SHERBROOKE 鈥� St. Mary鈥檚 Council voted this week to cover the cost of two area delegates to a women鈥檚 political conference in Port Hawkesbury this spring.
The motion sets aside up to $250 per person for incidental expenses related to participation in a two-day 鈥淟eadership School鈥� in Port Hawkesbury in early May for women interested in becoming involved in local government.
St. Mary鈥檚 Councilor Kaytland Smith made the presentation on behalf of聽
Government FOCUS, whose core members include 20 women (including herself and other councilors, wardens, mayors, band leaders and unelected officials) from 16 municipalities and First Nations in Cape Breton-Unama鈥檏i and Strait Region, and Guysborough and Antigonish Counties.
Although the fundraising goal is to raise enough money to defray the costs 鈥� including childcare, course materials, and registration fees 鈥� of attendance for four women from each of the 16 communities, Smith noted St. Mary鈥檚 Council support demonstrates its belief in the initiative鈥檚 value. 鈥淭his is more about seeing the need and the benefit of having better and more equal representation for women in local politics and governance than it is about the money,鈥� she said.
In her presentation, Smith pointed out that while local governments affect everyday lives more directly than their provincial and federal counterparts, women hold only 32 of 131 municipal and band council seats in eastern Nova Scotia.聽
The Leadership School鈥檚 (May 1-2) specific purpose is to increase the number of elected females to that regions鈥� Mi鈥檏maw First Nation and Municipal Councils by providing ongoing engagement, educational materials and opportunities for women interested in local government, and to support to those who actually decide to throw their hats into the political ring with practical advice about running for office.
St. Mary鈥檚 Warden Michael Mosher said council was impressed by the presentation and agreed, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a great initiative. . .A lot of effort and time has gone into this. We are more than glad to help.鈥�
No other significant business was on the agenda.
Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal
