Sunday, October 11, 2015 - North Shore News - A17
BURNABY NORTH – SEYMOUR nsnews.com/election-2105
@northshorenews
NORTH SHORE NEWS
Polls open: Monday, Oct. 19, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Brian Sproule Marxist–Leninist
Lynne Quarmby Green
Name Party
Chris Tylor Libertarian
Age
57
68
35
Residence in riding?
Yes. Capitol Hill, Burnaby.
No. I live in Port Moody
Yes. Burnaby Heights.
What do you promise to do for your riding if elected?
I will fight for solutions to our housing crisis, including support for co-ops, social housing, built to purpose affordable rentals and offmarket home ownership. I will work for high quality local jobs and for greater access to post-secondary education. I will defend our clean air and clean water.
I will not be elected but I will continue to be politically active as I have been since 1968, working for an antiwar government and for new arrangements so that people can be decision makers.
I will support my constituents in all their dealings with the federal government, whether it is immigration or citizenship or the CFO, and ensure fair and just treatment. I promise to be a strong voice in Parliament and will never vote for a decrease in your freedom or an increase in your taxes.
Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion plan: Do you support it?
I unambiguously oppose the Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker proposal. This project would put at risk our health & safety, our economy, and our environment. Expanding oil sands development is not compatible with avoiding catastrophic climate change. Without oil sands expansion, there is no use for this pipeline.
No. I have campaigned with an environmental group door to door against Kinder Morgan expansion as well as participated in public rallies. We should refine our resources at home and revive Canadian manufacturing while safeguarding the environment and Mother Earth.
I am neutral. The Libertarian Party is committed to repealing all federal eminent domain laws that allow the government to seize land from unwilling property owners. The rightful deciders are the property owners who would be affected by an expansion of the Kinder Morgan right-of-way.
What is the most pressing issue facing the Canadian economy and how will your party address it?
We are a wealthy country facing austerity. The Green Party supports increasing the corporate tax rate from 15 to 19 per cent for large corporations, while lowering the rates for small businesses. We would end fossil fuel subsidies, put a price on carbon and support transition to post-carbon economy.
The neo liberal austerity agenda and governments paying the rich while privatizing public assets and cutting social programs. We advocate a new pro social direction for the economy and an end to “free trade” pacts which undermine Canadian sovereignty as well as establishing new relations with First Nations.
We believe the government is way too big, has its hands in everything and taxes are too high. We will eliminate the GST, and increase the income tax exemption from $11,000 to $17,000 and impose a flat income tax of 15 per cent on income above $17,000.
What is your position on reforming Canada’s marijuana laws?
I support the Green Party of Canada’s policy to end prohibition and legalize, regulate and tax marijuana.
While I personally do not advocate the use of marijuana except for medicinal purposes its use should not be criminal but it should be regulated like alcohol and publicly sold to raise funds for social programs.
I favour ending prohibition of narcotics. Strictly, my party favours neither legalizing (regulating) it or decriminalizing it (impose criminal fines instead of jail) but to treat it like other plants, like lettuce or celery. We don’t need to federally regulate celery.
What is the most pressing issue facing Canadian seniors and how will your party address it?
The most pressing issue facing Canadian seniors is the cost of living, especially housing, medicine and at-home care. I will work to implement a guaranteed livable income, a national pharmacare program, an affordable housing strategy, and improved access to inhome care.
People who have worked their entire lives to build the country and raise families deserve to retire with dignity and security. One publicly administered Canadian standard pension should be available for all upon retirement.
Candidate’s website Twitter Facebook
lynnequarmby.ca @LynneQuarmby LynneQuarmby4MP
mlpc.ca
The abject failure of the Canada Pension Plan to provide for them in their old age when they were promised it would and would not need to have their own personal retirement savings stash. We would look at increasing the payouts for seniors while encouraging working-age people to get paid out and manage their own retirement savings.
brian.sproule.7
ChrisTylorLibertarian
The borders of the old North Vancouver and BurnabyDouglas ridings were redrawn in 2012. GRAPHIC SUPPLIED
New riding is one to watch on election night BRENT RICHTER brichter@nsnews.com
It’s a blank slate as far as electoral ridings go, and the parties and the pundits are all keeping a very close eye on Burnaby North-Seymour. In order to make sure each riding had roughly the same number of residents, the electoral boundaries commission redrew the borders of the old North Vancouver and Burnaby-Douglas ridings in 2012. If the 2011 election were held using today’s riding boundaries, the Tories would have won with 44.2 per cent of the vote with the NDP taking 35.2 per cent. The Liberals took only 15.7 percent. Transpositions from the 2011 general election show the riding’s polling stations in Seymour almost all went Tory blue. The Burnaby side, which makes up about 70 per cent of the total population in the riding, was far more NDP friendly. But that was then and this is now. Party insiders say they are treating this one as a three-way race. Poll aggregator Eric Grenier’s threehundredeight.com indicates there is only a 3.5-point spread between the three major parties, with the Liberals holding a narrow lead. For those who claim no major party represents them, voters will also be able to mark their X next to a Communist, a Libertarian, a Marxist-Leninist and an independent candidate. The riding has a diverse makeup of residents, 39 per cent of whom identify as immigrants, according to Statistics Canada. The median age is 40.8 years. The average household income in 2010 was $85,288, although the North Vancouver side likely skews the numbers higher. The riding is also home to the 500-member Tsleil-Waututh Nation. The riding is unusual in that, despite where voters stand on an array of issues, there’s likely one local issue that’s going to be on their minds in the ballot booth, according to Doug McArthur, Simon Fraser University political science prof. “I think the obvious issue, and I think it is an important one in this election, is a local one. This has to do with the Kinder Morgan pipeline and what the likely possibilities are of this and what the parties will do in terms of their stand on the Kinder Morgan pipeline, on what kind of conditions would they accept or reject the pipeline,” McArthur said. “I think it’s a pretty important debate that’s taking place and people are trying to make up their minds on how best to vote consistent with what they’d like to see happen…. It’s a bit unusual in federal elections to have something quite that prominent stand out.” Expect the winner of Burnaby North-Seymour to be having a good night overall, McArthur said. “In my books, it’s one of these bellwether seats.... It’s one of those seats that, looking back, we’ll say ‘Oh, the way that seat went is a pretty good indicator of how the larger situation went.’”