In the last year and a half you have knocked on thousands of doors and have probably patted half the dogs in Leeds-Grenville. What have you learned?
(Laughing) I have learned that if I let the dog lick my hand, it stops barking long enough for me to talk to the owner.
Although many people have lived in Leeds-Grenville for generations, others have moved to Leeds-Grenville because of our strong communities and the beauty and recreational opportunities. And because of the Internet, a surprising number work from their homes. One guy manages a 400-person network in all parts of the world from his home in North Grenville. A woman works full time for a Bay Street law firm from her home in Gananoque. A Delta woman works for IBM from her home.
What is the ballot question for this election?
This election is about two things: one is the Liberal vs Conservative choices on what to spend money on; the other is whether people approve of Mr. Harper’s style of government.
The Conservatives are keen on mega-prisons and corporate tax cuts and sloppy military procurements. They’re often not bothering to get tenders and in the case of the F-35 jets, are signing on for something not completely developed yet. And they are stubborn enough to stay committed to it even as other countries are backing away.
Most economists agree that corporate tax cuts are not the best way to create jobs. Analysts at the Department of Finance, Jim Flaherty’s own department, have placed corporate tax cuts at the bottom of the job-creation list, well below investments in education and families.
The reason investments in families create jobs is that families will spend the money immediately, multiplying the economic benefit, while corporations are already sitting on hordes of cash.
The Liberals want to invest in education as well as other measures to help families get over the hurdles of raising kids, saving for pensions, and looking after gravely ill family members. And we have specific programs to do all of those things.
What about Mr. Harper’s approach to government?
I find it secretive, deceitful, and wasteful.
The most recent examples are their refusal to provide parliament or the public with the costs of the proposed legislation, of the cost to the taxpayers. Siphoning fifty million dollars of money intended for the improvement of our border infrastructure into washrooms and gazebos scattered around the riding of the Minister of Industry. The wasteful G20 photo op and the fake lake. More recently spending millions of dollars on taxpayer-paid ads to announce stimulus programs that had already expired.
Perhaps the most troubling thing about the Conservatives’ approach was that they shut down debate and fired or silenced anyone who disagreed with them. The head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Agency and the Veteran’s Ombudsman are but two of many examples of principled individuals fired for doing their jobs.
Why should we care?
There are so many issues we need to come to grips with as a country: jobs, climate change, dealing with our aging population, Canada’s place in the world. If we don’t have honest and substantive debates about these issues, we won’t find the right solutions.
Do the Harper Conservatives have too much respect for the free market?
I think they don’t see a role for government, so they’re offloading all responsibility for our economic direction and job creation to the big corporations, leaving our future in the hands of those whose chief requirement is to maximize quarterly profit. We need to balance the short-term thinking of the corporations with long-term plans and investments in education, research and technology. That’s the government’s job.
What things do people bring up most?
People are embarrassed and angry about question period. Teachers in particular complain about this. Personally I think we should try taking the TV cameras out of the House of Commons.
Jobs and job security are both huge issues. People who work for companies going through corporate transitions are seriously worried about the future of their pension plans.
I see lots of potential for jobs here. People with skills want to live in our communities. So let’s make sure we are as attractive as possible to startup and growing small businesses. Green energy is already creating jobs, and can create more.
Can tourism in Leeds-Grenville survive a high dollar?
I think it can because we do have a first class product in our land, our people, and our history.
As a landscape painter I take great joy in the beauty of the Westport area. One great opportunity is to prepare a Michelin-type tourist guide for artist’s studios and galleries in Leeds-Grenville, integrating our tourism and artistic communities.
How are the late stages of the local campaign going?
Not that I notice, but in my neighbourhood we’re winning the sign war, 8 to 6 (laughing).
Quite a few people have told me they plan to cast a strategic Liberal vote this time. I tell them their votes are safe with me. I’m a fiscal conservative, a social progressive, and a dedicated environmentalist. So I encourage those fed up with Stephen Harper’s behaviour to band together and make me their MP.
Steve Pettibone has a fine profile of Marjory Loveys at http://www.recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3091585
A conversation with Gord Brown MP, Federal Conservative Candidate for Leeds-Grenville
April 12, 2011
What has the Economic Action Plan done for Leeds County?
