Three out of five candidates for the Souris-Moose Mountain constituency joined the all-candidates forum, organized by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce Wednesday night at the Legion Hall.
Robert Kitchen of Conservative Party of Canada, Greg Douglas of Maverick Party and Diane Neufeld of People's Party of Canada (PPC) partook in the debate to shine some light on what they plan and hope to do for the constituency if they are sent to Ottawa on behalf of the people of southeast Saskatchewan. Liberal Candidate for Souris-Moose Mountain Javin Ames-Sinclair and NDP candidate Hannah Duerr didn't come out to participate in the discussion.
About 50 people gathered at the Legion Hall to ask questions and gather information, which would allow for a more informed choice on election day Sept. 20.
Issues related to vaccination, as well as the future of oil, gas and coal were within the main topics discussed on multiple occasions throughout the night.
The forum, moderated by Jeff Richards, started with opening words from each candidate.
"As I travel around, the three things that I hear from constituents. One, get rid of Trudeau and the liberals; two, get the economy and jobs back on track; and three, why are we having elections in the first place? Now, I believe that the economy and jobs are the key issues of this, and our platform carries that and talks about that in five main focuses," Kitchen said in his opening remarks.
He added that conservatives' platform focuses on the creation of new jobs, securing accountability, mental health, the country, its supplies, stocked or locally produced goods including vaccines, and the economy in general through balancing the budget.
Douglas pointed out that for Maverick Party West and the needs, rights and interests of the western provinces come first, and that is what they want to bring to Ottawa.
"On any issue, any concern that you have tonight think about it through the lens of what's best for the West, what's best for Souris-Moose Mountain, and that would be our position. Specifically, we will fight for pipelines, we will continue to push for repealing the carbon tax. We want the constitution opened up so we get fair representation in Ottawa for Western Canada. We want provincial rights respected," Douglas said.
He added that Mavericks want to see structural change in Canada so that the West has an equal voice.
Neufeld stated that for PPC their guiding principles are freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect.
"I am dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the people in my community and my country. It is time to stand up and assist in creating and establishing a better environment and country for our children, grandchildren and all the future generations to come," Neufeld said.
The opening remarks were followed with three questions from the chamber, to which candidates had time to prepare the answers.
The first question was on what the candidates would do for small businesses in the context of the pandemic.
Douglas advocated for "less red tape and less lockdowns" as well as a shorter CERB timeline, explaining that the extended support led to difficulties in bringing employees back to work. He stated that out of his experience with the veterinary clinic, other safety measures such as extensive cleaning, physical distancing, etc., worked well enough to manage the pandemic while keeping the economy going.
Neufeld pointed out that PPC wouldn't have mandated anything from a federal or provincial point of view, and would leave it up to individual businesses to decide how to act in response to risks posed by the pandemic. They'd rather focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups of the population and guarantee freedom of choice.
Kitchen noted that the money provided to small businesses wasn't enough, and the conservatives would more than triple the $60,000 proposed to support entrepreneurs. He added that conservatives would listen to the individual needs of small businesses and act accordingly.
The second question was on how each party would work to unite Canada. All three candidates spoke about the change needed in the equalization system.
"When the provincial inequalities are addressed, it will encourage provinces to develop their own resources and would increase fair trade among the provinces. The current equalization formula would be adjusted for fair distribution, free our economy from interprovincial trade barriers for families, businesses, and also increase competition, raise productivity and unite our country," Neufeld said.
"We need to ensure that each province is treated equally. That's the step that we will look forward to. We work with the provinces instead of telling them what to do, we listen to what they have to say and respect their decisions," said Kitchen.
"The power structure in Canada exists in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. And so for us to do well, it is about constitutional change, entrenching provincial rights into the constitution, so we don't get national standards, or a carbon tax forced down our throats," Douglas said.
The third question was about the first change each party would make if elected.
"The biggest thing … is getting the economy back on its feet," Kitchen said. "The first thing we'll do is repeal Justin Trudeau's carbon tax. This plan just taxes Canadians, and basically redirects jobs out of this country and redirects investment to other places other than Canada."
"If we send a Maverick Party down to Ottawa, it'll get their attention on issues like pipelines," Douglas said. "Pipelines are important, we have so much oil going down those tracks in Weyburn and Estevan past our farm. And not only is it dangerous, but it also takes up transportation room that other commodities could be on as well."
"The first priority would be to regain our freedom of choice in our businesses, our homes, in schools, workplaces, and personally and reinstate the human rights," Neufeld said. "Then we would move on to abolish the carbon tax."
The next part of the forum saw candidates answering three more questions that were submitted by the residents to the chamber. They each had a minute to answer the questions that they didn't see ahead of time.
The first question was about the steps each party would take to encourage the social and environmental sustainability of the oil industry.
Douglas praised the Canadian oil industry for being progressive and proactive in implementing "roads to becoming carbon neutral, and the whole sustainability fight." He added, that the dialogue with Ottawa is needed to better "educate" them about the energy sector.
Neufeld said that for PPC building pipelines would be the first priority.
Kitchen spoke about enhanced oil recovery, as well as geothermal energy project as examples of the sustainable energy that he said he'll push for this riding.
The second question focused on the position on vaccination passports. Kitchen and Douglas, both doctors, were resonant in stating that while they are pro-vaccination as "vaccinations are the best public health measures we know today," as Kitchen put it, the decision on taking the vaccine should be a matter of choice and should be between the doctor and each individual patient. Neufeld said that PPC is against any kind of mandates and will get people's freedoms back.
The third question inquired about parties' suggestions on what they'd do to make housing more affordable for millennials.
Kitchen opened up conversation stating that conservatives would build more houses to make them more affordable. Douglas pointed out that it all comes down to "sound fiscal policy, (which) is the only way to maintain interest rates and a low debt and debt to GDP ratio," which according to him none of the main parties have. He added that the other issue is equalization, which has to be opened up and renegotiated. Neufeld stated that Ottawa "should stop taking billions of dollars from private sector," and instead "lower taxes for all businesses and encourage saving and investment."
The open mike portion of the debate saw six questions from the floor. With residents inquiring about gun regulation, riding representation in parliament, pandemic-related measures, vaccination, vaccination passports and privacy rights, parties' stands on global reset agenda, and the future of coal in Estevan.
The debate was recorded by Access Services and will be available to watch on their app and on the Estevan Chamber of Commerce website.
