Joanna Clark

My name is Joanna Clark, I am a recent graduate from Université Sainte Anne where I graduated with my B.A./B.Ed with a major in English and a minor in French. I am a teacher, waitress, single mother, and have spent the past five years working with the Canadian Federation of Students advocating for more accessible services for students. These include things such as elimination of tuition fees, accessible housing, internet, healthcare, a $15 minimum wage and more.

I am running in this election because over the past few years young people have been labelled as apathetic. This is not the case, young people do care but are faced with many barriers before they’re even able to start adulthood. It is time to have some younger voices in decision making spaces.

While my background has largely been spent working with students the issues and barriers they face are not unique just young folks in society. I understand that this riding is geographically large and just as diverse including many age groups as well as cultures including Acadians and Indigenous folks. I understand the importance of listening to all of the different groups and allowing them to control their narrative.

"Healthcare - It is time to address the long wait list of folks looking for a primary care provider, ER closures, wage disparities within professions, ambulance shortages, and mental health accessibility.
Internet - it has become clear that internet is no longer a luxury service, all households need access to high quality, uncapped, affordable high speed internet.

Housing - we need a solution to the shortage of long term rentals as many people are not in a position to buy a house, this is also necessary in attracting people to live here all year round.

Childcare - licensed childcare needs to be accessible to all families especially those in rural communities. We need to address the wage disparity between ECEs in daycare centres and those working in the pre-primary program. We need to collaborate with directors of centres in order to understand their needs and where possible simplify and streamline their workload. "