On Thursday evening four candidates for the federal seat of Beauséjour gathered at town hall for a forum organized by Mount Allison Students’ Union VP External Hannah Ehler.
Two candidates were excluded from the proceedings—Jack Minor for the People’s Party of Canada and Isabelle Chiasson for the Free Party. That’s because MASU decided to apply rules developed by the leaders debate commission, which excludes parties with no seats or less than 4% of the popular vote. To find out more about the excluded candidates, as well as the NDP and Conservative candidates running in Beauséjour, check out warktimes.com.
The four candidates on stage Thursday evening were the NDP’s Evelyne Godfrey, Liberal Dominic LeBlanc, Green Party candidate Stella Anna Girouard, and Shelly Mitchell from the PC party.
Mount Allison political science professor Mario Levesque moderated the event. There was no back and forth debate, rather the event was designed to get at what the candidates believe and where their parties stand on a number of issues.
You can listen to the forum here, or see below for a lightly edited transcription of questions posed to the candidates and their answers.
COVID-19 RECOVERY
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
The first question is, how do you and your party envision the COVID-19 recovery process as the world starts to open up? And how would you advocate for this riding, Beauséjour, to ensure our people and our country stay safe?
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
So, Dr. Levesque, first of all, thank you for moderating the debate. And Hannah, thank you for organizing it. It’s a privilege. I was very happy that the Mount Allison Students’ Union decided to organize this. It’s a privilege to be a candidate in Canadian democracy. It’s a privilege to be able to stand before one’s fellow citizens and ask for their confidence. And I’m also glad that my fellow candidates joined us tonight.
Dr. Levesque, a specific answer, I think the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery starts by mandating vaccines. I think our party, the Liberal Party, is correct when we say we’re going to mandate, for example, vaccines for those that want to travel on airplanes or trains. That is the best single way to get the country beyond COVID-19. I think that there’s a circumstance where other parties talk about economic recovery… There will be no recovery, unless we’re able to successfully vaccinate a great number of Canadians. And that’s certainly been a priority for the government I’ve served in.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Yes, I do think that fresh air is the best cure for COVID-19. It cleans the lungs and the whole respiratory system. And we need that. I don’t believe that children should have the needle. Health is to cure the little hurt of a child. And when a child hurts, well, he’s liable to get sick. So the best way to get sick is to get out in public. While if you go out in the woods with fresh air. And if you adopt a tree, and you play with your family outside, boy, that makes a difference for a child. And being happy is being healthy.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
I think people have suffered in two major ways during the pandemic. Mental health has suffered. People have been isolated, especially people who didn’t have access to the internet, for example. There’s a lot of deprivation in Beauséjour.
And the second way was economically.
So I think the recovery plan has got to concentrate on our health care, including mental health and social care. And that is the main platform that I’m standing on in this election.
And then secondly, in terms of the economic recovery, I am actually advocating for a program of universal basic income for New Brunswick. There have been trials in other provinces. And I think that will help a lot of people get back on their feet. UBI is an ‘in work’ benefit, so it’s to help people who are working but earning less than the living wage in this province.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I also believe that vaccines are a safe and effective tool to stop the spread of COVID-19. I do, as well as the Conservative Party, encourage every Canadian who is able to get one. We have to be mindful of the people who are not able to get one and also consider rapid testing, which would be very helpful for unvaccinated people to protect most of our vulnerable Canadians.
Moving forward from the pandemic, the Conservative Party has a plan that includes overhauling Canada’s pandemic preparedness and emergency stockpile system to ensure that we can protect the health of Canadians and avoid long term impacts on our economy and mental health in the future.
DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
The pandemic forced many activities to go online. However, in rural New Brunswick, we know that not everyone had or has access to the digital infrastructure required to perform business as usual, and some are being left behind in the process. What is your solution to this challenge that is particular particularly unique to our riding?
