Green candidate says environment informs all we do

Jim Hagarty
Editor
John Cowling appears to be about as comfortable in his skin as a candidate for a seat in the House of Commons could be.
And that political skin is Green and getting greener.
The perennial candidate for the Green Party in Perth-Wellington has come to this point through a long and steady process which saw him start out in Montreal as a Liberal, and move to the Progressive Conservatives as a university student in Ottawa. But in the 1988 election, disillusioned with the Tories, he decided to go Green. In 2003 the party tapped him to run provincially in Stratford where he and his wife Diana Loveless, a journalist, had been living for about five years. Since then, the industrial supplies salesman for S.B. Simpson has represented the party in the federal elections of 2004 and 2006 and each time, his vote percentage has increased.
On the matter of the economy, Cowling says the most dangerous thing to do would be to follow Stephen Harper’s admonition that now is not the time to take chances with new ideas.
“An economy that is dependent on cheap resources, heavily dependent on oil and the things that are made from oil, is unsustainable,” he says. “It’s disastrous to think we don’t need to change.”
Cowling says to diversify its manufacturing, Ontario could build windmills, solar panels, heat exchangers, bicycles, and hybrid vehicles.
The Green Party does not discuss the environment in isolation from anything else, believing as its members do that everything is connected to it.
“If the Greens became the government, we probably wouldn’t have a minister of the environment,” he says. “We’d all be ministers of the environment.”
On the matter of leadership, Cowling has little respect for Stephen Harper who he believes offers the opposite of leadership, because he lacks vision and seeks only power, trying to achieve that by cutting down his opponents. The best leader he knows is his own – Elizabeth May, one of the most “intelligent and warm” people he’s ever met. He says she is fearless, sticks to her principles and doesn’t think in terms of political gain.
On Afghanistan, the Greens have always been opposed to a combat role for Canadians and would like to see it replaced by diplomacy and international cooperation. The aim should be to spend the mission’s money on reconstruction and on training the Afghans to provide their own security.
On the listeriosis outbreak, Cowling says the situation has pointed to deeper problems regarding food.
“We’ve sort of globalized our food production in our drive to get the cheapest product and create the biggest profits for companies that the scale now of food production is really almost unsustainable. Now one dirty machine processes so much food that it is possible for this sort of thing to happen.” He believes food production should be done more locally and on a smaller scale again.
On the matter of youth and crime, Cowling says people are justifiably upset when they see young people acting badly, but it’s easy to be angry. Kids are a function of the society around them and the messages that society sends them – every second TV show is about crime and guns – and to make them 100 per cent responsible is highly irresponsible. As well, getting tough is never going to solve the problem. Harsh treatment of people doesn’t work or the U.S. would have the lowest crime rate instead of the highest, he says.
As to the Tories’ cuts to culture, Cowling says a vibrant culture at every level – nationally, regionally, in schools and local communities – is a sign of a healthy society. People all over the riding make their living in the arts and it’s a good financial and social investment, one that that pays back almost immediately.
On bringing a University of Waterloo campus to Stratford, Conservative Gary Schellenberger can’t have it both ways, says Cowling.
“Are you going to come up with the money or not and if you can’t for some reason, stop saying you are 100 per cent behind it, and having meetings, etc. Stop stringing us along.
“It’s all a matter of political will.”

DeVries offers a moral approach to range of issues

Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
Running in her third election as a Christian Heritage Party candidate, Irma DeVries would finally like to see the media give all parties a voice.
“An informed electorate is an electorate that is voting with all of the cards on the table,” said DeVries, a married mother of four adult children. “Right now, they’ve just got cards on the table from the four main parties. That’s not right.”
Though the CHP is widely known for their biblical principles and pro-life stance, DeVries is quick to point out her party has a comprehensive platform that touches on all the major issues.
“We believe our policies will benefit all Canadians, not just special interest Canadians.”
In fact, the CHP is frightened by the environmental platform of other major parties, including the Liberal Green Shift and the NDP  cap-and-trade plans.
“If you are buying emission reduction credits, it gives you the right to pollute. It doesn’t change the pollution issue.”
CHP would focus in on what they consider to be the major polluters – nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide. She doesn’t believe carbon dioxide or water vapour is as dangerous as some say – after all, both help farmers grow better crops.
DeVries is also well-educated about green power and the red tape that goes along with it. She and her husband John are private power producers and their water turbine creates enough energy to power 40 homes.
Economically, the CHP would create new jobs by setting off a building boom through an infrastructure renewal program, whereby provinces and municipalities could receive interest-free loans through the Bank of Canada.
“That would get people back to work who are losing their jobs in areas like manufacturing,” she said.
She would also like to see taxes, including income, corporate, estate and inheritance taxes, removed. Her party also has plans to boost childcare allowances to make it easier for parents to stay at home with their children.
And she said that approach will also have an effect on crime, with children less likely to get involved with drugs and gangs.
Her party also focuses on restorative justice and would like to see young offenders placed in rehabilitative homes instead of jails, helping them to learn life skills for the future.
Though backed by a strong leader in Ron Gray, she said the CHP focuses on  long-term vision.
“The other parties think to the next election to get into power. Our goal isn’t to be in power as much as it is to serve the national interest with better policies so that the nation can better themselves.”
Her heart goes out to the families of the soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan and she is adamant our military needs to be well equipped, well trained and highly skilled.
She said there is no way a date can be set for troops to withdraw – that they need to stay as long as they are making progress and there is work to be done.
“Either we see it through or we shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
She also believes there needs to be a process in place for food inspection and  she supports regular testing for safety to prevent crises like the current listeriosis outbreak.
She wonders why no one blew the whistle when safety issues came to light in 2005.
The CHP supports a certain amount of arts funding, but it must have a moral foundation. She said not all people who claim to be artists are actually the real deal.
Most of all, she encourages voters to mark their ballot for the candidate and party they want to elect, not the one they’re trying to keep out of office.

First-time candidate Gardiner sees strength in Liberal policies

Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
Perth-Wellington Liberal candidate Sandra Gardiner wants constituents to know the most risky thing about this election would be helping to elect a Conservative majority.
The registered nurse and married mother of two young children said despite what the attack ads might say, electing a Liberal government is a sound choice.
“Our platform has been costed out by several different independent economists and they all say it balances out,” said Gardiner, in an interview at her campaign office last week. “We’re not being risky, we’re offering people a vision and hope in terms of the economy.”
A $1-billion advanced manufacturing prosperity fund will help support industry, including research and development facilities. The Liberals are also proposing a cut in corporate taxes, bringing the rate down to 14 per cent after four years. She said the government must also return to its international trade missions.
But if there’s one thing that goes hand-in-hand in the Liberal plan, it’s the environment and the economy. Gardiner said her party will pursue green technology, a $3.3 trillion industry, to create new jobs.
The revenue-neutral Green Shift plan will see a tax placed on pollution, with reductions in tax in other areas, such as income taxes and income trust taxes. She notes Australia recently adopted a similar act, which led to new investment from Toyota.
“It’s been done in other countries and has been quite successful,” she said. “We have to introduce carbon pricing to the market, we can’t continue to pollute for free.”
Party leader Stéphane Dion’s image is taking a beating during the campaign and Gardiner suspects it is because the other parties fear him. The Clarity Act introduced by Dion in the 1990s made him a target, with many serious threats made against him and his family. He was given around-the-clock protection by the RCMP.
“He is an intelligent man, he’s honest, he has integrity…I don’t know, would you call him weak when he stood by his principles and fought for the unity of Canada?”
She supports the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by 2011, but insists a plan must be in place. Canada has done more than its fair share of heavy lifting and has suffered the highest number of casualties of any NATO country, she said.
She does not support the deregulation of food inspection and said the recent listeriosis outbreak is a very serious matter that hasn’t always been treated that way by the Conservative government.
“We need to have an independent body such as the CFIA that does not have to be accountable to the company. We need to fund them properly to do their job properly. This is about food sovereignty, food security and food supply.”
Gardiner is a strong supporter of the arts and is adamantly opposed to cutting funding. She notes the Stratford Festival contributes $60 million annually to the local economy.
“In slow economic times, the arts community generates significant contributions to our economy,” she said. “Not only that, but we need to support our arts so people have the freedom of expression.”
There needs to be action taken to help curb the flow of illegal handguns over the border. Sending younger people to prison isn’t the solution, she said, adding it violates the constitution. She believes early childhood education is key, along with keeping youth involved in the community.
If elected, she pledges to fight for the best interests of the riding and encourages voters to educate themselves about the issues and who is running.
“Look at the candidate, judge the candidate locally who is going to represent you. Look at the Liberal Party as a team, we’ve got great front-bench strength.”

