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The federal election will be held on May 2 and candidates are ramping up their campaigning across the country. In the Yellowhead constituency, the Conservatives have had a stronghold for many years and these candidates hope to change that next month. This weeks’ candidates are Jake Strydhorst, Christian Heritage Party and Melissa Brade, Canadian Action Party.
Jake Strydhorst
Q: Describe how you feel about how the current government has served our country – and constituency – this term.
A: I think that in a lot of ways they have been pretty good at working together. One thing is deficit financing, I don’t think that’s the way to go. I think that’s one place they’ve gone wrong. Regarding the Yellowhead, I don’t have a problem with the way they’ve handled things to this point.
Q: What are you most disappointed about? What will your party do differently?
A: I have moral issues with the abortion and marriage issues. I also think that we have a problem with our criminal justice system. We have kind of a revolving door system and I think we have a problem following laws in this country. Regarding business and the economy, I think the government could set a better example by bringing in balanced budgets.
One thing we would do differently is to bring in balanced budgets. That debt is really stealing from our children and our grandchildren. Our hope is that we would like to bring the country back to our old Christian values.
Q: What would you say are important issues facing the Yellowhead constituency right now?
A: One thing is the infrastructure for various towns and cities. We would like to bring in non-interest loans through the Bank of Canada to promote better infrastructure for towns.
Regarding health care, there is a shortage of doctors and we would like to see tuition to medical students be covered by the government. I also believe the government should have a competitive market for heath care providers. Other countries have been trying this and it seems to be working for them.
Regarding education, I am not up on that particular issue.
Agriculture:
A: As far as the government goes, we’re dependant very much on exporting. The Christian Heritage Party (CHP) would make sure we have fair trade agreements with other countries so that we [Canada] can be competitive.
Environment:
A: We believe that we should take care of the environment. As a party, we support research into renewable energies, to make things like wind power affordable. We believe it should be done in a responsible manner.
Q: Harper appears to be using the scrapping of the Long Gun Registry as part of his campaign promises. How important is this to the CHP Party, and what is their intent if elected?
A: We agree with the Conservatives that we should scrap it. I don’t think that registering (most firearms) makes any difference as far as murders go. I don’t think it curtails violent crime, really.
Q: What about high speed internet for rural communities?
A: We would like to leave it as much up to free enterprise as possible.
Q: Why are you running in this election?
A: One reason is because I have been nominated. I believe there are some issues in Canada that we have to keep in the foreground. I also think that it is totally uncalled for that we have an election.It shows contempt for all the people of Canada. I think our MPs have to learn to work together. We must look at the good of our country and not seek our own agenda.
Q: Why do you think that people should vote in this election?
A: I think they should look at what the different parties have to offer and vote for what they think is best for the country. I think that it is the responsibility of anyone to vote if they are of age.
Melissa Brade
Q: Describe how you feel about how the current government has served our country – and constituency – this term.
A: Our government is not serving this country or its citizens. Our government is currently serving elite multinational corporations and private banks. These elites, the corporations and banks, are our permanent government. These elites compose the five per cent of the world’s population which is holding 95 per cent of the world’s wealth. These are the people our government serves, not Canadian citizens.
Q: What are you most disappointed about? What will your party do differently?
A: I am most disappointed with the ongoing harmonization agreements that are incrementally installing globalist, world-government ideals, and a North American Union with the U.S.A. and Mexico.
Canadian business has suffered through NAFTA whereby 97.6 per cent of foreign investment in Canada since NAFTA has been takeovers of Canadian businesses. Now our government opens the door to CETA, allowing European investors and European workers unrestricted access to Canadian resources and jobs. We are being outsourced to the point of being unemployed.
NAFTA needs to be replaced by a fair trade agreement that reflects the interests of Canadian citizens, rather than those of international corporations who are currently controlling our resources and our government.
Q: What would you say are important issues facing the Yellowhead constituency right now?
A: The economy. All other issues are connected to our economic capabilities, in Yellowhead and elsewhere. Without a strong economy we have no hope of providing strong social programs, education, infrastructure, sustainable technologies or defence to our citizens. We must regain control of our economy and release the stranglehold our current government has allowed the international bankers to have on our country’s policies and our federal debt. This outrageous debt would of never occurred if our government had properly used its responsibilities. The Canadian Action Party (CAP) wants this money put back into the pockets of working Canadians.
Q: We are hearing a lot about health care, education and the environment. What is the CAP planning on doing in these areas?
