NEW GLASGOW: Following the death of his newborn daughter, Central Nova Member of Parliament Sean Fraser announced last week he is temporarily taking time away from his duties.
“In the early hours of December 3, our newborn daughter, Ruth Caroline Burton Fraser passed away in her mother’s arms with her dad holding her hand, despite the best efforts of the medical team assigned to her care,” Fraser wrote in a letter to constituents.
Fraser said he is taking time away from his job but his constituency office will remain open and his staff will continue working on projects.
“I am taking some time away from my official duties to be with my family,” he wrote. “As such, I have not been able to keep up with my usual routine of taking meetings, attending community events, and do not expect to take my seat in the House of Commons until Parliament resumes in the New Year.”
First elected as the MP in 2015, Fraser stepped into the riding following the decision from Conservative cabinet minister Peter MacKay to not re-offer.
In September, 2018, Fraser was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Following the election in October, Fraser held his seat with a 7,517 vote majority over Conservative candidate George Canyon. Fraser earned a decisive victory in which he never trailed in a single poll, and captured 46.5 per cent of the vote with 20,718 votes cast in his name.
Fraser’s numbers were down slightly from the 2015 election in which he received 58.53 per cent and 25,909 ballots cast.
During a ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on November 19, MP Sean Fraser took the oath to represent the people of Central Nova for another term.
Since the election, Fraser said he and his staff “hit the ground running,” making two trips to Ottawa and setting up constituency offices in the same locations in New Glasgow and on Main Street in Antigonish.
Despite being part of a minority government, Fraser told The Reporter he will continue to focus on the constituency and he is confident the Liberals can work with opposition parties to move legislation forward.
Fraser asked those wishing to send condolences to make a donation the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the IWK Health Centre.