The Times Advocate, 2008-10-08, Page 88
Times -Advocate
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Huron -Bruce riding tightly contested
By Pat Bolen
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
EXETER — Six candi-
dates are contesting the
riding in Huron -Bruce
that was held by
Liberal candidate Paul
Steckle from 1993 to
his retirement this
year.
Following are the pro-
files of the candidates
in alphabetical order.
Christian Heritage
Party
Running for the
Christian Heritage
Party (CHP) is candi-
date Dave Joslin who is
a welder -fitter and
married with four chil-
dren near Mitchell.
Joslin has cam-
paigned in three
previous federal
elections for the
Christian Heritage
Party (CHP).
"The comments
we are getting,
especially at the
all -candidates
meetings are very
positive and they
are that voters are fed
up with all parties and
all politicians."
Joslin said the highest
priorities for the CHP
are taxation and the
economy, health care
reform and abolishing
the human rights com-
mission.
"Canada is 2.4 trillion
dollars in debt (600 bil-
lion at the federal
level), and our
manufacturing is
leaving the
province and the
country because
we are overtaxed
and overregulat-
ed.
Regarding
Canada ' s
Afghanistan mis-
sion, Joslin said, Ben Lobb
"first, it should
be remembered
that it was the Liberals
that got us in there.
Whether we should
have gone to
Afghanistan is a moot
point since we are
there and involved. To
leave now would be to
betray our word.
"We are the only
party committed to pro-
tecting life from con-
ception to natural
death, and we are the
only party committed to
protecting the environ-
ment based on sound
science, not the hyste-
ria of the radical envi-
ronmental left."
Conservative
Party
"Who is best to lead
the country forward?"
That is the question
Conservative candidate
Ben Lobb said is the
most important of the
election.
This is Lobb's second
federal attempt in
Huron -Bruce.
In the 2006 election
that saw Conservative
leader Stephen Harper
win a minority govern-
ment, Lobb finished
second with 20, 289
votes behind Liberal
incumbent Steckle who
had 21,260
votes.
Lobb said
the campaign
is going great
and that after
knocking on
5,000 doors in
the last elec-
tion, his goal
Dave Joslin
is to raise it
to 7,000
doors this time.
"We have a lot more
experience this
time...and name recog-
nition."
While meeting voters
at their front doors,
Lobb said the major
concern he hears is
about the economy and
stock market problems.
"I believe that
Stephen Harper
has a realistic
and practical
plan for the
economy. The
Liberal alterna-
tive is an
uncertain and
untested car-
bon tax. It's
just the wrong
time in our
economic cycle
to be trying out
a carbon tax."
Although the Globe
and Mail identified
Huron -Bruce as one of
the 45 key ridings
across the country that
the election could turn
on, Lobb said it hasn't
put any more pressure
on him to win the rid-
ing for the
Conservatives.
"We just want to get
our positive message
out to the people of
Huron -Bruce and what
we want to do....we've
seen great results in
the last two and half
years with tax reduc-
tions, pension income
splitting, lower corpo-
rate taxes and less
bureaucracy."
Liberal
Liberal can-
didate Greg
McClinchey is
in his first fed-
eral election
and is a coun-
cillor in North
Huron where
he lives with
his wife Julie
and their two
children.
McClinchey is a mem-
ber of the Blyth
Business Association,
Blyth Arena Board and
the Ontario Federation
of Anglers and Hunters.
McClinchey said if
elected in Huron -Bruce,
his priorities will be
fostering green eco-
nomic development and
bringing more doctors
to the riding as well as
working to appoint a
rural affairs minister to
ensure a more promi-
nent voice for rural
areas.
He added that he will
introduce a supply
management preserva-
tion and protection act
as well as protecting
consumer rights to
herbal medicines and
other holistic health
options.
Other areas
McClinchey
said he will
focus on are
enacting the
risk manage-
ment plan for
farmers and
establishing an
expert group
to explore and
make recom-
mendations on
protecting the Great
Lakes.
McClinchey said he
will also deliver ser-
vices more effectively
by using a mobile office
and a stationary con-
stituency office.
NDP
NDP candidate Tony
McQuail has farmed for
35 years and has been
a member of several
organizations including
president of the Huron
chapter of the National
Farmers Union and
executive assistant to
Minister of Agriculture
Elmer Buchanan from
1990 to 1992.
McQuail said his cam-
paign got off to a slow
start.
"We thought
Prime Minister
Harper might
actually obey his
law to have a
fixed election date
to keep oppor-
tunistic prime
ministers from
calling oppor-
tunistic elections.
But we've pulled
together a good
team. We decided
to limit our sign
campaign to a limited
number of large signs
for intersections and
use recycled signs for
our lawn signs."
