Local journalist Bruce Wark speaks with former MLA and now candidate for Tantramar-Memramcook, Megan Mitton.
You can check out the Wark Times coverage of this interview here.
So far, Mitton is facing only one other opponent in Memramcook-Tantramar, Liberal Maxime Bourgeois who is a lawyer in Memramcook.
The Progressive Conservatives and the NDP say they haven’t chosen their local candidates yet.
Etienne Gaudet, who ran for the Conservatives in 2018, says he will not be running again this time.
CHMA will bring you interviews with all candidates as they become available.
Interview transcript:
Bruce Wark:
What do you think of the premier calling an election yesterday?
Megan Mitton:
I think it’s very unfortunate. It’s an unnecessary election during a pandemic. And, frankly, it is putting New Brunswickers at risk. Democracy is absolutely important. But we do have a minority government that has been working for two years and could have continued to work, without an election. This was an election that was made for political reasons to to try to get a majority, and get more power.
BW:
Now for you in Memramcook-Tantramar, what would you say the big issues are as you run for reelection?
MM:
Well, I would say health is absolutely a priority. And I think it’s been a priority even before the pandemic for people. But especially with the pandemic, that’s come into sharp focus. And I think mental health as well. We need to ensure there are appropriate resources for anyone who needs it. And unfortunately, there are some some challenges around that.
One of the successes of myself and the Green caucus was in budget negotiations in March, getting Higgs to agree to permanently take the overnight ERs off the table in terms of health reforms. However, I don’t think that chapter has completely closed on health reforms. So I don’t think anyone thinks that the healthcare system is fine exactly as it is. So we do need to continue to make improvements.
And I think that right now we need to look at everything through the lens of the pandemic. We are not through the pandemic, yet. We have seen cases climbing up this past week or more. And we need to ensure that everyone gets through it, but not just survives. We need to find a way to make sure that the people are taken care of. And I am worried about mental health, about delays to some health care. I’m also worried about people at the individual level and at the business level, in terms of financially, how they’re going to survive. We know CERB is winding down. We know businesses have said they need some support to be able to weather this pandemic. And so I think there’s a lot to be done looking at what is needed in our communities around these things.
There are big picture issues like the climate crisis, that has not gone away. And I think that’s still important to think about that. How could green energy, how could these things be part of moving forward. And, you know, investing in that as part of moving forward in the economy. But definitely looking at making sure that we all get through this pandemic together.
BW:
You mentioned health. Now, of course, what comes to my mind is the Sackville Memorial Hospital. How concerned are you about the future of our hospital?
MM:
I think that, you know, successive governments, Conservative and Liberal, have looked at plans at how to reduce services, and have done so. And so I don’t think we should take our eye off the ball. We had a bit of a reprieve. And like I said, the Greens were successful in negotiating budget discussions, getting the the overnight ERs off the table. There have been commitments around consultations. And I think we need to hold Higgs and his government, or whoever comes into power, to that promise. we need to make sure that we have community level decision making around our healthcare services, around our hospital.
Because we had a minority government, the Higgs government wasn’t able to follow through with a plan that they wanted. So the minority government was a positive thing. And, and I think that our community won’t hesitate to step right up, get into the streets, and rally around our health services. And I’ll be right there with them, no matter what comes our way.
But I think the committee that has been meeting and all the community members have been thinking about ways—not just what we don’t want but what we do want. And I think that’s part of what discussions need to happen with communities. Decision making can’t happen without considering what people in the community want. That’s just not a good way to govern.
BW:
Now the election is coming in the midst of a pandemic and everything, and there were warning signs that it was coming. How ready are you as the MLA for this riding? How ready are you to fight this campaign?
MM:
Well, I’m, I’m ready to go. I have been focusing my energy on doing as much as I could in my constituency office because we’re required to close them down once the writ drops. Which is difficult because we’re in the midst of helping people with different things. But I’m ready to go. I’ll be able to reuse signs and lumber. Some of it I’ll be reusing for the third time, or I guess using the third time. And we’re going to hit the ground running. It will be a very short campaign, and it will require some creativity, finding ways to make sure that I can hear from people, that we can have discussions and exchange while maintaining physical distance and while wearing masks. And I think we’ll see some innovation come out of this electoral campaign.
BW:
Now I was watching Higgs yesterday and he said the Conservatives won’t be going door to door or delivering flyers or anything like that. How about the Greens? Will you be going door to door and campaigning in that way?
MM:
Well, I’m not going to speak for for all of the Greens in the province. For my campaign, we are not planning on a major foot canvassing door to door campaign. We will be utilizing technology, you know, making phone calls, sending some things through the mail, some things like that, to make sure to reach out to people.
I’m planning to get a little pop up tent and move around the riding to be available for people to come to me. And you know, we’ll mark it on the ground two meters apart, but that way we can meet. So I’m going to make sure I’m all over the riding. And obviously, having an online presence will will be important during this pandemic.
BW:
Okay, a final question. Last time was a squeaker with 11 votes. How worried are you about this campaign about getting reelected?
MM:
Well, what I’ll say is, it has been an honour and a privilege to to serve the people of Memramcook-Tantramar for the last two years. And I look forward to running a strong campaign, hearing from people around the riding, which I’ve been doing, you know, during the last two years. I’ve learned a lot more, gained a lot more experience. And I’m looking forward to going back to the legislature with even more Greens.
I’m hoping that, and I’m asking the people of Memramcook-Tantramar to trust their vote with me on September 14th. And I have worked really hard and I will continue to work hard to serve them in the future.
BW:
I guess just one more question. I mean, you did serve part of a term in a minority government. What did you learn about New Brunswick politics, having sat in the legislature?
MM:
That is a big question. I think I had a sense of going into the legislature of what it might be like. But I frankly… It was an honour to be there, it was a privilege to be able to carry the voices and speak to important issues from my riding in the legislature. And at the same time, the old school politics just did not go away when we were there. And it’s pretty unfortunate because I think that there are so many opportunities to collaborate and to work together and work for the best interest of New Brunswick. And party politics often takes precedent over that.
I would also say, since you asked, I do love talking about how the legislature runs, because I think there’s a lot of improvements that could be made. For example, riding offices only have part time staff. And I think that there needs to be more resources to be able to support ridings because a lot of people are falling through the cracks of government and they end up going to the MLA’s office. And that would help all MLAs. And I think we need to spend more time working at committee and remove the partisanship from it. There are legislative ways for us to work together, some changes in policy, to really be able to collaborate better. And I think that’s what New Brunswickers would like to see.
We had a minority government. People said okay you’ve all been elected, go figure it out. And we did for we did for two years. And then even during the pandemic, I was very proud that the leader of the Green Party was on the All Party Covid Cabinet Committee. We put politics aside right away. There was a pandemic declared. Let’s work together for the best interest of New Brunswick. And unfortunately, I don’t think that calling this election, you know, carried forward that spirit that we did see during the last few months.
