Candidate for NCR Regional Director – Suzanne O'Brien

The views expressed in this biography are those of the candidate and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of PIPSC.

My name is Suzanne O’Brien, and I work as a fisheries and aquaculture management officer at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. I am running for a position as National Capital Regional Director.

There are always key moments in life that seem to help guide you in certain directions. For me, these moments happened in my early career when the union helped resolve some issues I was facing at work. I will never forget how it felt to have someone that cared and was by my side, and I knew I wanted to return the favour one day, but life was hectic at the time with young kids. The kids are now a bit older, so I have the time to fully commit and have jumped right in. I now volunteer on my CP Ottawa subgroup executive, and recently got elected to the NCR executive, where I lead the branch coordination committee. And perhaps my favourite part of getting involved is my role as a steward, where I get to fulfill my desire and passion for helping others, while also using my abilities to connect with people.

My motivation for running for this position ties into a major life change that happened four years ago, in which my marriage ended. Amongst many issues that led to this outcome, the one that stood out to me was the issue around taking accountability. Recently, our youngest son started getting into trouble at school, so his dad and I went to speak to a child psychologist. Our son’s main issue was his lack of taking accountability for his actions, which negatively affected other students. Accountability has always been a cornerstone of how I conduct my life, and is now a regular topic of discussion with my boys. They know that it’s okay to make mistakes, you just need to take ownership, learn from them, and do better next time. 

Well, it’s now “next time” for PIPSC. Mistakes were made, let’s learn, and do better together. I wasn’t originally planning on running in this election, but after seeing how recent events have transpired within PIPSC, this has ignited something in me that I never even knew was there. I have always run my life with integrity, transparency and accountability. And PIPSC needs people who aren’t afraid to take this stance on behalf of all our members, and I believe I have a lot to offer there. 

Original provided by the candidate