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Candidates in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country weigh in on the issues

For an election that nobody wanted - even the parties that triggered the election by tabling a non-confidence vote - there's a lot at stake in the federal election on May 2.

The Conservative Party of Canada under Stephen Harper is within a dozen seats of establishing the first stable majority government since 2004.

The Liberal Party is looking to regain power under Michael Ignatieff, their third leader since Paul Martin's short-lived minority government was elected in 2004. They're fighting a two-front battle, looking to regain seats back from the Conservative Party while preventing more Canadians on the left of the political spectrum from switching allegiance to the NDP.

The NDP are surging with leader Jack Layton topping popularity polls. The party has increased its representation in the House from 13 seats in 2000 to 37 in the 2008 election.

The Bloc Quebecois has seen its own numbers diminish, from 54 seats in 2004 to 49 today.

The Green Party is also threatening to play spoiler, hoping to build on their close to one million votes in 2008.

Hovering over everything are concerns about the economy, health care, the environment, the war in Afghanistan, crime, urban decay, deficits and debt, trade relations and a political system where minority governments don't last long and coalitions are a dirty word.

Pique sent a list of five questions to all nine candidates standing for election in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, Canada's largest by population and most diverse in terms of the geography and the economy. Candidates have driven mountain highways and hopped on ferries to reach constituents and make a case for your vote.

(Note: The candidates for the Libertarian Party of Canada and Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada did not participate.)

 

PIQUE Given that this is Canada's fourth federal election since 2004, what would you do to fix the system to ensure more stability in the future? Proportional representation? Fixed election dates? Coalitions? Rule changes to do away with confidence votes? What is your view on the future of the senate?

 

John Weston (Conservative Party of Canada): The question arises from voters' frustration about participating in a costly, unnecessary election. Canadians are still baffled that Michael Ignatieff committed to bring down our Conservative Government on a budget - long before it had been written. This election interrupted our economic recovery; cost over $300 million of hard-earned taxpayers' money; and killed valuable government bills. One answer is to require our political parties to commit to the interests of Canadians, not unnecessary political games.

In terms of institutional changes, I join with Conservative colleagues in my commitment to increase the quality of our democracy by enacting the Democratic Representation Act, which would add seats for B.C. in the House and increase our province's influence in Ottawa.

I support our Prime Minister Stephen Harper's commitment to reform the Senate. We have proposed Senate terms be limited to eight years, a bill that has been held up by Liberal Senators. The Prime Minister has committed to appoint Senators from provinces that elect them - another step forward in democracy.

 

Dan Veniez (Liberal Party of Canada): The solution lies not in the system we have but rather the people we elect. Stephen Harper ignored his own fixed election law, proposed a coalition with the Bloc and NDP to oppose Prime Minister Martin, and finds himself now in contempt of Parliament for the first time in our history. What we need are elected members who have a deep and inviolable respect for democracy and a passion for public engagement, who are willing to work together cooperatively for the broader public good rather than squabble for partisan gain.

 

Terry Platt (New Democratic Party of Canada): The only way to "fix" the system is if all parties work cooperatively to make government work. Government, like parenting, has to be a team effort, especially in a minority situation. I like the idea of proportional representation but I don't know if the Canadian public is ready for it. Fixed election dates don't always work as the ruling parties seem to be on their best behaviour prior to and during an election campaign. And, as in the U.S., the parties would be starting their campaigns about a year before the date. Elected Senate? Voted in by the Parliament, back benchers and cabinet ministers alike.

 

Brennan Wauters (Green Party of Canada): Proportional representation is the answer to provide stability. It also holds elected officials accountable and promotes cooperation amongst elected officials. The system as it stands appears most broken because the Harper Conservatives refuse to cooperate with elected officials from other parties. Proportional representation is a truer indication of the wishes of all people with less influence from special interest groups. The Harper Conservatives have an ideological stance that breeds intolerance and as a result the entire political system suffers. If we can't have an elected Senate, I like what Roger Lagasse has suggested for the Senate. In a proportional representation system, the Senate would be appointees of the parties elected according to the percentage of their popular vote. While it is not a current part of the platform of the Green Party, I think voting should be mandatory as it is in Australia. This impresses upon young people a standard and voice that is sadly lacking in our current system and results in stale and substandard governments. Reducing the voting age to 16 would certainly stimulate much needed input from young people and lay the foundation for True Democracy as we solve the challenges of our time.

