Battlefords NDP candidate Amber Stewart has been patiently waiting a while for the election to get under way.
She was officially nominated by the party a year ago, and now that the election has been called Stewart has been actively campaigning and getting her name out there.
“I am excited that the election is officially under way,” said Stewart. “We have been out doing things, though, throughout the year. I have been connecting with people but now that the writ has dropped and it’s official it’s definitely a ‘kick it into high gear’ type of feeling.”
Stewart is a registered social worker who works in mental health and addictions. She had worked with Community Corrections and is currently director of Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre.
Other than that, “I’m just a regular working mother of four,” said Stewart. In the summer the family likes to spend their time at the lake, and in winter you can usually find Stewart at the hockey rink or watching a volleyball or basketball game.
There were a few reasons why she decided to run, but primarily felt the Battlefords needed better representation.
“At the end of the day I know we can do better,” said Stewart.
Stewart said she felt “we weren’t being fairly represented” and felt the Sask Party MLA “weren’t advocating very hard for us. There were cuts at the provincial level that impacted us here in the Battlefords ... and I didn’t hear anyone saying ‘woah woah woah, you can’t do that here, we need to talk about this.’”
The focus on crime in the Battlefords was another issue for Stewart.
“All this stuff in the news about crime and just the focus on the Battlefords being a scary and dangerous place — that’s not my experience. I grew up in the Battlefords, my husband grew up here, we’re raising our kids here.”
She mentioned there was “so much good in our community” but that was “never talked about. And that was the final straw for me.” And that was what motivated her to run.
Stewart said the reaction has been supportive to her campaign.
“I’ve met lots of wonderful people. Because I’m from here I know lots of folks, but I’ve met so many new and great people, and the reaction has been really supportive. People are ready for something new.”
A lot of the conversations she’s heard revolve around cost of living, she says.
“People are stretched too thin,” said Stewart, pointing to people who are working but still living paycheck to paycheck.
Education is another issue for Stewart. It was an issue before COVID-19, “and it has just sort of gone to a whole new level,” she said. Finally, health care and jobs are two more issues she’s heard from people.
“Those would be the top four things I have been hearing about, but it’s all been really positive and people want better.”
What would your approach be for Saskatchewan to deal with and emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic?
“We need to look at spending right now. Because we are in such a massive deficit and we need to look at how we get people back to work. Again, Ryan Meili had another announcement about using the crown corporations and the expertise of people working in the oil and gas industry to explore development of geothermal power in Saskatchewan. That’s another way we’re getting people back to work…
I think we need to invest in the people in our province, in the companies in our province.
“I think we need to take a look at raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars sp that people can have an affordable income.”
What issues do you see as main priorities for The Battlefords if elected?
“My first one would be education ... I don’t think that we can see any improvement in education until we are addressing class composition.
“I know my son currently right now has 33 kids in his classroom. I’m not sure how we can expect a teacher to address the needs of 33 kids every single day outside of a pandemic, and now you’ve added in all those extra steps that you have to do every day. I think taking a hard look at education, having more supports in the classroom so children that need a little extra are able to get it - that would be my first one.
“I think we need to really look at the underlying issues here in the Battlefords when it comes to crime. And look at how we’re going to address poverty, mental health, addictions and stop just reacting to things. There’s a saying that we can’t police ourselves out of this. And so I really believe in taking a proactive stance on things instead of always reacting when something bad happens and really addressing those underlying issues.
“People need to get back to work. Coming out of this pandemic we know that things are not good for regular families. But this budget that the Sask Party put out - it’s not going to pull us out of this. We’re in the biggest deficit we’ve ever been on and the only way that they are going to pay down the deficit is on the backs of people that are already paid living paycheque to paycheck.
“I really believe in our Sask First procurement model that means any these big builds that are going on, like the new hospital in PA and the bridge in PA that Ryan Meili just announced yesterday, those will be done by Saskatchewan companies and Saskatchewan workers.”
