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The Times Advocate, 2004-06-16, Page 1616 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, June 16, 2004 Six candidates seeking Huron -Bruce seat By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — The June 28 federal elec- tion features three -time Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle running against a for- mer Conservative MPP, two candidates with prior election experience and two newcomers. Liberal Steckle will face off against the Conservative Party's Barb Fisher (a for- mer Bruce County MPP), Grant Robertson of the New Democratic Party, the Green Party's Dave Vasey, Dave Joslin of the Christian Heritage Party and Glen Smith of the Marijuana Party. Here, in alphabetical order, is a look at the six candidates. BARB FISHER Fisher, a former Progressive Conservative MPP in Bruce County, is "very pleased" with her campaign for the Conservative Party and says she's receiving a good reception from voters she talks to. One clear message Fisher is getting from voters is that they're frustrated with the Liberals. "They're not happy about the Adscam," she says. "They want accountability and they want honesty." Fisher, who has lived in Kincardine with her family since 1971, also has experience munic- ipally with council work in Kincardine for nine years. She said governments she has been involved with have done what they told the public they would do. "You have to tell the truth, you have be honest, you have to be up front and you have to do what you say." For Fisher, agriculture is a "huge" issue in this election. She said the fallout from mad cow disease is crippling the local beef industry. Farms are going up for sale and farmers are frustrated the programs put into place by the federal government aren't working. Fisher and the Conservatives also pledge to abolish the expensive gun reg- istry and use the saved money to invest in safe communities. Health care is always a big issue and Fisher said as a former MPP she knows how federal cutbacks in health care made it difficult for the provinces. "(The federal Liberals) cut $25 billion in health care between 1995 and 2000. That had a major impact on what the provinces were able to do since that's where they get their initial funds from," Fisher said. "If over 10 years (the Liberals) managed to break it, why would we want them to try to fix it?" Another issue Fisher speaks of is seniors and the aging population. The Conservatives have a plan to work with seniors and develop a national strategy for that age group. "It's very important, given the demo- graphic of our population Canada -wide, but especially in our area. We have one of the highest aging populations around." Fisher decided to make the leap into federal politics a year and a half ago. She was asked to run in the last federal election, but the timing wasn't right for her and she wanted to see the PC and Canadian Alliance unite before she ran. "I've always believed that as a citizen if you have something to give, you should give it ... Having had the opportunity to be an MPP, I know what the federal gov- ernment is doing to the provinces and I want to be part of that correction." Fisher admits she is encouraged by recent polls showing the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals, but she's not tak- ing anything for granted. "This takes a lot of work and I know I have to earn it. I don't assume anything. We'll continue to work as hard as we possibly can to win this riding. Barb Fisher "It's time for change," she says. DAVE JOSLIN Joslin is running for the Christian Heritage Party for the third time. The Brussels -area resident also ran for the Family Coalition Party in last fall's provincial election. Joslin admits he's disappointed some of the issues he and his party believe are important aren't being raised. And while he said the topics of abortion and homo- sexuality are important for the Christian Heritage Party, Joslin is stressing two other important issues — the concentra- tion of power in the prime minister's office and "runaway judicial activism of the courts." Joslin said his party wants to lessen the power of the prime minister and put an end to judicial activism. "The prime minister's office has come to exercise an enormous amount of power in Canada," Joslin says, adding the prime minister appoints the supreme court justices, senators and the governor general. He can also ensure his MPs all do what he wants them to do, he and his cabinet can ram through legislation to bypass the courts and par- liament, and he also appoints the heads of the 360 crown corporations and about 3,000 other positions. "That's a tremendous amount of power for one man to have," Joslin says. "Our founding fathers, not to mention our heritage from England, never envi- sioned having that kind of power." One way to break up the power of the PMO is to have an elected senate and have "order in council" done away with so legislation can't be rammed through. Joslin says supreme justices and the governor general should be confirmed by Parliament. Also, the Christian Heritage Party wants to sell off almost all the crown corporations. "We don't believe the government should be in the business of competing with business. That's why most crown corporations lose money, because the people running them aren't business- man, they're political appointees." Joslin's party also believes all votes in parliament, except for "money votes," should be free votes. As for judicial activism, Joslin says judicial decisions should be able to be over-ridden, either by a vote in parliament or having a sub -commit- tee rule on it. "Essentially, in Canada now, judges wield absolute power and they wield it independently of any oversight. Nobody has any ability at this point in time to curtail or negate any judicial decision no matter how hair - brained it is, like the decision made in Ontario that women can bare their breasts in public." Joslin also says there should be an impeachment process in Canada for prime ministers. Other stances Joslin holds: better voter representation through proportional representation; banning abortion and embryonic research; scrapping hate crimes legislation; and scrapping the firearms registry. He wants lower taxes, debt reduction and less government spending. Joslin said most voters are "really, really upset with the Liberals, simply because they've become so arrogant. I mean, they lie to you and they don't even try and make it a good lie. And they show no embarrassment when