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Q&A with the 2019 Hastings-Lennox and Addington federal candidates

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Three of the five federal candidates for Hastings—Lennox and Addington took time to answer six questions from the Whig-Standard about key facets of the debate leading up to the Oct. 21 federal election. Here are the candidates’ answers to questions and their personal positions on major issues in this campaign. Note: David Tough, candidate for the New Democratic Party, and Sari Watson, candidate for the Green Party of Canada, did not respond to questions before the deadline.

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Question: What do you consider the most important issues facing voters in Hastings-Lennox and Addington?

Mike Bossio, Liberal Party of Canada

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Mike Bossio, incumbent, Liberal Party of Canada
Mike Bossio, incumbent, Liberal Party of Canada

In our riding, as across Canada, there is an infrastructure deficit, a need for more affordable housing, a need to continue support for low- and middle-income Canadians, and a need to address climate change.

On infrastructure, our Liberal government has delivered on over $33.7 million in infrastructure projects in Lennox and Addington County, including $9 million for a new ferry for Loyalist Township to connect Amherst Island with the mainland. Along with a new ferry for Wolfe Island, they will be the first fully electric ferries in Canada, and an important step for our environment and for connecting our communities. These investments also include $14 million for upgrades to the Greater Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant. This will allow the town to continue to grow, since the plant is working at over 94 per cent capacity. It will also prevent wastewater from polluting our environment during heavy rain periods.

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Over $3 million has been invested in affordable housing across the riding under our government. There is more work to do. The need for more affordable housing units was clear in the workshop that I held in Napanee last year to help people with their applications to build more affordable housing. We are also working with provinces and territories to develop a $4 billion Canada Housing Benefit to be launched in 2020, providing an estimated average of $2,500 per year to each household recipient to offset the high cost of rent.

Helping low- and middle-income Canadians remains our focus. We are providing support through the middle-class tax cut and the tax-free Canada Child Benefit, along with the increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors — all three of which the Conservatives voted against.

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In our riding, we know that extreme weather events have a cost, whether from the multiple “100-year” floods that we’ve seen or the terrible droughts, both of which have cost homeowners and hurt our farm families. When farmers can’t grow their crops, we’re all in trouble. Last year, extreme weather cost Canadians $1.9 billion. From 1990 to 2009, the average was $400 million a year. That number is only rising and is estimated to be as high as $43 billion by 2050 if we do not act. Climate change is one of the most important fights of our generation, and we must rise to the challenge for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

Adam Gray, People’s Party of Canada

I think affordability is the most important issue in this election, especially for H-L&A. We will remove the carbon tax completely, and our tax reform will also save every single Canadian money, but we also need to have better paying jobs. I will travel the world to find us investors to bring real jobs. I will put together a package that will show how great our area is, a key location, with access to Highway 401, favourable municipal rates and shipping options and bring good, long term jobs.

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Derek Sloan, Conservative Party of Canada

The most important issue facing people in the riding is affordability. All across the riding, I am hearing from people who are struggling to get by, never mind get ahead. A key part of that problem is the significant tax burden placed on families. According to an article by Charles Lammam and Milagros Palacios published in the Financial Post, “the average Canadian household (now) spends more on taxes than any other expense.” They go on to say, “the average Canadian family (including single Canadians) earned $83,105 in income and paid $35,283 in total taxes. That’s 42.5 per cent of a family’s income going to taxes.


Question: As a largely rural riding, what do you see as some unique needs of your constituents in Hastings-Lennox and Addington, and what would you do to advocate for those needs?

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Mike Bossio

I am a strong believer in the potential for rural and small-town Canadians to take part in an increasingly digital and globalized market. I was raised in our riding. I worked as a small businessman in the high-tech sector, and volunteered as a community activist. I brought this experience and my understanding of the unique needs of rural communities to the last Parliament as the inaugural chair of the National Liberal Rural Caucus. In this role, I was a key player in securing a record $500 million federal investment in rural high-speed internet, $2 billion for the infrastructure needs of small rural communities, $100 million in innovation funds for economic development in rural southern Ontario, and also successfully advocated for the creation of Canada’s first minister of rural economic development.

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When we first started, I thought that it would take years to get all of these accomplished. However, with a prime minister who listens and acts, all four have already been put into action in the course of one Parliament. We are seeing the benefits of these directly in our riding, including in infrastructure investments, as well as a groundbreaking $10.8 million for upgrades to high-speed internet in the southern part of the riding, bringing urban-like speeds to our rural community, attracting families to settle in our community, and allowing our small businesses and entrepreneurs to compete in an increasingly digital global marketplace.

There is more work to do, but this has been an important step to level the playing field for rural communities and address our unique needs.