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Well, I do believe that community organization is the best, because there’s a lot of people that do not even have internet. Sometimes there’s too much interference. I do believe that the Green Party’s platform is to get people organized within a community, and set things like, well, we’re going to have a meeting tonight and watch a film over a COVID solution. And things like that. I do believe that we need to work more as a community. Communities were run by Catholics before. Well, there still are elderly people who still exist and they get together, usually Saturday night. So we could do it.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
The internet can be a lifeline, for the people who had internet connections in the pandemic. And I think it is entirely possible for municipalities to fund free internet. In England, there are towns like Oxford—I’ve been living near Oxford for the past 10 years, in England—and the City of Oxford actually funds internet for the entire city. So it’s possible to have free internet. I know children’s education suffered, because they did not have access to internet for remote learning. And that was that was an absolute tragedy.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
The Conservative government will connect all of Canada, including rural areas, to high speed internet by 2025. With Canada’s recovery plan, we will strengthen Canada’s position as a world leader in technology and end the innovation dream. To clear the barriers away and unleash innovation, Canada’s conservatives will also incentivize Canadian companies to develop their products here, establish the Canadian Advanced Research Agency to fund major cutting-edge technology advances, and make it more attractive to invest in small tech startups.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
I think we can all agree COVID laid bare the idea that high speed or broadband internet was not a basic necessity in every Canadian community. The challenge is in rural and remote communities. Often the business case for the internet service providers is not there. That’s why we believe there’s a role for the national government to step up. We have a plan, a four year plan. We are in year two of a $4.5 billion investment. I announced, for example, in Moncton, a $40 million contribution with Xplornet, to increase broadband access in rural communities just in New Brunswick. The same is true of my colleagues in Ontario and Quebec.
This is critical to growing the economy. It’s critical for small businesses to have access to marketing opportunities. It’s also critical, as Evelyn said, for virtual care and medical care in rural and remote communities.
CLIMATE CHANGE
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
With increased forest fires, flooding, droughts, and coastal erosion, climate change is top of mind for people of all ages. If elected, how will you help facilitate climate action in Beauséjour? What do you think is the best federal strategy to address climate change?
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
So I believe all the science, and I live in Port Elgin, which is a village that’s just four meters above sea level at the highest, with an average of just two meters above sea level. I’ve experienced the worst flooding in living memory in 2010, catastrophic flooding, and I’m sure that it’s related to climate change. I have certainly witnessed, since I was growing up here in Beauséjour in the 1970s, I’ve certainly witnessed the change in the winters which are nowhere near as harsh as they were before. So I’m entirely conscious of it. And I think we can do a lot to grow the green economy and be conscious of that in our COVID recovery. The jobs that we create in this province need to be environmentally conscious and sustainable jobs.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I agree, we need to work with governments to be able to reinforce the dykes and the infrastructure along our coastlines. Climate change is a very real thing, and the Conservatives are ready to get to work tackling this very important issue. Their plan will allow Canada to also to meet its Paris accord targets and reduce emissions by 2030. Conservatives are also going to tackle the challenge of plastic waste, including banning export and improving value recovery from plastics, and move towards zero emissions vehicles.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
I think we all agree that tackling climate change is probably the most important task of the national government, as we emerge from COVID-19. We may all agree that 55% of the Conservative Party wouldn’t vote for a resolution that said climate change was real. So that’s a bit worrisome.
We think it starts by having an aggressive price on pollution. We have a plan to get to $170 per ton by 2030. That means we will exceed the 36% reduction of 2005 levels. And that’s why we’ve set for ourselves as a country a 40 to 45% reduction as a target by 2030. We’ve legislated a mandated net zero by 2050, with a five year check-in. Governments will have to be transparent with Canadians, every five years. We voted for it. It actually was supported by the NDP in the House of Commons. It was an important measure to bring a greater accountability to government efforts.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Boy, this is a good one. This is the best question ever set up. We need to stop aggressive forest cutting all over the world, especially Canada. We also need community infrastructure to respect a well-managed forest. Plant a tree. Use fertilizer on it, use human fertilizer on it. Adopt a tree. Build a sacred forest. Build a kitchen with hemp. It doesn’t rot, ever. You don’t need to cut a tree to build a house. Create an industry with solar energy, with radiant heat, to stop the excess of forest cutting.