 

Roger Legassé (Progressive Party of Canada): When a government ceases to represent the people, it should be removed immediately. This past government clearly was contemptuous of the majority of Canadians. It had to go. Confidence votes are a good way of ensuring respect for the wishes of the electorate. The senate should be appointed by parties and independents in proportion to the votes they received over the past decade.

 

Allan Holt (Western Block Party): I would rework the confidence votes. They should only be used when a specified threshold of tax and spend has been set as a target. The senate should be EEE - Equal at two per province, Elected every four years and Effective; allowed to veto and introduce bills affecting their jurisdiction with a simple majority in the House.

 

PIQUE Tourism has its challenges with a high Canadian dollar. What is your position on the Open Skies initiative, the recent requirement for Visas for visitors from Mexico, the cancellation of GST refunds for visitors, and other impediments to travel?

 

John Weston (CPP): Whistler Chamber President Fiona Famulak, Tourism Whistler's Barrett Fisher, and Whistler's Mayor Ken Melamed and Council provided invaluable insights on priorities in these areas. Improvements have come in these five areas:

1) When I first became the Conservative candidate in 2005, the corridor business community emphasized foreign work permits were the number one priority. I brought former Immigration Minister Monte Solberg to Whistler, followed by Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism to the riding. Both Ministers listened to the needs of Whistlerites and contributed to major improvements in how foreign workers are processed;

2) I travelled with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to China on his inaugural Asian visit, in December 2009. After years of unanswered requests under the Liberals, we succeeded in having China announce Approved Destination Status, which allows commercial tour operators to promote Canada in the world's most populous nation.

3) Last fall, I hosted a high-profile delegation from China's National People's Congress, who met with Whistler leaders at the Whistler Library. Following that visit, I helped organize a similar delegation by members of the Japanese Diet, or Parliament. Both groups were highly impressed by Whistler's appeal.

4) I presented petitions in the House of Commons and worked closely with Minister Kenney to remove visa requirements for Taiwan visitors, implemented last December.

5) Our Government imposed a new Visitor Visa requirement on Mexican Nationals last year after Canada had experienced a growing surge of people from Mexico claiming refugee status, with no reasonable likelihood of success. Minister Kenney has said it costs about $50,000 per claim, even if the claims are bogus. Our Government increased dramatically the number of officials in our Mexico City Embassy, enabling Mexicans to receive same-day turnaround for in-person visa applications and same-week turnaround on applications made by mail.

 

Dan Veniez (LPC): We have to approach tourism as a national priority with a comprehensive strategy. China has a middle class growing to the size of the United States, with India also rising as an economic powerhouse. Michael Ignatieff is proposing a network-based foreign policy, using our natural linkages to foreign lands as the bridge to sell our offerings to the world, and this includes tourism. We must work to embrace our global culture, with the transportation infrastructure and travel incentives aligned, including efficient visa processing, proactive marketing and, where we can get equal treatment, Open Skies agreements.

 

Terry Platt (NDP): I don't know much about the Open Skies. It is bad for tourism if we require visas from Mexican tourists. Visas are expensive and very time consuming. I don't even like that we have to have a passport to travel to the U.S. Passports are expensive and I think the effort it takes to get one is bad for the cross-border shopping.