EAP is more than just infrastructure. Underneath that there are different categories, Infrastructure, Stimulus Fund, and RINC, or the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Fund. There have been infrastructures in Gananoque with Brock Street rebuilt, County Roads 2 and 5, in Landsdowne there was work. A lot of infrastructure. Money to the Recreational Infrastructure Fund as well. Over a hundred million dollars in total, 20 million federal in two projects alone. (For a detailed list check https://rodcroskery.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/so-where-did-the-stimulus-funds-go-in-leeds-grenville).
Does Leeds-Grenville pay a penalty for being too politically predictable?
No. You’re assuming it is predictable. I’m not. I don’t believe it’s predictable. I think in every election people in Leeds and Grenville make up their own minds.
The G20 Summit, contempt for Parliament and the census mess make me very nervous about the future of health care in the hands of a Harper Government. What assurances can you offer the nervous progressive conservative voter?
You are concerned about health care. Our government has increased health care spending 33% since we became government in 2006. Health care, 56 billion dollars of federal transfers to the provinces. The current health accord ends in 2014. There is currently a 6% accelerator through to 2014. And our party in this election has committed to a 6% increase each year ongoing after 2014. The demands on our system, especially with an aging population, continue to grow.
That’s going to cost money.
Absolutely. It’s a priority of Canadians. I think that we have good accessibility to health care in our region and we want to keep it that way.
Our auto insurance rates are up because of theft and bogus accident claims. But the penalties for these crimes are very light.
We have been getting tough on crime, and there’s a reason for that. As you point out, costs for everyone are going up for these crimes. Our opponents believe that we shouldn’t be putting people in prison. I believe that we should get tough on those who commit criminal offenses and especially tough on those who commit violent offenses.
What’s the cost?
What’s the cost to the victims who have had their lives ruined? They have left a trail of destroyed lives in their wakes.
On the other hand, if the current crime bills go through, someone with six marijuana plants on his property will go to jail.
If you’re growing six plants, you are trafficking. Six plants is a lot of marijuana.
Kids?
If you’re trafficking, you’re selling. Six plants isn’t for personal use.
What’s the difference between a liberal and a conservative? Tom Flanagan said it’s that conservatives believe people can’t change.
I disagree with that. If you’re talking about someone who is a criminal, I believe that we can rehabilitate some criminals by providing programs that allow them to learn skills and gain employment upon their release.
But your government closed the prison farm at the Pittsburgh Institution in Joyceville.
There are many rehab programs within the penitentiary system. This farm was one of them. But only a small percentage of prisoners coming out of that program were finding employment in agriculture. In fact, I have not met any farmers who have hired men released from that program. The abattoir program is still in place. Bruce Wallace of Wallace Beef operates it out of Joyceville.
In a perfect world we would be able to rehabilitate all criminals. But if violent criminals who can’t be rehabilitated are locked up, the streets are safer.
In 1972 a CEO made forty times the average wage of his workers. NDP leader David Lewis called them “corporate welfare bums.” Today CEOs in Canada make on average 155 times the wage of the average Joe, and Stephen Harper calls them “job creators.” What’s up with that?
Let’s use for example, Proctor and Gamble. It employs a lot of people in Brockville. The CEO makes a lot of money. That’s between the shareholders and the company. Obscene CEO compensation is not fair. But who is to determine what fair is?
Why does he call them job creators?
If a company is investing in our country and creating jobs, they are job creators. Over the last 25 years with very high corporate taxes, many jobs were lost because companies left. Had we had lower corporate taxes during that period, we might have lost fewer jobs. We were competing with lower-tax jurisdictions.
People forget that not only do we have federal corporate taxes, we have provincial corporate taxes. Even though I would never support the provincial Liberal party, even finance minister Dwight Duncan agrees that lower corporate taxes are better for Ontario.
So that’s why finance minister Jim Flaherty said that Ontario is the worst possible place to invest?
Well, the provincial government shifted gears after that and reduced corporate taxes. Manufacturing is now increasing in Ontario. It’s making a bit of a recovery. We’re the only party in this election that does not want to raise taxes on job creators.
