The Region of Queens has hired a new human resources manager. (Rick Conrad)
A former human resources director at Global Empire Corporation is now in charge of human resources at the Region of Queens.
Holly McConnell will begin the job of director of people and culture at the municipality on May 26, according to a region news release on Tuesday afternoon.
McConnell was born in Liverpool, and has spent most of her life in Queens County.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she most recently worked for Global Empire at their Liverpool call centre as its HR manager.
“Holly’s experience in leading workplace teams through periods of transition was recognized as a significant asset in the recruitment process, and she is someone with a genuine warmth and caring for the well-being of staff,” interim CAO Dan McDougall said in the release..
“Her background of 16 years in corporate human resources management has given her significant experience and skill in employee relations and workforce engagement.”
The region, which has about 130 full-time and part-time employees, hasn’t had a dedicated human resources manager until the position was created recently.
The municipality has struggled to recruit and retain employees over the past few years.
“The position is called director of people and culture to reflect our administration and council’s commitment to an uplifting work environment that embodies inclusion, safety and mutual respect,” McDougall said.
“Holly is proficient in these areas, and will focus on strengthening employee engagement by way of leadership development, human resource planning, and recruitment and retention plans.”
McConnell has 16 years’ experience in human resources positions. She is a graduate of the Institute of Professional
Management and has a Canadian Management Professional designation.
“My specialty is employee relations,” McConnell said in the release. “I derive great satisfaction helping people successfully grow in their roles and always work towards those ‘win-win-win’ situations to help drive a positive work culture.”
According to the reasons accompanying the order, Global Empire terminated 74 people on March 15, 2024, three weeks after it issued layoff notices on Feb. 26, and before the original termination date of April 19.
Debra Lalonde-MacDonald, who moved to the area a few years ago from Ontario, was one of those people who lost her job. She filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division shortly after the layoff. She provided QCCR with a copy of the decision.
Lalonde-MacDonald told QCCR this week that management assured employees that their jobs were secure, despite the February layoff notice.
“There was just an abundance of reassurance from our management that it was precautionary and that our jobs were very secure,” she said.
“For many, it was tragic, especially (those) who had moved from out of province to come here and work. For my personal situation, after three years of a local job search with valid skills and exhausting so many employers in the community, it was challenging. … Very disappointing news at that point in my life thinking of re-entering the job market that had closed its door repeatedly for three years.”
According to the decision by Labour Standards officer Kyle Barrie, the Liverpool call centre lost a contract with Lifeline Systems Company on March 1, 2024, which led to the job cuts.
Lifeline, which provides medical alert services, claimed that Global Empire wasn’t fulfilling its obligations under the contract it signed in November 2021.
Lifeline said the call centre failed in “providing guaranteed minimum number of agents per month, the minimum number of service hours, and meeting average speed of answer obligations.”
But according to Global Empire’s February layoff notice that was quoted in the Labour Standards ruling, it needed 130 employees to cover the Lifeline work and that it was never able to hire that many people.
“Unfortunately after many promises and failed attempts to provide our client the needed 130 employees, they no longer have faith in our hiring abilities and as such will be terminating their contract with us. We are a service provider for them, and we have not been able to provide them with the service.”
It also blamed minimum wage increases, a lack of affordable housing in Liverpool, and the provincial government for not following through on promised payroll rebates.
In the ruling, Labour Standards said Global Empire didn’t do enough to avoid the layoff.
”While (Global Empire) did take some steps to meet its obligations, such as posting ads online, going door to door, and hiring foreign workers already situated in Canada, I find it has not demonstrated on a balance of probabilities that it exercised sufficient due diligence to foresee and avoid the cause of the layoff,” Barrie wrote in his decision.
“(Global Empire) could have done more due diligence prior to entering into the service agreement of November 2021, to confirm whether it would be able to meet its staffing obligations.
“There was nothing sudden about the problems the (company) says prevented it from reaching the required staffing levels from the beginning of the service agreement with Lifeline Systems in 2021.
“In reviewing the evidence, I find the reason for the layoff was within the (company’s) control. Simply put, the (company) entered into an agreement it could not fulfill. Its failure to fulfill its responsibilities under the service agreement in 2024 cannot excuse its inability to fulfil its responsibilities from the end of 2021, through the beginning of 2022, and forward. I find the employees’ terminations were within the (company’s) control.”
For her part, Lalonde-MacDonald says she’s not celebrating yet. The company has 10 days to appeal the order to the province’s labour board. If it does, that would further delay a payout to laid-off employees.
“I’m hesitant to be elated about it,” she said.
“With the appeal process pending, only time will tell. Should they be able to collect that, it would be fantastic. That would be a relief for us all. It was hard news for us to receive for so many reasons. … I’d be happy to see that we have policy makers’ support to make sure that that money’s collected.”
Lalonde-MacDonald said it’s difficult to find a well-paying job in the area. And being properly compensated for the layoff would be a help.
“Fourteen months later, … it’s just good to know that there’s protection but questionable on whether or not they’re going to be able to collect it.
“All we can do is hope that that order to pay is strong enough, so that the 69 of us that have been deemed entitled to our five weeks of pay in lieu of notice that we actually receive it.”
She said she’s upset that municipal and provincial governments didn’t provide more support to the former employees of Global Empire in Liverpool.
The Region of Queens signed a long-term lease with the company in December 2021 to move into the municipally owned Business Development Centre building. At the time, it was the company’s only Canadian location.
Before the layoffs, about 120 people worked at the call centre.
In early February 2024, the company wanted to renegotiate its lease with the region, saying it was using half the space it originally needed.
The region signed a new lease with the company on Feb. 1. It was approved by council in a closed-door session on Feb. 13.
The lease has never been made public.
Mayor Scott Christian said he’s not familiar with the terms of the lease, since it was signed before he was elected.
He said it’s “problematic” when employers in the community are found to have violated labour rules, but he said it doesn’t mean the region should impose its own values on one of its tenants.
“I think it’s too bad that that operation hasn’t been successful and that there have been layoffs and that they never really were able to stand up the labour force to be able to make that a vibrant and successful operation. I think that that is regrettable.”
The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration would not comment on the ruling or say whether the company has appealed or honoured the order to pay back wages.
Neither the company nor its lawyer responded to requests for comment.
Queens County Transit says the success of a recent fundraiser will help them keep their vans running. (Rick Conrad)
A recent fundraiser for Queens County Transit roared past all the group’s expectations.
The rural transit charity based in Liverpool held its first major fundraiser last Saturday. They teamed up with the Yuk Yuk’s standup comedy tour for a show at the Astor Theatre.
Gil Johnson, chairman of the Queens County Transit board, said it was a “huge success.”
“We had a good turnout and everybody seemed to enjoy the show and now the end result was is that we made a little over $13,000.”
Organizers were hoping to raise $10,000 from the show and a 50/50 draw. Johnson thanked the sponsors and community for their support. And he credited fellow board member Tara Smith with making it all happen.
“Tara Smith has been the driving force behind this fundraiser and if it wouldn’t have been for her, it wouldn’t have happened. She put a team together of volunteers and made this the success that it is, so the rest of us were just along for the ride.”
The service began seven years ago with one used accessible van and a team of volunteers. Its fleet has grown to eight vans, five of which are accessible. It also employs 11 people. Nine of those are drivers.
It’s one of 23 rural transit services in Nova Scotia.
Johnson says the success of the fundraiser shows people appreciate the services that Queens County Transit provides.
“It is now part of the infrastructure of Queens County. That service of moving people, keeping people connected one ride at a time. And people are starting to understand that we are there to serve.”
Johnson says the money raised will go toward their vehicle replacement fund.
“Right now, we have an immediate need to replace one of our older vehicles that’s costing us as much in the garage as it does to get it down the road.”
If you need a ride on Queens County Transit, they ask that you contact them at least 24 hours in advance by contacting them at 902-356-2670, by email at info@queenscountytransit.ca or message them on Facebook.
Members of the South Queens Middle School Grade 7/8 band perform at the Queens County Music Festival in late April. (Rick Conrad)
It looks like the band program at South Queens Middle School in Liverpool will live to play another day, though it’s unclear in what form.
Parents and others vented their frustrations online a couple of weeks ago when they heard the school planned to cut the program for next year.
It came on the eve of the 80th annual Queens County Music Festival at the Astor Theatre. The festival features young musicians and vocalists from school and private music programs being scored on their performances by trained adjudicators.
The middle school’s Grade 7 and 8 band competed at the festival.
Principal Stacy Thorburn told QCCR on Wednesday that she hopes to have good news for students and parents by the end of the week.
“It’s in the works. I’m in conversations to find out how it will look next year.”
The program includes about 40 students.
In a message to students and their families on Friday, the school said they’re looking at ways to continue offering it next year.
“School administration is having ongoing conversations with nearby schools to explore potential collaboration opportunities and are looking at creative staffing solutions, all with the intention to continue offering the band program,” the note read.
“Additionally, discussions regarding the band program are planned with the school advisory council.”
Thorburn didn’t want to comment on what led to the worries about the program’s survival.
“I would rather not because there are lots of things that go into play. And I’ve had conversations with our (school advisory council) and members of our community who have asked so I’d rather keep it at that for now, until we know for sure what’s happening.
Dave Schofield, president of the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool, Stacy Thorburn, principal of South Queens Middle School, and Ted Bulley of the Kiwanis Club at an announcement on Wednesday at the school. (Rick Conrad)
Sports teams at South Queens Middle School will be getting a new electronic scoreboard thanks to a donation from the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool.
The service organization donated $7,000 toward the $17,000 piece of equipment that will hang in the gymnasium at the Grade 6-8 school.
Principal Stacy Thorburn said the donation is “amazing”.
“To know that one of our organizations in Queens donated $7,000, it’s just unheard of. Even through our fundraising, as thankful as we are to everyone, we weren’t able to raise that much money, so a one-time donation of $7,000 is huge.”
Currently, a scoreboard is projected onto one of the walls of the gym.
“Which is great when technology’s working, but it had its time,” Thorburn said. “And so we thought well, we don’t have a scoreboard and we have lots of community basketball coming in, we have sports teams from other schools coming in, so we thought that would be a priority for right now.”
Thorburn said the whole community pitched in. A youth in the community donated what he made from giving basketball lessons, Liverpool Regional High School donated proceeds from their annual alumni basketball tournament, the school itself held an online auction and the school’s advisory council contributed $2,000.
“We couldn’t have done it without the community and the parents from South Queens, which is amazing.”
Dave Schofield, president of the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool, said usually the club gives up to $1,000 for specific projects.
“Initially we were thinking a smaller amount. And one of our members said, we got extra money this year from running the canteen at Queens Place, let’s go all in on the scoreboard, so that’s what we did.
“You like to see everyone working together for a common goal.”
The school held a short ceremony on Wednesday morning to unveil the Kiwanis contribution. Students, staff and Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian were there, as well as Kiwanis Club members from Liverpool, Halifax and Kingston, Jamaica.
Pam Rodney-White is governor of the eastern Canada and Caribbean district for Kiwanis International.
As part of her duties, she’s touring Canada’s six districts. And she was in town on Wednesday visiting the Liverpool chapter.
She said the Liverpool chapter’s support for the scoreboard is an example of the kinds of contributions Kiwanis clubs make to help kids and communities.
“It’s fantastic. I really want to congratulate the Kiwanis Club of Liverpool for the donation of the scoreboard. I’m sure the students are going to be happy when they look up there and see that they are making some runs, not fouls.”
Thorburn says she hopes to have the scoreboard installed over the summer in time for when students return in the fall.
Donna Croft and Gil Johnson of Queens County Transit in Liverpool are gearing up the group’s Yuk Yuk’s fundraiser at the Astor Theatre on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)
Queens County Transit got on the road seven years ago with one used wheelchair-accessible van catering mostly to seniors in Liverpool.
“When we started out, we had one old used wheelchair-accessible van that we got from over in Clare. And I think it was in the garage more than it was on the road,” says chairman Gil Johnson.
Now, the community organization based in Liverpool provides affordable transportation around Queens County and beyond.
It’s one of 23 rural transit services around Nova Scotia.
The Queens County Transit fleet has grown to eight vans, five of which are accessible. And it employs 11 people, nine of whom are drivers.
Ridership is up too, by almost 30 per cent over the past two years. In 2023/24, the service completed 8,218 trips. About three-quarters of those were for seniors. Ridership so far this year is up by more than 1,000, with only half of overall passengers seniors.
But with increased popularity come increased costs.
“Without community support we would be dead in the water, we wouldn’t be operating,” Johnson says.
“Seven years ago, Queens County was one of four counties in the province that did not have a transit system. Today, we’re one of the leaders and we’re proud of that and we want to be able to keep going but we can’t do it without funding partners, fundraisers. ”
That’s why Queens County Transit has organized its first major fundraiser at the Astor Theatre for this Saturday, May 3. They’ve teamed up with the Yuk Yuk’s standup comedy tour for a show at the historic theatre at 7:30.
Comedians Francois Weber, Andrew Evans and Ian Black are set to hit the Astor stage.
“That’s going to be a good event,” Johnson says. “It’s going to be something new. Yuk Yuk’s haven’t been to Liverpool in quite some time.”
They’re also planning a silent auction at the event.
Queens County Transit gets about 35 per cent of its operational funding from the province and some other funding from the Region of Queens.
That funding and community support are vital so that the service can continue to offer rides to residents at reasonable rates.
A round trip within Liverpool, Brooklyn or Milton costs $10. That goes up to about $15 for longer rides to other areas of the county.
But the service also offers much-needed subsidized rides for medical trips to Queens General Hospital in Liverpool or to Halifax.
Manager Donna Croft says that through funding from the Queens General Hospital Foundation, it can offer a round-trip to an appointment in Halifax for as little as $100. The full cost is usually $160.
“It’s not only the seniors we’re catering to,” Croft says. “We’re catering to all ages. Say a mom with an infant has to go to the city to the IWK and she has no means of getting there or she has to wait for an ambulance to take them through. We have the monies through (the hospital foundation) that we can do that drive for them to get her to the IWK.”
“That’s a huge piece of the mandate of community transit, is to be able to get people to those appointments in an affordable fashion because it goes back to our funding partners,” Johnson says. “They’re the ones who help us subsidize those rides. But if you wanted to rent Queens County Transit to go shopping just on your own or to go for a drive, that’s available as well. It wouldn’t be subsidized. It would be fully funded out of pocket.”
Tickets are still available for the Yuk Yuk’s comedy fundraiser through the Astor Theatre box office or Ticketpro.ca.
And if you need a ride on Queens County Transit, they ask that you contact them at least 24 hours in advance by contacting them at 902-356-2670, by email at info@queenscountytransit.ca or message them on Facebook.
Shelly Panczyk is the chairwoman of the Queens County Food Bank in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
The Queens County Food Bank won’t have to worry about its rent for the next four years as Region of Queens councillors voted this week to give the group a rent subsidy.
As part of its budget talks, councillors agreed to the food bank’s request for an annual grant of $15,500 to cover the rent at its Main Street location in Liverpool.
Shelly Panczyk, chair of the Queens County Food Bank, told QCCR on Thursday that “it’s a wonderful thing.”
“That helps us out because it will give us more working capital to purchase food,” she said.
“We’ve been back and forth with the last council. This is probably our fourth time trying to get something and this council has done it. And I’ve got to give them a good clap around, because they’ve done a good thing. And I think people will step up and be aware that this council is a workable council.”
Before the food bank was forced out of a derelict municipal property in 2019 and began leasing space on Main Street, it paid no rent. Demand for their services has grown, as food costs have risen and donations have plummeted by about 50 per cent.
About 240 families a month use the Liverpool group’s services.
Food bank representatives appealed to councillors at their March 25 meeting for rent relief after the organization was hit with a $10,000 bill to fix its freezer. It’s also committed to begin food pantries for elementary and high school students throughout Queens County.
Mayor Scott Christian said councillors are trying to make more room in the region’s budget to help residents on low or fixed incomes. Council is also considering expanding the region’s low-income property tax exemption program.
“It’s really hard when you’re an organization like Queens County Food Bank when you don’t have certainty of available resources, like you’re constantly competing for available grants,” he said.
“ Their board members did a good job of articulating the financial need that that group has and those are the type of investments I think this council likes to make, so I’m pleased to see if we spend $20 to $25,000 on the low-income tax exemptions and another $15,500 on the food bank, again, it’s challenging, and we need to make sure that the province pays their fair share as it relates to community wellness, but from my perspective, that’s money well spent from the municipality.”
Council has another budget meeting scheduled for Tues., May 6 at 6 p.m.
An undated aerial photo of the former Bowater Mersey plant in Brooklyn. (Queens County Historical Society Photo Collection, housed at the Queens County Museum)
Northern Pulp has asked for another extension in protection from its creditors as it continues to look for financing to build a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.
The company, owned by Domtar-controlled Paper Excellence, has been under creditor protection since June 2020 after it closed its pulp mill in Abercrombie Point, Pictou County.
On March 10, the company and the Nova Scotia government announced that Northern Pulp would get a five-week extension while it tried to make a profitable business case for a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.
That was after the company said that its nine-month feasibility study found that a new mill in Liverpool didn’t make business sense. It said it would spend the five-week extension looking for private and public financing.
The multinational corporation estimated a new mill would cost $2.5 billion in government and private funding to design and build. And it would require an annual rate of return of at least 14 per cent, as outlined in a settlement agreement signed with the Nova Scotia government and approved by a B.C. court in May 2024.
Bowater operated a pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn, near Liverpool, from 1929 to 2012, over the years employing thousands of people in Queens County.
In a news release Tuesday evening, Northern Pulp said it filed documents earlier in the day requesting the extension under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act until July 18.
“The company will use this time to further advance preparations for a potential sale of its assets, should a new mill not be feasible,” the release said. “Additionally, Northern Pulp will continue discussions with various stakeholders and rights holders regarding the feasibility of establishing a new bioproducts hub in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.”
Premier Tim Houston sent a letter on March 20 to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asking them both to support the company’s application for federal financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told QCCR in March that the province has been working with the company to make a new mill work.
“We know we need a home for the low-grade wood fibre but at the end of the day, this is going to be a business decision from their part,” Rushton said.
“We’re willing to work with them to meet the environmental standards of a new-era mill that would find a home for ecologically produced forest products.”
Paper Excellence has said a new mill would also potentially produce biogas and biochemicals used in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and adhesives.
Last May, Houston announced a deal with Paper Excellence to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after Northern Pulp was forced to close its mill because of environmental concerns.
The hearing on the company’s latest request is set for Fri., May 2.
Katharina Cochrane, vice-president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, says voters seem to be ‘dialled in’ during this election. (Rick Conrad)
Nova Scotia’s South Shore is known for its ocean breezes and waterfront vistas, drawing thousands of tourists each year to relax on its many beaches.
But in the 2025 federal election campaign, there’s nothing laidback about the race to win the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets.
Incumbent Rick Perkins is trying to keep the seat for the Conservatives, while newcomer Jessica Fancy-Landry hopes to win it back for the Liberals. Mark Embrett is running for the Green Party and Patrick Boyd is representing the People’s Party of Canada. Hayden Henderson is running as an Independent.
In the 2021 election, Perkins beat Liberal incumbent Bernadette Jordan by about four per cent, or 1,800 votes. The NDP finished a strong third, capturing 19 per cent of the vote. Turnout was about 63 per cent.
This time, however, with no declared NDP candidate, it appears to be a two-way race between Conservative Perkins and Liberal Fancy-Landry in the April 28 vote.
2025 FEDERAL ELECTION: QCCR INTERVIEWS THE CANDIDATES
Perkins lives in St. Margarets Bay and says this is the most enthusiastic voters have been since he first ran in 2019.
“I’m getting a great response, a lot of people appreciating the job I’ve done for the last four years, and we’re almost running out of signs,” he told QCCR in early April.
Fancy-Landry is originally from Caledonia, Queens Co., and now lives in Bridgewater. The teacher, community volunteer and first-time candidate says it’s been an energetic campaign so far, with lots of great conversations with voters.
“Tariffs and Trump seem to be on the lips of everybody that we are talking to,” she says.
“Affordability. We’re hearing a lot about environmental (concerns), coastal impact, whether it’s fishing, whether it’s Christmas tree farming, whether it’s some of our forestry. People have really been reaching out to see what we can do to help bolster and support the different economies along our South Shore.”
The Greens’ Embrett is an implementation scientist with Nova Scotia Health. This is the Queensland resident’s first full campaign, though he’s had his name on the ballot in previous elections for the Greens.
“I decided to align myself with the Green Party because their values around equity and transparency and government and fairness and policies really echoed my own beliefs and my own values.”
The People’s Party’s Boyd is originally from Vancouver and moved to Sable River three years ago, after spending some time overseas in international banking. This the first campaign for the consultant and hobby farmer.
“We’re sicker than we’ve ever been. We’re poorer than we’ve ever been. We’re more censored than we’ve ever been. And at the same time, you can see the parties that are running, they can really be described as a globalist uniparty. So whether you’re on the Liberal side or the Conservative side, it’s really hard to differentiate or distinguish between policies.”
The riding covers a vast territory, stretching from Head of St. Margarets Bay outside Halifax to Clark’s Harbour at the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia.
In the 2021 election, it counted just under 80,000 voters. But it lost some of those electors when the boundaries were redrawn in 2023.
People seem motivated this time to get out and vote. About 19,000 people voted in advance polls over the Easter weekend, mirroring early turnout in the rest of Nova Scotia at about 25 per cent.
Katharina Cochrane is vice-president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce.
“I think people are really dialed in on this election this time which in the past people (were) not really that interested, but even younger people, first-time voters, they’re very anxious about the whole situation with America. And in general, it’s not as easy to get yourself in a situation where you can afford a house or get a place, live a middle-class life.
“So I think people are very anxious to see some changes.”
Cochrane says some of the main concerns in the Liverpool area are housing, poverty and rural development.
“There’s a lot of low-income housing that needs to be built. We’re one of the poorest ridings, probably in Nova Scotia, so that needs to be addressed. And then the whole rural development for small businesses, like what can be done to help small businesses to get on their feet when they start up. Come up with maybe tax breaks that would be helpful for the community.”
She said the commercial fishery and the environmental impacts of open-pen fish farming are also among the issues at play.
At a recent candidates meet and greet in Liverpool, voters said the lucrative lobster fishery, the fear of Trump tariffs and the overall tenor of politics were on people’s minds.
Danielle Robertson of Port Joli said she wants to see the federal government enforce fisheries regulations to help protect an industry that generates close to $500 million for southwestern Nova Scotia.
Fishermen are upset with what they see as illegal fishing in the wake of the Marshall decisions that guaranteed Indigenous communities a moderate livelihood in the fishery.
“Where I live I can see evidence of abuse of the fishery and overfishing,” Robertson said.
“And I’ve talked to fisheries officers who feel like they’re not able to do their job. And I think our resources are really taking a hit. I think our fish are being overfished. And I’m really hoping that the federal government will step up and enforce their federal fishing policies.”
Conservative Perkins says he’s been a big advocate for fish harvesters since he was elected in 2021. And he says the Liberals haven’t done enough to crack down on poachers.
“We believe it begins with enforcing the law, and then sitting down once the law is enforced and people are abiding by the law and negotiating for more access for First Nations. As long as there’s no penalty and no enforcement, why would I come to the table to negotiate when the government lets me do whatever I want, whenever I want?”
Liberal Fancy-Landry says that she wants to bring all sides to the table, while acknowledging the Department of Fisheries and Oceans must be allowed to enforce the law.
“Another thing is how many of the fishermen have actually been brought to the table when policy and draft bills have been in place. So it’s that engagement piece,” she says.
“I think a lot of the time people feel disenfranchised or disempowered because they haven’t been asked to be at the table. … The line’s drawn in the sand right now with Conservative versus Liberal versus whatever party. It’s time for us to all come together and actually have some courageous conversations.”
Scot Slessor, a stained glass artist in Liverpool, says this election is an opportunity to tackle interprovincial trade barriers. But he says regardless of the issue, he wants more co-operation among the parties.
“I’m looking for people who are going to be willing to work together,” Slessor says.
“You know, we’ve seen that minority governments get a lot done for our country, but the way people are interacting has been extremely negative. And I’m really hopeful that we can bring that a little bit back to some civility.”