RECONCILLIATION
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
The tragedies of the residential school system were forced into the limelight over these past few months when hundreds of unmarked graves were found across the country. From pipelines to clean drinking water, a lot of work needs to be done to reconcile with Canada’s history. How will you and your party facilitate this process while respecting Indigenous sovereignty?
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I would ensure that all Indigenous communities have a seat at the table and a strong voice, first of all. I would like to also add that it is an important time for all of us to offer our condolences and our support for Indigenous communities everywhere. Canada’s Conservatives acknowledge the deep sorrow and mourning that all Indigenous people and survivors of residential schools are experiencing. The Conservative Party supports treaty rights and the process of reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples. Our government actually created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as part of the 2007 residential school settlement agreement, which recognizes that the Indian residential school system had a profoundly lasting and damaging impact on Indigenous culture, heritage and language. We need to work very hard to patch up the wrongdoings of the past.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
I think that Canadians are understandably impatient for their leaders to move ahead on the important work of reconciliation. I think all parliamentarians, certainly that I’ve served with, recognize some of the difficult moments of our colonial past. I have worked with Indigenous leaders in this riding and across the country on issues as important as acknowledging and recognizing Mi’kmaq fishing rights. I was very proud in the House of Commons, to vote for September 30 being a statutory holiday to recognize Indigenous rights and some of the challenges, as I think Shelley just mentioned, around residential schools. I also voted proudly for putting into Canadian law, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s and I thought it was unfortunate that the Conservatives opposed that again.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Thank you, Mr. LeBlanc. Very nice for you to say that reconciliation is possible. Solidarity is also very possible. The Champlain’s three sisters described in his book tells of a corn stem, that where beans are grown around. The corn stem is a tutor. Why should not our kids be tutors to the smaller children in school. You start tutoring, and then all of a sudden, an elder is your teacher, not the great teacher in front. That is a solidarity that we need. The [inaudible] started that along the Cape Cod River, and I think we should, we should protect ourselves with… The gardens were protected by anything that has hair on the leaves. So cucumbers, any kind of leaves that has hair on the back, protected just like the family had the [inaudible] to protect the children and the families in the villages.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
In the process of Truth and Reconciliation, I believe that we are still on the the Truth part. And the truth has not been spoken yet. So I was contacted by Mi’kmaq citizens from this riding who had horrific stories to tell me about their childhood and their mistreatment in childhood. And I think in New Brunswick, we have not even got to the point of admitting that the Indigenous people were mistreated here. So we need to be accepting, first of all, that British colonialism was a fundamentally racist endeavour. And we need to be hearing and listening to the Indigenous people of New Brunswick and hearing them speak their truth. The citizens thanked me for listening, because they have been trying to say these things for years and the elected representatives have have not been listening to them.
POST SECONDARY EDUCATION
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
How will you address affordability of post secondary education and student debt?
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
Obviously a critical question in a debate organized by a student union at Canada’s greatest undergraduate university. Our government, particularly when the first months of COVID hit, immediately delayed, for example, the repayment of student loans. We have increased the grant portion of the Canada Student Loan, because increasing the amount of money that students can borrow is not as interesting a solution as increasing the grant portion for low income students. We’ve delayed for example, the repayment of student loans until a particular student has a high enough wage job to be able to repay. We’ve permanently removed interest on student loans. I’ve always thought it was unfair for the Government of Canada, that can borrow money at 1% interest, to charge students interest on student loans. So I think that’s a good start. But there’s more work that can be done.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
I agree that something should be done with depression in students in post secondary. Again, I’m going to use the solidarity of a big brother, big sister, to form small groups so that the problems will be identified in the groups instead of being a problem for the whole society. And I do believe that that is possible at the university level. The pleasure that a small group takes to research a subject is infinite. When they start, they cannot stop. This is the fun of studying. And that should be the fun of learning the great knowledge of the world.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
So the federal NDP has a platform of student loan remission. But personally, I think that the costs of higher education have just escalated beyond all reason now. And we need to make an effort to bring down the cost of higher education. You can look at other countries, European countries, like Germany, for example. Much bigger population than Canada, and they manage to fund their higher education. So you can actually go to Germany from Canada and study at university for far cheaper than you can study at a Canadian university. So I think that is entirely possible. And that is what we need to do to bring down the cost of higher education. And to fund community colleges as well. So that people can get qualifications local to where they live.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I think affordability is a problem across the board right now in our society. So the Conservative Party is committed to tackle the cost of living for everyone, including students, also including seniors on fixed incomes. We want to lower the price, the cost of food. We want to work aggressively to tackle the unaffordability of rental housing and building homes. So we also want to ensure that we retain our brightest and our best students. Right now we have a significant amount of brain drain. So we want to be able to provide people with reasons to stay home, or to stay in their towns, in their areas where they’ve been educated, and keep our society doing well.