 

Brennan Wauters ( Green): The money that the most current government used to impede travel should have been used to institute an extensive ecological educational program in Whistler to demonstrate to people how to make their vacations more environmental and to highlight the amazing advances in ecological stewardship people in the riding of WV-SC-S2SC have to offer the world. Put the money into positive things and the barrier of a high Canadian dollar would be nullified. Green Party MPs are committed to creating a federal Department of Tourism to coordinate all aspects of tourism including the promotion of ecotourism and encourage Aboriginal Canadians to assume a larger role towards that end. An oversight body would have been instrumental in taking advantage of the open skies initiative and addressing the impediments that have taken place to keep people out of Canada who want to freely enjoy their time in Whistler. The Green Party is demanding the reversal of the Conservative government's decision to eliminate the GST rebate for foreign visitors. There exists also a local transportation problem within the Sea-to-Sky corridor. An efficient, carbon-friendly, community building and practical solution rests in a ride-share service so that vehicles traversing the corridor can safely and conveniently stop and pick up passengers for either direction between Pemberton and Vancouver. It needs to be administered locally in conjunction with public safety organizations so it is safe and liability-free. Every country in the world that has an energy shortage has some formal or informal car-share method of local transportation and we should be no exception.

 

Roger Legassé (PCP): I am in favour of freedom of movement. There must be measures to control dangerous elements. Visitors who use public facilities should pay a fair share of taxes for upkeep.

 

Allan Holt (WBP): I don't have a problem with visa requirements from any foreign country. Tourists should pay taxes, they are using the facilities.

 

PIQUE This is a diverse riding, culturally, politically and economically. How would you represent this diversity?

 

John Weston (CPC): This election is about national leadership and about continuing our recovery from the global economic recession. It is about continuing to strengthen our economy to create more jobs, keep our taxes low so that hard working people can afford to raise their children and care for their families; it is about taking steps to keep our communities safe. While this riding is diverse, people in the riding share these common goals.

This campaign is also about my commitment to continue to listen closely to you as a resident of this majestic place and to advocate for your needs in Ottawa. Unlike three of the candidates in our riding, I actually lived in the riding before the election and I returned almost every weekend so that I could be with the people who elected me. As owner of a place at Whistler, my family loves the corridor; we come here every chance we get. I managed to spend time in the Corridor on countless occasions - attending council meetings, residing at Whistler during the Olympic Games, sharing in your festivals, and skiing in addition to spending our family vacations here.

Living in the riding makes a difference - I am familiar with your issues and concerns. I love our community and am proud of my hardworking staff and volunteers who helped me attract over $240 million in federal investment to our riding at just the time when this community needed it!

I ask you to vote for our Conservative Team - for jobs, for low taxes, for sound stable leadership and for continued economic recovery - our commitment nationally; my commitment locally.

 

Dan Veniez (LPC): If elected, I plan to create Community Advisory Groups. These would be composed of local leaders from the business, arts, health and social sectors, representing youth, new Canadians, Aboriginals and all segments of our riding. There would be groups from Whistler, Squamish, Powell River, Gibsons, Sechelt, West and North Vancouver, Bowen Island and other areas to give the unique needs from every segment of the community a voice in Ottawa.

 

Terry Platt (NDP): I am a married, working woman who rents a house in West Vancouver. In the past I lived and worked on the Sunshine Coast. I would represent the riding very well, to the best of my ability. I appreciate the beauty of the riding and would work at protecting the resources we have for future generations.

 

Brennan Wauters (Green): I have rural roots coupled with urban sensibilities. I grew up on a farm and still live on a farm most of the time but I've also lived in Toronto, New York, Montreal and Vancouver. I'm a fierce egalitarian and feel that everyone deserves attention from a non-judgmental representative who listens to people in the riding and can bring together disparate viewpoints on a number of issues. My studies in anthropology have provided me with the ability to understand and communicate with diverse audiences. I thrive on this talent and know that my skills will be of service to the riding to bring consensus and provide sustainable jobs and projects that will put the riding even more in the world spotlight.

 

Roger Legassé (PCP): The Member of Parliament should be constantly asking questions to determine the wishes of the people and he should represent those wishes to Ottawa, not the other way around. The party has its place but it should be a servant of the people. The past government showed signs of xenophobia when it came to Muslims. All citizens have a right to be respected equally.

