Busy door knocking

forward.

“You can’t just keep piling up debt and leave it to future generations.”

Miller said if the government continues to pay down its debt, eventually those funds spent on interest could be reinvested to help the people of the province.

The government has been watching its finances tightly for the past three years and is now at a point where it can loosen things up and increase spending, she adds.

As environment minister in the last government, Miller says the file has been challenging at times.

“People are so passionate about the environment, and I certainly appreciate that,” she said. “Decisions are based on science and facts and sometimes the information that’s out there isn’t always accurate and we have to make decisions based on what we have at the time.”

Miller previously walked out of a national carbon price meeting when talks were beginning. The government later agreed to develop a cap-andtrade system.

“We have so many wind turbines now it’s really inspiring, and we have tidal energy coming online soon and if that works, I could see that expanding, and we have power coming from Muskrat Falls,” she said. “We’re going to see our renewable energy levels really going up. We’ll be relying less and less on fossil fuels.”

When it comes to Hants East, Miller said one of the biggest issues she hears about is road conditions.

“The new gravel program is certainly going to help with that, I’ve already got some roads targeted for that,” she said.

The government announced $10 million in annual upgrades to gravel roads across the province in April.

MacDonald is entering provincial politics after eight years as a councillor with the Muni- cipality of East Hants.

“Over the last couple of years, what’s happened with education and health care, I’ve got major concerns with it,” MacDonald said. “I felt that it’s time to stand up for the people of Hants East and get some basic healthcare to this area, like xrays on the corridor side.”

Hants North, he adds, is in desperate need of a new school.

“There’s a new municipal pool being built, and although there’s been lots of provincial money everywhere else in the province, Hants East has none, which means we aren’t going to get federal money and we’ll have to go all on our own,” he said.

MacDonald said his municipal council experience gives him the knowhow to deal with different levels of government.

“Municipal government is grass roots, you’re dealing with issues that affect people directly,” he said. “You deal with a lot of people issues, and I think that’s missing at the provincial level.”

Crouse comes from a very political family.

“My parents and grandparents were very actively conservative and I went to a liberal college and I’m NDP, so I’m well-versed on all sides,” Crouse said.

Crouse is 22, but he doesn’t see his age as a disadvantage — rather, an asset.

“I just graduated from university, and I actually have my graduation ceremony during the campaign,” he said.

Crouse has a small business background, owning and operating a photography and a painting business.

“As a young person, there’s a lot of disconnect with modern politicians; they go into it in their 40s and 50s and 70s, and they don’t speak for the youth, for the generation that is going to inherit the province,” he said. “I haven’t inherited a province yet, and we don’t get a say in what we’re inheriting. A lot of young people have this disconnect, they feel that they don’t have a say.”

Crouse says he doesn’t care about being potentially the youngest MLA in Nova Scotia’s history.

“I want to create something new, it’s one thing to ride on your party, but it’s another thing to ride on your own name, and that’s what I want to do,” he said. “I want to stand for something as opposed to being a party pawn.”