MOOSE JAW — Cheantelle Fisher is representing the Sask. NDP for Moose Jaw North in the upcoming provincial election, set to begin Tuesday, Oct. 22 and concluding on Monday, Oct. 28. To help inform voters, the Moose Jaw Express reached out to candidates with a few questions.
Q: “What motivated you to enter public service and why did you decide to run?”
A: “I’ve worked in nonprofits most of my adult life,” Fisher said. “When I came home to Moose Jaw, I started working with the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank and started studying the root causes of chronic usage of the food bank. What I learned very quickly is that we are seeing systemic issues.
“There are folks utilizing the food bank that never pictured themselves needing that support, but we can’t out budget an affordability crisis and that’s what we’re seeing — folks just cannot afford to make ends meet,” she said.
“So, if it’s a systemic problem, how can I change the system to do better for the folks in Moose Jaw? The natural next step was public service.”
Q: “Why are you the best person to represent your constituency?”
A: “I have proven time and time again over my three years working here… that I don’t stop until the problem that I’m presented with is solved,” Fisher said. “There are hundreds and hundreds of people across the city who can attest to the work that I have put in.
“I’ve rallied with folks to support them at the legislative level,” she continued. “I have attended court hearings. I have sat beside folks as they’re being evicted. I have celebrated with folks as we’ve found new housing and employment.
“These folks deserve someone who will work hard every single day, and I will continue to work hard every single day, as I have as an employee of the food bank and as a candidate.”
Q: “What does good leadership look like to you?”
A: “Good leadership looks like a Carla Beck NDP government,” Fisher replied. “We are committed as a team to listening first. We cannot determine what supports you need, so our communities guide how we support them. A Carla Beck NDP team will listen, respect the voices that we’re hearing, and work every day to ensure that we’re supporting them in a way that makes sense for them.”
Q: “What steps will you take to ensure accountability and transparency in your role?”
A: “I will show up every single day for the folks of Moose Jaw North and ensure that, not only am I hearing their voices, but the house is hearing their voices,” Fisher said. “For the first time in a long time, they will have a representative that speaks on their behalf and raises their issues with genuine passion and interest in a way that they have not received in many years.”
Q: “How will you ensure that the voices and concerns of your constituents are heard?”
A: “I will continue to be the loudest voice in the room on their behalf,” said Fisher. “We see too often… (that) folks (have) nowhere to put their concerns, no one to voice those concerns, and no one to listen.
“So, my voice, as it has been for the past three years, will be exceptionally loud and I will continue to fight for the constituents of Moose Jaw North.”
Q: “What is your vision for both Moose Jaw and the province?”
A: “We live in a beautiful city and a beautiful province, and there’s no excuse for our citizens to be suffering the way that they are now and after 17 years of cut after cut,” Fisher said. “We are going to work to ensure that folks can afford to live their lives without working two or three part-time, minimum wage jobs.”
Q: “What are the top three issues you are looking to address if elected?”
A: Fisher said the top thee issues she sees include affordability, health care, and education.
“We have folks who are desperately concerned that, if they need to go to a hospital, they’re going to be turned away. If they need to use ambulatory services to get to Regina… they have to pay for that. They’re scared and they’re fed up.”
Q: “Where will you look for solutions to these issues?”
A: Fisher said Carla Beck’s plan provides a roadmap for solutions. The plan includes investing heavily in education and health care, and on day one Beck’s government will cut the gas tax at midnight. But Christmas, Fisher said the NDP will remove the PST from kids’ clothes and groceries. The party will keep taxes low, not raise taxes, and the small business tax rate will remain “at one per cent for our entire term.”
Q: “What feedback have you received from constituents so far?”
A: “Folks are ready,” Fisher said. “It’s a lot friendlier out there for me, having done this one time before. I have folks that have never before opened their door opening the doors to me now, inviting me in, and sitting down to tell me what’s on their mind.
“One of the comments that I’ve heard repeatedly through the campaign is, ‘Thank you for knocking on my door. Thank you for doing this. I’ve never had somebody knock my door. I’ve voted SaskParty… for as long as they’ve been around and I’ve not had them come to my door.’
“For Moose Jaw North and for the City of Moose Jaw as a whole, you have an excellent team and partnership in Melissa Patterson and I,” Fisher announced. “Both of us will work hard to support anyone who comes to our office door, phones us, or emails us. You will never be sent away if you’re from Wakamow or if you come from Moose Jaw North, because we work together. We’re a team… (and) we are working for a better Moose Jaw and a better Saskatchewan.”
To learn more about the Sask. NDP and its platform, visit SaskNDP.ca/Plan.
