Next month will mark the halfway point in Carla Qualtrough’s first term in Ottawa.
The Liberal MP for Delta has had an interesting two years as the riding’s representative as well as Canada’s minister of sport and persons with disabilities, a job that has literally taken her around the world.
But her next two years just got even more interesting.
Qualtrough was named the minister for public services and procurement during an Aug. 28 cabinet shuffle.
She takes on a vast department that is responsible for the governments’ internal servicing and administration - everything from military contracts and Canada Post to cyber security.
Qualtrough said she is up for the challenge, but admits she has a lot of work ahead of her.
“There are a lot of issues that we have to tackle, but it’s going to allow me to grow politically and professionally in ways that I would otherwise not have been able to, so I’m super excited about that,” she said.
In early August, well before the cabinet shuffle, the Optimist sat down with Qualtrough to reflect on her first term so far.
When she was elected, Qualtrough admits she had no idea of the scale of the job and the opportunities that would come her way.
“I could imagine, perhaps, what it would be like, but really you have no idea, especially when you are given such a diverse and varied portfolio,” she says. “Then you have your responsibilities in cabinet committees, you are working on regional issues and then I’m in China with the governor general and on my way back I’m asked by the prime minister to chair an ad hoc federal committee on the wildfire response, so everything is a learning exercise because you can’t possibly be an expert on everything. You also have to learn to adapt and be flexible.”
Qualtrough recognizes that the job is a tough one. Whether it’s someone who is in need of assistance here in the riding, or a vote on a big policy issue, she says every decision has an impact on her.
“Sometimes the responsibility can really weigh heavily on you because I take it seriously. But then there is the other end of it – this is a great job. It is very rewarding. I get to do some amazing things. Did I think I would get to go to China with the governor general as MP of Delta? No way. Because of that we got to sign a memorandum of understanding regarding sport and making sport more accessible for Chinese kids with disabilities. That’s really cool.”
In the past year alone, Qualtrough was in Rio twice with the Olympics and Paralympics, China, Winnipeg for the Canada Summer Games, Austria for the World Special Olympics Games, Washington, New York and Tokyo, not to mention travelling back-and-forth to Ottawa and other parts of Canada.
“The travel has been amazing, we have done some great things and I have been a part of so many special moments. It’s been exhilarating to represent Canada in so many different ways,” she said.
Working with a disability
One of the things Qualtrough wondered when she took the job was how her vision impairment would impact her work.
“I have to be honest on what I can and cannot see in a way perhaps I didn’t have to wear it on my sleeve before – I could almost fake it. If someone gave me something that I couldn’t read, I could just sit there and say I can’t read it out of respect or hesitancy to admit that I couldn’t see something.
“Given my portfolio responsibilities and the fact that I really need to be informed, I have to be very honest in saying that I’m sorry, I can’t read that, can you get me a larger print copy. When I’m doing a speech, if the sun is too bright, I can’t sit in front of you because I might not be able to see you because of the sunlight behind you, so it’s being a little vulnerable about it in some ways.
“What I can tell you is as I have done that, more and more people have come to realize that I can’t see. When I meet people at events, especially locally, I ask them to remind me of their name when they might run into me at Save-On and say hello because I might not recognize them. People are starting to have those relationships, which is nice.”
The privacy of a public role
Being in such a public role can sometimes have a negative impact on your private life.
Qualtrough says at times, especially at the beginning of her term, she was taken aback by how much people know about your personal life.
“People feel OK with asking questions about your personal side and I’m very open to that. I talk a lot about my kids and my family, I’m photographed a lot with my kids and my mom, so it’s kind of part of my story, but it does surprise me if I’m shopping at Save-On and someone comes up to me and asks about my mom because maybe they met her at an event four months ago. They are being super nice, but if you are not used to that, as a citizen that generally doesn’t happen with someone you don’t know.”
Balancing family and her career
With four kids, two who are going to university, a husband and a mom, Qualtrough has as busy a family life as her one as a politician. So how does she find balance between the two?
“It’s a constant struggle. There are debates going on behind the scenes whether it is my team in Ottawa or my team here in Delta,” she says. “Family is the priority and there are some things that are non-negotiable. My daughter graduated from Delta Secondary and I was not missing that. My son starts kindergarten in September, so I’m not missing that, but then there are like Halloween, for instance, that I will miss. It sucks, but it is part of the job. I don’t want to miss it, but I can’t get out of the House of Commons just because it is Halloween.”
On the flip side, she says there are aspects of the job that are extraordinary for her kids and for her family - things that other families will never get to experience.
“Last year I missed Halloween and it was tough. I had neighbours emailing me pictures of my kids and everyone was trying to be really nice and be inclusive, but I was alone in Ottawa and it had been a tough week in the House, so it was hard. But then three days later, I’m back here in Vancouver speaking to 20,000 kids during We Day about the importance of inclusion and my two daughters were there seeing me speak. A volunteer sitting with my daughters turned to them and said there are 20,000 kids here but only two of them can say that’s my mom, so that’s the trade-off.
“It can be lonely and sometimes you feel like you are compromising everything. My mom, husband and I sit down at least once a week and plan out the calendar and manage the logistics of the family. My husband’s job is flexible, my mom is a Godsend and my kids don’t know any other way. Mommy time is the Sun Festival parade. I don’t know who was more popular, me or my kids.”
Her service so far and the next two years
Overall, Qualtrough says she’s satisfied with the work that has been done. She says she has served the riding to the best of her abilities and will continue to do so.
“One of the lessons I learned from year one to now is to show my work. I felt early on that telling people what we were doing was almost bragging, but I’ve learned and appreciate that people need to know what you are doing because you work for them. I report to 70,000 people here in the riding, so I’ve learned to talk more, the good and the bad, about what we are doing.
“You always wish you would have more time for everything, whether it is more time for your constituents, more time for family, more time to move a big policy decision, but you do the best you can. One thing I’m very confident in, whatever happens in this job for me in the future is that I’m trying my best. We are doing our best. Whatever people decide in two years about whether I continue in this job and I hope they will re-elect me, I feel we are doing our best every day and that’s all you can do.”
