Submitting and checking on the status of rent supplements is one of the main services my office provides. According to the CBC Nova Scotia, at the end of March there were 1,016 people waiting to hear if they will be approved, compared to 55 six months prior.
Here I am in the Public Accounts Committee of the Nova Scotia Legislature asking about the delays to approving people’s rent supplement applications and the change in the eligibility requirements which mean less people qualify.
As we enter a new calendar year, we look toward a new fiscal year that will start on April 1st, and that means the NS Government wants to hear from Nova Scotians like you about priorities for the upcoming budget.
The Department of Finance and Treasury Board has launched the pre-budget consultation ahead of the 2023-24 provincial budget. They are asking Nova Scotians to share their thoughts on solutions in areas like healthcare, housing, the economy and other priority areas.
As MLA for Dartmouth North, I hear from many people each week about issues and concerns residents have about our community. The main issues we hear about are:
Health care, especially access to primary care.
Housing, especially the cost and availability of rental housing.
Cost of living/inflation, especially the rising costs of food and power.
Our community of Dartmouth North has a growing number of people on the 811 Need a Family Practice Registry, and we know that there are many people in need of a primary care provider who are not on the list. We also know that there are many doctors in Dartmouth planning to retire in the next several years.
We need the province to invest in collaborative, primary care in Dartmouth North so that the community can be more healthy and resilient. We also need more investment in deeply affordable housing in the area so that everyone has access to a safe and healthy place to live that they can afford.
The residents of Dartmouth North are some of the most vulnerable in the province. There are high numbers of people on social assistance, high unemployment or underemployment, and a significant number of families that struggle to afford groceries. Many of these issues can be directly related to the social determinants of health, including adequate and affordable housing, food security, employment, education, gender and race equity, etc.
I encourage you to tell the government your priorities for the upcoming budget. Voices from the community are very important when budget decisions are being made, and this is a way to have your say.
Please contact the Department of Finance and Treasury Board through one of the ways listed below to make your voice, as a resident of or advocate for, Dartmouth North as soon as possible. The deadline for submitting your opinion is Feb 3rd, 2023.
Twitter: @NSFinance
Email: budget@novascotia.ca
Mail: Department of Finance and Treasury Board, PO Box 187, Halifax NS, B3J 2N3
In October, I received confirmation of Permanent Residence.
My fiance and friends and I had been waiting on that letter for a year
because we've been together long-distance since 2014,
and every time I had to leave, it tore a little more of my heart apart.
That letter was a blessing--permission to call Canada home, to come and go, to always be welcome.
It's the little things that are everything to me:
My fiance and I can sleep in the same bed.
We can dance while we make dinner in our tiny kitchen, even though the oven's kind of old and doesn't work that great.
We can say 'good morning', and 'see you later,' and go out on dates, like other couples do.
We can clean our room, and rearrange the furniture, when all we meant to do was dust the shelves.
We can catch a movie in the same cinema, and sit together on the same bus,
and eat way too much takeout and swear we'll start the diet again tomorrow,
while the same day turns to the same night around us.
He had a key to his apartment cut for me in my favourite colour,
because now it was ours.
You don't see that on that little TV spot they gave us.
At Halloween, the neighbourhood kids trick or treat. It's so cute--wish you could see it.
I'd never handed out candy before, but my fiance buys the big boxes you find at Shoppers.
It's basically his Christmas, and in Ocean Breeze, I can see why.
I come from a town where that kind of thing makes people wary. They don't get it.
My parents' house got vandalised once, so they taught me to turn off the lights and not answer the door.
In Ocean Breeze, trick or treating means a parade of smiling faces; more costumes than we can remember by the end of the night, but that always melt our hearts at the time.
In Ocean Breeze, the kids are lucky: they know they can trust their neighbours.
Even with the threat of Covid, they see not all strangers mean danger.
How many places in the city can you say that stays the same?
It should have been a great thing, to be told I had a home in Canada for as long as I wanted.
That I could live this way, and never have to stop.
That we could finally start our life together, and afford it.
How do you put a price on that, or say what it's all worth?
'No comment.'
No music in the kitchen.
No more trick or treating, no more happy children screaming,
because they're going to be evicted,
somewhere less safe than they lived before.
Oh, well. At least they'll have the memories,
while their playgrounds turn to asphalt.
It'll mean pretty houses that nobody can afford.
I recently launched a petition to ensure stable and permanent satellite mental health and addiction services in Dartmouth North. Community mental health offices in Downtown Dartmouth will be moved out of the downtown, making it more difficult for many to access in-person services. Dartmouth North has some of the lowest levels of income, highest social deprivation, highest food insecurity, and highest rates of mental health and addiction disorders in the province.
BIG NEWS - we did it!! On Wednesday November 25th the government bowed to public and NDP caucus pressure and brought in temporary rent control, for so long as there is a state of emergency in Nova Scotia (or until February 2022). Rents can no longer increase by more than 2% per year, retroactive to September 1, 2020. Landlords are also no longer - again for the length of the state of emergency- able to renovict tenants, that is evict people in order to renovate and increase rents.
As the MLAs for Dartmouth North and Dartmouth South we want to add our voices to those speaking out against two recent acts of anti-Black racism that took place in Dartmouth.
These most recent acts of hate - which District 5 Councillor Sam Austin wrote about in his recent newsletter - were aimed at two separate Dartmouth families in or around the place that they should feel the most safe, their homes. In one instance, the word “noose” was spray painted on a power pole in front of the home of a family of colour, and in the other a family with a “Black Lives Matter'' sign in their window received a letter containing vile anti-Black racist sentiments. We have been holding both of those families in our hearts and are here for you, or anyone else in our districts that experience racism, if you need us. Don’t hesitate to reach out to either of our offices; our contact information is below. We are committed to working together to make Dartmouth a safer, more equitable, and more accepting place for all Black, Indigenous people and other People of Colour (BIPOC).