How can a Conservative government eliminate the deficit, buy jets, and build prisons without massive cuts in government programs? Most of us are worried about the future of health care and those jets seem like a waste of money.
First of all, the improving economy will generate more tax revenues. We’ll look to find efficiencies, and continue to work on the different advantages that Canada has to generate the revenue we need.
What’s the burning election issue this time in Leeds-Grenville?
What we lack in Leeds-Grenville is representation. As a constituent when I look around and see the loss of jobs, the loss of youth, the fact that we are basically becoming a dilapidated area that doesn’t have a lot to offer to our youth, to people who have lost their jobs, to people who have put their roots down here.
When I graduated from high school in 1991 the job prospects were Dupont, Nitrochem, Grenville Castings, Sherwood Packaging, SCI, Selkirk , Pirelli Cable, Phillips Cable, Hershey. These were career jobs with good pay and benefits. If you were lucky enough to get one of these jobs after high school or a few years of college or university, you could set down your roots, start your mortgage and raise a family, much like your parents did before you.
Now these jobs have walked away half-way through the dream. The corporate tax cuts and the trickle-down effect haven’t worked. We’re in a state now where the good jobs have left or in the process of leaving and my generation are unsure of their future.
We need effective change and we have the opportunity through the ballot box to start to turn the ship around now.
The eroding middle class. Someone who has never gone without isn’t capable of understanding the perspective of someone who does on a regular basis. I don’t feel that my needs or the needs of my friends or family or neighbours are being met when it comes to that perspective. I’m a single father and I have gone without to provide for my daughter. Someone who has not faced tough choices when the bills come in can’t understand that.
What have you learned so far in the campaign?
Most of what I have learned is from the constituents I have talked to. The issues are there, but it all depends on their station in life what is prevalent in their life. If they’re worried about the HST and hydro, it’s a huge concern for them.
I’ve been canvassing since 19 Feb. When you talk to people who have worked their entire life, you see they’re having a hard time making ends meet. Gas prices are a real big issue with how much they’re paying for it. They feel over-taxed. Income, gas, and HST. Triple dip. That’s at the front of what people have to say, especially those on a fixed income.
I’m surprised at how accommodating and nice the people of North Leeds are. Last Saturday I was in Elgin and regardless of political beliefs or the fact that I was interfering with their Saturday afternoon, people invited me into their homes or their yards and treated me with respect and we engaged in a meaningful conversation. These people are reflective of how nice an area Elgin is.
Why are we in an election campaign right now?
We can blame the parties, but at the end of the day the government hasn’t been working, and that’s why we’re here.
What’s the ballot question?
From the Leeds-Grenville perspective, I think the question is are we prepared to accept a change (Matthew Gabriel, NDP) or stick with the status quo (Conservative) or what is comfortable (Liberal)?
What does the NDP have to offer to Canadians today?
Change and representation for the working class and those with fixed income. And people in general before corporate interests.
Why I gravitated towards the NDP beside the influence from the late Steve Armstrong is the fact of the free vote. We’re not forced to vote with the party.
I’m only interested in toeing the line of the constituents of Leeds-Grenville, by finding out the issues through an open dialogue and being available and making informed decisions based upon consensus.
Part of the reason I am stepping up is I don’t like dirty politics. We can all see how the signs are fighting for position all across the district but on Hwy 42 in particular. From an environmental perspective the candidates are creating a lot of landfill. I hereby promise that there will only be three hundred orange Matt Gabriel signs printed, so when you see one, pay close attention. That’s what we’re doing for the environment: cutting down on sign pollution.
How do you see yourself as a politician?
I don’t see myself as a politician. I see myself as a representative. I’ve developed this skill as a union steward. I see myself standing up for others, who sometimes aren’t in a position to help themselves.
What would the new government have to do differently in Ottawa to succeed?
They have to work together and put the interests of the people that have elected them first and not lose track of the fact that that is why they are there. The conservatives are hugging the power and trying to keep the power, but they lost track that they are there to serve the people of Canada and not just their own interests.
