
She decided to run for political office because she was "dismayed at the direction the province was heading towards."
“The austerity, the lack of transparency, the lack of compassion, and government decision making really hit in a different way as a parent than it did as a teenager or someone in my twenties. I had the privilege to have the capacity and the support to run for office.”
The event was one of three series of Town Hall meetings that are going to continue in Cape Breton Region Municipality on June 5 at 30 MacKenzie St., Sydney, and 135 N. Park St., Bridgewater on June 17.
CKDU interviews Nova Scotia's NDP Leader candidate Claudia Chender. Listen to the full interview below. Photo by event staff.
"I'm humbled by the faith that people have put in me so far. I'm a little bit daunted by the enormity of the job, but I'm mostly really excited to hit the ground running."