NDP Candidate

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Economy - Valley residents and businesses are feeling the pinch of the global economic uncertainty. What economic planks are in your election platform? New Democrats will invest in new energy solutions, affordable housing, and education and training for workers and young people. We will create a Green-Collar Jobs Fund of $750 million/year to train new workers and re-train displaced workers. Once our program is fully phased in, we will help 100,000 workers access training and apprenticeships. We will enhance the Training and Apprenticeship Tax Credit to help businesses pay the wages of trainees and apprentices. We will waive the EI waiting period for trades people entering courses. We will appoint a Job Protection Commissioner to investigate major layoffs and shutdowns, and adopt a Made-in-Canada protocol for government purchases. We will renegotiate NAFTA to stop Canadian jobs from being shipped out of the country by foreign investors, and protect our natural resources from foreign takeover. We will re-instate a federal minimum wage of $10/ hour, and restore fair eligibility for EI benefits to those who have been unfairly excluded. In 2005, we launched the Wage Earner Protection Program, securing $3000 of unpaid wages if an employer goes bankrupt. We will fight to close the income gap by launching a national affordable child care program, make training more accessible, and crack down on gouging by banks and oil companies.

Environment - Canadians agree that the devastating effects of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions must be curtailed. Detail your approach to achieving meaningful reductions in greenhouse gases.

In June of 2008, Jack Layton’s Climate Change Accountability act, Bill C-377, passed third reading. This bill entrenches into law, medium and long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction targets - 25 per cent absolute reductions by 2020, and 80 per cent by 2050.

It requires government to meet these targets and provide updates on progress. This makes Canada the first country in the world to put science-based targets into law.

New Democrats believe that the most effective step to reducing greenhouse gas is to place a price on carbon by establishing a Capand- Trade system to make big polluters pay, instead of a Carbon Tax that ensures that average Canadians pay more. Caps on emissions will be lowered regularly to assure improvement.

The Cap-and-Trade system is already proven effective, and is the strategy used successfully to combat acid rain. All revenue will be used, at no cost to the tax-payer, for environmental solutions.

Environmental solutions and job strategies go hand in hand. We will invest in Made-in- Canada low-emission cars, bring in mandatory vehicle emission standards, and create a new program to retrofit low-income homes, replacing the program cancelled by Harper’s government.

Agriculture - Soaring production costs, global market forces and stagnant commodity prices are strangling valley farmers. What policies do you propose to restore agriculture to a vibrant industry?

Family farms helped build this country and can help shape its future.

But even though farmers are more productive than ever before, incomes are collapsing, farm debt is soaring and families are juggling offfarm jobs to make ends meet. With more young people leaving the farm forever, Canada’s homegrown food security is in peril, leaving our food supply vulnerable. New Democrats will preserve our Canadian marketing systems, implement income stabilization programs, and improve access to farm safety net funding for natural disasters and poor markets.

We will ban the use of Terminator seeds and protect every farmer’s right to choose, save and control their seeds. We will provide transition funding for education, equipment and training for farmers who wish to shift to organic or bio-intensive integrated pest management systems of agriculture. We will provide support for independent agricultural extension workers to facilitate environmentally friendly farming methods, including low tillage, water conservation and reduced fertilizer and pesticide use. We will address the imbalances between producers and agri-business corporations, support producer-run cooperatives, and encourage value-added processing in Canada, while investing in local and regional food markets.

Forestry - New Brunswick’s lumber and pulp export markets have almost disappeared. What can your party do to help the forestry industry thrive again? Nearly 200 mills have closed across Canada in just four years, taking direct and indirect jobs with them.

Harper’s softwood lumber sell-out to the U. S. gave up on years of trade rulings in our favour, and $1-Billion taken from Canadians. He has replaced illegal tarrifs with a 15 per cent border tax. By allowing raw logs to be shipped to U.S. mills, Canadian processing jobs have been lost.

New Democrats would cancel this softwood lumber “deal”, and support sustainability in forest management.

We will restrict raw log exports to make sure Canadian jobs come first, and maximize opportunities through value-added development, expanded product exports, and new innovative markets. We encourage economic diversification, including programs for sustainable bio-fuels.

What other issues do you feel are important to Tobique-Mactaquac voters? Electing a New Democrat will help assure protection of Medicare.

Harper’s Wait Times guarantee has failed. Five million Canadians, including many inTobique-Mactaquac, have no family doctor. We will create 50 per cent more training spaces for doctors and nurses, covering half of tuition and other learning costs, and forgiving student loans for any doctor who commits to ten years of family practice in Canada. As many as 7,000 trained doctors have come to Canada but are not working as doctors. We will fix the foreign credentials program so trained health professionals can work where we need them most - in our health care system. We will stop the move toward privatization of health care, put more money into cancer research, and expand homecare coverage to offer seniors dignity in their later years, and take the pressure off of scarce hospital beds.

No federal funding will go toward private health services.

Furthermore, we will protect pensions, by establishing a Canadian Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund, so workers will receive benefits even if their employer goes out of business.

We have tabled the Workers First legislation to ensure that wages, pensions, and benefits receive top priority when employers go bankrupt - ahead of banks and other creditors.

For those who travel and work away from home, new tax deductions will recognize those expenses. We will work to lower tuition costs and reform the student loan system, to include interest relief for students still completing their education through internships or co-op placements. We will broaden EI training benefits, and waive the waiting period for those entering training programs.

We guarantee 100 per cent of EI revenue goes to benefits and training programs.