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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-09-26, Page 1212 Times -Advocate Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Huron -Bruce candidates gear up for election Continued from front page going to be there when they need it. "The average person doesn't have the option of hopping across the border." Joslin said he is also concerned about gun control and urban residents taking away from rural voters. "Guns are not the problem, it's the peo- ple that use them." Joslin said the FCP is in favour of the mixed member proportional (MMP) referendum on voting reform that will be included in the Oct. 10 provincial election. Joslin said MMP breeds minority gov- ernments which forces politicians to work together unlike majori- ty governments "which just ram through whatever they want...all the people that didn't vote for them, they may as well have just stayed home." Joslin said MMP also makes it harder to pass legislation. "When you consider, from our prospec- tive most of the legislation that goes through these days is either socially or economically harmful." Regarding the health tax, Joslin said the FCP position is to scrap it, but it must be matched by shrinking the size of gov- ernment. "Our position is 10 per cent budget cut across the board except for the police." Joslin said the government has to be cut to prepare for what is coming in the next 15 to 20 years as baby boomers retire. "There will never be as many retirees on the public payroll as there are 15 years from now. and there are fewer and fewer people going into the work force because the birth rate is so far below replacement levels...If we don't cut our spending, we're going to be in serious cash trouble." Paul Klopp (NDP) Former Huron MPP Paul Klopp (NDP, 1990-95) is returning to provincial poli- tics after spending two terms as deputy mayor for Bluewater. Klopp won the NDP nomination in May and credited for the win his experience at the municipal, county and provincial levels. Klopp said he has spoken to voters across the riding and said people want him to be a straight talker. "Dalton has really turned people off with promises," Klopp said. Klopp, a farmer outside Zurich and past -president of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, says he has been involved in farming all his life and has seen the ups and downs in the agri- culture sector. In the last six or seven years, Klopp says he has seen the provin- cial and federal levels of government be "long on talk, but short on action" when it comes to helping farmers. Klopp said some farmers have had to leave the industry because they're not being paid a fair return. Klopp speaks in favour of a Risk Management Plan (RMP) that will cover the costs of production for farmers, but also include caps. Speaking of the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program (CAIS), Klopp said it is insufficient and doesn't allow for machinery expenses for farm- ers. He said the federal government promised to scrap CAIS, but claim they haven't because the other provinces don't want the program to end . Klopp said the NDP have included $300 million annually in its budget for RMP. He said the NDP plan will help stabilize incomes. Another program, "Farm Plus," would allow farmers to invest and help them get into business. A "Private Mortgage Dave Joslin 1 Paul Klopp Guarantee" would provide loans of up to $500,000 to help people get into farming. Klopp said he hopes that program will help attract young people to farming. He also wants to see local food on gro- cery store shelves. Other key concerns of Klopp's include reforming property taxes and reviewing the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Klopp also wants to see the education funding formula overhauled. He says he is against Progressive Conservative leader John Tory's proposal to fund faith - based private schools if they join the provincial curriculum. "Public money for private schools is the wrong way to go," Klopp says. He added he thinks McGuinty has made a big deal out of Tory's proposal so the voters would forget McGuinty's broken promis- es. Klopp said the Liberal health tax needs to be fair, and the NDP will reduce pay- ments for those earning $80,000 or less. Klopp also wants to see health coverage returned for eye exams, chiropractic care and physiotherapy. Concerning the environment, Klopp said the NDP has always been "green," and will have an energy commissioner and push companies to reduce and reuse. He said we need to be proactive on envi- ronmental issues. Klopp is in favour of the electoral reform system proposed in the referen- dum and says he hopes Ontarians will seek out as much information as possible before voting on it. Carol Mitchell (Liberal) With a main focus on health care, edu- cation and building a strong economy, Clinton resident and Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell is returning to the elec- tion race hoping to secure another four- year term. Mitchell who believes the most important part of her campaign is the door-to-door con- versations with the community, says she Carol Mitchel opposes John Tory's proposal to extend public funding to reli- gious schools. "I think it's inappropriate," says Mitchell,adding that by doing that the "public education system is not acting responsibly for the province." "I think they'd just be creating a crisis," she says. Mitchell says the existing public system should continue to be supported. Mitchell also says she's concerned about the election reform proposed on the upcoming election, explaining that, "I believe the ridings will become unman- ageable." Mitchell says if the number of ridings shrinks from 107 to 90 it will be tougher to get out into the community to talk with everyone. However, Mitchell does support the process, explaining she feels "we need to keep talking about it," adding she thinks "sometimes the process just gets lost with the decision." When commenting on the health tax implemented by the Liberals, Mitchell explains it had to be done. Mitchell says the money to pay off the $5.6 billion deficit had to come from somewhere. "Sometimes there's a cost to enhance public services," says Mitchell. "I talked to people in my riding and they were prepared to pay a levy if they're dedicated to a specific service," she adds. Mitchell says the environment is a huge priority for her, reminding voters of the Clean Water Act passed, which both the Tories and NDP voted against. Mitchell says the Clean Water Act is a great step in the right direction because it will