Over the next two weeks leading up to the Oct. 14 federal election, the Fitzhugh will be covering the candidates running in the Yellowhead riding. In last week’s issue we featured Rob Merrifield for the Conservative Party and Ken Kuzminski for the New Democratic Party. This week, we have Green Party candidate Monika Schaefer, Liberal candidate Mohamed El-Rafih, and Christian Heritage Party candidate John Wierenga. Our election section will also include coverage of the candidates’ forum in Jasper on Oct. 6 at the Activity Centre. 

John Wierenga

Christian Heritage Party

Strong families are what’s needed to tackle some of the issues facing Canada, according to the Christian Heritage Party’s platform.

“Strong families in which children grow up in a stable environment, they also go into the workforce as stable individuals,” said Yellowhead candidate John Wierenga. “We’re fighting for the future of our children.”

The aim of the party is to return to the Christian principles the country was founded on. “That’s why we exist, we want to go back to those roots, those principles, that’s what motivates us,” Wierenga said. “We strongly feel without that this nation is going to continue to crumble.”

The economy, health care, life and family, and protecting constitutional rights are all topics in Better Solutions, the Christian Heritage Party’s platform. Wierenga said the government should make monthly contributions to the national debt, it should support renewable energy initiatives, and that inefficiencies must be addressed to improve health care, to name a few examples.

“We’d like to improve access to medical technologies and promote healthy lifestyle choices,” he said. “For example, the obesity in society in general is on the way up and it definitely creates a burden to the health care system.”

Because of its religious affiliation, the Christian Heritage party tends to get labelled. “In the past we’ve been recognized as a two-issue party,” Wierenga said. Though candidates strive towards making abortion and same-sex marriage both illegal in Canada, they’re also interested in protecting constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. 

“It’s gotten to the point now that if you speak out on religious convictions, they’re taking you to court,” he said. “And that’s across the board, there’s many different religions out there and that goes for every religion.”

This is Wierenga’s second time running for the Christian Heritage Party, both times in the Yellowhead riding. He lives in Neerlandia with his wife Felicia and their five children.

Monika Schaefer

Green Party

Yes, the Green Party puts a lot of focus on the environment, but that’s because so many things are tied to it, according to Monika Schaefer.

The Jasperite and Green Party candidate for the Yellowhead riding said for instance, you can’t have health without a healthy environment. “To carry on business as usual, that’s the most risky behaviour,” she said. 

She said a policy reversal that would tax the “bad” and reward the “good” is the way to go. “Put a high cost on pollution,” Schaefer said. “Reduce income taxes and stimulate the production of green technology.”

The Green Party also stresses the importance of localizing the economy. “We’re eating snow peas from China,” she said. “We’re basically exporting our jobs. Free trade isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Schaefer’s fiery passion is unmistakable. “I’m thinking about these issues all the time,” she said. “I’m enraged, concerned for the future of humanity on this planet.”

The Green Party is different than others because it would like to see others use its ideas, she said. “If another party does something good, we’ll say so,” Schaefer said. “Look at this election campaign, we’re shaping the way things are going. Parties are tripping over themselves to be green.”

Part of the Green Party’s platform that stands out for Schaefer is the idea that the nation should switch from using the Gross Domestic Product as a measure to what’s called a Genuine Progress Indicator.

“We believe we need to redefine how we measure wealth,” she said. “Let’s measure our wellness.” The Genuine Progress Indicator subtracts negative economic, environment and social activity from its calculations and is meant to provide a more accurate description of economic activity.

Schaefer ran in the federal election in 2006 and in the provincial election in 2004, both times as a member of the Green Party.

Mohamed El-Rafih

Liberal Party

A member of Parliament should be the voice of their constituency before being a voice of their party,” said Mohamed El-Rafih, Yellowhead’s Liberal candidate.

Though his policies are in line with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion’s, El-Rafih’s focus is on what matters to the people who live in the riding. “One of the issues here is with the pine beetle,” he said. “Forestry is a huge part of the economy, and that’s something that the (Liberal) green shift has accounted for.”

Tourism, Jasper’s key industry, is high up on El-Rafih’s radar. “Investing in tourism is something we haven’t done enough of,” he said. 

In addition, high gas prices are a priority. “We’re living in Alberta, we have more oil than the Middle East,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like anybody’s taking a voice and saying anything about it. People in Alberta should raise their eyebrows and wonder why everything’s dependant on a hurricane in Texas.”

According to El-Rafih, his personal crusade is with youth. He’s been on the Calgary Youth Justice Committee board since 2002 as a lecturer, mentor and program coordinator. “I find that the youth growing up have the sense of a California lifestyle, where it’s all about drinking and drugs. I would like to change the overall mentality,” he said, adding being in his 20s allows him to relate well to teens. 

“Being part of that younger crowd, if I can connect with them now... I don’t mind trying to work for the future generation,” he said. El-Rafih also said being young gives him the advantage of optimism. 

As for the Liberal leader, El-Rafih said Dion is one of the top reasons he joined the party. “He’s working hard, being true to his message,” he said. “When he communicates it, a lot of people aren’t ready to hear it, they just want to hear a quick one-liner.”

This is El-Rafih’s first time running in an election. He lives in Calgary and has a degree in Political Science.