 

Allan Holt (WBP): I would split the riding in two, like it was supposed to be years ago. Add Pemberton to Sea to Sky and away we go. The Sunshine Coast has zero in common with West Vancouver other than a ferry terminal and our taxes pay for your golden approach to playland.

 

PIQUE The economy is on a lot of minds and most families will tell you that they're struggling with stagnant wages and the rising cost of living. Tax cuts at one level seem to result in higher taxes at another. What are some things you would do to create jobs and revive the middle class?

 

John Weston (CPC): The news on taxes is actually - great! Tax Freedom Day is over three weeks earlier than it occurred under the Liberals and the average Canadian family of four has over $3,000 more in their pockets at the end of the year! We achieved all of this during a time of global economic recession!

The world has been ravaged by the worst recession since the 1930s, yet Canada's relative prosperity has allowed the opposition parties to take us down a road few Canadians want to travel - a premature election, unnecessary, and costly. The Conservative Government's Economic Action Plan is moving from Phase I with targeted, timely local investments driven by local priorities. We've seen 480,000 new jobs created since July 2009, and six straight quarters of economic growth. Phase II continues this momentum but focuses continuing to strengthen the economy and creating jobs. Canada's economy is now ranked first in the western world.

Moving from the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the Western world, our next step is to get our budget passed. It was acclaimed not only by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business but also by the Canadian Labour Congress. Our budget, called the "Low Cost Plan for Jobs and Growth" contains help for seniors, for youth, for volunteer fire fighters (just as you asked, Whistler!), and it anticipates income splitting for families with children.

With close collaboration and good communication between us, Corridor leaders drove the projects I championed for their communities in Ottawa. Of over 25 such projects during my first term as your MP, I am especially proud of the Whistler Kokanee Crankworx and Squamish West Coast Railway Roundhouse Projects - both of which had been rejected twice. Working with local leaders, we managed to reverse those decisions!

 

Dan Veniez (LPC): We need to put a serious focus on productivity, to ensure we are not just competitive, but a winning force in the global economy. That means serious investments in infrastructure, not wasteful spending on fake lakes and gazebos. We must focus on efficient, fast, reliable and affordable public transit, clean and low cost energy, broadband Internet, early childhood and post-secondary education. These investments will give every Canadian the tools needed to climb the economic ladder and bring our country to the top with them.

Terry Platt (NDP): Instead of giving billions of dollars in corporate tax giveaways like the Conservatives we would establish tax credits for small business. There would also be tax assistance and incentives for small businesses to hire more employees. We would build infrastructure to draw jobs into the smaller communities. More jobs in smaller communities means fewer people have to commute out of town.

 

Brennan Wauters (Green): Reviving the middle class requires increasing corporate taxes to a global standard. It also requires taxing pollution and carbon because these are luxury indicators that burden our system. Today, anything that expends energy in a wasteful manner is putting pressure on our future viability and should be taxed accordingly. The Green Party of Canada advocates a Carbon Tax and Polluters Tax because it challenges people to make priorities. When something is produced, we often only benefit from the finished product. We do not always see clearly what pollutants and energy expenditures went into creating something that we benefit from. We can no longer feed a system that pushes us collectively to the brink of existence. We must build a smart economy that balances and considers our environment and in doing so we gain secure and stable jobs for the future. For example, the family farm is the foundation of our platform and stimulating a shift to local organic food production will create jobs and value. Smart jobs mean investing technology and placing priority on energy conservation and infrastructure retrofitting. A national clean tech/energy program coupled with long-term education and re-training of the workforce is the smartest investments we can make for the country and for the middle class.

 

Roger Legassé (CPC): The war in Afghanistan costs at least $107 million dollars for our riding (about $18 billion to Canada, divided by 308 ridings), to say nothing of the cost in human lives on all sides - including that of a 22-year-old soldier from Gibsons who left a young widow and small child. The government that fell a few weeks ago wanted to spend more than $220 million of our West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country tax dollars on new killer aircraft. That's a total of $337 million local dollars that could be spent on jobs and services. Instead of wasting our tax dollars to create enemies abroad the government could enhance security be investing in job-intensive alternative energy development and other positive initiatives.

