Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke candidates highlight key issues
We asked the main federal candidates in Ottawa-area ridings to answer several questions so voters could get to know them better and get a sense of where they stood on important local issues.
Candidates’ replies to the surveys for Renfrew—Nipissing— Pembroke appear below in alphabetical order. They have been lightly edited for clarity and to accommodate print space. Results of the remaining surveys will appear in the Citizen in the days ahead. For more on what candidates had to say, visit ottawacitizen.com. The riding: This riding covers Renfrew County, following the Ottawa River from Arnprior to Head, Clara and Maria Township and stretching into Madawaska Valley. It also includes a section of Nipissing District around Algonquin Provincial Park. Conservative Cheryl Gallant has represented the riding since 2000, winning the 2015 election with 26,195 votes, good for 46 per cent of the vote.
DAVID F. AINSWORTH — PEOPLE’S PARTY OF CANADA
1. What is the most important local issue in your riding?
The top priority in our riding is economic development. Not only do we need to retain existing businesses, we also have to attract new and vibrant enterprises and industries to our riding. Succeeding in this effort will allow our younger people to remain and also entice families to move to the Ottawa Valley and benefit from our excellent quality of life.
2. If elected, what would be your top local priority, and how would you tackle it as an MP?
If elected, the top priority would be to reach out to stakeholders within the riding from both the public and private sectors and quickly develop a sound working relationship. The primary issues facing our riding have been well-studied and are well-known. The focus should be on pooling intellectual resources from all key sectors and getting things done in an efficient, cost-effective and timely manner. Our citizens have been patiently waiting and deserve results.
CHERYL GALLANT — CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
1. What is the most important local issue in your riding?
The most important local issue that I have been hearing over the last four years is how expensive everything has become and how difficult it is to keep up, let alone get ahead. Deficits are taxes going forward. This has to, and will, change under a new Conservative government.
2. If elected, what would be your top local priority, and how would you tackle it as an MP?
My immediate local priority is to demand fair compensation for property owners who have suffered catastrophic damage in two of the last three years as a result of current federal government policy. Flooding only became a problem with the federal government signing Plan 2014. The plan calls for the creation of 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) of new wetland.
Flood victims need time to prepare for the next spring flood. The federal wetland policies that have led to flooding in the Ottawa Valley are only going to get worse with the passage of Bill C-68 in the last Parliament. Property reassessments on flooded properties transfer the financial burden to property owners not directly flooded as municipal services must be maintained with an eroded tax base.
This has to be recognized for what it is: an attack on the right to own, use and enjoy private property in rural Canada.
EILEEN JONES-WHYTE — NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
1. What is the most important local issue in your riding?
The very critical issue of social and climate justice. We need to focus on issues that will make life more equitable, inclusive and affordable to all Canadians with programs like pharmacare, a plan to protect our planet, affordable housing, an increase to the minimum wage, etc.
2. If elected, what would be your top local priority, and how would you tackle it as an MP?
Our top priority locally is the same as the top priority nationally and internationally: environmental protection. Without a healthy, diverse planet there is no justice of any kind.
In RNP, we have recently lived through two “floods of the century.” We have experienced summers that have been hotter and drier than our previous norm. Our last winter ended with record snow melt. Ontario hydro scientists stated, “We are witnessing climate change.” For 10 years, our current MP sat on the backbenches of a government that ignored climate science and muzzled scientists. We need to transition to a clean-energy, carbon-free economy while investing in workers and creating jobs. And we can make life more affordable for families with retrofits, electric transit and zero-emission vehicles. Together, we can protect our air and water and become climate leaders.
RUBEN D. MARINI — LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
1. What is the most important local issue in your riding?
The most important issue is to drive economic growth and create jobs in the riding. Renfrew— Nipissing—Pembroke has not achieved the same levels of success as other areas of the country. We can fix that with a member of Parliament who knows how to get things done for the riding.
2. If elected, what would be your top local priority, and how would you tackle it as an MP?
We need to bring high-speed internet to all parts of the riding immediately. Access to reliable high-speed internet is essential for success in business, in school and for keeping families connected. Across the riding, people are telling me it is difficult to retain youth, attract talent, grow businesses and train workers without reliable high-speed internet.
To date, big companies have not been investing because of our dispersed population and remoteness. We need to support local innovators to make high-speed internet available throughout the riding. As an example: in one of our communities a not-for-profit organization, managed by volunteers, is providing wireless connectivity to thousands of residents and any profits go to support one of the hospitals in the riding. That’s Renfrew County spirit in action. I will advocate in the right places so local solutions get the voice they deserve and the investments they need to flourish.
IAN PINEAU — GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
1. What is the most important local issue in your riding?
How will RNP benefit and capitalize on these in a new green economy. The “climate crisis” we are in brings a great many risks, but as someone famous once said (Thomas Jefferson, I believe): “With great risk comes great rewards.”
2. If elected, what would be your top local priority, and how would you tackle it as an MP?
From Vision Green to Mission Possible. The Green Party of Canada foundational policy book, Vision Green, sets out our vision for Canada rooted in six core values: social justice, ecological wisdom, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, peace and non-violence, and sustainability.
Distilling that foundation to a clear call to action, we release Mission: Possible — The Green Climate Action Plan. We commit to all Canadians that our 2019 election platform will meet and exceed the Green New Deal (U.S.) and The Pact for a Green New Deal (Canada). We call on our Canadian allies to adopt similar targets. We pledge that even with these ambitious measures, our detailed platform will be fully costed and will be more fiscally responsible than that of the other parties. We will, in the coming weeks, submit our entire platform and budget to the Parliamentary Budget Officer for independent review and verification.