COME ON IN
Christmas opens location in Membertou so he can meet with Cape Bretoners
Senator opens office in Membertou so he can meet with Cape Bretoners.
Sen. Dan Christmas says it has been a long learning curve as he makes the adjustment to sitting in the upper chamber but he feels he has successfully made the transition.
With a warm smile, Christmas greeted visitors to his new Senate office in a Membertou plaza which he officially opened Friday.
Christmas, who is believed to be the first Mi’kmaq appointee to the upper chamber, said in an interview he is adjusting to living part-time in Ottawa and balancing his time there for the approximately 26 weeks a year the Senate sits to his time spent at home with his family.
“It meets usually Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, so what I try to do when we’re sitting is I try to leave here on a Monday night and I try to return either on a Thursday night or a Friday,” he said. “I make the commute, but I’m getting used to it now.”
Christmas was widely respected for his former role as band councillor and senior adviser to Membertou. When his appointment as an independent senator was announced it was well-received since he is lauded as a man of values, skills and vision. He was a prominent figure in his community and he suggested there may be an impression among some in Membertou
that he is missing from the community because he now spends so much time in Ottawa. He said that’s why he’s glad to now have an office within the community.
“They know I’m here and they know it’s somewhere they can see me and hopefully we can do more business,” he said.
At the time of his appointment, Christmas clearly stated that his objective was to represent Cape Bretoners and his new office is intended to be a location where people can know that they can go to meet with him.
“I’m here with my heart and
passion in Cape Breton and hopefully by being more accessible I can be a better voice for some of the issues that arise from Cape Breton,” he said.
Christmas was appointed as an independent senator and he said the transition in the upper chamber away from partisan politics makes for an interesting time.
“There’s also a lot of changes happening in the Senate right now and the biggest one of course is the appointment of independent senators. I think I was the second group but since then I think we have almost half of the Senate now are independent senators,” he said.
“That changes the dynamic in the Senate itself and the people that are being appointed now I find are outstanding Canadians who have expertise in their own right so that brings a lot of very interesting debate and discussions and the work itself becomes very, very interesting.”
Removing some of the traditional partisan nature of the appointments helps the Senate better fulfill its intended role as a chamber of sober second thought, Christmas said.
“I think it really minimizes the partisanship, before, I understand that votes were undertaken based on which party you were on, if you were on the government’s side or the opposition’s said,” he said. “Now it’s based more, I think, on the strengths and weaknesses and the merits of each individual bill, so it’s taking a totally different perspective. There’s no guarantee a bill will be passed. It will be passed if it’s strong and well-thought-out but there’s no guarantee now that those will pass automatically through the Senate.”
Last year, Christmas gave the inaugural Father Greg MacLeod lecture and caused a stir when he discussed the prospect of Cape Breton independence, suggesting it was time for Cape Bretoners to take full political responsibility for themselves and take complete charge of their own future. He said he was pleased by the discussion his remarks generated.
“I was very surprised and my whole point really was to generate discussion about the future of Cape Breton and just taking what I’ve learned from herein Membertou over the last 20 years, is that we have to take control of our own destiny and I really feel that’s the way to go forward in Cape Breton,” he said. “I decided that early in my term as a senator I would share my views about Cape Breton and maybe it’s an extension of my view of Membertou, but that’s my view.”
Cape Breton continues to face significant challenges, notably poverty and population decline, he added. One of the reasons he accepted the appointment to the Senate was because he genuinely believes he can make difference in Cape Breton, Christmas noted.
Christmas’ name was among those included as part of a recent poll regarding potential CBRM mayoral candidates. While he said he is humbled and honoured that people may look to him as a possible leader, he said he intends to serve in the Senate until the mandatory retirement age of 75 — which is 13 years away.
“I have no intention of running for municipal office,” Christmas said. “I think that I have, at least in my view, the right platform to provide that kind of leadership, so I’m looking forward to filling that.”