Exit interview: Retired Moncton senator on partisan slings, MAID debates and what's next
Nancy Hartling was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2016
Nancy Hartling, the newly retired senator from New Brunswick, remembers her first day on the job, entering Canada's house of sober second thought back in 2016.
"I was terracited," said Hartling, coining a new word, a portmanteau of terrified and excited.
She retired on Feb. 1 after turning 75, the mandatory retirement age for the Senate.
Prior to being appointed by Prime Minister Trudeau, Hartling had a long career as a social worker and founder of the Moncton non-profit Support to Single Parents Inc.
"I think it was really, really helpful because all the people that I met during those 34 years working in the agency, and the issues of the day and what was going on — poverty and, you know, intimate partner violence and all of those issues helped me to know the personal of what people lived," said Hartling.
While she was appointed as an independent, that didn't prevent some partisan attacks on her appointment.
"I thought that when we came there that we were going to be so welcomed, but we were called Trudeau's sheep," said Hartling.
"So we made a joke, made little sounds like 'baa,' stuff like that."
Hartling found camaraderie with other senators, including Gwen Boniface, a senator from Ontario.
"We ended up becoming best friends and living in the same apartment building," said Hartling.
"We guided each other along the way."
She was close with her fellow members of 2016 class of senators, she said, trying to schedule get-togethers to celebrate the anniversary of their appointment to the Senate and being there when her colleagues needed her.
"We're people, and what happens in our lives affects us in our job but we don't often acknowledge that," said Hartling.
Hartling served on various committees, including the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, the Committee on Human Rights and the Committee on Indigenous Peoples.
It was her work on the latter committee that she remains deeply proud of, mainly because she learned so much, admitting she didn't know a lot about Indigenous issues before she was appointed.
"Being on those committees, I was able to learn about the Indigenous people across the country," she said, and was able carry that knowledge forward.
Another thing Hartling remembers vividly about her time in the Senate was the debate around medical assistance in dying.
She said debated went on for more than four days, but they were able to consult in-house experts, which helped.
"We had five doctors in the Senate … newly appointed in the independent senators groups, and they were able to explain the medical part of it. And I think that was important," said Hartling.
Hartling also said she's very proud of her work on a bill to combat workplace harassment, which led to changes on how the issue was handled in the Senate.
After more than eight years in Ottawa, Hartling's not sure exactly what the future has in store for her now that she's back home, but she's mulling it over.
"Maybe I'll do some memoir writing, you know, find some things that I'd like to get involved with in the community. I don't know what yet," said Hartling.
"Just take some time to breathe."
With files from Information Morning Moncton
