Here’s to a new beginning

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2023 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The morning of Oct. 3 was not unlike many other mornings in my house. I was brewing coffee, my husband was making omelettes, our exuberant chihuahua was circling everyone’s ankles and our adult children were hanging around the kitchen island, filling the room with laughter and chatter the way kids do when home for a visit.

Once the dog settled and breakfast was finished, I thanked my family for helping on what would be my fourth (and final) provincial election day, and as we got ready to meet up with my campaign team and pound the pavement for one last day to pull out our vote, I issued an uncommon warning. I told my family that yes, we would work hard, and yes, we would do our best, as we had done for each of the 28 days during the campaign, but that a win was unlikely and I was OK with that.

“I need you to know, I’m at peace with whatever the day brings,” I said to my kids, who then looked at me skeptically and got ready to call my bluff.

But there was no bluff to call. I’d been listening to my voters intently, as any politician does, and democracy was about to speak, or in the case of Oct. 3, roar. I was prepared, and since politics was a family affair, with each of my kids and my spouse experiencing the highs and lows of my political career, I wanted them to be prepared too.

As anticipated, I lost my seat in the electoral constituency of Riel and our Progressive Conservative government was defeated, losing a total of 14 seats and being nearly wiped off the map within the city of Winnipeg.

The sun came up on Oct. 4, like any other day, but unlike most others, there were lawn signs to retrieve and offices to close and campaign expenses to file.

But before getting to all that, my husband looked at me with concern, and asked, are you OK?

I answered without hesitation: “Absolutely. I’m ready to write my next chapter.”

Returning to my first love of writing is a full-circle moment, and linking up with the Winnipeg Free Press to become a columnist is an endeavour I not only welcome but also commit to wholeheartedly.

I believe a good columnist requires the fortitude to tackle the big issues embroiling our society with a unique perspective, experience, and at times, an unabashed opinion.

It also requires engaging with readers, listening to their opinions, and enhancing dialogue in ways that rise above the often-divisive nature of sound-bytes and 280-character limits.

Some readers may argue that as a newly unelected politician, I’m too partisan for the job. Fair comment. But let me say this: very rarely has anyone fairly characterized me as being blindly adherent to ideology.

Some readers may argue that as a newly unelected politician, I’m too partisan for the job. Fair comment. But let me say this: very rarely has anyone fairly characterized me as being blindly adherent to ideology.

I cut a path as a progressive, remaining unapologetically pro-choice, delivering unprecedented increases to many of the sectors and departments under my purview as families minister, and I remain, to my knowledge, the only conservative politician in the country to ever introduce legislation that would include a carbon tax.

(Spoiler alert: that legislation was later amended by my own government, but perhaps that remains an entire column unto itself).

I was also part of a government that delivered large reductions in personal income taxes, balanced the budget, and prioritized spending on public safety and policing.

All that to say, my personal track record is indicative of balance, and while I will, at times, use this column to explain positions taken during my time in office, I won’t be an apologist for my former government nor will I be closed off to opposing views.

For example, this new NDP government. I want this province and its amazingly diverse people to flourish.

In order for that to happen, we need good government and discerning, capable cabinet ministers. There was a time when I believed myself and my former colleagues offered that to the people, and for a variety of reasons that will be hashed about for some time to come, possibly even in this column, we lost our way.

Now, it’s the NDP’s turn.

They have a lot of challenges on the horizon and offered Manitobans a lot of promises to making life better for everyone. I will observe and write with respectful discernment and hopeful optimism.

And so with unbridled enthusiasm, I return to the other side of the conversation, the one unconstrained by government talking points and spokespeople, and hope that you may find interesting what I have to say.

Rochelle Squires is a recovering politician after serving seven and a half years in the Manitoba Legislature and holding several portfolios including Minister of Sustainable Development and Families. She is a political and social commentator and her column appears Tuesdays. rochelle@rochellesquires.ca