MLPC candidate Ichim zooms in on social issues

Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
Marxist-Leninist candidate Julian Ichim might be the new kid on the block in Perth-Wellington, but he’s no stranger to politics.
The University of Waterloo-educated social activist ran federally in his home riding of Kitchener-Waterloo in 2003 and 2006, and has also run provincially and municipally in that area.
Since moving to Stratford in 2006, he’s dove head first into a variety of local social issues and become heavily involved with Stratford Action for Equality (SAFE).
“There was a lot of issues around poverty and drug abuse,” he said, of what attracted him to Stratford.
“Many youth in Kitchener were coming from Stratford due to lack of resources and programs.”
After discussion with friends, he decided it was time to step up to help deal with poverty and unemployment and give a voice to those in Stratford who were marginalized.
He said the economic challenges currently facing the country boil down to Canadian sovereignty and the damage caused by free trade agreements that benefit other countries more than our own.
“Here in Stratford we’re losing a lot of factory jobs and we’re being told in the new economy we need to bite the bullet and make sacrifices,” he said. “But the reality is it’s working-class and poor people that are making all these sacrifices.”
He’s a strong supporter of the arts, but said the government needs to give more young artists funding to expose their work to the rest of the world.
“Culture isn’t just the Shakespeare Festival, culture is metal music, punk rock and hip hop and I think we should invest in these youth as well,” he said.
He’s convinced carbon taxes won’t save the environment. Instead, Canada must stand up and come up with its own plans, instead of being bullied by other countries, including the United States.
Corporations, including those we deal with through trade agreements, need to be held accountable for their actions and shouldn’t be permitted to flout Canadian laws.
While other parties war over leadership, the Marxist-Leninists have the chance to let the spotlight shine on their local candidates. The party is running a slate of 59 candidates and is pushing for the creation of democratic renewal committees across the country, allowing citizens to talk about politics and select candidates from among their peers.
“Leadership should come from the people as opposed to party leaders.”
He is especially passionate about issues surrounding crime and the penal system. He freely admits he has spent time in jail, mostly related to his political causes, and said it only teaches people how to become better criminals.
It is essential to give youth hope and alternatives to crime.
“To get tough on crime and make it an issue of law and order is ignoring the root cause of problems,” he said.
When it comes to Afghanistan, Ichim said what Canada has been doing is illegal under international law. He would like to see both U.S. and Canada withdraw their troops.
Since the 1990s, he said there has been a lack of accountability in many areas, including the food industry.
“It’s the same as Walkerton, these are very preventable crises,” he said, of the recent listeriosis outbreak. “If the government can’t protect it’s citizens and allows such things to happen, then why is there government?”
He wants to encourage people to get involved with the political process and let their voices be heard.
“People vote for the lesser of the evils and I think it’s really important to push for democratic renewal, to push for real democracy, to put regular people into Parliament and to question the system the way it is now.”

McManus is confident with the New Democrat’s model

Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
If there’s one thing Kerry McManus thinks could benefit the nation on a number of fronts, it’s prevention.
Whether it’s economic slowdowns, the environment, healthcare or food inspection, the NDP candidate for Perth-Wellington is convinced action needs to be taken before a crisis hits.
“Prevention is economically sound,” said McManus. “I can’t think of a time in your life that prevention isn’t the best route. I see the New Democrats as having a very sound, preventative model.”
McManus was born and raised in Stratford. She completed post-secondary studies at the University of Guelph and the University of Western Ontario before coming back to her hometown in 1998. She works as a teacher-librarian at Central and is working toward a masters degree in environment and sustainability.
She has a lengthy list of community involvement, but perhaps is best known as the co-founder of CARE Stratford – Common Action for the Restoration of the Environment.
She’s excited about the NDP’s commitment to examining infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, and launching programs to encourage efficiency through renewable energy.
She is a strong supporter of her party’s cap-and-trade system, which would see the biggest polluters purchase emissions credits at market-based prices with the funds used to create green technologies and keep them affordable for average consumers. Work at the tar sands also needs to be slowed down.
She is especially encouraged by the NDP’s Climate Change Accountability Act, which is more than just a piece of legislation.
“I think it’s a testament to the ability of the New Democrats to work across party lines.”
McManus acknowledges many families are going through tough times and are feeling the economic pinch. But she said Canada is a creative and resilient country and can diversify to keep the economy strong.
“The fabric of our society is under stress. This is an important time for us to be looking at how we can move forward.”
For her, that also includes keeping funding for the sciences and arts and culture, industries which add to the economy and have room for growth. She said arts are an integral part of the nation and cannot be “dismissed and devalued.”
She would like to see Canadian troops pull out of Afghanistan, with their role being renegotiated. The government needs to be actively working toward resuming a peacekeeping role.
McManus also thinks it is vital an external check and balance system is in place for food inspection and  said companies should not be left to account for themselves when the public good is at stake.
However, she is reluctant to say much about the recent listeriosis outbreak until she has a chance to read the final report on the matter.
The issue she is the most passionate about is offering help to those who need it, both locally and globally. She would like to see Lester B. Pearson’s recommendation to commit 0.7 per cent of the country’s GNP to development assistance.
“If we are going to have a world that is sustainable we need to address the needs around us.”
She is buoyed by the support of NDP leader Jack Layton, who she said recognizes the strengths of his entire team and has the ability to unite.
“He’s very likeable and very passionate and he believes in what he says.”
She’s committed to working toward what is best for Perth-Wellington whether or not voters choose to send her to Ottawa and hope she can encourage others to do the same.
“At the end of the day I’m hopeful. I see a lot of people who are getting involved and getting engaged on a range of issues and that excites me because we will make the world a better place.”