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Adam Gray

Adam Gray, candidate, People’s Party of Canada
Adam Gray, candidate, People’s Party of Canada jpg, KI

Infrastructure investments and, again, real, long-term jobs is what we need here. We need federal money to fix our roads. We do not have the population to pay for these things on our own. My voice will be heard. As stated above, my focus is to bring investors to bring long-term jobs to our district.

Derek Sloan

For years, Liberal government inaction in the riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington has had a negative impact. Investment in public infrastructure that would help guarantee the future of rural communities is bogged down in federal bureaucracy and red tape.

One person cannot make change or get results alone. If elected, I would look at forming an informal advisory council consisting of key stakeholders within the riding. We will set priorities and work with the provincial government to ensure we get things done. I think that working together we can find a lot of common ground towards creating a better future for the riding.

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The advisory council would consist of representatives from municipalities, farming, business, education, health and other sectors.


Question: What are some examples of concrete changes that your party will make immediately that will have a positive impact on residents of Hastings-Lennox and Addington?

Mike Bossio

If re-elected, we will further cut taxes by making the first $15,000 of earned income tax-free.

We will create 250,000 child care spaces to help families, which was a key recommendation from the Women in Leadership Workshop that I held in Napanee last year.

We will also increase Old Age Security by 10 per cent for those 75 and over, since Canadians are living longer (particularly women), yet savings often run out. In addition, we will increase the CPP Survivor Benefit by 25 per cent.

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Adam Gray

Tax reform being paid for by cutting corporate welfare, all corporate welfare. We will cut foreign aid as well, defund the CBC, close tax loopholes and close subsidies, including gas and oil. This will allow our tax reform to happen without cutting any services or funding for Canadians. (Taxation rates will be) 0-$15,000, 0 per cent; $15,001-$100,000, 15 per cent; $100,001-plus, 25 per cent.

We will also lower immigration numbers, clear the backlog and invest in infrastructure and services to help immigrants coming to this country be successful instead of being set up to fail as they are under the Liberals.

Derek Sloan

Derek Sloan, candidate, Conservative Party of Canada
Derek Sloan, candidate, Conservative Party of Canada

I believe the best way to help people with the affordability issue is with policies aimed at lightening that burden. A new Conservative government will:

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• Scrap the soon-to-rise carbon tax, lowering the cost of everyday essentials like gas, groceries and home heating;

• Introduce the Universal Tax Cut, saving an average couple $850;

• Take the GST off home heating costs, saving your family $107 every year;

• Make maternity benefits tax-free, putting up to $4,000 back in the pockets of new parents;

• Introduce the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, allowing parents to claim up to $1,000 for sports activities ($500 more for parents of children with disabilities);

• Introduce the Children’s Arts and Learning Tax Credit, letting parents claim up to $500 for arts and learning programs ($1,000 for parents of children with disabilities);

• Expand the Age Credit, benefitting the lowest-income Canadians the most and giving a senior couple up to $300;

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• Boost the RESP matching by 50 per cent, helping parents get more for their children’s education;

• Introduce the Green Homes Tax Credit, lowering emissions and making it more affordable for you to improve your home;

• Make rural internet and cellphone coverage a priority; and

• Lower taxes and cut red tape for Canadian farms and businesses, helping everyone in H-L&A to get ahead.


Question: If elected MP, how would you want the federal government to address climate change?

Mike Bossio

All my life I’ve been a champion for our environment — from growing up learning good stewardship practices while hunting and fishing, to starting the first recycling program in my apartment building in the 1980s as a young professional, to successfully fighting the world’s largest waste management company for over 20 years to protect our communities’ drinking water from contamination. I will never stop fighting climate change and protecting future generations, and as part of the Environment Committee, I successfully fought for an expansion of our protected conservation spaces, and a further commitment to protect 25 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030.

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The Liberal team has the only real plan to fight climate change with over 50 measures, including the most effective one: putting a price on pollution and rebating it in advance back to Ontarians. If re-elected, I am proud that we will further commit to getting Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050, eliminating harmful single-use plastics, plant two billion trees, and help Canadians lower their energy bills through home energy efficiency measures. Climate change is one of the most important fights of our generations, and future generations are counting on us.

Adam Gray

We will leave the Paris Accord. We will not have a tax on the people who have to drive to work, heat their homes, or who want fresh fruits and vegetables, instead we will invest into advanced technology to clean waterways and clean the air. The federal government has enough money to invest into this and does not need to tax a people who are already very burdened with taxes. I did not receive anywhere near what I put out because of this carbon tax, I highly doubt you did either.

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Derek Sloan

Conservatives have a proud legacy when it comes to managing Canada’s natural environment and improving the country’s environmental performance. In fact, Brian Mulroney was named Canada’s greenest prime minister in 2006 for his efforts in negotiating the Canada-United States acid rain treaty and for bringing in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Canada’s first-ever comprehensive pollution law. The previous Conservative government achieved a net decline of greenhouse gas emissions between 2007 and 2015 through targeted programs in the agriculture, transportation and energy sectors.

A new Conservative government’s plan for the environment is based on this legacy of protecting Canada’s natural environment and improving its environmental practices. We also know that the rest of the world needs more Canadian green technology. If elected, a Conservative government will further lower Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen environmental protections — without taking money out of Canadians’ pockets. That’s because it is built on three policy principles:

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• Green technology, not taxes;

• A cleaner and greener natural environment; and

• Taking our fight against climate change global.

Check out www.arealplan.ca for more information.


Question: In four years, what kind of changes would you like to see in Hastings-Lennox and Addington, and what role do you think the local MP should play in making those changes happen?

Mike Bossio

With the $14 million in funding for the Napanee Water Pollution Treatment plant already secured, which will ensure that the town is able to grow and the environment will be protected, there is more work still to do. We need to secure a waterline extension between Amherstview and Bath, which will reduce the water rates in Bath. I’d also like to see further funding beyond the $2 billion that we already secured uniquely for small rural communities. Projects like the lagoon in Tweed still require funding. I would also like to see the high-frequency rail project move forward in our riding, which will open up economic development opportunities in the central and more northerly part of our riding, while reducing emissions through increased public transit.

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Adam Gray

In four years, I want to see much less taxes coming out of your paycheque and better paying jobs in our district. I do not think you will get ahead paying more in taxes than in essentials, which was the case in 2018 and probably again in 2019. The Liberals do not respect your tax dollars. They give them out to anyone who asks. I feel that I am directly responsible to help our economy grow and finding investors to make our lives better. I do not want our youth leaving to find better paying jobs. I want my kids to grow up where I grew up, and I feel that if MP I must act to find reasons for them to stay.

Derek Sloan

Achieving and sustaining long-term economic development starts with the ability to train the workforce that future employers need. A problem in the riding is that we currently do not have the ability to train that future workforce. To do that, we need to get a college campus established so that workers do not have to go off to Belleville or Kingston to get trained, retained or refreshed. I would also like to see high schools in the riding bring back technical training programs leading to apprentice positions with local companies.

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For the last four years, the Liberal government has talked about but failed to make rural high-speed internet and cellphone service a priority. If we are going to develop as a riding, we need to make this happen as a priority.

These initiatives can only happen if business, and the federal and provincial governments work together.


Question: What strengths and experience will you bring to the role of member of Parliament for this riding?

Mike Bossio

I believe in hard work and in strong, sustainable rural communities. I feel that an effective MP knows how to listen and engage with constituents about the issues that matter to them. It has been the honour of my life to serve you over the last four years, and it is a service that I have taken very seriously. I have held over 40 town halls, roundtables, workshops or open houses during that time. My focus is on you, and I have always said: “If I’m not listening and engaging with my constituents, how can I represent them?” I hope that you feel I have represented you well.

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As many know, I was raised in Madoc and have worked as a global high-tech recruiter out of my home in the tiny hamlet of Lonsdale, Tyendinaga Township. I also have a passion for community activism and environmental justice, which led me to chair the Concerned Citizens of Tyendinaga and Environs in a successful over-20-year battle with the world’s largest waste company, halting the building of a massive landfill on fractured limestone that threatened the community’s drinking water. Through this shared struggle, I developed a relationship with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. This life, business and activist experience have given me a strong sense of the unique needs of rural Canadians, which I have used to champion them in Ottawa.

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Adam Gray

The biggest strength I have that would transfer to surviving as MP is I understand what my role is. I am to represent the people of H-L&A. I am not there to do as I am told by anyone else but the people of H-L&A. I am to be accountable, responsible and accessible to my bosses. I will always vote for what’s best for us. I will never be pushed into doing something that is morally wrong or will harm us, including our economy. I am in this to help us in a direction that will be beneficial for as many as possible. Please vote for a real change on Oct. 21.

Derek Sloan

Being born and raised in a rural setting, I understand the unique challenges our riding faces with regard to rural infrastructure and the need for basic cellphone and internet services. I understand the importance of our farmers to the future of this country and the need to support them with the right policies.

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As a former small business owner, I understand the hard work and sacrifice required to get ahead, along with the frustration of dealing with high taxes, and the endless and needless red tape imposed on many small and struggling businesses.

As a lawyer, I understand how laws are made and the way our constitution and governmental branches relate. If elected, I can help this riding and government bring in the policies needed to allow our labourers, our small business owners, and our families get ahead.

Since being nominated as a candidate for the Conservatives in December 2018, I have criss-crossed this riding a number of times meeting and talking with people, including farmers, small business owners and community leaders. They are all saying the same thing: they are struggling to get by but they do not want handouts from government. They want policies and investments that will help them get ahead. I believe my background and experiences can help deliver what voters need.

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