Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians visit Nova Scotia

It was an honour to host the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians at various locations in my riding of Clayton Park West.

The day started by picking up our guests from the Lord Nelson Hotel and Suites, as we headed to one of the best universities in the area; Mount Saint Vincent University.

There, we were greeted by Tanya Priske, who is the CEO of the Centre for Women in Business. Tanya prepared a wonderful presentation about the work of the CWB.

We then made our way to the Bedford Basin Farmers Market where we gave a tour of my second floor office, and then a tour of Many Hats on the third floor by founder, Jenine Panagiotakos. Many Hats, as some of you may not know, is an entrepreneurial initiative that helps those who work from home to have the option to work in a shared space and to network with fellow business owners.

After the tour, we hopped on the bus to visit our local and beloved recreational centre, the Canada Games Centre. We hosted a panel discussion on women and immigration in our Province in the facilities boardroom.

Thank you to Nabiha Atallah of the Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia, Dr. Felicia Eghan of the United African Canadian Women’s Association and María José Yax-Fraser, Chair, and founding member of the Immigrant Migrant Women’s Association of Halifax.

We were then treated by a spectacular dance performance by Kiriam Thompson and Karen Staples of the Maria Osende Flamenco Dance Company. They performed, “Bata de Cola,” which is a happy flamenco dance done with a long skirt with a tail.

Kiriam and Karen also performed “Sevillanas,” a classic folk dance from southern Spain.

The day ended with an energetic performance by the Diman Association of Canada’s Senior Dancers… and we even got dance lessons from both dance groups!

It was an absolute pleasure to meet some of the women parliamentarians from across this great country!

Thank you all for taking the time to explore the riding I represent. I was proud to have the opportunity to boast about CPW being a highly desired area, where we have made diversity and density a great success!

Also, a big thank you to Elizabeth Haggart and Lesliey Poirier who are members of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, who worked very hard on arranging the two-day outreach outings.