HOUSING
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
What will you and your party do to address the current housing crisis in Canada, specifically, renovictions and large rent increases?
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Oh, boy, that’s a good one. I suggest that children should be taught how to build a house when they’re young. So when they grow up, they can do frolics and work together to build the house before they ask somebody to build it at a high price. Habitat for Humanity… Instead of funding a group of people… Groups like Habitat for Humanity do the best thing you ever have, because they know the problem, they can deal with the problem, and set the problem straight for people to work well. Space in a woods, or building communities, that’s what lodging is all about. Building good, entertaining, and very, very workable communities, get together to build themselves a nice way of living.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
Affordable housing is a serious problem right here in Sackville, and across the province as well. I think the federal government has to work with the province to bring more housing into not-for-profit community ownership, in the form of housing co-ops. Because it’s the private landlords who are increasing rents, and they’re often doing this without even investing in the maintenance of the housing. So there needs to be local community accountability for housing, because accommodation is the really big monthly expense that comes out of everyone’s income. And the rents here have got beyond reason. But I think not-for-profit housing cooperatives are the way forward for addressing the affordable housing crisis.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
Rental construction financing initiatives need to be tied to real affordable housing, not unaffordable rentals. Yesterday, Statistics Canada reported that our inflation rate is higher than it’s been in nearly 20 years. The Conservative government will take action to stabilize the housing market by promoting collaboration with all levels of government, by partnering with municipalities and the private sector to address the soaring cost of renting a home and to bring new rental units to the market by adding or by building a million homes in three years, and by encouraging investment in affordable purpose-built rental housing.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
So I agree with a lot of what Evelyne said. In fact, the Tantramar area and Sackville has had a lot of success with co-op housing. I visited many of the co-op housing developments. I agree with Evelyne, the not for profit sector offers, in many cases, a better opportunity to have rents that are affordable. Community owned not-for-profit housing should be a priority certainly for our government in trying to build a million new homes next year. That will be a priority.
There’s a separate issue around the affordability for first time homebuyers. We have a $40,000 tax free allowance where people would be able to make a deposit for their first initial housing purchase. That’s a challenge for young families.
I wish the Conservative provincial government in New Brunswick would bring in rent controls. Because like many other provinces that is the most direct and best way to control skyrocketing rents which have hit seniors and students in a really significant way.
HEALTH CARE
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
Access to health care, especially in rural regions like Beauséjour, is strained and impacting the everyday lives of individuals and families. Our own hospital here in Sackville experiences ongoing ER closures. What would you and your party do to advocate for our healthcare needs in Beauséjour?
