EAST CENTRAL — The federal Liberals have selected their candidate for the Prince Albert riding in the next federal election.
Estelle Hjertaas is a Prince Albert-based criminal defence lawyer working for legal aid.
“That's basically given me a frontline view of what happens when people don't have the support they need in their life,” she said when asked why she decided to seek the Liberal nod.
She was acclaimed at a nomination meeting on March 28.
Hjertaas said she finds many people in the justice system have a similar story. Their parents struggle with issues; they end up in foster care; they don’t feel a connection and turn to gangs; make mistakes and then realize in their late 30s they’ve made mistakes, but not in time to stop the cycle for their own children.
“A lot of these situations could be prevented if we were supporting people at various points in their lives.”
She added many of her clients are indigenous and that helping First Nations to work towards self government and making sure that they have appropriate funding for education, health, appropriate housing and so on is crucial.
Hjertaas said in her job, she stands up for people who may not have a voice.
“I believe I can most effectively stand up for and help the people and communities of the constituency of Prince Albert by entering the federal political arena.”
The Liberal candidate said there’s opportunities in agriculture and the natural resource sector in the riding, but there’s also challenges to be dealt with, which include the need for good jobs, retaining the employees that are currently working, poverty, addiction and crime
“I'm really looking forward to getting to every community in this riding and hearing more from smaller centres about what the issues that are really important for them are,” she said.
Hjertaas said her party is focused on the middle class and those who are trying to join it, and she plans to focus on the Liberal government’s achievement in the campaign, which include national housing programs, the Canada child benefit, new training provisions in the budget, better health care and home care for seniors.
“I'm a proud member of the Liberal team and I'm proud of the record that we have, so I want to highlight that and highlight what I bring to the table,” she said. “I’ll especially push for the needs of our riding.”
The federal election is being held on Oct. 21.
The Prince Albert riding is currently held by Conservative Randy Hoback. He told the Prince Albert Daily Herald in 2017 he plans to run in the 2019 election.
