Moose Jaw North has a new candidate for the upcoming Oct. 28 provincial election. Cheantelle Fisher, the client resource manager at the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank, will be running for the Saskatchewan NDP against Tim McLeod, representing the Saskatchewan Party.
The nomination meeting will take place Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Timothy Eaton Gardens’ XYZ Auditorium. Registration starts at 3:30 p.m., and the meeting will start at 4 p.m. Carla Beck, the leader of the Sask. NDP, will be a guest speaker at the meeting.
Fisher was born in Regina and calls the Prairies her home. After her husband retired from the Royal Canadian Navy, she returned home in 2021 with her family.
“We both spent a lot of time here as children, and we both knew that Moose Jaw would be the ideal place to raise our kids,” she said. “We were very fortunate to find a home in the north end and planted our roots and got to work.”
Fisher has worked at the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank since Feb 9, 2022.
“The love that I have for the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank staff, volunteers, and clients is linked inextricably to my soul. Their support means the world to me, and I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without any of them,” she said.
Through her role, Fisher has learned about the needs of the community firsthand.
“When I started with the (food bank), numbers were rising… (and) the need has exploded. We’re seeing working families that are here; we are seeing folks that have worked their whole lives and earned their pension who are not receiving enough to be able to feed themselves and pay their rent.
“As a community, we have been talking a lot about the cost of living here in the city, as well as poverty and homelessness. We’re worried about healthcare, and we’re worried about our education," she said.
“We’re seeing a Sask. Party government that is refusing to take responsibility, and is expecting charities, non-profit organizations, and local businesses to prop up failing government programs and ministries, and to bear the brunt of their misguided policies and inaction.
“I’ve witnessed the consequences of this lack of action every day.”
Fisher is already hard at work making improvements in the community, and getting elected will enable her to scale up her efforts. “I knew from the minute I got here (that) my goal has been to work for the community,” said Fisher. “Every day that I wake up and come to work and get to interact with the folks who live here is fulfilling and I’m just honoured to be here every day.
“I’ve spent my whole adult life in charities, non-profits, and community-based organizations. I’ve been a volunteer and an employee; I’ve been a program manager, (and) a program co-ordinator; I’ve also created and hosted civic workshops here in the community, to encourage folks to better understand why it’s so important to know what’s going on, and to make sure their voices count and are heard.”
Included in the work is her current role as client resource manager, where Fisher has helped more than 400 clients during their journey to success.
From a young age, Fisher was interested in politics and her mother taught her the ropes by holding political conversations at home. She said that based on her own values, they used to have election night watch parties and would make popcorn. It was very important to her mother that Fisher understood that not only was it her right to vote, but it was a responsibility to take seriously. She now includes her own children in the conversation.
For the past year, Fisher has served on a volunteer board for the federal NDP for the Moose Jaw — Lake Centre — Lannigan Electoral District Association.
Originally, Fisher had no plans of running for office.
Having said that and getting to work with some of the amazing folks in the NDP, “I started to realize that change is needed, and it is coming. I love working in and for my community, and this is a way to continue to help support folks.
“I think I started considering it seriously last summer, after I attended the Legislature as a validator on behalf of my clients… I was asked there by Meara Conway, who was the Regina Elphinstone — Centre MLA and a Social Services critic for the New Democrats.”
She said the most important qualities of a political leader are respect for the community, regardless of who individuals cast a vote for, and the ideal candidate is deeply rooted in that community.
“I think an elected representative should be a reflection of our everyday community,” Fisher explained. “The understanding of how folks in our community are living and working and community and caring for each other is so vital to being an accurate representation of your community in the legislative assembly.
“If folks are interested in coming out and hearing more of what I have to offer Moose Jaw North, and my teammate Melissa Patterson from Moose Jaw Wakamow will also be there, it will be awesome. Hopefully you can make it.”
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