What are the key issues locally in this campaign?
From 1996 to 2006 the total population of Leeds-Grenville grew by 3,000. The number of fifty-and-older residents grew by 8,000 and the group twenty-to-fifty lost 4000. Leeds-Grenville is aging. We have to provide jobs in the county to attract the young. That’s why the Green Party is for local, sustainable agriculture to begin with, so that people can live in the area. Otherwise everyone is just commuting.
When I look at a 40 year-old I don’t see him or her having as secure a future as my generation had. I really believe that I am of the last generation of Canadians to have a better life than their parents. We seem to have lost our social conscience.
I can remember when the Progressive Conservatives stood for fiscal responsibility, and responsible expenditures for the common good such as education, hospitals, health care, infrastructure. Universally accessible programs benefitted everybody. Harper’s “boutique tax relief” such as the $500 for children’s arts programs, it’s blatant bribery to a targeted group and doesn’t benefit those who couldn’t afford the $500 in the first place. The break for volunteer fire fighters, on the other hand, makes sense.
A local issue?
While there was a groundswell of objections to the closure of the prison farms at Joyceville and in Pittsburgh Township, the Harper Government went ahead and closed them anyway and disbanded a world-class milking herd that had been developed over forty years by Agriculture Canada. That was a very valuable herd, and they put it up for auction. That was our money going down the tubes.
I have read about the Ottawa consensus on big items such as the war in Afghanistan, the economic stimulus package during the recession, and support for Alberta and the oil sands. What’s wrong with this approach to government?
We’re supposed to be a free market economy, but we’re not. Why are we subsidizing big oil? Why are we cutting corporate taxes to banks? Come on. None of them are looking at poverty. They’re not programmed for Canadians. Harper’s an economist and the bailouts and the oil sands support are keeping him popular with the business community.
Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism, would be shocked by the greed ethic of Canada’s business/government coalition.
So what are the old gray men in Ottawa missing?
-Conrad Black rifled the pensions of Dominion store employees. Then came the Nortel pension fiasco. Where was the legislation to protect those pensions?
-We’re going to be facing serious mental health problems as boomers grow older and face dementia and we have no plan to deal with it. Look at the demographics. 1966 was the highest number of births in Canada. They’re growing old and we’re not doing any planning for a known health crisis. Instead they’re planning prisons for criminals who don’t exist.
-My problem with all of these guys is that they’re not looking at what is out there, the concerns which are out there. They’re living in a fantasy world of jets and megaprisons.
-There are 34 cities in Canada needing infrastructure expenditures for sewage, Ottawa amongst them. Getting water from upstream is no longer a viable policy.
-We have the highest cost of telecommunications worldwide. Everyone uses cell phones but they cost way too much.
The G8/G20 extravaganza last summer. Any comment?
The police in Egypt treated their protesters better than the police treated our protesters in downtown Toronto.
When we last spoke you were keen on proportional representation.
The countries which have no form of proportional representation are Britain, The United States, and Canada. What I hear as a candidate is that a vote doesn’t count unless it is for one of the major parties. Proportional representation provides the mechanism for all votes to count.
Canada has slipped in engaging the electorate in exercising their right to vote.
By world standards, Canada is a conservative backwater because the first-past-the-post system automatically renders invalid about sixty percent of the votes.
We have people elected who are not there representing the majority of the electorate; they are representing only their own group.
In Canada you can be elected with twenty percent of the vote. The other guys can get 80% of the vote, but if your 20% is the biggest chunk, the other 80% don’t count.
Thus our government doesn’t reflect a consensus of Canadians, and that’s why the Parliament has been so dysfunctional.
Carbon tax?
We have to start somewhere. We are definitely experiencing global warming. This area has four more growing days now than forty years ago. Over 100 years our growing season will increase by thirty days.
Your campaign signs went up quickly in prominent locations in Brockville.
That’s because my campaign manager, eighteen-year-old Matt Casselman, had us well prepared. He did a great job of driving the stakes and posting the signs.
NDP candidate Steve Armstrong passed away since the last campaign. Steve will be missed from the local scene for his humour and sincerity.
the Walnut Diary 