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
So healthcare in all its forms, including mental health and social care, is the number one priority that I have in this election. And from day one, when I’m elected, I will call for federal health care funding transfers for New Brunswick, because we are in a crisis here in Beauséjour. And I can testify to the fact, having grown up here, that it’s gotten a lot worse in the 30 years I’ve been away. So I will fight for funding for pharmacare, for dental and optical care, and mental health support, as well as funding for the hospitals and medical centres. The other thing I would mention is that long term care homes should not be operated for private profit, and I will work to bring care homes and all social care services into public and community co-op ownership.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
It is no secret that our healthcare system needs help desperately. I believe in the principle of universal health care access, and so does the Conservative Party. Everyone deserves good health care. To do this funding is a critical component in order to provide an additional appropriate level of health care service. The Conservative Party will increase transfer payments to the provinces by at least 6%, which will see several billion dollars more in provincial coffers. We need to increase funding so we can care for our caregivers and see that everyone has access to better health care. We also need to think about approaches that provide rapid access to caregiving immigrants who can fill our needs for care. We need to provide a service that values quality of life and quality of health care.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
It’s a fundamental question. The Conservatives talk about this $60 billion transfer. If you read the financial framework in their platform, none of that money is really available until years seven, eight, nine and ten. So it would be in a second majority government mandate that the provinces would see any kind of increased transfers. That’s certainly not going to be our approach. But we’re also not going to write blank checks to provinces. We think there should be accountability if federal funds are increased, as we’re committed to doing. Particularly, for example, the Canada Mental Health transfer. We’re committed to dedicated, annual, recurring, increasing funding for mental health.
When Annie Sherry, a former vice president of MASU, had Hannah’s job some years ago, I was impressed by the national conversation that Mount Allison was leading around mental health services and challenges for students. So I was inspired by that and continue to believe the government can do more to make those kind of services available across the board.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Well prevention is the key. I do believe that in Sweden, children at school, they stay outside for two hours during noon time. I do believe that prevention is the cause. Ask families to plan health food in the kitchen, also remedy food. Then when we go into public, in restaurants, doctors are invited to have big, good food for to listen to a display of pills. They get a percentage of the pills that the doctors sell. Ban that. I think it will stop mental health to grab all those people that have too many drugs in their system.
ACCESSIBILITY
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
Many universities across Canada are minimally physically accessible for students, like Mount Allison here. What would you do to help universities become fully physically accessible by 2025, so all students can get the top notch education that Mount Allison offers. Furthermore, how will you prioritize the needs of Canadians with disabilities during pandemic recovery efforts?
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
Accessibility means breaking down barriers for Canadians living with disabilities. A Conservative government will do this by doubling the disability supplement in the Canada Workers Benefit from $713 to $1,500, providing a major boost to lower income Canadians with disabilities, on top of our increases in the Canada Workers Benefit. Much help will go to families where one member has a disability. This will help them achieve the security and financial independence they deserve. Conservatives will also overhaul the complex array of disability supports and benefits to ensure that working always leaves someone further ahead. We’ll work with the provinces to ensure that federal programs are designed to work with provincial programs to achieve that result. We’ll also provide an additional $80 million a year through the Enabling Accessibility Fund to provide additional incentives for small business and community projects to improve accessibility grants and supports for all types of accessibility equipment that Canadians with disabilities need to work.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
I had this exact conversation actually with President Boudreau of Mount Allison a few months ago around how can federal funds, either infrastructure funds, or other funds available under the Disability Access Act, be made available to public institutions like Mount Alison, in order to have a 100% accessibility. It doesn’t seem acceptable in 2021 that you have public buildings at Canada’s greatest undergraduate university that are not accessible to all students. We appointed the first minister responsible for persons with disabilities. My colleague, Carla Qualtrough from Vancouver, has done a terrific job legislating accessibility issues. We can of course do that in federally regulated industries and federally owned buildings. But I think the solution is, as we’ve offered, to use infrastructure programs to help other public institutions do what every Canadian expects us to do in 2021.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Oh boy, this is a good one. Parachuting money is not always a solution. In China, in Germany, a child that wants to work, grade nine, he studies six months, and he works six months. He gets the practice right there in the school. And that’s how the system should be in Canada, instead of pushing and pushing and pushing the students to study and study and study more. No, no, no. When you’re in the milieu that you want to work, boy, you love your job. And that’s what students should do as soon as they know what they want to do.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
I agree with Mr. LeBlanc, that it’s legislation that is key to this, and the enforcement of legislation. So there is an act, but to say that it shouldn’t apply to education, access to education, to public institutions like the universities and the schools, is a great misuse of that legislation.