Over the past week there have been numerous instances of violence against people of African descent by police in the news, both in the United States and Canada. This news has been deeply heartbreaking and angering and has prompted large-scale protests across the US, Canada, and here in HRM. Dartmouth North is home to a historical and significant population of African Nova Scotian people, and I want to send a message of compassionate solidarity to that community. I take seriously my role in addressing and taking action on this problem. It is up to us to call out racist acts and work to address the systemic racism that is at play in many of our government systems. I recommit myself to working with members of African Nova Scotian/Black community in this province to enact legislation that will make life better, safer, equitable for people of African descent. Black lives matter.
I have teamed up with Dartmouth creative consultant & graphic designer Pierre Tabbiner to launch the Dartmouth North Colouring Contest! The colouring contest features the Dartmouth Colours colouring series, created by Pierre and illustrated by a host of talented Dartmouth artists.
Nova Scotia’s Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health Dr. Strang and Premier McNeil recently answered questions about COVID-19 and Nova Scotia’s response on the government’s Instagram account. Below are the answers to common questions such as If I live with someone who is self-isolating, do I need to self-isolate myself? Should I wash my groceries? Can I go for a drive with my family? What happens if you have a custody arrangement? And more. For a up-to-date of COVID-19 resources visit my COVID-19 page.
As the working mom of a busy young family, choosing summer camps and figuring out child care is at once exciting and stressful. There are many considerations: children’s interests and ability, location, cost, age, and the list goes on.
Luckily, for folks who live in Dartmouth, there are many wonderful options for camps. To help with the decision making, my office has compiled a list of groups who offer camps over the summer months.
Constituency Assistant – MLA, Dartmouth North
Seeking a highly motivated, organized individual to provide constituency support, including casework, communications and public relations, office management, and community outreach. The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, be highly organized and have experience overseeing office management and volunteers.
Description:
The Constituency Assistant provides administrative and other assistance to the elected Member of the Legislative Assembly in Dartmouth North (Susan Leblanc) in carrying out duties to constituents, including communication, public relations and marketing, organization, scheduling, casework, advocacy and other services as appropriate.
The Constituency Assistant often works alone in the constituency office, and exercises full responsibility for the operation of the office in a manner that provides for efficient workflow and a safe and secure workplace.
Responsibilities:
Casework
• Undertake, investigate and complete constituency casework including:
compiling facts based on effective questioning of constituents on issues and investigating appropriate resources.
Directing constituents to appropriate resources in community
Advocating for constituents to various provincial government departments
May include completing forms or applications on behalf of the constituent with their consent.
Maintains casework files both physical and electronic, ensuring a fully confidential process of case management and filing that includes a case and contact database.
Communications
• Researching and drafting response to correspondence.
• Writing and editing information for constituency newsletter or information bulletins, advertising and marketing materials.
• Sourcing and implementing delivery of outreach material including coordination of distribution of material
• Initiating, investigating and writing resolutions and Member’s Statements for the MLA to present to the House of Assembly, and preparing formal copies for presentation to constituent or groups of constituents.
• Preparing certificates, congratulatory notes, sympathy cards, etc.
• Researching and drafting speaking notes on behalf of the MLA.
• Creating website and social media content including photos, news, and other items.
Outreach
• Organizing outreach events such as town hall meetings, including producing all necessary promotional and programming materials, booking venues, coordinating with potential attendees and other tasks that may be required.
• Setting up meetings between local groups and individuals with the MLA either inside or outside the office.
• Maintaining MLA calendar of activities including identifying upcoming community events and making recommendations as to MLA attendance based on contact with the constituency office.
• Maintaining relationships with local organizations and groups, including unions, community groups, business associations, student groups, parent school associations, religious organizations.
• Attending community meetings or activities within the constituency with or on behalf of the MLA.
• Attending to other tasks assigned by the MLA relating to maintenance of positive community relationships within the constituency, including identification of issues of concern in the constituency.
Office Management
• Manages and monitors the MLA's Constituency Budget allocated by the House of Assembly Management Commission and assists in the preparation of the MLA constituency expense claim.
• Maintains constituency office with the objective of providing an efficient and orderly workplace.
Qualifications:
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, including a keen attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting, formatting and editing office correspondence, promotional materials, and speeches.
• Effective communication, customer service, problem solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work well independently as well as within a multi-disciplinary team environment. Experience working in an office environment without direct supervision is preferred.
• Knowledge of government and community-based services, community groups and organizations, and local publications.
• Knowledge of current issues impacting the constituency of Dartmouth North.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint), internet, email, and social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
• Experience working with database software, particularly on the Populus platform, considered an asset.
• Reside in the constituency of Dartmouth North or has direct personal knowledge of constituency, including knowledge of local groups and organizations.
• Ability to travel within constituency to carry out job-related responsibilities as required.
• Grade 12, plus two years experience managing a small office environment with little to no supervision.
Compensation
$43,600 to $54,600, depending on qualifications and experience, as determined by the Office of the Speaker.
35 hours/ week with 15 days vacation annually and cost-shared benefits
Closing date: No later than 5pm, Monday, July 1st, 2019
Send resume and cover letter by e-mail to susanleblancMLA@bellaliant.com with the subject line “Dartmouth North CA”
Susan Leblanc’s MLA office practices employment equity. Women, African Nova Scotian persons, Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons are encouraged to apply for this position. If you are a member of an equity-seeking group, you may choose to identify as such in your cover letter.
Thank you to everyone who came out to help us pick up garbage in Dartmouth North today! The rain and cold did not stop 20+ volunteers from showing up and filling many bags!
