New MLA not defined by her disability

Stephanie Cadieux, new Liberal MLA she get's it done

By Tracy Holmes – Surrey North Delta Leader Published: May 17, 2009 7:00 AM

Surrey’s newest face of politics is an arts and culture enthusiast with a sense of humour, quick to admit that while she adores theatre and the arts, she has no personal talent on that level.

Stephanie Cadieux says she is also a woman who takes her job seriously, and nothing for granted.

“I’m a get-it-done kind of person,” Cadieux said Thursday, as she sipped her morning coffee in her partially dismantled Panorama Village campaign office.

“I enjoy working hard. I like seeing the fruits of my labour. I commit to things very fully.”

It’s an ethic Surrey-Panorama residents who checked the Liberal candidate’s name off on the ballot Tuesday will surely hold Cadieux to over the next four years.

The 36-year-old Morgan Creek resident won the riding’s support with nearly a third more votes than her NDP opponent, Debbie Lawrance.

The victory quickly threw her into the spotlight, with many reports focusing on the fact it makes Cadieux the first woman with a disability to hold a seat in the provincial government.

And while her life since a spinal-cord injury at age 18 in a car crash has had a distinct focus on advocacy and eliminating barriers for the disabled – she is president of the RealWheels theatre society, director of marketing for the B.C. Paraplegic Association and manager of accessibility for 2010 Legacies Now – Cadieux said she is not defined by her disability.

As she tells young students she meets, her wheelchair is to her as their shoes are to them.

“I have all the same dreams, all the same heartaches… I just use a different mode of transportation,” she said. “I don’t think that’s a big deal. It’s not new to me. For 18 years, I’ve had people say, ‘oh wow, good for you.’

“Look, I got a job. I’m doing what everybody else does. I don’t think of myself (as a role model), however, if I am, great. So be it. But it’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because I think it’s the right thing for me to do.”

While this is Cadieux’s first venture into politics, she is no stranger to working with government. Eight years in the non-profit sector – working to shift policies, build programs and ensure accessibility – has given her an appreciation for all the competing priorities and challenges, she said. It’s also given her some insight into the road ahead.

“It’s easy to criticize, but not always easy to make the hard decisions,” she said.

The biggest immediate challenge will be learning how to do her new MLA job well, she said. She knows there will be missed steps along the way, but with a series of successes in other areas under her belt, she’s optimistic she is up for the challenge.

Cadieux said she doesn’t yet know what the premier has in mind for her. Her only expectations are to do a good job.

She learned early in life to take things one day at a time and make the most of it.

“I don’t like to look that far ahead. You don’t know what’s around the corner. I live my life for today,” she said. “What’s next for me? This is next. All I can see right now is this.”

tholmes@peacearchnews.com