McQuail said the most
common thing he has
heard from voters is
"thank you for running.
Thank you for speaking
up about the issues that
matter to our family.
"I've also heard con-
siderable irritation at
the barrage of pre-elec-
tion MP mail outs from
the Conservatives."
McQuail said his pri-
ority is to work for sus-
tainability, equality and
strong local communi-
ties.
"To do this we need
stable long term
employment opportuni-
ties across the
economy to sup-
port our existing
work force and
encourage our
young people to
stay and return.
We need ade-
quate health care
and community
support services
McQuail for all and espe-
cially seniors in
our communi-
ties...we are proposing
an immediate top -to -
bottom review of how
banks, insurance com-
panies and other finan-
cial service providers
are regulated in this
country.
"We would withdraw
all Canadian forces
from the Afghanistan
combat mission, with
reasonable consultation
with our allies."
Green Party
Green Party candidate
Glen Smith calls Port
Elgin home, where he
Greg
McClinchey
„AP esio.
Tony
Strong start for ESC in Hamilton
EXETER — The Exeter Skating Club (ESC) was
well represented at the Isabelle Henderson
Memorial Invitational Competition
Sept. 19-20 in Hamilton, standing
their place against much larger train -
ing
rain ing centres.
Some of the flights were as many as 17-20
skaters to compete against.
ESC coach, Kathy McLlwain, was very pleased
with the skaters performances for this time of the
year.
The ESC regular season begins Oct. 6, and
skaters will be busy preparing for tests and the next
competition in Tillsonburg, Nov. 29.
Results from the competition are as fol-
lows:
•Pre -Preliminary StarSkate-Kathleen
Greg us 4th, Kirsten Brintnell 7th;
•Preliminary StarSkate-Sarah Kwajafa 1st;
• Senior Silver StarSkate-Mackenzie
Holtzmann 5th;
• Junior Bronze Limited-Kyla Hunt -Beach
7th, Kristina Dietrich 12th;
• Preliminary A -Laura McGregor 5th;
• Pre -Preliminary B -Kristen Walsh 4th,
Evelyn Walsh 6th, Mackenzie Ansems 10th,
Shay -Lynn Durand 8th, Lauren Moore 2nd.
lives with his spouse
Linda and their chil-
dren. Born and raised
in Toronto, he complet-
ed a degree from the
University of Toronto in
Political Science and
Economics. Smith has
devoted the
last 30 years of
his professional
life to the food
service indus-
try, in the
capacity of
sales and mar-
keting, distrib-
ution and
restaurant
operations.
Smith said
"the Green
Party campaign in
Huron -Bruce is going
great...there is a gen-
uine and sincere inter-
est in our party and we
have been busy fielding
questions from the
electorate.
"I joined the Green
Party because it is truly
Canada's environmen-
tal party. Too many
years have passed
where we have not
spent enough time
focusing on the climate
and now we have a cli-
mate crisis."
Smith said what he
has heard from voters
is dismay with the
Conservative govern-
ment and its leader-
ship.
"Many
promises have
been broken to
the Canadian
electorate and
people are
looking towards
change."
Smith said the
highest priority
for the riding is
attracting Dennis
green manufac- Valenta
turing as well
as health care profes-
sionals to the area.
"We have to entice
our youth to return to
the area once they have
successfully completed
their education. We
need to provide federal
funding for apprentice-
ship programs to keep
people employed in
Huron -Bruce."
Smith added that
parts for large wind
turbines are being
manufactured in
Europe. "Why can we
not produce them
here?"
Regarding Canada's
role in Afghanistan,
Smith said, "This
is a war we have
been pushed into
by the United
States. We need
strong leadership
in Ottawa that
will stand its
ground to our
friends to the
south. It is time
for Canada to
regain its sover-
eignty."
Independent
Although his primary
focus is reforming fami-
ly law, independent
candidate Dennis
Valenta says he is
about more than one
issue since family law
effects every aspect of
the economy.
Valenta is a truck dri-
ver who has run in pre-
vious federal and
provincial elections and
says that while his
numbers were small in
the last federal elec-
tion, they increased
enough to make him
decide to run again.
Valenta said he has
an advantage over the
party candidates since
they are bound by their
platforms.
"I'm free to say
what I want;
they can't
address it if it's
not in their pam-
phlet."
Valenta added
that he has
attracted inter-
est from younger
voters who aren't
as interested in
mainstream par-
ties as older voters.
Another issue Valenta
said he is concerned
about is a lack of repre-
sentation in the democ-
ratic system since
instead of taxpayers
telling the representa-
tive what to do, the
party tells whoever is
elected what to do.
Glen Sm
ith
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