Madawaska-Restigouche riding:
Published Wednesday October 1st, 2008
Candidates debate local issues
Campbellton - It wasn't a knock-down slugfest, and other than a bit of talking while others tried to do so at the same time, Campbellton's first candidates' debate in some years was a relatively civilized affair.
On Monday night, Liberal incumbent Jean-Claude D'Amours; Conservative Jean-Pierre Ouellet; NDP Therese Tremblay-Philippe; and Green Andre Arpin answered and debated questions posed by Mark Firth and Lisa Guerette. The debate was moderated by Stewart McRae of the Campbellton Regional Chamber of Commerce and recorded for television by Rogers Cable.
Openings
Candidates were also permitted an opening and closing statement. Ouellet stated that his focus if elected would be "jobs, jobs, jobs" — ironically, echoing the words of former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
"Madawaska-Restigouche deserves to be seated in Ottawa where decisions are made", he said, saying that health care and the well-being of local residents would also be on his agenda.
D'Amours said that "I have worked to defend your interests." He stated that he wished to work to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. He said it was time to help seniors and their families, workers, and students. He alleged there were now tough times with Prime Minister Harper, who he accused of ruining the economy. D'Amours said that Harper gave more money to Alberta than he did to New Brunswick. He said he also wanted to work to reduce the waiting time for EI applicants to get their first cheques, and to get high speed Internet to rural areas.
Tremblay-Philippe said that she was a strong woman, and would fight for social justice as she always had throughout her career. She attacked Harper and said that Dion sided with him too often, while the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. She said we must invest in child care and pay equity, and avoid private health care. She noted the loss of jobs, particularly in Dalhousie where the mill had closed.
Arpin said that he was an independent businessman in the tourism sector (he operates a canoeing company) and is very attached to our area. He stressed, as he did several times during the evening, that people in our area must act to create their own opportunities using what resources we have here already. For too long, he said, plans have involved funding large corporations to bring jobs instead of seeking our own destiny with our own resources. Funding, he said, has benefited multi-nationals. We must seek diversity, he said.
"We have one of the best places in Canada, but we don't control our own resources," he said, saying that we must stop thinking that big business will come in and save us.
"We have to reorganize the way we think."
Population
Guerette asked the candidates what they thought could be done about our area's diminishing population.
Ouellet thought that there were only 170 federal government jobs in Madawaska-Restigouche, which was fewer than other parts of the province. He believed that if more federal jobs were here, there would be spin-off effects. He said he would make sure that we were considered on an equal basis for such jobs.
D'Amours said that the key was to support existing small and medium sized businesses, and then see what other businesses we can bring in. We could also seek government jobs from different levels of government.
Tremblay-Philippe said that the closure of the Dalhousie mill had a terrible effect on the town. She said we need to promote tourism and make sure infrastructure such as the Charlo airport, roads, and the railway are kept up to attract new business.
Arpin said that we must take over our own resources to create our own jobs, and not leave it to large companies which get all the funding. We have the people, and we have the capacity, he said. We must make sure that we stop financing big business and start helping small business.
Ouellet said that the CBDC is doing good work in this area. Arpin said that the trouble is that this and things like ACOA are mainly mainly helping large companies: "we have a problem", he said. Ouellet disputed this and said that CBDC is locally controlled by local people. D'Amours said that more government spending is needed in the riding.
Poverty
Mark Firth noted that 15 per cent of Canadians and 10 per cent of Campbelltonians live in poverty and wanted to know what the candidates would do about it.
D'Amours said that this was "unacceptable", and suggested that money had to be taken from large companies like oil companies and given directly to the poor, so that they could decide for themselves how to spend it. They need help, he said.
Tremblay-Phillip said she had been involved in social justice issues, fighting against poverty, for years. She noted that too many children live in poverty. We have lost too many highly paid, unionized jobs in the past few years.
Arpin said that the Green Party's carbon tax idea would ensure that the poor were better off, as taxes for them would go down or be non-existent.
Ouellet said that the best way to fight poverty is to create well-paying jobs. He said the Liberals had their chance to fight poverty for years, but that the level is the same as it was in 1993.
