MLA staffers recount harrowing tales of working alone

Kelly Gomes loves her job, but her work as a constituency assistant for the MLA for Halifax Atlantic took a frightening turn on Dec. 14 when a man she has helped in the past attacked her.

"He ran up to me and grabbed me by the throat and put me against the wall," Gomes recounted to CBC News Tuesday. "I could do nothing. I didn't have my phone. I was halfway down the hallway and pinned up against the wall."

 A teenage student doing a work term there happened to be in the office at that moment and came to her rescue.

"If she wasn't here, I don't know what would have happened. She was able to call the police," said Gomes. "I think what really saved me, this time, is having the student in the office."

Gomes said she broke free from her attacker when the man went after the teen.

"He let go of me and he kind of lunged towards her and I just grabbed a hold of his arm," said Gomes, adding that she and the student then ran into the office of their boss, Liberal MLA Brendan Maguire, before quickly realizing there were no locks on the door.

The man then turned his fury on the office, tipping over a desk, knocking picture frames off the wall and tossing a Christmas tree and decorations around the room. He then left.

Police have charged a 47-year-old man with assaulting both Gomes and the teen. 

The 60-year-old constituency assistant is back at work, but she said people are no longer free to just walk into the office.

"Now we're keeping the door locked," said Gomes, adding that her husband spent the day at her side when she returned after the holidays. "If you're by yourself, there's not a lot you can do, if they catch you unawares."

'It's safe and fine until it isn't'

Although she said she's not afraid to be back, the attack has her boss looking for ways to keep her and other constituency assistants safe.

Maguire has suggested increasing the budget so MLAs can hire two staffers, rather than a single constituency assistant as allowed under House of Assembly rules.

He has the support of his Liberal caucus. The NDP would also like to see two constituency assistants per office.

Former constituency assistant Vicki Brooke thinks having two is a good idea. She had her own harrowing experiences while working part time for nearly a year and a half at the Elmsdale office of Margaret Miller, who was MLA for Hants East from 2013-2021 and served as a cabinet minister.

"On the RCMP's advice, I ended up locking up the office one day, and hiding under the MLA's desk, in her back office," said Brooke, recounting the time a man threatened to "exact some justice on government through the MLA's office."

"It turned out this gentleman was waiting for me and or somebody to leave the office and he was hiding behind our office building with a hammer or a mallet," said Brooke. "I remember being terrified."

She also recalled another confrontation when a man suddenly tore the phone from its landline connection and wouldn't let her leave the office.

"It's safe and fine until it isn't," said Brooke. "And the times that it isn't are, of course, unpredictable.

"You don't know when it's going to go from just an angry person to you need the police's help to solve a problem, or it's not safe for you to be in the office anymore."

Brooke said she felt safest when the other part-timer she shared the job with was in the office.

"Always felt like we just were more able to handle anything that came in the door, good or bad."

'Less costly' options

The Houston government, which controls the legislature committee that determines the budget for constituency offices as well as the rules of the House, isn't convinced having two constituency assistants is the answer.

"A number of recommendations by security staff have been brought forward that can be implemented within current budget allocations," Deputy House Leader John White said in a statement to CBC News on Thursday afternoon.

"We encourage all MLAs to make sure they are using the resources that are currently available within their constituency office budget."

Responding to a question from reporters after a cabinet meeting, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Allan MacMaster suggested increasing the office budget of MLAs would look bad.

"There's a lot of people having difficulty right now, and feeling that government should be spending money on things to help people," MacMaster said.

"There's no question having more than one person would make things safer, but there's also other ways you can make an office safer, and probably a lot less costly ways."

For now, Gomes is keeping the office door locked while she's there, although she admits that would not have prevented what happened last month.

She said she would have likely let the man in since he was a regular office visitor, dropping by at least once a month over the last couple of years.

"Another option is a panic button, but then again, if it's one located like under the desk, I wouldn't have been able to reach it."

She said she's back at work because she enjoys it in spite of the risk.

"I love working in the community. I love my job and I'm not afraid."