So even though in the letter of the law, it might be limited to just public institutions, I think that it should be rolled out and enforced when it comes to access to education.
And I would also say that we need a public information campaign, because you don’t realize how inaccessible places are, unless you yourself happen to suffer from a disability. And there’s a low level of public awareness that it is a major problem.
LEADERSHIP
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
When it comes down to it, would you commit to aligning with your party or the wishes of the people in Beauséjour? And why?
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
That’s a question that comes up often. First of all, I’m a cabinet minister. So I will always vote with the government position, or I will resign from the cabinet. So if you’re a sitting cabinet minister, and there is government legislation before the House of Commons, there’s a collective responsibility for the government. So I’m not going to pretend as a cabinet minister, I’m going to be voting against government legislation unless I decide to resign from the cabinet.
I also thought… let me give you the best example. It’s hard to tell how, in fact, one’s constituents want you to vote on a particular issue. In 2005, I voted in favour of same sex marriage, of the Civil Marriage Act. Obviously, I was very happy and proud to vote in 2005 for that. I had 3000 letters from people in my riding asking me to vote against, and about 30 asking me to vote in favour. But our principled position, I wanted to vote in favour, because I believed profoundly in that. And in the election subsequent to that I got one of my highest majorities I’ve achieved in an election. So I think it’s sort of a false choice to pretend that you can somehow guess what your constituents want. I think you have to do your best, vote your conscience, and let the voters decide.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Well, I do believe that there’s a lot of people that would and want to… they just want to change sex. So they get operated, and then they’re stuck with their sex. And they’re not very happy about it. I think when you deal with individual wishes of the people, sometimes you do have to make changes.
What I’m worried about is I’m worried about Canada’s… There’s no babies anymore. Where are the babies? We need any people from outside to have babies. And we see at Georges Dumont, for example, once or twice a month, stairs are filled up with ladies that want to have babies. You know, five or six stairs are filled up with women getting inseminated with whose sperm? What are we doing with our society?
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
So I’m in the very fortunate position of being a dedicated socialist and the only socialist candidate standing in this election. So my principles are entirely in line with the principles of the New Democratic Party. And so I generally will naturally agree with what the party fights for. And that’s why I am a lifelong socialist, because I’m very clear about my principles. I as a representative of the people of Beauséjour, I am here to listen to them. So I will always listen to what my constituents have to say. And I will always take their concerns absolutely seriously. And I will always be ready to speak to them on any issue that they want to speak to me about.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I just want to say that if the people of Beauséjour riding put their faith in me, they can trust that I will be honest, approachable, accessible to them at all times. I want to represent them in government in Ottawa, with openness and honesty. And I want to be part of working together to ensure the best and the brightest future for everyone. A society that treats people with respect, accepts people’s differences, and empowers people to be their best selves, also listens to one another and has room for dialogue from many sources. A society that appreciates gratitude and kindness, is one that I want to live in. One that wants to help those in need. I’m a hardworking and honest person. And I will truly serve all of the people of Beauséjour riding.
MOUNT ALLISON STUDENT QUESTIONS
ENERGY
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
What are your and your party’s plans to help transition Western Canada’s energy sector to be a green energy leader?
