Political Participation is Important – and it goes beyond voting!

 

By Kendall Worth

I often discuss politics in this BLOG, because government policies and actions can have a HUGE impact on the lives of people in my community. But I do not generally frame my BLOGs in partisan terms. I try to discuss the issues in terms of ordinary citizens, - and usually the most vulnerable of citizens – as they engage with the powers of government, - both elected officials and public service administrators.

Today’s BLOG is a little different. I am going to discuss a VERY partisan political event – the recent Convention of the Nova Scotia NDP.  I have been a member of my local constituency NDP here in Halifax for a number of years. From my personal experience, I have found the NDP to be the party that is most responsive to the needs of my community: people living in poverty, who are barely getting by on Income Assistance.  As an advocate and activist, I use my membership to ensure that the perspective of my community is heard within the party.

Every two years, the NS NDP has a Convention to discuss policy issues and to plan political strategy for the coming years. Convention is also an excellent opportunity to connect with other activists and community leaders from across the province. Last week, I attended the 2026 Convention here in Halifax and here are some of my experiences and impressions.

First of all, the Convention took place at a critical moment in our province. We are mid-point in the mandate of the Tim Houston Government and people in my community are facing many significant challenges.

•   Across the province, the housing market is in terrible shape with rents way out of reach of ordinary citizens, most especially in HRM and CBRM. Many people are only one rent check away from homelessness.

•   Ongoing inflation means that the cost of living is steadily increasing, with basic costs like groceries and power steadily exceeding family budgets.

•   The response of the Houston Government in the face of this crisis has been one of austerity and cutbacks, - as I have presented in many recent BLOGs.

•   The combination of ongoing inflation and government cutbacks has meant that most members of my community are living lives of quiet desperation, as they struggle to just get by, day after day, as I discussed recently.  The net result is increasing stresses and mental health challenges for many people.

With all of the above being said, I believe that the best policy response by the provincial government would be the introduction in Nova Scotia of a Basic Guaranteed Income. I have made the case for introducing a Basic Income program in earlier BLOGs - and have also made the case for investments and improvements in the mental health system. These issues, along with investments in affordable housing, are the issues at the top of my agenda as an advocate.

Leadership is very important in politics, and at this Convention, there was a leadership review of Claudia Chender, who is the leader of the NS NDP and also Official Leader of the Opposition. Claudia gave a strong speech to the delegates on Saturday, after which there was a vote on her leadership. Claudia won 99% support from the members, which I was pleased to see as I strongly support her.

To some surprise and my great pleasure, I was delighted to discover three other delegates at Convention who are First Voices from the community I advocate for.  And I was pleased to hear that two of them had been supported to attend Convention by their local NDP association.  This support is important because given the standard ESIA household benefit, it would be almost impossible for someone on Income Assistance to be able to afford the fee for attendance – which was $50 for Unwaged Individuals.

 I think it is important for people in our community to be actively engaged in party politics, to ensure that our issues are addressed and our voices are heard. I choose to be engaged with the NDP, for different reasons. But it would be great if other members from our community would be actively engaged with the other parties, too - if only to ensure that the voices of the marginalised and vulnerable are heard at PC and Liberal Conventions as well.   

A major advantage of attending these Conventions is that you get to meet people from across the province. It is not easy for people on Income Assistance to move about the province and meet others addressing similar problems.  Convention provides a 3-day space in which many of these people are in the same room and one can build connections and networks. This is an important organizing moment, as I have written about in my BLOG.

And these connections are not just limited to Party members … there are many guests, speakers and tables from other organizations from around the province who are doing important work on different issues. I personally had the chance to engage with people from the housing advocacy group ACORN, as well as representatives of labour organizations and other community groups.

Also, being in a room full of active and engaged people can be a perfect antidote to the sort of isolation many in our community live much of the rest of the year.

Let me end this post with a word of encouragement to other members of my community to actively engage in political parties, - it is a great opportunity to share our concerns and proposals for a better Nova Scotia.

In my next BLOG, I will discuss some of the policy issues addressed at Convention and my own contributions to two of those debates. 

Stay Tuned!

Kendall Worth is an award-winning anti-poverty activist who lives with disabilities and tries to make ends meet on income assistance.