By Jayda Taylor / Prince Albert Daily Herald
A Prince Albert nurse is seeking the NDP nomination for Prince Albert Carlton, eyeing health care, education and community safety as topics in need of major change.
Carolyn Brost Strom has been a nurse for 19 years. She’s currently working on contract as a nursing instructor at the University of Saskatchewan, hoping to return in the fall. Her work in healthcare helped inspire her to seek the NDP nomination.
“You hear of people waiting for doctors, not being able to find a family doctor, and waiting long lines in ERs,” she explained.
The lack of government support is also an issue for health care workers, she said.
Brost Strom said she worked as a case investigator at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed people’s struggles to afford everyday necessities, such as groceries.
“Right now, there isn’t a lot of things they can do except for getting rid of things they own to try and sell to make ends meet.”
Another priority for Brost Strom is education. With her husband working as a teacher and two school-aged children, she said proper funding is at the forefront for her family.
“I can identify with what’s needed,” she said.
Brost Strom attended a rally for public education outside of the Saskatchewan legislature at the end of April. The rally, which drew thousands of people, led Premier Scott Moe to promise more funding for public schools.
“It was pretty incredible to be a part of that and just seeing the support that there is for teachers and students.”
Community safety is an increasing concern for the Prince Albert Carlton constituency, she said, based on a meeting last fall. Residents expressed their concern about property getting stolen and their safety walking in their neighbourhood.
This has also been a common topic of conversation while out campaigning, said Brost Strom.
“As a public health nurse, just working in the community as I did, it’s about connecting with people, and I do believe that politics is about connecting with people as well and working with them, working for them,” she said.
Although she’s never officially been nominated herself, Brost Strom has helped with NDP campaigns in Saskatoon in Regina.
“I am looking forward to this opportunity and getting out there and talking with more of my neighbours, possible constituents and just hearing their stories and figuring out ways to help,” she said. “That’s what I’ve done my entire career and I intend on continuing to do that.”
Prince Albert teacher Troy Parenteau ran as the NDP nominee in Prince Albert Carlton during the last election.
This won’t be Brost Strom’s first time in the spotlight. She came to prominence in 2015 when she made a Facebook post that was critical of the care her grandfather received at a Macklin long-term care home. In 2016, the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA) ruled that her comments amounted to professional misconduct. They fined her $1,000, and ordered her to pay $25,000 for the cost of the proceedings.
Brost Strom appealed the decision, and in October 2020 Saskatchewan’s highest court ruled in her favour, quashing the SRNA decision.