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PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2004.
Candidates have their say at HFA meetin
By Keith Roulston
Citizen publisher
From Green Party candidate Dave
Vasey's proposal for a tax on junk
food to Christian Heritage Party
candidate Dave Joslin's contention
that a homosexual lifestyle cuts the
men's life expectancy in half, the
audience at Monday night's all
candidates meeting certainly were
presented with alternative
viewpoints.
An audience of 250 in Brucefield
saw all candidates in the Huron-
Bruce riding except Glen Smith of
the Marijuana Party debate issues in
a meeting organized by the Huron
County Federation of Agriculture.
While agricultural topics
predominated, everything from
same-sex marriages to support for
the armed forces was touched on in
the candidates' addresses and in
questioning by the audience.
TRUST IN GOVERNMENT:
Joslin said there can be no trust in
a world view that doesn't have an
absolute moral standard. "The
problem in Canada is that there is a
wide-spread belief that moral values
are relative." Canada must get back
to basing its morality on Judaeo-
Christian principles, he said.
"I've based my whole
representation on being
trustworthy," said Paul Steckle,
Liberal Party candidate and
incumbent in the riding. He noted he
had voted against his own
government more than any other
member.
Vasey said the problem in
parliament is that the people elected
don't represent the people. He called
for a change to proportional
representation. If five per cent of the
people support the Green Party's
platform. that view should get five
per cent representation in
parliament.
Grant Robertson of the NDP
lumped the federal Liberals with the
nrovinriQi T
i_auCI government in
broken promises. "We've had 11
years of broken promises," he said.
"The most important thing is to live
by your word and make your word
your bond."
Barb Fisher, the Conservative
Party candidate pointed out the
inconsistencies in the Liberal record,
saying the government promised to
get rid of the GST but didn't, and
used the money from the GST to
eliminate the deficit, which the
Liberal government took credit for.
The Liberals were against the United
States-Canada free trade agreement
but then extended it to take in many
more countries.
"You can't separate yourself from
these things," she said in a veiled
shot at Steckle.
BALANCING THE BUDGET:
Robertson said NDP leader Jack
Layton has promised five years of
balanced budgets. To do this the
NDP would roll back corporate tax
cuts given 'by the Liberal
government, he said and would
impose death duties on estates of
more than $1 million, though not on
family farms and small businesses.
There would also be higher taxes on
those earning more than $250,000
but lower taxes for low income
people.
Fisher said Stephen Harper,
Conservative Party leader has
promised an additional $50 million
for the department of the auditor
general to hunt out waste. "It's not a
matter that there's not enough
money, it's that it's inappropriately
spent," she said. "There is money
there to do it."
She also said a Conservative
government would finance its
programs of tax cuts and added
health care and military spending by
stopping grants to corporations like
Bombardier and Air Canada.
Joslin also supported using the
auditor general to find waste to be
cut from government. He said GST
revenue should be dedicated to
paying down the government's debt.
"The national debt should be treated
like a mortgage," he said, advocating
paying off the debt over 30 years.
There's also a need to cut spending,
he said.
Steckle said Paul Martin as
finance minister had always
supported a program to eradicate the
deficit, pay down the debt and then
to give tax cuts. He contrasted this
with the provincial Conservatives
under Mike Harris who, he said,
borrowed money to finance tax cuts.
Canada's debt ratio to its gross
domestic product has been dropping
steadily under the combination of
economic growth and reduced debt,
Steckle said, and the goal of
reducing the ratio firc7,1 per cent
0.1'211 'title Liberals took office in 1993
to 25 per cent is in sight.
The government is forecasting a
surplus of $40 billion in the coming
years but the NDP is forecasting $60
billion and the Conservatives $90
billion. If these two parties are right,
then there'd be more money to pay
down debt, Steckle said. "If the
Conservatives are wrong (and form a
government) we're going to be in
worse shape than we were when we
took office."
Vasey called for a shift in taxes
from people to waste and resources.
He pointed out companies in effect
tax people because they don't pay
for full cost of packaging materials
that are filling up landfill sites at the
expense of taxpayers.
He also called for a full-cost
accounting of fast foods which he
said are causing health problems at
the expense of the Canadian
taxpayer.
He said Canadians owe it to
future generations to change the tax
system to reward better- management
of our resources.
HEALTH CARE:
Robertson charged there has been
a "creeping privatization" of health
care and claimed the Liberals would
continue the trend through neglect
while the Conservatives did it by
design.
"When we privatize health care
you take money that should be going
to the patient and give it to corporate
profits," he said. •
Fisher said Paul Martin has
slashed $25 billion in health care
transfers to the provinces in the early
years when he was trying to balance
the budget and is now trying to take
credit for giving some of the money
back in later years.
The federal government met with
the provinces last year and came up
with a health care accord but still
hadn't given the money promised to
the provinces, she claimed. The
Conservatives agreed with the
accord and would increase the
spending in it by $I3 -billion, she
said.
Joslin said the problem in health
care is that it's a provincial
responsibility but provinces aren't
being given enough latitude in how
to deliver health care in the most
efficient way.
Steckle admitted the Liberals had
made serious cuts in health care
funding in 1996 as it had in nearly
all government programs. "There
was no choice. The country was
broke."
But in the 2002-2003 fiscal year,
the federal government had given
$15 to Ontario compared to $10
billion 10 years earlier, he said. He
also charged that the federal
government had given the Ontario
government of Mike Harris a one-
time transfer of $500 which
supposed to be used to hire
more nurses but the nurses were
never hired.
SUPPORT FOR THE
MILITARY:
Joslin nic.t ttg fOrces nas
fallen into a dismal state but he also
claimed Canada has been sending its
troops into • places where it never
should. He charged that Canada had
followed the U.S. into a NATO war
against Serbia that had killed 15,000
civilians. It was a war that was only
fought because the corrupt U.S.
President Bill Clinton wanted to take
American voters attention off his
affair with Monica Lewinsky, he
claimed.
"Military spending should be for
the defence of the home country,"
Joslin said, stating he liked the
approach of the Swiss where
everyone must serve a term in the
military.
Steckle said Canada will never be
a major military power but the
country probably has the best record
of any nation in peacekeeping.
Unfortunately, he said, too often
lately our soldiers end up being
peacemakers, not peacekeepers.
While he admitted spending has
not been high on the military, there's
a new view since the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001, he said.
Vasey said Canadians should be
looking at supporting efforts to build
peace. "We need to follow the path
of peace."
. Robertson said in a former job he
worked in the social service
department in Northumberland
County near the Trenton air force
base and in one case worked with the
family of a young soldier who was
paid so little by the military that they
qualified for welfare. He called the
lack of support for soldiers
"scandalous".
Not only do armed services
personnel need to be paid properly
but they need equipment that won't
fall apart on them when they're
serving on a dangerous mission, he
said.
Fisher used this portion to defend
herself on an earlier charge that
Conservative leader Harper would
have involved Canada in the war in
Iraq.
"I didn't support the war in Iraq,"
she said. "I hope Stephen Harper
won't support going to war in Iraq."
Continued on page 7