Incumbent MP Schellenberger defends Conservative record

Jim Hagarty
Editor
Gary Schellenberger sits with a morning coffee in a backroom at his Stratford campaign headquarters, facing another busy day on the election trail. It’s a grind, sometimes, he admits, but energizing as well.
“You get to see so many people, rekindle relationships you’d made over the years,” he says. “It’s very rewarding. I’ve always been a people person.”
A good thing for him, as he’s met a lot of people. Over the past 11 years, he run for office six times and knocked on a lot of doors in his bids for election, first as a Progressive Conservative MP for the riding and in the last three elections, as a part of Stephen Harper’s Conservative team.
This time out, the biggest issues he’s been hearing about are gas prices and job security. The government can’t do much about the first matter he says, and the cuts it has made to corporate taxes have helped some industries to stay here.
On other issues, Schellenberger says the environment is very important to him and his government but the economy has to be maintained and new jobs created.
“Our goals are realistic,” he says. “I hear from a lot of people we don’t need a carbon tax. It will push agricultural prices up. Trucking costs and everything that is delivered by truck will also go up.”
He says he’s seen great work being done on water quality, for example, by the conservation authorities and rather than re-invent the wheel, the government needs to work with projects that are already going.
On the matter of leadership, the Conservative candidate thinks there’s not really a choice.
“If you want a successful company you want the best CEO running it and Stephen Harper is that man,” he says.
People can decide what they think of Stéphane Dion, he says, but he believes it would be a disaster if he were elected to lead the country.
“I watched him as a cabinet minister,” says Schellenberger. “I think he’s been a big disappointment to the Liberal Party.”
On the war in Afghanistan, he points out Canada has made a lot of progress in many areas of redeveloping the country and our presence there is making a big difference.
On the listeriosis outbreak, Schellenberger denies his government has relaxed safety standards, and says one of the most important things is food safety.
“CFIA is doing a good job but the industry has to regulate itself,” he says. “There were inspections but it took weeks to find out where it was coming from.”
On Harper’s controversial announcement regarding getting tough with young offenders, Schellenberger says people on the doorsteps are asking for the Young Offenders Act to be revised.
“There are people getting back on the streets after two, three, four convictions on some very brutal crimes,” says Schellenberger. “The hands are tied for our law enforcement officials. Some of these offenders need help, and sometimes the only place they get the help is when they’re in a secure environment.”
Schellenberger says his party is against house arrest, where offenders can “go home for a month and play video games.”
As for his government’s much criticized cuts to culture programs, Schellenberger brushes them off. They were to programs that had achieved their goals or were redundant.
And in his own defence, since his party’s been been in power, he’s delivered $3.7 million to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He’s brought $330,000 for upgrades to the Festival and Avon Theatres, $55,000 for the Drayton Festival and $30,000 for Stratford Summer Music, the first federal money the last two organizations have ever received.
His government has taken other measures that have been hailed by arts organizations, museums and churches.
Finally, he defends himself against harsh criticism he’s received for not coming through with $10 million in funding for the building of a university campus in Stratford. He says had he not been so solidly in support of it from the start, this would probably never have become an issue.
“Negotiations are still going ahead. I am working very closely with the university and Mayor Dan Mathieson to get operating funds for the university. The project is going forward. I’m very confident the federal government will be there.
“Our government is very supportive of the project. I haven’t run into anyone who doesn’t think it’s a good proposal. I think it’s fantastic that we’re going to make this thing go forward.”

PHOTO: Perth Wellington candidates pose for a photo Tuesday at an al-candidates' meeting in Sebringville. They are, from left, Julian Ichim, Marxist-Leninist Party; John Cowling, Green Party; Gary Schelleberger, Conservative Party; Kerry McManus, New Democratic Party; Sandra Gardiner, Liberal Party; and Irma DeVries, Christian Heritage Party. (Andrea Macko)