they're caught." Joslin said Canadians have to realize they can't have low taxes and have the government "do everything for them" as well. "I don't know what it's going to take before we as Canadians learn there is no Dave Joslin such thing as a free ride. We've been conditioned to believe that there is." GRANT ROBERTSON Robertson, who also ran for the New Democratic Party in last fall's provincial election, said his campaign so far has been "absolutely fabulous." "It's been a really exciting campaign. We've had lots of young people coming in to work on the campaign and new people — Liberals, Conservatives — wanting signs on their front lawns." The Paisley -area farmer and Bruce County librarian said a big issue in this elec- tion is accountability and keeping promises. Robertson said people are tired of politicians who say one thing and do another. Also, "health care is a huge issue. People, when they're talking to me, are very worried about the creeping privatization that's been happening under the Liberals, and they're even more worried about where Stephen Harper is going to take health care in Canada." Robertson said voters are also worried about agriculture in general and mad cow disease in particular. He said agri- cultural policy in Canada over the last 20 years has worked for multi -national corporations but not farm families. "When I hear a family farmer say they don't want their children to take over the farm because they don't want to have them live a life of poverty, that just strikes right to the bone for me," Robertson said. "I hear that far too often." Robertson said he senses change com- ing in Huron -Bruce in the upcoming election and the people have to decide what kind of change they want. "Is it going to be Stephen Harper's road, which leads us right back to Brian Mulroney and Mike Harris and Ernie Eves? Or is it going to be a positive choice where together in a fiscally - responsible way we can build a green and prosperous Canada that leaves no one behind?" In addition to looking for responsibili- ty, Robertson said voters are looking for fiscal responsibility and NDP leader Jack Layton offers that. About his decision to jump into federal politics, Robertson said the sponsorship scandal was a big motivator. "It offended me in a very personal way," he says. "I just don't think govern- ment should ever work that way, where insiders and cronies are rewarded with taxpayers' dollars." NDP plans include: removing the GST from family essentials; expanding child- care; restoring integrity and account- ability in government; creating opportu- nities and jobs in a green and prosper- ous economy; expanding access to post- secondary education; and investing in communities through clean water and housing. Robertson has also spent a lot of time talking to young people and encouraging them to vote. "They care about health care, but they also care about making sure Canada stays out of the missile defense shield, George Bush's Star Wars, they care about what's happening in Iraq, they care about what's happening in our environment." Robertson said he recently told a group of young people, "Election day is the one day that they have the same amount of power as someone who lives in a mansion in Rosedale." GLEN SMITH Smith, a first-time candidate, is run- ning for the Marijuana Party in Huron - Bruce. He readily admits his party has only one issue and that is the legaliza- tion of marijuana. Grant Robertson So far, Smith is happy with the recep- tion he's hearing from voters. "I think I'm getting a warm response, which I'm happy about, because it's kind of a risky platform that I'm on. I'm campaigning for something that's illegal. "It's going great," Smith says. Smith says his party's slogan is to "relax responsibly. People shouldn't be toking behind the wheel, they shouldn't be drinking behind the wheel, and you've got to be responsible about what you do." Marijuana is a natural resource that Smith said we can be using for paper products and as an energy source in the form of biomass. "One of the most important things is the medical aspect of (marijuana). Giving access to people who need it for medical reasons." He said the system in place now allowing for people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes is "very confusing" and difficult. If legalized, Smith admits marijuana should be distributed through a govern- ment body. Glen Smith "We're not calling for a free-for-all," he says. "You've got an infra- structure already in place — why can't you buy hashish or mari- juana from the LCBO or a Brewer's Retail? Tax it and bring mil- lions of dollars into the public purse." Smith has spoken in schools about drug awareness and said students seem to be "kind of neutral" on the subject. "I think there are a lot more serious problems out there than marijuana," Smith said. "I'm seeing a lot of binge drinking from our students, a lot of cocaine use, which is really serious, a horrifying drug." Smith said he tells students they have personal choices to make in life and hopefully they won't choose any drugs — alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine or pot. "It would be really nice if you could bypass them all ... but we're trying to get the message out there that marijua- na is a safe drug. Nobody's ever died from it." The Marijuana Party has about 120 candidates running across Canada in the election. Smith describes himself as a political activist. He runs a head shop in Tiverton and has a mail-order business distribut- ing marijuana seeds to the U.S. PAUL STECKLE Seeking re-election in Huron -Bruce, Steckle said he's had a good campaign. "We've had just an excellent response from people," he said. Steckle added there have been tough elements to the campaign as some people are upset about Adscam, the provincial budget and the hard- ships farmers have faced due to the mad cow scare. As far as the latter issue goes, Steckle said it's out of his and the govern- ment's control. "The key's on the other side of the door," he said, referring to the U.S. But, Steckle said he's letting beef farmers know he has their interests at heart. Steckle accentuates the positive. He said when the Liberals took over power 11 years ago, the previous PC govern- ment left them with a $43 billion deficit, which the Liberals turned into seven consecutive years of balanced budgets, with $52 billion in debt paid off. Also, employment insurance rates have dropped "a long ways," interest rates are low, the economy is booming and See STECKLE page 16 Paul Steckle