Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Caucus Appointments
Premier Darrell Dexter announced three government caucus appointments. Vicki Conrad, MLA for Queens, will serve as the caucus chair, Mat Whynott, MLA for Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville, will be the whip and Dave Wilson, MLA for Sackville-Cobequid, will serve as Deputy House Leader. Conrad was first elected to the Legislature in 2006 and has served as critic for Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. She has worked with the Scotian Windfield network, has been a rural outreach assistant for the NDP caucus and was employed as a residential councillor and home support worker. Whynott, at 24, is the youngest member of the Legislature. He represented Canada at the United Nations, speaking at the UN's World Programme of Action for Youth. While this is Mr. Whynott's first term as an MLA, he ran for the NDP in 2006, taking 36 per cent of the vote. Mat was employed as an NDP Caucus outreach worker until the most recent election. Wilson has been an MLA since 2003. He has served as Health critic and, before becoming an MLA, was a paramedic for eight years. He is a former vice-president of the Sackville Volunteer Firefighters Association and an associate member of the Royal Canadian Legion.