THUNDER BAY -- A warm welcome of support greeted Patty Hajdu on Monday afternoon as the Thunder Bay-Superior Liberal MP opened the doors on her local constituency office.
Over two months have passed since Hajdu was elected but she said renovations and a location change from former MP Bruce Hyer's North Core office have culminated in an accessible outlet in a mini-mall at 705 Red River Road that will service day-to-day citizen issues.
“I really feel that because we’re representing all people, the space should be as accessible as possible,” she said at a packed opening ceremony.
“I’m especially sensitive to that now that I have an aging person in my life and seeing how challenging that is for someone with mobility issues.”
The local office will house the equivalent of three full-time staff and one assistant will handle Hajdu’s responsibilities as the Minister of Status of Women in Ottawa.
Considering her cabinet post, the rookie MP said her own time to address constituency issues will be “restrained” but insisted the tradeoff will mean an inside track for voicing local concerns.
“The honest truth of it is, you have to spend a little more time as a cabinet minister in Ottawa,” Hajdu said.
“However, the benefit of that is I’m able to bring Thunder Bay-Superior North’s concerns directly to cabinet. There’s a bit of a tradeoff that we might have a little less face time but we certainly have influence in cabinet in that I can represent my region as well as the population I’m assigned to serve.”
