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Prince Albert man pursues political dream

Oct 30, 2014 | 12:04 PM

Justin Gaudet has known for years that one day he would like to be a member of the legislative assembly, or even a member of Parliament.

At the age of 30, he is now pursuing that dream, seeking the nomination for the NDP in the riding of Prince Albert Carlton.

“I’ve never really known when the time was right, I didn’t really know if I had the right credentials or if I had everything in place, then it just dawned on me that I’m better off simply trying,” said Gaudet.

When asked why now, Gaudet said his strong feelings of disagreement towards the Saskatchewan Party government are what pushed him over the edge.

One example of his frustration concerns the government’s $40 million Lean initiative.

“We already pay managers to essentially enact these kinds of things so why would we pay managers and then pay someone else from outside the country $40 million to tell them how to do their jobs,” he said.

Another issue of concern for Gaudet, is the need for a second bridge in Prince Albert.

“I think that just infrastructure spending in general …it seems as if the southern part of the province tends to get a larger share of the pie and we seem to be forgotten.”

Gaudet is a political studies major, who later went into education. He has nearly completed his B.Ed. As part of his training he has had the opportunity to work in schools both in Prince Albert and on-reserve.

During his training he noticed a big difference between how children are treated on-reserve versus in the city’s public schools.

“Obviously, the reserve system constitutionally speaking is a federal responsibility, but nonetheless these are individuals within our province, and who are participating in our communities.”

Gaudet and his wife have a two-year-old son. His wife is a registered nurse who works for the health region.

There are, so far, two people seeking nomination for the NDP in this riding.

The other potential candidate is Shayne Lazarowich.

The nomination meeting will be held Nov. 20 at the Prince Albert Travelodge.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell