Why are you running for federal office?
- We didn't have a Green Party candidate in my riding for the last election and I felt voters should have the choice. So I thought, why not offer myself?
What federal roles have you held in the past four years?
- None.
What is your current job?
- My day job is a high school science teacher for the Surrey School District. I'm also a part-time magician and a part-time Uber driver.
How long have you lived in the riding?
- I've lived in Coquitlam and Port Moody since 2009.
Why are you running for this party?
- I'm concerned about the environment and I'm also a big fan of proportional representation.
How long have you been a party member?
- Just this year.
What are your Top 3 campaign promises?
- To push for a national referendum on proportional representation (PR). For those who don't know, PR is a voting system in which the make-up of the government matches the votes cast. So if 10 per cent of voters vote Green, then 10 per cent of the seats in Parliament are Green, and the same for the other parties. The last election was a perfect example of why we should have PR, as the Liberals had only 32 per cent of the votes, but got 47 per cent of the seats and 100 per cent of the power. Meanwhile, the Bloc and Green had eight per cent and four per cent of the votes respectively, but the Bloc had 11 per cent of the seats while Greens had less than one per cent. First-past-the-post just isn't fair.
- The Liberals removed the transit pass tax deduction back in 2022, which had a greater effect on lower-income Canadians. I'd push to restore it.
- To fund the transition to renewable energy, to make it more affordable to install solar panels on houses, replace gas furnaces with heat pumps and build more wind farms.
If elected, how will you ensure you are available to constituents?
- My constituency office hours would begin in the afternoon and extend into the evening on weekdays and be open on weekends so that working families wouldn't have to miss or leave work to visit. I'd also have a website to contact me though, as well as offer digital meetings.
The Tri-City News will be closing no later than May 21. How will you and your party work to strengthen or change the Online News Act to ensure Canadians in communities of all sizes continue to have access to independent, trustworthy local information?
- Expand the CBC's mandate to support local reporting, fund non-profit, co-op models and stop Facebooks and Meta's Canadian News blockade.
How are you and your party preparing for future pandemics?
- Restore and expand funding to public health agencies and create a permanent, independent Pandemic Preparedness Office with real power to coordinate a response to future pandemics. We would also need to ensure that with all the building going on in Coquitlam that we also invest in infrastructure to support the increase in population, such as building a new hospital in the region.
How are you and your party implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action?
- The Green Party would like to see action, rather than symbolic gestures, such as full adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples into federal law with enforceable mechanisms. We should also seek reparations from churches and individuals who hid abuse, and seize church assets if they refuse. We would also like to see clean water for all First Nations by 2025.
Municipalities are struggling with growth orders from senior levels of government. How will you and your party address the needs for more/upgraded infrastructure?
- Cities shouldn't have to choose between going bankrupt and wrecking the climate to meet growth demands. We would tie infrastructure dollars to climate smart criteria, such as transit, cycling and upgrading water/sewer in existing neighbourhoods. Federally funded projects should require green roofs, permeable pavement and urban wetlands to reduce flood risks. We should also fund townhouses and duplexes near SkyTrain extensions.
How will you and your party improve income support for seniors and people with disabilities?
- Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement and have a federally funded Guaranteed Livable Income.
With threatened annexation by the U.S. president, do you and your party support an increase in defence spending?
- I think Trump's talk about annexing Canada is just to distract the media so that they don't look as closely at all the other things he is doing. Instead, the Green Party has a National Civil Defence Corps plan to defend Canada, while promoting peace and emergency readiness, by creating a 120,000 strong National Civil Defence Corps to strengthen Canada's resilience and sovereignty, provide meaningful employment while building national preparedness for emergencies and address the threats of climate disasters, infrastructure protection and national security.
Canada's overdose epidemic is a national crisis. What will you and your party do to ensure that harm reduction services and safer supply programs are more available?
- Federal funding for safe-supply programs in every province.
Contact
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