New Churchill deal will secure financial future, says Stoodley

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Sarah Stoodley says she can’t solve every problem brought to her by constituents, but she always does her best and will always come back with an answer.

The incumbent Liberal member for the District of Mount Scio is hoping that will be enough to help fend off a challenge by PC candidate Darrell Hynes.

Ironically, she credits her interest in politics to a visit to her high school in Grand Falls from then PC Premier Danny Williams. Stoodley was a member of the Youth Parliament at the time. Williams told the students to never think anyone from a big city was better than them. 

“And I remember thinking at the time, well of course someone from Toronto is smarter than me,” said Stoodley. “Of course, someone from New York is better to do this job than I am.” However, after she graduated from Memorial University and went on to work in I.T. in the United Kingdom for three years rubbing elbows alongside people who had studied at Oxford and Cambridge, Stoodley said she realized the truth of Williams’ words.

“And that was a really eye-opening moment for me,” said Stoodley. “We get amazing education here in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Stoodley was an alumni representative on MUN’s Board of Regents when she decided to run provincially. Taking a leave of absence from work at Johnson, Stoodley spent 28 weeks knocking on doors. She ultimately got elected, was re-elected for a second term in 2021, and is now seeking her third.

“Obviously the most important day-to-day things are helping people solve their problems,” said Stoodley. “We can’t solve every problem, but I certainly try my best to give people good advice and to fix problems for them whenever they encounter them.” 

Stoodley cites the new school slated for Kenmount Terrace is one of the bigger problems she had a hand in solving, as well as the commitment to build a new high school in Paradise.

Stoodley is also pleased the government changed the 1.6 km rule for busing, an issue the PC Opposition had pressed the Liberal government on for years. 

“Previously, if you lived closer than 1.6 km to a school, there was no busing available,” said Stoodley. “Although it was one of the lowest in the country it still was a really big problem for families, so I’m very proud that was one of the things I advocated strongly for with my colleagues to change.” 

Stoodley said she was also active in changing the Highway Traffic Act to allow ridesharing, which opened the door to Uber. She also is proud of the implementation of speed cameras and cameras on buses. Once everything is working smoothly, she said government will start considering municipalities where they can implement red light cameras. 

“This is not about making money. It’s about slowing people down, reducing accidents, and reducing injuries and those types of things,” said Stoodley. 

Regarding traffic congestion in Paradise, part of which falls in her district, Stoodley said there are plans in place to build more access roads. One of the measures to alleviate that, that the Liberals are promising, is to remove the provincial portion of HST from light bills.

“I guess the biggest way that we can help with affordability is moving ahead with the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding,” Stoodley said. “If we can get there in terms of signing it, that will be the short, medium, and long-term financial sustainability of Newfoundland and Labrador.” 

In the meantime, she is working to get re-elected.

“I do feel like I’ve worked really hard for constituents since 2019,” said Stoodley.  “There’s very little that I won’t do for people.”