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Well, as I say, we must cultivate our forest. The deforestation in Canada is terrible. Quebec is taking over quite a bit of their forest and they’re doing right. But it’s not by saying, ‘cut the trees!’ I must admit that downhome, I had a big storm of insecticides. When all my trees that had leaves, I used to tend to use it for my hair, and there’s no more trees anymore. Well, I think that we need to know where we stand. So I wrote a book called The Birch Without Pants. We don’t need no more birch without pants. We need full grown trees, even those with leaves, just like a person that is proud to stand up to the sky in the sunset in the morning.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
I think this country could be energy independent on renewable energy. I think that we shouldn’t be in the back pockets of the Americans and serving their fossil fuel interests. So I can give you my opinion about the western energy sector. There are differences in the NDP about this, but I do not support the oil pipelines or the continued extraction of fossil fuels. I would support a green economy and I must say that we need to be listening more to our First Nations citizens in the west on this subject. And not assume that the province is representing what they have to say.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
Conservatives are ready to get to work tackling the very important issue of climate change. Their plan will allow Canada to meet its Paris accord targets to reduce emissions by 2030. The liberal government’s carbon tax drives jobs and investment out of the country. The Conservative government will put forward a personal low carbon savings account that will build up and allow Canadians to make greener lifestyle choices.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
I’m always surprised when the Conservatives talk about their low carbon savings account. It’s kind of weird when you… the more you earn, the more you burn. So if you consume more fossil fuels, your low carbon savings account will go up. It seems counterintuitive.
The question around the western oil and gas sector… It starts by putting a hard cap on emissions, a legislated cap on emissions in that sector. That’s something we’ve done. It starts by putting a real price on pollution. I don’t agree with Shelley that a carbon tax—although Mr. O’Toole pretends he’s in favour of a much lower reduced weaker carbon tax—I don’t believe that drives jobs out. I think it encourages people in the transition to renewable, clean green energy. One of the most exciting jobs the Prime Minister gave me was being minister responsible for the Atlantic green energy loop. And the potential, for example, from developments in the Lower Churchill falls in Labrador, might help New Brunswick and Nova Scotia get off coal.
ABORTION RIGHTS
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
What policies will your party enforce or remove surrounding abortion?
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
So I can tell you my personal view, which is that women should have the right to choose what happens with their bodies. And I am not in favour of limiting women’s rights in any way or restricting women’s rights in any way, when it comes to anything to do with contraception or abortion or any anything to do with their with reproduction.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I believe abortion should be de-politicized completely. I feel like women should have a right to choose what they want to do with their body. And I also feel like it is a very private and personal decision between a woman and her doctor.
I feel like our health care system has to provide additional supports in terms of mental health and surround completely the issue of being in a situation where someone is requiring such a drastic procedure.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
For us, it’s very simple. This is a constitutional right that Canadian women have. That issue has been settled for decades by the Supreme Court of Canada. All of our candidates are in favour of a woman’s right to choose. All of our candidates would vote against legislation, for example, from Conservative backbenchers, that seek to restrict a woman’s constitutional right. Mr. O’Toole pretends he’s in favour of a woman’s right to choose, but allows 40 or 50 of his Members of Parliament to vote regularly in Parliament in favour of laws that would restrict a woman’s right to choose.
I was proud when our government withheld funding under the Canada Health Act from the province of New Brunswick for what we think is their failure in New Brunswick to offer acceptable access to women in this province. I’m obviously referring to Clinic 554 in fredericton. And we’ll continue to use the Canada Health Act and in fact go further and make it illegal to protest or harass people who seek to have access to health care clinics or facilities including, obviously, abortion clinics.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Definitely the Green supports a woman’s choice. However, one of the reason that the Western world is at war with the Taliban is that a girl is ready to bear an infant at as soon as she has her menstruation. What I’m looking at is, I’m looking at soulmates. What age does a soulmate feel another one? I think we need to develop the conscience of looking at a person who can feel what we feel. And when you have that, you have a true soulmate. And then there’s no problem about abortion or whatever. It’s one thing between a mother and a father.
NATIONAL FINANCE
MODERATOR MARIO LEVESQUE
How will Canada lower the deficit and balance the budget?
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
Well, according to Stats Canada, our deficit is going up. And a very rapid and very high, 4.1% is the recent percentage [of the rate of inflation.] We need to get control of our economy that’s spiraling downwards. So we need to stimulate the economy, safely, of course, with COVID measures in mind. But we need to look towards getting businesses back on track. We need to provide them with the resources as well as the manpower.