 

Allan Holt (WBP): I would abolish personal income tax and go to a value-added.

 

PIQUE What are the other issues you view as central to this election (environment, health care, education, First Nations, etc.)?

 

John Weston (CPC): Based on feedback from riding residents, their priorities were:

1) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs - working to keep our economy strong and creating more jobs for Canadians. 2) Families - keeping taxes low so that hard working people can afford to raise their children and care for their families. 3) Crime - taking steps to ensure law-abiding people are safe and criminals who commit serious crimes serve time. My Private Member's Bill to tackle Crystal Meth and Ecstasy received unanimous support in both Houses and became law on the last day of Parliament. As Senator Lang, who helped the bill move through the Senate said, "You are really saving Canada's future - by saving our children's lives." 4) Environment - our Conservative government believes that focusing on developing clean technology to improve Canada's resource management will result in significant economic growth. Canada is now in the top six countries in the world in clean energy research according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and in fact Canada lead's the United States in Clean Energy research dollars per GDP. Canada has created 151,600 new jobs in the environmental industry over the last three years for a total of 682,000 jobs in this sector - four per cent of the total work force (ECO Canada ( www.eco.ca ). We are proud of this record!

 

Dan Veniez (LPC): This is first and foremost about reclaiming democracy. The Harper government's budget promises can't be trusted when they refuse to share financial information with the Parliament elected to hold the government to account. We must bring honesty and accountability and respect back to government, so that we can have a serious and adult discussion about the challenges facing our times, including global trade, healthcare reform, an aging population and environmental sustainability. We can solve these issues, but first we must be able to work with each other, and trust our own government, something that requires a higher quality of character in Ottawa than we have seen these past five years.

 

Terry Platt (NDP): I have met and spoken with a lot of people in the last few months. Everything from employment, the military, the environment, water, First Nations, seniors issues and health care. Even the plight of the Lost Canadians. Each one of these issues is very important but it's difficult to do anything about them unless we elect a caring, aware government on May 2. And we as Canadians must continue to lobby our MPs for action, for social justice.

 

Brennan Wauters (Green): Although every issue is important, our platform focuses on how the environment intersects with our economy. Food security and emergency preparedness are significant and important considerations in the riding and we must continue to discuss and work on these issues. We need to create infrastructure that ensures food security by reducing our energy needs; notions that automatically promote environmental stewardship. Localizing everything means also bringing our troops home and concentrating our efforts to transform Canada. International mutual aid is best provided by reducing energy consumption in Canada and at the same time this builds resilience to market and ecological instability. Continued reforestation and protecting the remaining ancient forests left in our riding are crucial for tourism and heritage. A national water policy has yet to be discussed but it is an issue that will become more prominent and divisive in the future. The Green Party of Canada has the broadest and most compelling platform of all of the parties because its foundation is the environment and a healthy environment ensures a healthy economy. Other issues such as municipal infrastructure needs, health care, education, the deficit are addressed in details by the three pillars of our Green Party platform: Smart Economy, True Democracy and Strong Communities. The Green Vision platform can be found at: http://greenparty.ca .

 

Roger Legassé (PCP): We need to decide whether we want our tax dollars to be spent on bombs or on programs of social uplift. The future government should avoid following in the footsteps of the regime to the south which is depleting its treasury on wars of aggression abroad, leading to economic collapse at home. Bring our troops home where they can defend our borders. Train and equip troops to respond to natural disasters like the high magnitude earthquake geologists say is due to hit the coast at any time. The MP should help, not hinder, the achievement of long overdue treaties with local First Nations.

 

Allan Holt (WBP): The most central issue is getting away from the clutches of the eastern tax machine. Check your birth certificate and see if says that you are eastern Canada's cash cow.

 

 



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