HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2011-04-27, Page 1414 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Lambton Kent Middlesex: Conservative, Liberal candidates talk about local issues
Lynda Hillman -Replay
Lakeshore Advance
The Lambton Kent Middle-
sex Conservative and Liberal
candidates answered questions
from the Lakeshore Advance.
NOP and Green Party were also
offered the same coverage but
(lid not respond to the Lake-
shore Advance requests.
Advance polls were last week-
end -the election is May 2.
Fitness
Conservative Bev Shipley on
fitness says, "A key to lifelong
fitness is establishing the foun-
dation as a child. That's why in
2007 our Government estab-
lished a Children's Fitness 1'ax
Credit of $500. In our most
recent platform we have com-
mitted to doubling that Tax
Bev Shipley
Credit, raising it to $1000,
within our next full term.Not
only have we committed to
raising the Children's Fitness
'Fax Credit, we have also com-
mitted to creating an Adult
Fitness'lllx Credit of up to $500,
once our budget is balanced
within our next full terns"
Culture and Arts
"Culture and Arts accounts
for 46 Billion dollars of our
economy and support More
than 630,000 Jobs. That is why
our Conservative Government
has made Culture and the Arts
a priority in our previous budg-
ets as well as in our upcoming
plan for strengthening the
economy. In our previous 5
years we established 2 new
national museums, invested ill
cultural infrastructure, and
provided substantial funding
for official language communi-
ties. Not only that, hut we
increased support for the Can-
ada Council for the Arts by 20
percent, to its highest level in
history. Also new in this plat-
form is the Children's Arts Tax
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borrowing $308.88.
Credit. This would he a $5011 tax
credit to help families cover the costs
of different arts programs like paint-
ing, dance, and language training.
Four elections in seven years -
what's up with that? "Four elections
in 7 years is an unnecessary waste of
taxpayer's hard earned money and
that is why we are committing to end-
ing the $2 per vote subsidy. The vote
subsidy keeps political parties in con-
stant 'election readiness' (node, with
no need to intentionally raise funds.
Because all parties have come to
depend on this, including the Con-
servatives, we would phase the vote
subsidy out over a period of 3 years"
Doing better
"I think our party needs to (10 a better
Job at communicating our message. We
have such a good story to tell, we have
done so many things for all Canadians
that they need to hear. We need to com-
municate better and we need to con-
vince communicators to tell our story
because it's worth telling."
If someone wrote a biography
about you, what should the title be?
" Bev Shipley: Man on a Mission,
Standing up for Rural Ontario"
Water, environment -quality are all big
issues today. Where is your party when It
comes to Great Lake water quality and
water -wastewater management?
"Our party is corntnitted to the
environment. That is why we have
established more National Parks,
invested in clean energy, and com-
mitted to realistic and attainable
environmental goals. On top of all
that, we also significantly invested in
the clean-up of waterways including
the Great Lakes, the Niagara River
and Lake Simcoe. We also passed leg-
islation to strengthen control of our
Northern waterways, to prevent pol-
lution of fragile Arctic ecosystems."
The need for rural doctors
"Rural doctors are vital to our
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communities. In our current platform
we have committed to continue to
help attract new doctors, nurses and
nurse practitioners to rural commu-
nities by forgiving a portion of federal
student loans for those who agree to
practice in under -served ruro'
areas. Not only that, we hav
increased federal health transfers to
the Provinces by 69i, a year, to its high-
est levels in Canadian history. We will
not make cuts to these health trans-
fers. As well we have committed to
provide loans for recent immigrants
to help pay for skills training and
accreditation so that they can enter
the work force in all parts of
Canada."
Small business
"Since being first elected in 2006
we have worked with Small Busi-
nesses to help create a sustainable
future for them going forward. We
have reduced the federal income tax
rate for businesses of all sizes, we
have created the 'Red Tape Reduction
Commission' to help businesses
become more efficient and to reduce
the burden placed on businesses
when dealing with government, and
we have created training programs to
help employee's enter the work force
to prepared. If elected we will con-
tinue to keep taxes low for jobs crea-
tors, we will continue to encourage
growth through increasing training,
and we will create a Hiring Credit for
Small Business - a one-year El break
for some 525,000 Canadian small
businesses."
Expanding the Canada Pension
Plan? Where is your party on this?
"Many people in Lambton-Kent-Mid-
dlesex are concerned about their
retirement. That is why we've lowered
taxes, which has kept more money in
the pockets of Canadians, and
increased the allowable limit for the
'I'ax Free Savings Accounts which
allows Canadians to save more with-
out getting taxed. The Canadian Pen-
sion Plan was never meant to be
enough to live on, it was supposed to
supplement Canadian's savings, and
that is why these tax savings are so
important. On top of that, a re-elected
Conservative Government will work
with the provinces to implement the
Pooled Retirement Pension Plan that
we announced late last year. In this
regard we have had meetings with the
Provinces and Territories to add
enhancements to the Canadian Pen-
sion Plan. Under the constitution, in
order to make changes to the CPP, we
are required to work with, and have
the support of the provinces and ti
ritories all across Canada.:
How about our veterans? What will
your party do to improve their bene-
fits and the process? "Canadian vet-
erans have earned our country's
deepest gratitude and highest respect.
To support Canadian Veterans we
have passed the Enhanced New
Veterans Charter Act including over 2
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