I’ve been driving through the reading several times in small communities like Dorchester and Sackville. And I’m noticing that a lot of shops are starting to close down if they haven’t closed down already. So we need to definitely energize the economy and get things back on track.
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
I think that Canadians obviously are concerned about the increasing levels of government debt, as is the government. But we made a very deliberate decision at the beginning of the pandemic to do what we had to do for as long as we had to do it to protect Canadians, to support businesses. So programs like the CERB, like assistance, the wage subsidy which helped preserve millions of jobs across the country, meant that Canadian families, Canadian individuals and Canadian businesses didn’t have to assume that debt. We have a plan to bring the deficit, obviously, as a percentage of Canada’s GDP, on a declining level. Mr. O’Toole pretends he has a plan not to cut any of the Liberal spending, add $78 billion of his own spending, with a series of fake growth projections that are completely unrealistic, and the deficit will magically disappear in 10 years. We think Canadians deserve a greater level of transparency around public finances.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Well, it’s very simple. People like money, so why not have a COVID Lotto! Isn’t that simple? It would do a little bit of paying the debt that we owe, wouldn’t it?
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
I would say that now is not the time, as we’re trying to recover from this pandemic, to be focusing on deficit reduction, because the danger is that you cut public services just in order to reduce a number that is not really indicative of how people are living their lives every day. So I would say in the recovery from the pandemic, now we have to really be focusing on how we kick start the economy and revitalize, especially here in New Brunswick, how we revitalize the economy, and not worrying about deficit reduction, if that’s going to result in actually cutting public spending.
CLOSING COMMENTS
DOMINIC LEBLANC, LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA
First of all, thanks again to Hannah and to the Mount Allison Students’ Union for having organized this conversation tonight. I hope it’s been interesting and informative to the people who are able to join us. I wish we could have done it in person at Convocation Hall like previous elections, but for COVID reasons, it’s obviously more prudent to do it this way.
Anyone who’s fortunate enough to be elected as the Member of Parliament for Beauséjour, one of the really, really enormous privileges is to represent Mount Allison University in Canada’s House of Commons. I’m extraordinarily proud to have represented Mount Allison University and Sackville, and obviously the Tantramar Region in Canada’s parliament. It’s been a huge privilege, I’ve learned a great deal from outstanding students and professors and researchers who’ve worked on this campus. And I very much hope you’ll continue to have confidence in me, and allow me to continue to work for you, after the election on September 20th. And for that reason, I ask for your support again. Thank you very much.
ANNA GIROUARD, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
Well, my aim is to plan communities in a way that dialogue will be natural for every group of people, starting in school. With the church’s abuses, we have to do something. We have to gather into a way, which is not communist, not Chinese communist in any way… I just say that we need to find a way in ourselves to be happy with what we know and what we feel.
So I’ll just finish saying, for the Green Party, that we need to surround ourselves with some kind of divine protection to save the earth and to save mankind. Thank you.
And it was very nice to be here to try to explain my history, reading, and work that I have tried to do.
EVELYNE GODFREY, NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA
Thank you to the Mount Allison Students’ Union, and to Hannah in particular, for organizing this. It is late in the day in the election. And I, for example, and I know this is true of all the other candidates, apart from the incumbent, have not had the opportunity to engage with the voters in the way that one would normally expect to be able to engage with them, because this was an unnecessary election called when we’re not quite out of the pandemic. So the Liberal government has put us all in a very awkward position, and I think it’s anti-democratic what they what they have done. But nonetheless, I encourage all the Mount Allison students and the people in this constituency to come out and vote, and take this opportunity to send whatever message you want to send to this to this government now.
SHELLY MITCHELL, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
I’ve knocked on a lot of doors over the past five weeks, and I’ve spoken to a lot of people. The people of Beauséjour riding are sick and tired of being ignored by the Liberal government, and by Mr. LeBlanc. They deserve representation in Ottawa. And this is what I want to offer them. When I became a police officer in 2003, I took an oath to protect and serve. That oath is still a part of who I am. The people of Beauséjour riding can put their trust in me. I guarantee them true and honest representation in Ottawa.
