Many people in Haliburton County continue to struggle with the rising cost of living. Tell me something tangible you/ your party will do to put more money in their pockets.
Building resiliency against trade wars/ tariffs; Cutting taxes for middle-class families; Supporting seniors and retirees by reducing RRIF withdrawals 25 per cent per year; Increasing Guaranteed Income Supplement by 5 per cent; Eliminating GST for first-time buyers; Covering $8,000 in apprenticeship training; Expanding union programs to help workers enter high-paying trades; Cancelled carbon tax, saving 18 cents/litre at the pumps; Making permanent $10 a day childcare and National School Food Program; Expanding Canadian Dental Care Plan; Protecting pension and benefit transfers, employment insurance, Canada Child Benefits, GST/HST credits, disability savings grants; Funding home retrofits, lower utility bills for mid/low-income homeowners and renters (heat pumps, energy efficiency upgrades); Funding home protection against floods, wildfires, extreme weather (funding roof repair/replacement, installing sump pumps, sealing foundation cracks).
With the US proving to be an unreliable trade partner, what plans does your party have to diversify Canada’s economy, and what partnerships will you be targeting?
Prime Minister Carney’s Liberals are: Rapidly mobilizing investments in electricity, transportation, building, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing; Expanding training in trades, healthcare, high tech; Building local businesses to be tariff-resilient using Canadian resources and markets; Fast-tracking made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines; Growing food locally; Keeping raw materials here instead of shipping out for manufacturing (make beer cans here from our aluminum, build greenhouses, furniture here, etc.); Eliminating interprovincial trade barriers; Establishing with European leaders a unified response to Trump’s tariff threats (already done); Developing a national energy and electricity plan; Developing ports, supply chains and new trade corridors away from the US.
What’s the most significant item in your party’s platform and how do you feel it will impact people in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes?
Canadian self-sufficiency – energy, jobs, food, and housing. Stop importing lamb and beef. We want our eggs, chickens, beef, vegetables produced in Canada. All components of the food industry must be Canadian, from farm machinery to greenhouses to food processing and distribution.
If Ontario replaced the top ten imported fruits and vegetables by growing, processing, distributing them here, $250 million could be created for the economy, producing 3,400 jobs. Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes has all the major farm equipment dealers, large commercial grain elevators, input suppliers, a livestock sale barn and large animal veterinary service to support over 1,100 crop and livestock farming operations.
We are a regional centre for Agri-business retail and support services. By adding new technologies, food production and processing will flourish here.
It’s been 25 years since a Liberal was elected to represent this riding in Ottawa. Why should that change this month and why are you the best person for the job?
Canada is facing unprecedented threats from the U.S. Donald Trump wants our water and resources. We need a strong and unified country and a leader who knows how to manage trade wars.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has already met with European leaders to unify a stance against the Trump tariffs… he has already met with the premiers and established a commitment to unite in trade.
Carney is a globally recognized financial expert with a track record for managing crises. I am a crisis manager, too. I bring real world experience (farmer, business owner, physician) and a life of community service that directly applies to finding solutions to big and urgent problems. I am practical and disciplined. I advocate, most emphatically for the neediest.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a new federal housing entity that he says will speed up affordable housing construction and provide financing to home builders. How much money has been committed through this? How will it help encourage more development in Haliburton County?
Carney plans four million homes by 2035, guaranteeing everyone has a safe and stable place to call home by: Unlocking private investment to build new homes for younger Canadians; Cutting developer fees 50 per cent, spurring $8 billion private investment annually; Eliminating GST for homes under $1 million; Removing tax and regulations for contractors/builders to get permits for new builds; Standardizing national building codes; Reintroducing home builders tax incentive Multi-Unit Rental Building (MURB); Accelerating construction training, covering $8,000 apprenticeships; Doubling non-profit and co-op permanent homes; Injecting $10 billion in middle/low-income rental homes; Investing $25 billion in sustainable technologies that speeds builds, lowering costs making it cheaper to own/maintain homes; Eliminating need to relicense when crossing provincial borders; Expanding Rapid Housing and Rental Protection Fund programs.
