Young parents in politics: 'It makes you a much more empathetic legislator'
Michael Gorman | CBC News | Posted: November 13, 2017 11:00 AM | Last Updated: November 13, 2017
Current makeup of Province House features 7 MLAs with young kids, including 3 moms
Claudia Chender concedes she still has lots to learn about being an MLA. But the NDP rookie said the transition to becoming education critic was easier, something she attributes to being a working mom.
"I know about daycare," the Dartmouth South representative said during a recent interview.
"I know about regulated daycare and finding spots, I know about schools, I know about scarcity of resources. I think it's just lived experience, honestly, and I think it's really important that people can bring their whole selves into this House."
It's nothing new for parents to populate Province House, but parents of young children — especially women — tend to be less common.
The current makeup of the House, however, is different.
Chender is one of three moms with young children, all members of the NDP caucus, in the House — and they're part of a larger group that includes six other MLAs who are fathers to young kids.
While she'd thought often about pursuing politics, Chender said she always figured it would be later, when her six-year-old twin girls and four-year-old son were older. But the year leading up to the last election seemed like a call to action and she became more politically engaged, she said.
"That happened to dovetail with an open seat in my district."
For Dartmouth East MLA Tim Halman, how being a politician might affect his daughters Sophie, 9, and Ella, 7, was his No. 1 concern.
"When I made the decision to put my name forward to be a candidate, I promised my daughters that I'd always be there for them," said the Tory rookie.
Halman, who is a single dad, relies on his experience as a school teacher and a strong support network of family and friends to make sure everything runs smoothly when Province House is sitting.
'My politics is informed by youth'
"That results in a very structured life and I don't deviate from that structure very much."
Being a dad to young kids informs his perspective on pretty much everything, said Halman.
"I think it makes you a much more empathetic legislator," he said.
"My politics is informed by youth. The policies I'll fight for as an MLA are long-term policies."
Dartmouth North MLA Susan Leblanc, whose actual house includes five-year-old Françoise and three-year-old Aimé, said having young parents who are MLAs, particularly mothers, helps bring a dose of real life to Province House. (Halifax Needham MLA Lisa Roberts is the other New Democrat with young children.)
"Most of the people that come into my office are youngish people with kids," said Leblanc.
"It's not like I have everything in common with everyone that comes in, but I at least have that touchstone and I know the struggles of being a parent in any sort of family situation."
By way of example, Leblanc points to the immense need in her district for access to family doctors.
"Everybody needs a family doctor, but when you are thinking about it in terms of, 'What if my kid gets sick and what do I do,' then there's a particular perspective you have."
The government side of the House includes five dads with that perspective: Health Minister Randy Delorey has four young children; Energy Minister Geoff MacLellan has two; Halifax Atlantic MLA Brendan Maguire has three young children; Labour Minister Labi Kousoulis has a one year old; and the newest parent in Province House is Education Minister Zach Churchill, whose daughter Cecilia was born nine months ago.
Churchill was first elected in 2010, long before he was a dad or even married. Being a parent changes the way he looks at things, particularly when he thinks about what he wants to leave for his daughter, he said.
"We all get caught up in election cycles and surviving the daily grind and various tempests that can happen in this line of work. But I think having a little baby girl and knowing that she's going to need a province someday that provides services to her and her kids … it makes you think more long term in terms of decision-making."