Health care: The CAP would use the Bank of Canada to finance health care’s survival so as not to turn it over to private for-profit interests. This could be achieved by creating and spending money into circulation specifically targeted for health care needs in rural communities; hospitals, doctors, nurses, technicians, equipment and so on. In order that health care remain viable and accessible to everyone, we immediately need to make natural holistic remedies available under Medicare, so that people who are proactive in maintaining their good health with herbs, supplements and high quality ‘real’ food are not suffering unfair financial burdens for doing so.
There is currently a shortage of skilled health professionals to fill the gap left by retiring doctors in small communities. In order to solve this problem, CAP would offer government funded tuition to students seeking doctorates.
In order to assure that Canadians will not be forced into an American style, for-profit system which would further impact the health of small towns, the CAP would prevent the privatization of health care. To achieve this goal, CAP would place a moratorium on all public/private partnerships, enforcing the labelling of genetically modified and irradiated foods and ensure that the Canada Health Act is enforced.
Environment:
A: CAP believes that water, air and soil are the basis for all life and we would not sacrifice any of those for greed or profit. Our policies support the family farm, organic foods, sustainable, responsible agriculture, fisheries and forests.
The CAP advocates full disclosure of the spectrum of environmental problems caused by unrestricted resource development and over-consumption, and promotes industry accountability in areas such as nuclear waste management and nuclear liability. CAP advocates a nuclear phase-out to help mitigate long term costs associated with nuclear accidents, radioactive wastes and decommissioning of Canada’s aging reactors. CAP would end our exports of uranium and CANDU technologies, which have given numerous nations nuclear weapons capability, and continue to add fuel to the nuclear arms race. The CAP would also expedite the release of alternative ‘suppressed’ technologies currently withheld by government and industry, and would develop environmental standards for waste and packaging reduction, while helping to fund all Canadian cities willing to accept new non-polluting technology to end dumping in landfill sites.
Q: How will the CAP government address agriculture issues, particularly in the Yellowhead region?
A: The IMF, World Bank, WTO, NAFTA and most agricultural policies of provincial and federal governments have one thing in common: they work very well for transnational processors, traders, and large retailers. They don’t work for the natural environment, farmers, or for consuming taxpaying citizens at large.
The Bank of Canada could be used to develop major research into finding new products that will grow on farms here for a predominantly Canadian market. We will trade globally but our survival should not be dependent on the whims of the global market place. We will strive for as much independence as possible. By implementing agriculture policies that put money into farmers’ hands, we will revitalize entire rural communities. The CAP recognizes that dependence on oil to operate agriculture is not sustainable. Estimates are that Canada will run out of our oil and gas reserves in about 10 to 15 years. We need to promote alternative energy technologies, and fund research to find alternate crops for the land resource, i.e., building material, fuel, etc.
Q: Harper appears to be using the scrapping of the Long Gun Registry as part of his campaign promises. How important is this to the CAP Party, and what is their intent if elected?
A: Gun control legislation has been a ripoff and a ‘boondoggle.’ Like most Canadians, we are deeply concerned about the irresponsible use of guns and applaud measures to keep them out of the hands of criminals, people with criminal records and the mentally unstable. Further effort is required to restrict the import of guns into Canada illegally. We note that since the inception of the gun registry, it appears that gun violence has risen. We would repeal Bill C-68 so that it would no longer be necessary to register rifles and shotguns. As we suspected, registration of shotguns or rifles does little to decrease crime or prevent loss of life. Firearm Acquisition Certificates would, of course, still be required to prevent angry or unstable persons from buying firearms.
Q: What about high speed internet for rural communities?
A: The CAP would use our Bank of Canada to fund expanding high-speed internet access to rural communities across Alberta. CAP opposes net metering and the censorship of the internet. Censorship includes exchanges of information and does not including criminal acts such as child pornography, corporate crime and stalking.
Q: Why are you running in this election?
A: I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. I rarely see any semblance of democracy from our mainstream parties, and fear that if more Canadians don’t get involved in reclaiming our rights, that our children will face a future of tyranny and further environmental destruction. The CAP promotes full transparency and accountable government. I hope that Yellowhead voters will connect with my honesty and see the policies CAP promotes as viable solutions to release the grip of foreign-corporate interests, and private banks on our government.
Q: Why do you think that people should vote in this election?
A: If people don’t begin to engage and demand something better we will find ourselves in a global government, or new world order, where unelected corporate elites set global policy.
Almost half of the voters in this country are so disgusted with the current system and its players that they don’t even bother casting a vote. The CAP seeks to engage Canadians in preserving their sovereign abilities to promote solutions for and by Canadians. Our vote is our voice. |
