With less than three weeks before the federal election, Yellowhead candidates are making a final push to secure your vote on Oct. 19. To help you make an informed choice, the Fitzhugh asked each candidate three questions. Each question was the same and relevant to Jasper. Each candidate was also asked a specific question about their own party. From now until election time, the Fitzhugh will be publishing the candidate’s responses verbatim.
Sandra Wolf Lange, the Yellowhead candidate for the Green Party, did not return her answers, despite being given two and half weeks to respond.
Libertarian candidate Cory Lystang
Question: The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) recently published a report that's highly critical of commercial development in Canada's national parks. The report states commercial projects such as the Glacier Skywalk and the approval to build 15 tent cabins at Maligne Lake threaten the ecological integrity of Jasper National Park. The report also states private interest appears to be taking precedence over the public interest, with public feedback being ignored and decreased opportunities for public consultation periods. How will your party protect the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks and ensure adequate opportunities for public consultation when considering new projects?
Our national parks are very important and should be kept as pristine as possible. However, we need to realize that our parks need to become self-sufficient and commercial development is one way to accomplish that goal.
If done responsibly and with the input of the community it will not only benefit the parks but everyone who visits them. Under a Libertarian government, local input, involvement and ideas would not only be supported, but preferred over big government decision making.
Question: According to your party’s website, the Libertarian Party of Canada plans to reduce the role and responsibilities of the federal government while also cutting costs. To do this, your party has proposed several policies, including eliminating prohibitions and legislative obstacles for gun ownership and allowing private alternatives for healthcare and insurance. Why do you believe a smaller government, run by the Libertarian Party of Canada, would benefit Canadians?
Simply put, large government wastes billions in redundant departments and oversight to get services to the people. An example is the 12,000 bureaucrats that are currently being employed by Health Canada; none of which manages a single hospital.
The decentralization of power to the provinces and even the individual municipalities will put the power in the hands of the people that are affected by these decisions.
Our goal is to keep money in the places where it is needed and not waste it in bureaucratic overspending.
Conservative incumbent Jim Eglinski
Question: The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) recently published a report that's highly critical of commercial development in Canada's national parks. The report states commercial projects such as the Glacier Skywalk and the approval to build 15 tent cabins at Maligne Lake threaten the ecological integrity of Jasper National Park. The report also states private interest appears to be taking precedence over the public interest, with public feedback being ignored and decreased opportunities for public consultation periods. How will your party protect the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks and ensure adequate opportunities for public consultation when considering new projects?
Parks Canada is a stand-alone agency that falls under the umbrella of the Ministry of Environment. It has its own charter, code of ethics, values and operating principles.
As a government, we rely on the management expertise and service provided from within the infrastructure of Parks Canada that they are providing ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations.
Our government has initiated the largest infrastructure investment in Parks Canada history. This is part of a new $5.8 billion federal infrastructure program that will improve heritage, visitor experience, waterways and highway assets.
Public feedback is essential to Parks Canada if it is to maintain strong environmental stewardship. Public feedback from all sectors must be considered.
Our parks must ensure visitors have the best possible experiences, we must renew structures like trails, campgrounds, visitor centres, parkways etc. This will boost the appeal of our protected places, create new jobs and support the goals of the National Conservation Plan.
Question: The Conservative Party claims to be the best managers of the Canadian economy, yet nearly seven years after the 2008 global financial crisis, Canada has once again entered a recession. With the Canadian dollar trading in the mid 70s and oil trading below $50 a barrel, why should voters trust your party to manage the economy?
While Canada is not immune to a fragile global economy, under our Conservative Government we have weathered this economic instability with a plan of low taxes, a balanced budget, economic growth, and benefits provided directly to families. Since the depth of the recession, 1.2 million net new jobs have been created. These are overwhelmingly full-time, private sector jobs in high-wage industries. We are aiming to create another 1.3 million net new jobs by 2020.
We have a proven track record.
Through the implementation of the Economic Action Plan, the Conservative Government was successful in steering Canada through the global recession.
Over 30,000 projects were completed under the stimulus phase of the Economic Action Plan. These projects have contributed to a strong labour market recovery, with over 610,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. This performance reflects the Government’s commitment to create jobs and opportunities for Canadians.
Since January 2006, employment in Canada has increased by over 1.1 million, the strongest performance of any Group of Seven (G-7) country over this period. In addition, we delivered on our promise to balance the budget, posting a $1.9 billion budget surplus for the 2014-15 fiscal year and a $5 billion surplus for April to June 2015.
We are making record investments in infrastructure, lowering taxes, balancing the budget, supporting growth in the manufacturing sector, and on July 20th all Canadian families with children received their lump sum Universal Child Care Benefit payment.
The Liberal Party intends to run a massive deficit. This is not the time to plunge Canada into debt and that proves Justin Trudeau is not ready to manage our economy, especially at such a fragile time.
In an interview with Peter Mansbridge of CBC earlier this month, Trudeau insulted small business owners when he stated he believes small business are simply tax shelters for the wealthy.
Furthermore, the Liberal’s economic investments are focused primarily on big cities, ignoring small communities and resource industries. This irresponsible approach would put the jobs of 1.6 million Canadians at risk and only create further economic turmoil.
