PUBNICO, N.S. — Yarmouth County resident Craig Prouty has announced his intention to seek the nomination for the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia in the riding of Argyle-Barrington, should the need for a byelection arise.
The current MLA, Chris d’Entremont, is vying for the Conservative nomination for the federal constituency of West Nova. A byelection for the Argyle-Barrington provincial seat would only be called if d’Entremont, is successful in his bid. Should d’Entremont win that nomination he must immediately resign his provincial seat.
Prouty cites several issues as being reasons he has decided to seek the PC nomination for the riding.
“I feel there needs to be a new direction in government and I am willing to be part of the solution. The Liberals have been governing Nova Scotia from crisis to crisis,” he said. “In health care many Nova Scotians do not have a doctor or cannot see their doctor in a timely manner. There are long ER wait times and closures. There is doctor and nurse burnout. The current poor response time of our EHS system.”
“I believe if we are truly going to fix the problems in healthcare we need to really sit down and listen to frontline health-care workers not just pay lip service to them,” he added. “Actually, we need to do this across all departments. This top down approach to governing by the Liberals is not working.”
He said on the economic front young people are leaving the province to find jobs and the education system, in his opinion, is failing the province’s children.
“I care about what happens in our province and I will work diligently to bring about change and represent the people of Argyle-Barrington,” he said.
Prouty also pointed to the fishery, the largest private sector employer in southwest Nova Scotia. He feels this Liberal government doesn’t fully recognize the fishery’s importance and could be applying more pressure on the federal government to provide funding for much-needed wharf repairs and upgrades.
“I also see tourism as a great potential in our area for job creation and growth in our economy , as well as the rest of the province,” he said. “I firmly believe that the international ferry from Yarmouth to the United States, which benefits the whole province, is a must and should be supported by both provincial and federal governments.”
Prouty said he also feels there is a need for more affordable housing for seniors and low-income earners and that to fix problems in healthcare the I feel we need more affordable housing in our area for seniors and low-income earners.
Prouty lives in Pubnico with his wife Genny and two children, Georgia and Connor. He is a retired lobster fisherman, having fished for 25 years and now currently works with his wife in their business. Over the years he has been involved in many groups, such as the Royal Canadian Legion, Lions Club, Lobster Advisory Council for District 34. He is president of the Harbour Authority of Camp Cove and is involved in the South West Nova District Health Authority Board of Directors, Abuptic Festival committee, Yarmouth County Minor Hockey Association Board of Directors and is a trustee of Laurel Hill Cemetery.
As for the timing of the PC nomination for the West Nova riding, which has triggered the speculation of whether there will or won’t be a byelection in the Argyle-Barrington riding, that nomination is expected to take place within a 30-day timeframe of the nomination period ending.
The nomination period for the West Nova riding is now underway for those wishing to vie for the position of Conservative Candidate for the Constituency of West Nova in this fall’s federal election. The nomination period closes Thursday, May 16. As of May 9 there are three candidates seeking the nomination: Chris d’Entremont, Hannah Dawson-Murphy and Dan Mullen.
