Twenty-seven years ago, Catherine Mosca immigrated to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago. She was a single parent and, with her two young children, settled in Oshawa. And it’s in Oshawa where she plans to make her most significant contribution to her adopted country – representing the people of Oshawa as a member of the provincial parliament. But first she must win the Oshawa seat for the Ontario Liberal Party in the Ontario Provincial elections on June 2^nd, 2022.

Mosca said that, like most immigrants, she started life working in humble circumstances always with the aim of building a good home for her young family. She acquired a Bachelor’s degree in law followed by a Master of Science in Business Ethics and Compliance. She’s rightly proud of her educational achievement, especially being able to see her children through University.

“Migrating to Canada was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The challenges were worth it; quality of life for my children has always been the most important thing to me,” she said.

Mosca wrote that she was forever grateful for the privilege of living in Canada and always wanted to give back to the community. To that end she was a volunteer for over 20 years in the community in diverse areas such as palliative care, anti-racism, and getting involved in cultural and political associations.

But if she were to go further in trying to address the obvious societal disparities that hinder human development she needed to be in a position where she could effect change. She won the nomination to run in Oshawa on behalf of the Liberal Party; a party for which she volunteered for many years.

Speaking to the Caribbean Camera, Mosca suggested that the major part of her adult years which spanned Trinidad and Canada, helped shape her political outlook.

“I see politics as working for the community, helping all people thrive. Coming from a very diverse country (Trinidad and Tobago), living among different races, religions and seeing us all live harmoniously, I [realized] that we are more similar than different. In Trinidad, we celebrate with each other, regardless of race or religion. Not being a Muslim or Hindu, didn’t hinder participation in Diwali and Eid celebrations.

“Our food is derived from so many different cultures, and we relish it all; and of course, we all enjoyed our Trinidad carnival, together. Our culture continues in Canada, but I would like to see it go much further. That type of inclusiveness is precious,” she asserted.

“When I was invited to join a political party in Canada, I delved right into working on policies for the party. I always feel that things could be better, and my business background doing Legal and Compliance work in Canada (among people from all walks of life and countries), was also a huge support.”

And about her decision to run at this time?

“At this time in my life, being a wife, mother, grandmother, I have accumulated a great deal of life experiences. I fell into the sandwich group, caring for an ageing parent, while being there for my husband, kids, and grandkids.

“These life experiences, my strong business background, education, and passion to serve the community, convinced me that I can help make a difference.

“Sometimes we just need to step out from the background and put ourselves forward to work for the good of all, specifically for those whose voices may not have been heard. I have seen the struggles that my family and friends experience and I believe that I could relate to the needs of families in general,” she continued.

“People in our Province are losing hope and I am determined to be part of the solution. My intuition told me that ‘the time is now’!”

She realizes that she has her work cut out for her in trying to wrest the Oshawa constituency from the historical dominance of the NDP and the PC Parties. But she is sanguine about her chances because she says she can draw on her lived experience and understanding of the needs of the people of Oshawa

“As penned by Mahatma Ghandi ‘the true measure of a society can be found in the way it treats its most vulnerable members’

“Oshawa’s homelessness, mental health and addictions soared over the past few years. This cannot be blamed on the pandemic, as all cities were also affected by the pandemic, but Oshawa’s vulnerable suffered disproportionately. The demand on their food banks have doubled. All under the watch of a PC MP and a NDP MPP.