The NDP intends to keep a balanced budget. However, they will fund their massive projects through permanent tax increases. Corporate taxes, carbon taxes, and payroll tax hikes would threaten at least 250,000 jobs. In addition, the NDP opposes resource development and ignores the needs of rural Canadians, voting against broadband expansion and resource exploration tax cuts.
We included room in the budget to account for continuing weakness in the global economy.
Unlike Justin Trudeau, we know that “budgets don’t balance themselves.”
Now more than ever we must continue with our low tax plan, and not take unnecessary risks with the inexperienced leadership of Justin Trudeau. The Liberals do not understand how to manage a G-7 economy.
Liberal candidate Ryan Maguhn
Question: The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) recently published a report that's highly critical of commercial development in Canada's national parks. The report states commercial projects such as the Glacier Skywalk and the approval to build 15 tent cabins at Maligne Lake threaten the ecological integrity of Jasper National Park. The report also states private interest appears to be taking precedence over the public interest, with public feedback being ignored and decreased opportunities for public consultation periods. How will your party protect the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks and ensure adequate opportunities for public consultation when considering new projects?
First of all I think it's important to identify the key role that public consultation plays in any development that goes on within our communities and national parks. A key role of a democratic government is to ensure that the people are consulted in what happens where we work and play.
Furthermore consultation requires third party independent oversight. In all sectors we have seen the present government disrespect these key values; as projects impacting our environment and industry are cherry picked by ministers and MPs; leading to decisions by authoritarians rather than consultation with the people and experts.
A Liberal government is committed to ensuring the restriction of development inside of our national parks, while realizing the important balance gateway communities like Jasper play. We must use a common sense approach to expansion within these gateway communities to ensure that we balance our ecological needs with our economic realities.
We will temper our approach with third party independent consultation, public feedback and greater shareholder input from our citizens. We will use community, science, feedback, common sense and democracy to help chart the future of our national parks.
Furthermore we will reverse Conservative cuts to our parks system and reinvest in protecting habitat, research, economic development and working to limit the spread of ecological stresses like the Mountain Pine Beetle.
The Liberal Party firmly believes that our national parks are an asset to our country, not a liability.
Question: The Liberal Party of Canada has criticized the current government for running a string of federal deficits, but your party has now said it would consider running deficits until 2019 to help stimulate the economy. However, the practice of deficit spending to create economic growth hasn’t always panned out, especially when you consider Canada is currently in an economic recession. Why should voters trust a Liberal deficit will create the economic growth promised by your party?
The Liberal Party will run three very moderate deficits in order to invest in the Canadian people.
The total we are looking to run is no more than $10 billion per year. By comparison if you look at the total of seven years of consecutive deficits carried by the current government it amounts to $182.3 billion.
In those seven years, what game plan did the Conservative government have?
Did they invest in economic diversification? (NO).
Did they do anything to reduce taxes for the middle class? (NO).
Did they endeavour to permanently reduce the insurmountable infrastructure deficit faced by municipalities across the country? (NO).
Think of deficits like a loan...you have the opportunity to invest those funds in projects and programs that will stimulate the economy and put people to work; and that is exactly what we will do.
The Conservative government had no plan, and the NDP can’t afford their own plan. The practice of deficit spending is reasonable, when it is approached with a well thought out strategy to invest in the nation’s economy.
This isn’t a new stratagem, this is part of a sound economic practice related to Keynesian Economics. Joseph Stiglitz (a nobel prize winning economist, who has contributed to very successful US economic administrations) is just one of many voices who advocate for government leadership in spending (and investment) during times of economic recession.
In fact one of the worst things a government can do is refuse to act in order to balance the needs of the market.
Our plan will work because it will invest in our communities, create jobs and opportunities, lead to growth in local business and see a real investment in the Canadian people.
NDP candidate Ken Kuzminski
Question: The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) recently published a report that's highly critical of commercial development in Canada's national parks. The report states commercial projects such as the Glacier Skywalk and the approval to build 15 tent cabins at Maligne Lake threaten the ecological integrity of Jasper National Park. The report also states private interest appears to be taking precedence over the public interest, with public feedback being ignored and decreased opportunities for public consultation periods. How will your party protect the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks and ensure adequate opportunities for public consultation when considering new projects?
I am very familiar with both these projects and the process that was undertaken. I am in favour of proposals being presented that have been through rigorous scrutiny. The process, itself, must be open and transparent from the start.
The rules and regulations must be clear on development to ensure proposals fall within these regulations. Without clarity in the process, no one comes away happy with potential outcomes; then questioning and second guessing occur.
Public engagement and public interest is a crucial part of the process, and should evolve to enhance the ability for that discussion to take place.
There will always be a balancing of interests based on science. The Conservatives have attacked scientists and muzzled them from speaking up. This does not give the public confidence in its system of review.
Question: For the first time in Canadian history the New Democratic Party has a chance to become the next federal government. For most of the campaign your party has been leading in the polls, however, the federal NDP is struggling to gain traction in Alberta. Why should Yellowhead voters consider voting for the NDP?
Voters have been asking for a change of direction for the country.
The NDP are the only party that can restore the respect and fairness that Canadians deserve. There doesn’t have to be destructive politics that divide Canadians. We can come together and move forward without leaving anyone behind. Change!
Canadians are not happy with the direction this government has been taking us. We can have a healthy economy and environment. We can have seniors retire with dignity and have affordable daycare. We can educate and train our youth and treat our veterans with the respect they deserve.
