Politics with integrity: A look at Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender doesn’t marque a wont of getting kicked retired of the legislature — it’s happened erstwhile successful her seven-year governmental career.

But past fall, erstwhile a Progressive Conservative curate said children crossed the state had entree to free, steadfast nutrient successful schools, Chender — knowing that connection wasn’t existent — couldn’t assistance but blurt out, “that’s a lie.”

In response, the Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly demanded Chender retract her unparliamentary language, but she wouldn’t.

As a result, she was booted from the legislature.

“Theatrics truly aren’t my thing, but astatine that infinitesimal it felt truly important to me,” Chender said successful a caller interview.

“I deliberation you don’t person thing successful authorities if you don’t person your integrity.”

Chender, 48, a non-practising lawyer and parent of three, said she jumped into authorities successful 2017 due to the fact that she got bushed of yelling astatine the radio. She had beardown opinions astir the improvements needed successful wellness attraction and successful the acquisition sector, which had precocious gone done a one-day teachers onslaught successful February 2017 — the archetypal clip teachers walked disconnected the occupation successful the province’s history.

Inspired by erstwhile NDP person Alexa McDonough — who successful 1980 became archetypal pistillate to pb a large Nova Scotia governmental enactment — Chender enactment her sanction guardant arsenic a campaigner for Dartmouth South. At the time, her duplicate daughters, Molly and Ana, were 5 years aged and her lad Sam was three.

“In my young beingness I saw radical similar Alexa McDonough who had been that almighty voice, who had brought the frustrations of mundane folks into the governmental arena successful a truly palmy way,” she said.

Those frustrations were connected show astatine the legislature connected Oct. 13, 2023. Chender was listening to Education Minister Becky Druhan, who said kids successful Nova Scotia already had entree to escaped food. It would beryllium a twelvemonth earlier the province’s schoolhouse luncheon programme began accepting nutrient orders.

Chender’s exclamation — “that’s a lie” — came retired of frustration, she said. “I truly thought I was conscionable saying that to myself.”

Despite apologizing aggregate times for utilizing unparliamentary language, Chender would not instrumentality backmost what she said.

“This is simply a occupation wherever you request to correspond the radical of the state and your constituents arsenic good arsenic you can. And the information of the substance is, what I said was true,” Chender said.

“Kids didn’t person entree to steadfast food. Amazingly, they bash now, which is fantastic and possibly not wholly disconnected from that series of events.”

Born and raised in Halifax, Chender graduated with a bachelor of arts from Dalhousie University successful 1999. She earned a instrumentality grade from the University of Victoria successful 2004, and has worked arsenic a ineligible pedagogue with the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society, arsenic an subordinate steadfast for a non-profit media company, and arsenic a advisor successful organizational plan and development.

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She and her hubby Jamie moved to Dartmouth successful 2012 to commencement a family.

Throughout the predetermination campaign, Chender’s NDP has emphasized plans to code Nova Scotia’s lodging situation and precocious outgo of living, with a level that includes gathering 30,000 affordable rental homes, making Halifax ferries free, and temporarily removing the provincial information of the harmonized income taxation connected gasoline.

The enactment has besides pledged to region the HST from the outgo of location heating and physique 500 houses utilizing prefabricated operation for a rent-to-own location programme that would beryllium disposable to radical who marque little than $100,000 a year.

The Nova Scotia NDP started the run with a afloat slate of 55 candidates, but mislaid 1 on the way, announcing earlier this period that Tammy Jakeman was nary longer moving successful Eastern Passage, aft the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs alleged she had made “hurtful” societal media posts.

Elections Nova Scotia lists Jakeman arsenic an Independent campaigner for the aforesaid riding.

When asked astir Jakeman’s comments and departure from the party, Chender said the erstwhile campaigner offered her resignation “and we respected her decision,” adding that the resignation came without the enactment asking for it.

“It truly starts and ends there. We are successful a 30-day predetermination run and we indispensable stay focused connected the conversations we’re having with voters.”

Those conversations, Chender said, are astir often focused connected affordability, wellness and housing, and she feels the party’s connection is resonating.

“People privation to spot a authorities that really protects renters and builds lodging they tin afford. People privation to spot the superior attraction wait-list shrink … and radical request a interruption connected their bills,” she said.

Polling numbers from Abacus Data released Nov. 13 had the Progressive Conservatives successful the pb with enactment of 47 per cent of respondents, and a choky contention for 2nd betwixt the Liberals with 25 per cent and the NDP with 23 per cent. The canvass surveyed 600 voters betwixt Nov. 7 and 10.

Chender said she doesn’t enactment overmuch banal successful polls, and feels beardown going into adjacent week’s ballot alongside the NDP’s “hard-working candidates from 1 extremity of the state to the other, who are talking astir the things that truly matter, who are the ones radical spot to really code the lodging crisis.”