Candidates outline fears, hopes for Egmont
Civil debate focuses on labour shortages, farming challenges, social inequality
When asked what issues kept them up at night, the four federal candidates in Egmont had no trouble thinking up fears.
Liberal incumbent Bobby Morrissey, Conservative candidate Logan McLellan, Green candidate Alex Clark and NDP candidate Sharon Dunn were asked about these personal fears during an all-candidates debate in Summerside Wednesday night.
The event was organized by the Journal-Pioneer, the Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce and the Harbourfront Theatre.
For Morrissey, who served in the provincial government in the early 1990s, the issue that scared him most in his political life was the 1991 closure of the Canadian Forces Base in Summerside.
“It was devastating for the community. That kept me up at night,” Morrissey said of the former base, which is now the site of Slemon Park.
For other candidates, some of their concerns were more personal.
Conservative candidate Logan McLellan brought up seniors he worked with as a financial adviser.
“One of the things that would keep me up was, we would have the client trying to retire and we would be trying to figure out ways to get the ball to the finish line,” McLellan said.
“These are things that would really affect me.”
Green candidate Alex Clark, who runs a local brewery, brought up his experiences as a child, watching his parents run a Toyota dealership.
“I remember my father, early in the morning, leaving. And I feel as though that’s a stress that all these small business-owners hold. It’s constant!”
Clark also noted that he and his wife are expecting a baby, which he said was also likely to keep him up at night.
For the NDP’s Sharon Dunn, the issue that kept her up at night was health care.
“I have been without a doctor myself,” Dunn said.
“I am particularly concerned about those people who have chronic long-term illnesses.”
Many of the questions Wednesday night focused on the economy and jobs in the riding.
Others focused on social inequality.
But the most heated exchanges occurred on questions of the climate crisis. All candidates agreed Canada is facing a critical issue, but opinions differed about the adequacy of Canadian efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Dunn said the NDP platform commits to creating 300,000 well-paying jobs in the green energy sector, as well as reducing the cost of purchasing electric vehicles.
McLellan said the Conservative plan focused on “big polluters not small commuters” and would avoid imposing a carbon tax.
McLellan also said Canada’s carbon emissions account for only 1.6 per cent of the global total and that Canada should export clean tech to countries like China.
Clark countered that Canada’s per capita emissions are double those of China.
He agreed investments should be made in clean tech but criticized the Trudeau government’s purchase of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.
“We have to be doing more. This is an emergency, and actions like that are not taking it seriously,” Clark said.
Morrissey noted that posttropical storm Dorian provided Islanders with a firsthand look at the effects of climate change. The Liberals plan to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050, he said.
But Morrissey bristled at Clark’s criticism of the pipeline purchase.
“Don’t fool ourselves. How many of you have family members that depend on the Alberta oil (patch) for their work? We can’t all stay here, Alex,” Morrissey said.
A question about Confederation Bridge tolls drew a suggestion from McLellan that he suggested could help reduce toll costs for commuters.
“I support the government of Canada entering negotiations with the company, Strait Crossing, to buy the bridge,” McLellan said.
None of the other candidates supported reducing bridge tolls or purchasing the Confederation Bridge outright, but Morrissey, Dunn and Clark did support eliminating tolls for medical patients seeking treatment off-Island.
Another question focused on what candidates would do to ensure industry in P.E.I. had access to enough trained workers.
Morrissey touted the federal transfers that have gone to programs like Skills P.E.I. and to recent changes to Employment Insurance that allow students to receive benefits while pursuing technical training.
McLellan suggested local high schools should incorporate financial literacy training into their curriculum.
Dunn said federal programs should require provinces to “up their game” and provide better standards for workplace and technical training.
She suggested requiring fishermen to take swimming lessons.
Clark said the solution lay with providing free postsecondary education nationally. This would allow more young Canadians to upgrade their skills instead of moving off-Island where “non-education will pay a higher wage,” he said.