HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-04-28, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011.Candidates face Federation’s questions at meetingContinued from page 1the Conservatives have providedstable government,” he said.“Canada has weathered the worstrecession since the 1930s and it’s
because of the foundations the
Conservative government made.”
Lobb stated that the Conservatives
have expanded agriculture markets,
defended the sovereignty of the
nation and have moved to put
citizens ahead of criminals.
The Conservatives, according to
Lobb, will focus on five priorities if
re-elected: creating jobs, supporting
families, eliminating the national
deficit by 2014, expanding market
access and keeping the nation safe
through military funding and
cracking down on criminals.
Questions focused on agricultureand food laws, starting with awritten query on the inequity in foodstandards between imported andhome-grown goods.
Shelley stated that balancing
policies between exports and
imports was something that he and
the Green Party would focus on.
“We have to balance the rules for
fairness and for safety,” he said.
Robertson stated the current
government isn’t interested in
remedying this problem, and stated
it was time for Canada to stop being
polite about it.
“All sorts of goods get across our
borders that shouldn’t,” he said. “It’s
time [for Canada] to stop being a
boy scout, stand up and stop it. I’m
tired of being told, as a farmer, thatI’m not competitive because I won’texploit my workers and use illegalchemicals.”Valenta stated that he is against
any unfair advantages given to
anyone and would endeavour to
prevent food made at a lower
standard than Canada’s from being
shipped into the country.
The Liberal stance, according to
Bagnato, is clearly outlined in the
party platform, stating that levelling
the playing field would be part of
their plan.
“We would conduct a
comprehensive review of the
situation,” he said, stating that the
Liberal’s plan is to invest $50
million in a national food plan if
they are elected.
Lobb stated that he had met with
the Canadian Federation of
Agriculture, and that a solution was
in the works.
“We’re working on harmonizing
regulations with the [U.S.]” he said.
“But you can’t fix this with a snap of
the fingers, we need to maintain a
food flow.”
Lobb said that his Conservative
peers would be working on a
solution to this problem right now
had the election not been called.
The second of the written
questions dealt with how candidates
would retain youth in Huron County.
Robertson stated that, without
youth, there would be no future, and
he is seeing the results of that across
the county right now.
“I’ve been to the small towns, and
the store fronts there are boarded
up,” he said.
The solution, according to
Robertson, is to keep the economy
growing with agricultural policies, a
Risk Management Program, and
help for small businesses, like tax
breaks.
Valenta stated that the solution is
to reduce taxation and remove the
red tape.
Youth are only going to remain in
an area where they can get
sustainable jobs, he said, and current
regulations and tax rates prevent the
kind of growth that would provide
those jobs.
Bagnato said that the Liberal’s
national food plan would provide an
answer to this topic.
“One of our goals is to makefarming successful,” he said. “Thatwould encourage children to takeover family farms, which they’re notdoing now.”
Bagnato also stated that
investments in green energy would
create green jobs, another means of
encouraging growth and youth
retention in Huron County.
Lobb stated that the important
factor in keeping youth in Huron
County was to create a market for
local jobs.
“We need to create an
environment where businesses want
to grow and want to move to,” he
said.
Lobb added that through several
initiatives, some for provincial
development and some for local
development, money was being
funneled to the area for those
purposes.
Shelley stated that the problem
was very real, and wasn’t going to be
solved simply by economic
stimulus.
“We need to reduce the cost of
living here,” he said, adding that he
lives with his parents because it’s
financially unreasonable not to.
“We need to open a dialogue with
the colleges and universities to bring
satellite campuses here,” he said.
“We could then keep youth here
when they go to school, and those
satellites could provide job training.”
Shelley also said that, like health
professionals, there needs to be
incentives for students to come back.
“We need to ramp up debt relief
for students who want to come
back,” he said.
For the next question, all five
candidates answered the next
question similarly, stating that they
would vote for their riding over their
party if they were pushed on the
decision.
Valenta was the only candidate
who didn’t call out fellow candidates
and their parties in regards to
specific former decisions in which
candidates were “whipped” into
voting, with the Long Gun Registry
debate being a hot topic.
Four of the five candidates stated
they would support a Risk
Management Program, with Dennis
Valenta stating he would go a
different direction.
“I don’t believe in welfare, Ibelieve in fair enterprise,” he said.“The federal government shouldprotect farmers from exteriorinfluences. [This would allow
farmers to] get to a point of
succeeding on their own.”
Valenta added that, as of now,
there already is too much
government interference.
Lobb stated that he would support
it, but also stated that any program
would have to be nation-wide, and
that it would require two-thirds of
the provinces and at least 51 per cent
of the producers to agree to it before
the federal government could do
anything.
Similar support was shown for
supply management programs.
Candidates were also asked how
they would handle the vote
subsidies, if their parties got into
power.
Vote subsidies provide a certain
number of dollars to political parties
based on the votes they have had in
the latest election.
Valenta said he would scrap the
program.
Bagnato stated that it is an
important part of the election
process and that it promotes
democracy. Without it, he believes
that corruption would result.
Lobb stated he would scrap it, as it
allows opposition parties to continue
electioneering, as they are now. He
also stated that the Bloc Quebecois
basically survives on the plan, which
he sees as a conflict of interest.
“It‘s a travesty that federal taxes
go to [Gilles] Duceppe, whose sole
ambition is to break this country
apart,” he said.
