- NS Votes: MacPolitics: Claudia Chender: ‘No Need For Snap Election That Tim Houston Has Foisted Upon Nova Scotians’
In conversation with NS NDP leader, Claudia Chender
By Andrew Macdonald
In a conversation with The Macdonald Notebook on Sunday, NS NDP leader Claudia Chender, I asked her if she is campaigning to become premier or, at least, the Official Opposition.
Chender’s answer: “I am running to be premier.”
The Nov 26th, 2024 NS election is the first for Chender as NDP leader.
Chender says there are no real reasons for a snap election. Houston dropped the writ on Sunday, even though his first law in Sept. 2021 was to schedule a fixed election in 2025.
Conservative leader Tim Houston contends he is calling an election in his government’s third year in office, stating he needs a new mandate to address the cost of living and affordability issues, and also stating because of uncertainty with the Trudeau government, he also needs a new mandate to deal with Ottawa.
“Tim Houston is calling an election to try to use a partisan advantage to save his government – plain and simple”, Chender tells The Macdonald Notebook.
“We absolutely don’t (need an election). This is a government that passed a law that they have broken to give us fixed election dates – the last province in the country (to do that,” adds Chender.
She recalls Houston legislated fixed election dates in 2021 – setting July 2025 as the next scheduled election, “because as he said at the time, it levels the playing field. It makes it fairer and it gives voters a clear expectation when they can go to the ballot box,” she explains.
“We think this election is being called because the Houston government does not want all their broken promises to catch up with them,” adds Chender.
“And, because they’d rather have an election where they are fighting against Ottawa than talking about the things that matter to Nova Scotians.
There are lots of things for the opposition parties to campaign on: When Houston was elected as premier in 2021, ‘tent city’ did not exist. There are 130 tents in HRM according to past mayoral contender, Pam Lovelace. She also stated recently there are 1,300 homeless folks in HRM, unlike 2021 there were no cost of living issues, no housing affordability files, and no rent-evictions occurring.
“When Tim Houston was elected (in 2021), we also did not have 145,000 on the list for primary care,” notes Chender. That is the number of residents in this province waiting for a family doctor.
“When we talk to Nova Scotians there are three issues that come up at every doorstep. Those issues are healthcare, housing and the cost of living,” says Chender.
“So, on healthcare, we have not seen progress in attaching people to primary care and doctor clinics. We have not seen progress on our emergency care – people wait too long in emergency rooms, and they are closed as much as they are open,” says the NDP leader.
“We have seen a dramatic worsening of our housing situation in Nova Scotia. Our rents are rising – the fastest in the country,” she adds.
“And, young people, in particular, don’t see a path to home ownership anymore. And, seniors and veterans worry about whether their fixed incomes will be enough to pay the bills,” she adds.
In my conversation with Chender, she claims she has solutions to address those issues.
“We will be announcing over the next month a number of items to deal with those issues directly.”
“The cost of living is also huge – and we have a plan to bring down the cost of groceries, commutes and other essentials,” she tells The Notebook.
“Our platform will be announced in the coming days, but those are certainly areas we are focused on.”
When the NDP policy platform is released to the general public, Chender says it “absolutely” will address the 145,000 wait list for doctors, and offer concrete solutions.
“From my perspective, this is a government that has neglected attachments to primary care in favour of shiny announcements and a whole lot of money that has brought very little of everything (to the healthcare crisis). Our plan will absolutely address that,” notes Chender.
I asked the NDP leader to give my readers a hint on the policy platform’s solutions to the doctor crisis. “The details will come. But, it is about attaching people to primary care. And, so, I am sure you are on the right track (The Notebook), and we will be really happy to share all the details (when we release the platform.”
On Friday, days before the Sunday election call, in my mailbox was a NS government 21-page booklet touting the Houston government’s fixes for the healthcare crisis.
The optics of using taxpayer dollars to promote the electioneering Houston government is a bit off.
Chender addressed that government mailout: “Taxpayers money is being spent on electioneering. This is absolutely the reason I say Tim Houston wants an election before his broken promises catch up with him.”
“He is telling everyone he has fixed healthcare when peoples’ experiences do not reflect that,” she adds.
On the government healthcare booklet mailed out to Nova Scotians, she is empathic: “People should be upset that this is where their dollars are going.”
The Nov 26th election will encompass the Christmas Holidays – typically the Halifax Santa Claus Parade takes place the Nov 16th week.
And this week, a massive 25 cm snow dump is forecast for Cape Breton.
That means politicos will be campaigning – and knocking on doors – during the Holiday period and also canvassing for votes during massive snowfalls.
“This is not the election that Nova Scotians chose. This is the election that Tim Houston has foisted upon us,” adds Chender.
That being said, the NDP leader adds: “We will campaign on the same way I spend all my time, which is cris-crossing the province talking to Nova Scotians, listening to them, and offering solutions, and on Nov 26th we will see what they have to say.”
I asked Chender if the NDP party is ready for an election now and has the coffers to run a campaign, especially considering politicians thought the next election would not be held until next year, the fixed election date had been set for 2025.
Chender responds to my question: “This was always an election year. And so we have been hard at work, securing financing, raising money. Absolutely the partisan advantage comes in (Houston’s snap election call), preventing anybody from doing all the fundraising they would have been able to do before the July (2025) election,” she explains.
“But, we are is very good shape and we are absolutely ready for the election.”
I wrapped up my chat with Chender by asking her if she thinks some voters will punish Houston because of his early snap election call.
She replies to The Macdonald Notebook: “We will have to see on Nov 26th (voting day). But, clearly, he is betting that they won’t. But, I think really what this election needs to be about is Nova Scotians’ experiences and whether Nova Scotians think Tim Houston has kept the promises he has made. And, I will tell you right now that he hasn’t. He has not fixed healthcare, housing has gotten worse, and he has abandoned the Coastal Protection Act. He has not re-instated the school boards. I could go on and on,” adds Chender.
“That is what this election is about, has this premier done what he said he would do? And, we look forward to having that conversation with the voters.”
Nova Scotia NDP leader Claudia Chender said Sunday her party is “ready” for an election, as she promised reforms on housing, healthcare, and cost of living costs (The Notebook).