bring many voices to the same table. Mitchell is also pleased with the improvement in Huron -Bruce with alter- native energy. "In 2003 we were the worst, now we're first," says Mitchell, explaining the gov- ernment has done a great job moving for- ward wind and solar energy. "The next step in my mind is the agri- culture budget," says Mitchell. She would also like to see more work done with anaerobic digestors and bio - diesel. Mitchell also mentioned the ethanol plant in Hensall as being a highlight, and adds, "Twenty-five per cent of the energy that comes in Ontario is produced in this riding." Mitchell says her campaign is going well, with several debates bringing the candidates together. Mitchell says she will continue to visit community mem- bers door-to-door. Rob Morley (PC) After 18 years in municipal politics, including most recently two terms as South Huron's first ever mayor, Rob Morley decided last winter to jump into provincial politics and run for the Progressive Conservative party. Morley told the Times -Advocate last week his campaign has been positive and things have been more upbeat in the last cou- ple of weeks. He added voters are starting to understand party leader John Tory's position on funding faith -based schools, as long as those schools join the public system, hire accredited teachers and teach the provincial curriculum. Morley said the more he thinks about the issue, the more he's convinced Tory's plan is the right way to go because it is all about inclu- siveness and will bring all students into the provincial curriculum. While there has been much publicity and discussion about Tory's position on faith -based funding, Morley pointed out that policy only makes up a third of a page of the PC party's 53 -page policy book. Concerning the referendum attached to the election that proposes a "Mixed Member Proportional" voting system, Morley said he doesn't like it, adding it won't help rural Ontario and will cause ridings to shrink. If implemented, the MMP system would result in more politi- cians, and, because of the cost, Morley doesn't think Ontario needs more politi- cians. Issues Morley is hearing about from voters include health care and the envi- ronment. Of the health tax implemented by the Liberals, Morley said, "It's gotta go," adding the Tories would scrap the tax over four years and find savings with- in the provincial budget to make up for the lost revenue. On the environmental front, Morley said he's interested in the expansion of nuclear power plants to meet Ontario's electricity needs. He said the province can't yet mothball its coal plants because we don't have anything to replace that power with. Morley would also like to see a morato- rium on windmills in the province until further study is done. He says windmills are robbing farmland and ruining the landscape. One of Morley's concerns is providing stable income for rural Ontario. A former warden of Huron County, Morley notes how diverse and large the Huron -Bruce riding is. Referring to the governing Liberals and the upcoming election, Morley says, "If we condone what's been going on for the last four years, what can we expect in the next four?" Victoria Serda (Green) "It's the most exciting thing to happen in Ontario since 1924," says Huron - Rob Morley Bruce Green Party candidate Victoria Serda, describing the MMP referendum on voting reform that will be included in the Oct. 10 provincial election. Serda, a resident and municipal coun- cillor of Port Elgin as well as deputy leader of the Green Party of Ontario, says, "I really believe MMP will allow people to vote with their head and their heart. "I'm really happy with how the Greens are doing in the polls," says Serda. "We're at 12 per cent provincial- ly today...we have the possibility of a seat or more in this election." Serda has been trained by Al Gore to give the presentation on the climate change movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and has spoken on it over 60 times across Ontario. "That kind of commitment, I think, people rec- ognize as somebody that will also work hard if elected." Serda said climate change is her main focus because it will affect communities in many different ways. "It's going really well...there is a lot of latent support in the riding mainly because of all the climate change pre- sentations." Locally, Serda said in Port Elgin when water levels decrease, there will be problems with the marina and farmers will have to spend more on irrigation. "We need to starting addressing cli- mate change now, because we're going to spend a lot of money later." In the riding, Serda said she has been hearing concerns with standard offer contracts that aren't being followed through on after farmers invested in turbines. Other concerns addressed to Serda include not enough funding for schools and the length of busing required for children. Serda said the "one school" policy sup- ported by the Green will address fund- ing for schools by eliminating adminis- trative costs. "Bringing educational opportunities beyond high school into our area is the way to help keep people here and to help them upgrade their skills." Serda said the MMP referendum will fix the problem of people having to choose between candidates and their parties. "I know it's really important for people to vote for someone local, but to also have a small amount of proportional representation makes your vote count...I really do think that's the best system." Serda said the system will reduce the amount of personal attacks between politicians since they will be required to work together. In regards to the Ontario health tax, Serda said the Greens would like to scrap it in favour of a tax shift. "We want to tax the bads, not the goods...we need to start taxing resource extraction if people are polluting things." Serda says she isn't running a tradi- tional campaign since she doesn't agree with the idea of canvassing. "You go introduce yourself...and then you leave. I just don't agree with that." Serda said she prefers to hold open forums where people can come and talk about what they would like to see hap- pen. "I rather it happen in that kind of way, where people are able to come to me and talk, rather than me going in their face and talking." Ron Stephens (Independent) Independent candidate Ron Stephens is in his first attempt at running for office. Stephens, who works in the publishing industry, grew up in Bruce County and moved to Kincardine when he was 14. "I don't like people getting jacked over and that's mainly why I am running, Victoria Serda See CANDIDATES page 13