Most of the major issues preoccupying Canadians in the lead-up to the Oct. 21 federal election were discussed on Wednesday evening during a forum held in Sundre.
All five of the Red Deer-Mountain View riding’s candidates attended the event hosted by the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce.
Liberal candidate Gary Tremblay had not initially anticipated being able to participate but was able to make an appearance alongside veteran Conservative incumbent Earl Dreeshen, Conner Borle, Green Party of Canada; Paul Mitchell, People’s Party of Canada; and Logan Garbanewski, NDP.
Sundre councillor Richard Warnock, who kept the format on track, ensuring a timely, continual flow without interruptions, moderated the event.
The gathering of roughly 100 people — younger demographics were visibly absent — was comfortably accommodated in the Royal Canadian Legion Sundre Branch #223. There were occasional rounds of applause — including for the Green and NDP candidates — as well as a couple of scoffing jeers against Tremblay, but the atmosphere was respectful.
Attendees listen to the candidates answer questions during the forum.
While the right-of-centre candidates decided to dedicate some of the time they were granted to attack Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau’s government and depict a sky-is-falling scenario, the left-of-centre contenders primarily focused the time they had available presenting their parties’ policy proposals.
During his final statement, Dreeshen declared the election was a duel between Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.
“This election is a choice between Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer,” said Dreeshen.
But Garbanewski pointed out there are more options than just the Liberals or Conservatives, and that Canadians can choose to stop alternating between successive red and blue governments, which he said hasn’t worked out to the benefit of anyone but major corporations and the wealthiest.
“It’s time we stop bouncing back and forth between Liberal and Conservative governments and expecting things to change,” said Garbanewski during his closing comments.
All of the candidates were granted a few minutes to introduce themselves, followed by nine questions with two minutes to respond, finally concluding with closing statements. The issues discussed were equalization, senior care, rural crime, oil and gas, the federal debt and budgets, farmers and agriculture, immigration, international relations, and small businesses.
Where the candidates stand on the issues
Equalization
Tremblay did not express a desire to change the equalization formula, which is based on a province's income level, and said misinformation about the issue abounds. Alberta's income level is high when compared with other provinces, he said. According to Statistics Canada, the median total income of Canadian households in 2015 was $70,336. Alberta, at $93,835, had the third-highest median income among the provinces and territories in 2015, down from second place in 2005.
"We can be proud of the income level we have in Alberta," he said.
Garbanewski said the NDP has no plans to change transfer payments.
"We currently agree with how it’s set up," he said, adding Canadians should be supporting one another.
"We can be proud of being a province that has high income levels and is supporting those in need."
Dreeshen said that having so many provincial Conservative governments throughout the country will create a great opportunity to discuss and consider other options for equalization.
"We need provinces to talk together," he said.
The point of equalization, said Borle, is to ensure all of Canada succeeds.
"There has been a lack of competence in how that’s been put forward," he said, echoing Dreeshen's call for more collaboration among provinces.
Mitchell said equalization is rigged against Alberta and that the People's Party will change the formula to make it fairer.
Senior care
Garbanewski said affordable housing is a key part of ensuring seniors can stay in their own communities.
"Everybody should be able to afford not only their own home, but stay in their community and where they were raised if they really want to," he said.
Additionally, to make life more affordable not only for seniors but also for all Canadians, the NDP would expand coverage to include pharmacare so people have one less bill to worry about.
Dreeshen said the Conservative platform is focused on affordability, and would eliminate the carbon tax as well as GST on home heating fuels "to put more money in people's pockets."
Borle said a guaranteed income that would be introduced under a Green government would "remedy a lot of the issues faced by our aging population," and that his party would support innovative home sharing plans and home care plans as well as additional long-term care beds and community-based care facilities.
Mitchell said fixing the equalization formula would free funds that could be reallocated to support seniors, and that the People's Party would aim to keep the Bank of Canada's inflation target at zero to get a handle on increasing costs of living.
Tremblay said one of the first things Trudeau did was to reduce the retirement age to 65 from the former Conservative government's increase to 67, and that funding for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OS) has been increased over the past four years.
Rural crime
Dreeshen, who sat as vice chair of the Alberta caucus rural crime task force, said, “Some of the things that we found in that particular report had to do with the prosecutions, and the situations where people were going to jail, the police were doing their job, but people were simply being released again. With that, we have to talk with the provincial government to make sure that the judges that we require are going to be here, (and) we have to make sure that the resources are there for the RCMP.”
But there are other factors to consider for small municipalities, he added.
“We have to realize that as we continue to work on this issue, that we do it together,” he said, praising the great work of Rural Crime Watch and Citizens on Patrol groups.
Borle said apathy from the federal government dating back a decade needs to be addressed, and that municipalities be empowered more. He said a Green government would dedicate a full point of the GST to fund this approach because grants that come and go don't offer financial consistency.
Mitchell argued in favour of enabling people to protect their properties, including the use of force.
"We need to empower Canadians and make criminals afraid," he said.
Tremblay said rural crime and health care are the biggest issues he's heard people in the riding discuss, and agreed property owners should be allowed to protect themselves. But people should also be able to rely on the police, and more must be done between the federal and provincial governments, he said.
Garbanewski said the NDP would address root causes of crime and work more closely with the provinces, territories and Indigenous governments to support models of community policing. His party would focus on social inclusion, promoting public health, ensuring food security, access to education, affordable housing and increasing youth engagement, in an effort to not only provide Canadians with important services, but also reduce the risks of crime.
Oil and gas
Borle said the NDP would stop importing international oil from places like Saudi Arabia, and ramp up efforts to refine Canadian product to get better market value and boost the economy.
“Alberta has more than enough oil and gas for all of Canada,” he said.
Mitchell said the People's Party will streamline the project development process and unapologetically impose pipelines on provinces like B.C. and Quebec.
"It’s not up to Quebec or B.C. or other groups to shut down our pipeline production."
Tremblay said, “This is going to seem unpopular, but we can’t stop a private company on the east coast from importing oil.”
This issue will require creative thinking, he said, such as pipelines to the Great Lakes from where ships can deliver product to eastern refineries. But ramming pipelines through is not the way to go.
“You’re gonna be tied up in the courts for 100 years trying to get a pipeline built,” he said.
Garbanewski said Canada should focus on its natural resources to generate profits to expand the country's energy industry and economy towards greener, more renewable technologies.
“If we’re going to put the pedal to the metal on non-renewable resources, we should also have the pedal to the metal on renewable resources so that we have something to fall back on,” he said.
Dreeshen said the Conservatives will lift the tanker ban, remove the carbon tax, and work to stimulate the sector by restoring private investments that have been scared away.
Debt and budget
Mitchell called for small government, reduced foreign funding, and recall regulations for "bad politicians." Without elaborating as to how, he said his party would balance the budget in two years.
Tremblay said the only balanced budgets he'd ever seen were under the Martin and Chretien Liberal governments, and said Canada currently leads almost every metric among the G7 nations.
Garbanewski said the NDP wants to boost government accountability and remove big money from politics for good, as well as impose meaningful penalties when politicians break rules.
Dreeshen said the Harper government steered Canada through the global recession and left office with a $2-billion surplus.
Borle said balancing the budget should not depend on cutting spending.
“Canadians across the country use our social services, so cutting social services shouldn’t be (the) solution, it should be to increase revenue,” he said, adding the tax system should be reformed to be more fair.
"E-commerce companies like Amazon, Google and Netflix take a giant portion of Canadian money but pay no taxes because of loopholes," he said, adding the Greens would close those loopholes and also target the most profitable banks, which are taxed lower than a regular corporation.
Agriculture
Tremblay stressed the importance of trade agreements, and said Canada is the only country among the G7 to have deals with each member nation.
Garbanewski said agriculture is a backbone of Canada's economy, and that the NDP "would like to team up with farmers across Canada and the provincial governments to develop a national strategy to address mental health challenges that farmers face."
He added Canada needs to stand up to bullies such as China.
“If they don’t want to buy our canola, we will find buyers elsewhere. The world’s a big market, and we’ll find somebody who appreciates what we have to offer.”
Dreeshen said he appreciated the point Garbanewski raised about mental health challenges that farmers face, and added that more must be done to prevent activists from intimidating agricultural producers. He said Canada produces some of the world's highest quality grains and meats, and "We have to start standing up for our farmers."
Borle said farmers are the original environmentalists, and that "No one cares more about soil and air and water quality."
The Green Party would invest in Canadian agricultural producers and base rebates on farms rather than yields, which benefits huge corporations but not small family operations.
"Our farmers will feed our next generation," he said.
"What we put on our plates should come from our farmers."
Mitchell said international relations must be repaired and that government has no business stepping onto a farm and telling producers how to do their jobs.
“Let the farmers do what they do best and let the government provide the environment that they need so that they can get their products to the best markets available at the best prices,” he said.
Immigration
Garbanewski said that while Canada should not have open borders, Canadians should have open arms for quality workers and people who want to become Canadian citizens.
Dreeshen to an extent agreed, and said, “There are many people in this world we’d be so honoured to have as Canadians, we have to make sure we recognize that.”
But due process as well as rule of law must be followed, and numbers have to be controlled to ensure immigrants can be accommodated, he said.
Borle said the Green Party does not believe in wide open borders and that vetting is important, but also recognizes the invaluable contributions of immigrants.
“We have great people that have come to Canada and contributed so much to our economy,” he said.
“Immigration that comes has historically proven to be beneficial for Canada.”
Mitchell said the Conservatives won't specify what number of immigrants is reasonable, and that the People's Party would cut by roughly half the number of immigrants allowed in annually to about 150,000 from more than 300,000 with a priority on "economically beneficial" individuals.
Tremblay said the existing merit-based system works, and that the country cannot grow without people coming to contribute to expand the workforce. He was glad to see an end to "asylum shopping" where people who did not succeed in going to the U.S. turned to Canada. He also spoke against temporary worker programs and said people who come here to work hard should be granted the opportunity to become citizens.
International relations
Dreeshen said Trudeau has become an embarrassment and that relations with international partners need to be repaired.
Borle said the Green Party wants Canada to become an international leader "in the next generation of energy production and the next generation of economic policy."
Automation has become a primary cause of lost jobs and must be addressed, he said, adding science and technology should be invested in more.
“Canada is full of bright and brilliant and talented individuals, and we should be profiting off of those Canadians, rather than trying to buy information or patents from other countries.”
Mitchell proposed a "Canada first" foreign policy and immediate withdrawal from UN agreements with a focus on bi- and multi-lateral relationships with allies.
Tremblay said Canada is objectively among the best countries in the world to run a business, raise a family and obtain quality education. He also said Canadians have a role to play in helping less fortunate international neighbours and that foreign aid is one of the most important things Canada does.
“We worry about immigration. Well, if we don’t actually help the people who are being hurt around the world, they’re coming here.”
Garbanewski said Canada needs a leader that will stand up to bullies and foreign powers, whether they be governments or corporations, and who takes climate change seriously and will show the world how it's done.
Small businesses
Borle said the Green Party would support small businesses by making health care more universal to save owners on the expense of health insurance. With a guaranteed income, Employment Insurance would no longer be needed, also representing a cost savings for small businesses. Additionally, he said instead of giving breaks to multi-million-dollar corporations, small businesses would be subsidized.
"Corporations lay off workers just so that they can have their quarterly reports look like they’re still growing. That’s why Albertans lost jobs. We’ll fight tooth and nail not to lay off employees," he said.
Mitchell said the biggest problem for small business is government interference in the form of taxes and regulations. Subsidies to behemoths like Bombardier must end, he said, along with special interest lobby groups that "creates an unholy alliance between our politicians and these big companies.”
Tremblay said trickledown economics have never worked, and that small businesses "propel our economy." Efforts should be prioritized on helping entrepreneurs instead of big companies, he said.
“We need to give to the businesses at the bottom, as opposed to the top, and allow that money to work its way up through the economy,” he said.
Garbanewski said a shortage of workers is a big barrier for small businesses, especially in rural areas. The NDP wants to invest in training Canadians and provide more streamlined access to government export support services to help small businesses tap into foreign markets. Additionally, he said affordable public childcare would empower people to raise families while also pursuing a career.
Dreeshen said people are being "taxed to death" and that companies like Bombardier don't need handouts when small businesses are struggling.
Climate change?
This issue, rather surprisingly considering the recent massive climate marches in which millions of people mobilized around the world, including Canada, was not even brought up, despite several attendees telling the Round Up they submitted questions about the subject.
Voters who want to hear for themselves what the candidates offer, still have an opportunity, with another forum scheduled in Olds on Oct. 9. The Red Deer-Mountain View constituency includes Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs, Sundre, Innisfail, Penhold, Cremona, Mountain View County and parts of Red Deer County.