Shelley stated that the funds are
representative of the time and effort
that each party puts into acquiring
every single vote, while Robertson
stated that, along with scrapping this
plan, political donations need to be
removed from the program entirely.
Senate reform was also a hot topic
at the debate, with all candidates
saying it was necessary, but to
different degrees.
Lobb took it to an extreme, stating
the senate either needs to be
replaced with an elected,
accountable body, or abolished by
the end of the decade.
Other issues discussed by the
candidates were prison and crime-
control spending, First Nations
policies, accelerated depreciation
costs for farm equipment and the
inequality in social food expenses.
GLADYS MAY ADAMS
Mrs. Gladys Adams of Fordwich,
formerly of RR 2, Gorrie passed
away at Fordwich Village Nursing
Home, Fordwich on Tuesday, April
19, 2011. She was 86.
The former Gladys McBurney was
the beloved wife of the late Dewitt
Adams who predeceased her on
April 25, 2010. She was the dear
mother of Don and Joyce Adams of
Wroxeter, Marion and Jim Schefter
of RR 1, Gorrie and Keith and
Donna Adams of RR 1, Bluevale.
She will always be loved by her
grandchildren Mark and Carrie,
Dale and Sandra, Adam and
Vanessa, Tammy and Todd, Jen and
Ian and her nine great-
grandchildren. She was predeceased
by her parents Stuart and Sadie
(King) McBurney and by her sister
Lavina Robinson.
Visitation at McBurney Funeral
Home, Wingham was held on Friday
from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday
from 10 a.m. until the time of the
funeral service at 11 a.m. Rev. Jeff
Hawkins officiated.
Interment is in Wingham
Cemetery, Wingham.
Memorial donations to Gorrie or
Wroxeter United Churches or the
Fordwich Village Nursing Home
would be appreciated as expressions
of sympathy.
Online condolences may be left at
www.mcburneyfuneralhome.com
SHIRLEY LEEK
Shirley Leila (Hislop) Leek of
Brussels passed away at Wingham
and District Hospital on Saturday,
April 23, 2011. Born in Grey
Township on Feb. 13, 1937, Shirley
was in her 75th year.
Shirley was the beloved wife of
the late Thomas James Leek (Feb.
28, 1977) and will be sadly missed
by her children Dorine Cherry and
Mike Nieman of Kitchener, Dianne
and Dan Nieman of Palmerston, and
Tom Leek and Dawne Adams of
Wroxeter. She was the dear sister of
Gordon and Bonnie Hislop of
Wroxeter and Evelyn Stephens of
Wingham, and she was also loved by
her six grandchildren, five great-
grandchildren, sister-in-law Isabelle
and her loving family.
She was predeceased by her
brothers George and Benjamin, her
sister Florence White and her
parents George and Louise Hislop.
Friends were received by the
family from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. on
Monday at the Gorrie Visitation
Centre of the Schimanski Family
Funeral Home where the funeral was
conducted on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
officiated by Rev. Jeff Hawkins.
Interment was in Wroxeter
Cemetery, Howick Township.
As an expression of sympathy,
memorial donations may be made to
the Canadian Cancer Society. Online
condolences may be made at
www.schimanskifamilyfuneral
home.com
NORMAN HAROLD MUNDY
Mr. Norman Mundy of Brussels
passed away at Huronlea Home for
the Aged in Brussels on Friday, April
22, 2011. He was 87.
Norman was the beloved son of
the late Theodore and Bertha
(Blackhall) Mundy and the dear
brother of Robert and Faith Mundy
of Baden.
Norman was born in Wingham on
February 28, 1924. He worked for
his parents in the family business
(Mundy’s Grocery Store) on
Wingham’s main street. He was a
veteran of the Royal Canadian Air
Force, serving as a radio operator
during World War II. He later
worked as a decorator for Russell
Zurbrigg, who operated a painting
and wallpapering business in
Wingham.
He was an avid reader of non-
fiction books, and could often be
found at the Wingham, Lucknow
and even Goderich public libraries.
During the past several years he has
been a resident of Braemar
Retirement Centre in Wingham and
later Huronlea in Brussels.
The funeral service was held at
McBurney Funeral Home Chapel on
Tuesday at 11 a.m. Rev. John
Congram officiated. Interment is in
Wingham Cemetery, Wingham,
Ontario.
Memorial donations to St.
Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
would be appreciated as expressions
of sympathy.
Online condolences may be left at
www.mcburneyfuneralhome.com
North St. West, Wingham
Mac & Donna Anderson
519-357-1910
A cemetery is a history of
people, a perpetual record of
yesterday and a sanctuary of
peace and quiet today. A
cemetery exists because every
life is worth loving and
remembering - always
Distinctive Memorials of
Lasting Satisfaction
BOX 158 WINGHAM ONT NOG 2W0
Notice of Interment
Interment for
Henry Seiling
will be held
Thursday, May 5, 2011
in
Wroxeter Cemetery
at 2:15 pm
Pastor Gary Fisher
will officiate.
Obituaries
Slide
Michael Shular was trying really hard to slide the wooden
skeets into prize holders during the Spring Carnival and
Silent Auction at Hullett Central Public School on April 21.
Shular, along with other students, parents and the rest of
the Londesborough community donned their best poodle
skirts and Grease-inspired gear and slicked back their hair
for the event’s 50s theme. (Denny Scott photo)