Educator puts hat in ring for local riding

A well-known local educator, volunteer and member of the New Democratic Party has thrown his hat in the ring to take on the SaskParty in the next provincial election.

Troy Parenteau, who works as the educator at the Youth Mental Health and Family Treatment Centre at the Victoria Hospital through the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division, hopes he can secure the nomination for the Prince Albert – Carlton riding.

“As an educator I’ve seen supports taken away in the classroom and I’ve seen first-hand how the current policies [of the government] have failed the people in Prince Albert,” Parenteau told paNOW. “In the school system the money just isn’t going as far as it used to; decisions had to be made to keep everything in place but those decisions included special programs and supports.”

Parenteau, who worked as a teacher at Riverside School for six years and is also well-connected with many Indigenous and volunteer organizations, said the SaskParty had made financial cuts because of their spending habits of the past.

“We saw a party that just spent and spent and spent [in good times] and dug us deeper into debt over that past decade,” he said. “So the tough decisions they’re making are a direct reflection of the spending that happened during the good times.”

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He suggested the current momentum the NDP was enjoying in urban centres gave him confidence he could win against SaskParty incumbent Joe Hargrave in the P.A.- Carlton riding. Hargrave has already been acclaimed for the next election.

“Absolutely, the Saskatchewan NDP is doing really well right now, having just seen us flip over three byelections recently, so we’re in a good position,” he said.

Parenteau, a former president of the local NDP constituency associaton said he had gone through the five-week vetting process for candidates and so decided he could now go public with his nomination. He understood at least one more person would be seeking the nod and if that happened the process would be for the party to call a convention and vote in March.

Editor’s note: this story was amended Tuesday Dec.18 to make it clear Joe Hargrave has already been acclaimed to run for the SaskParty in the next provincial election. An earlier version incorrectly stated it was yet to be determined if Hargrave would run.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow