Federal election 2105
Federal election 2105
Federal election candidates chose one issue that they feel is important in this election and gave their views as to possible solutions to those issues problems.
Fahed Khalid
Democratic Advancement Party of Canada
Rural Ridings and Their Dynamics in Big Government
How do rural ridings get represented? Does your candidate have experience and knowledge of both a rural riding and an urban riding and why is this important?
Rural riding dynamics are totally different than urban dynamics. First off, the candidate of a rural riding should live in the riding. If not, then they should at a minimum have lived in a rural community at one point to understand the dynamics and issues, as they are much different than a large city. If the candidate for a rural riding is city based and has never lived in a rural riding, how can one really represent the people or understand the issues. Likewise, if a rural individual has never lived in the city, how can one understand the mindset of urbanites and communicate issues to big government, which are usually based in big cities with large populations. When I say big cities this would be like Edmonton, which is the capital, and not like the towns and smaller cities within the province.
Therefore the optimal solution would be to have a candidate that has both qualities of experience and knowledge of the two sides of this paradigm, which is rural and urban. This would make your candidate effective and efficient, as a public servant whose voice could be heard and views expressed would be listened to, as they know what they are talking about and can communicate with both types of people.
At the end of the day the public servant is responsible to the tax payer, thus picking one who understand both sides is the simple solution to a large and present problem in the election and government that we have today.
I have the experience and knowledge of rural issues and big city issues which are inherently different from each other and understand the dynamics to address them and find a solution to them.
Frans VandeStroet
Christian Heritage Party (CHP Canada)
Abortion
One issue that is very important to the Christian Heritage Party (CHP) and me is the terrible fact that Canada is the only Western country without any legislation to regulate abortion. Worldwide we are in dubious company of only two notorious human rights violators, China and North Korea. This means that it is not illegal or punishable in Canada to kill a baby in even the latest stages of a pregnancy, all in the name of ‘CHOICE’. The CHP believes in the rights of men and women to choose, but we don’t believe in the right to kill our unborn children if we choose to do so. Mainstream parties like the Liberals and NDP have decided that it is OK to kill the unborn, if the mother thinks she has to make that choice. The Conservatives play it safe by not touching the subject and by punishing their own Members of Parliament, if they get too noisy about this subject. The CHP is Canada’s only federal pro-life party who speaks up for the human rights of the unborn! We will work hard to implement legislation that protects the unborn, and gives women all the support they need to avoid the ugly choice to kill their unborn baby. We need to stimulate adoption, not abortion! Unwanted pregnancies are often the symptom of unhealthy relationships. The CHP wants to strengthen the traditional family unit, thereby creating the best possible environment for our teenagers when they grow up and explore relationships. Strong families often also form the support base that is needed to avoid the choice to kill an unborn baby in case of unwanted pregnancy. So in short, the CHP wants family friendly policies, encourage healthy sexual behaviour, promote adoption, and make abortion unthinkable as soon as possible!
Lynn MacWilliam
NDP
National Daycare Program
One thing that I am excited about during this election is the prospect of having a $15-a- day National Childcare Program. Canadian families have wanted this for a long time and it is finally within reach.
In 1993, the Liberals promised to bring in a childcare program. Even with 12 years of majority government, they did not deliver. The last year they were in power, they cobbled together a program at the eleventh hour; too little, too late.
The cost of childcare is breaking household budgets. Families are currently paying between $1,000 and $2,000 per child. Career goals have been sacrificed because parents have been unable to find affordable childcare.
Studies show that for every dollar invested in childcare, our economy grows by two dollars. A National Childcare Program would generate $3 billion in government revenue.
Tom Mulcair and the NDP have made a National Childcare Program a priority in this election. In Quebec, Tom saw firsthand how the province’s universal, affordable childcare program helped families, boosted the economy and helped more than 70,000 join the workforce.
We will work with provinces, territories and First Nations communities to deliver a National Childcare Program, where parents pay no more than $15 a day.
As a councillor for the Town of Bassano, I know the only way for the town to grow is to have affordable childcare. This will bring young families to the town which, in turn, will bring in more services and businesses.
I have heard concerns from stay-at-home parents, worried they will be forced to put their children into childcare. Parents who wish to stay at home with their children still can, but the NDP want to ensure that there are quality, regulated childcare spaces for families who need them.
To find out more about the program and costing details, please go to www.ndp.ca.
Rita Fromholt
Green Party
Greenhouse gas reduction
How can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions when our economy and society are heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal?
While the Green Party of Canada is a federal party fully engaged on all the issues Canadians care about, real action on climate change by reducing GHG emissions is core to who we are.
We believe in a Canada that works together – across party lines and across jurisdictional boundaries – to deliver results. Those results include more jobs for Canadians in the growing clean tech sector, in renewable energy, in building a modern infrastructure, and in retrofitting Canadian buildings.
Greens are calling for 80 per cent reductions, below 1990 levels, by 2050. A short-term target is 40 per cent, below 2005 levels, by 2025.
These tough targets are achievable through a series of important measures all designed to move us away from economic and cultural fossil fuel dependency. Canada’s recently announced targets by the Harper government are the weakest in the G7.
We would implement a federal carbon fee that would only be levied on fossil fuels at source – when the coal, oil or gas comes out of the ground or crosses the border into Canada. The exact fee would vary according to the different global warming potential of the different fuels. Those paying the fee would pass the extra cost on down the business chain. However, we believe that every dollar generated by the carbon fee should be returned to Canadians through an equal per capital dividend payment.
Other measures we would implement to reduce emissions include removing subsides to fossil fuel industries, create funding for clean tech and alternative energy businesses and mobilize trades and workers across Canada in a national federally funded program to retrofit residential, business and institutional buildings to drastically improve energy efficiency.
Greens also believe that Canada must show leadership in reaching an international agreement on emissions reductions targets at the UN negotiations in Paris in December. Contact the Green party: 866-868-3447, ext 252 Cell: 250-884-5751
Conservative Party candidate Martin Shields and Liberal Party candidate Mac Alexander were not available for comment as of press time.