D'Amours said that it can take up to 60 days to get the first EI cheque, and this is too long. Ouellet countered that this could have been changed when the Liberals were in power, but it wasn't done.
Arpin again stressed that we could fight poverty ourselves, locally, with our own resources if we could get control of them.
Economy
Guerette asked how candidates would improve the economy.
Tremblay-Phillip repeated that we need to maintain our roads and railways, and to get Charlo airport in operation again. These, she said, would provide infrastructure to attract jobs.
Arpin said that, again, we had to stand up for ourselves and take control of our own resources. We had to stop relying on outsiders to come and save us, he said, and act for ourselves with what we have here, at hand, that should belong to us.
"We are waiting for others", he said. He noted, for example, that there are many opportunities for certain kinds of agriculture here which have not been exploited.
Ouellet returned to his position that more government jobs would have spin-off effects that would benefit the local economy.
D'Amours said the the key was small business. He and Ouellet argued about the Aboriginal Heritage Gardens in Eel River Crossing, which D'Amours said was languishing because the provincial government would put up the money and the federal government would not match it. Ouellet disputed this.
Aboriginal issues
Firth asked the candidates how they would address issues facing First Nations.
Arpin said that locally the First Nations must be part of any development. He said all groups must work together.
Ouellet returned to the Aboriginal Heritage Gardens and mentioned the Charlo Fish Hatchery as well, as examples which he said were funded by the federal Tories to improve life for First Nations.
D'Amours said that the Tories would not accept the Kelowna Accord signed by the previous Liberal government and First Nations, and that they should.
Tremblay-Phillip said too many First Nations people live in "third world" poverty, and agreed with D'Amours that the Kelowna Accord should be signed.
Ouellet and D'Amours again argued about the Aboriginal Gardens. D'Amours said that the province had offered $1.5 million but the federal government just decided to do another study. Ouellet doubted this commitment and demanded that D'Amours produce this in writing, which D'Amours said that he could do.
Charlo airport
Guerrette noted that the Charlo Airport was under threat from plans for expansion in Bathurst.
Ouellet said that he has had numerous meetings on ways to keep an airport in Charlo. He blamed the Liberals for deciding to get rid of Charlo in favour of Bathurst. He said the airport needed new landing instruments as the old ones were too old to upgrade.
D'Amours said this is an infrastructure issue. He insisted that the federal government must invest in Charlo, and not a new Bathurst airport. Charlo is already in place, he said.
Tremblay-Phillip said the two airports cannot stay open. Bathurst had been emboldened, she said, because "some people screamed louder in Bathurst". She said more work should have been done here to save Charlo.
Arpin agreed Charlo should be preferred over Bathurst. It was used by fishermen who came to fish the Restigouche. He said it was nonsense to clear more land to build a new Bathurst Airport when Charlo already existed.
D'Amours stressed that we must stop investments in the Bathurst Airport. Ouellet said that he should have acted to stop such investments when the Liberals were in power.
Elderly and disabled
Firth asked about the plight of the elderly and the disabled.
D'Amours said that some people have to choose between food and medicine and that was not right. He suggested that certain people who must take a great many medications should be helped with the cost of them.
Tremblay-Phillip said the retired and the elderly are affected. Some must keep working when they should retire, just to pay the bills.
Arpin said that those who need a great deal of help with the cost of medicine should get it. He noted that the Greens are also committed to getting rid of pollution, which causes ill health.
Ouellet said that Conservatives have increased the amount the poor may earn before they have to pay tax. Also, they have brought in forms of income splitting that reduce taxes.
D'Amours said that it was "unacceptable" that the elderly have to work to survive.
Gas costs and transportation
Guerrette asked about the cost of gas and the need for mass transportation.
Arpin said that we need more trains in the country, particularly high-speed trains which are made by Bombardier, a Canadian company, but not used here. He suggested we could have coast-to-coast electric trains.
Ouellet doubted this, saying that Canada is too big and lacks the population density of Europe, where trains can be more economical. He said that the Conservatives reduced the GST by two per cent and reduce the excise tax on diesel by two cents a litre.
D'Amours suggested that the price of energy must be held at a reasonable level. He accused the Conservatives of refusing to act to regulate gas prices and oil company profits.
More News
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
