Below are the Candidate bios, followed by 7 questions submitted by our readings and each individual answer
John Nater, Conservative (C)
Raised on a family farm in Logan Township (now West Perth), John quickly learned the importance of hard work and service to his community. He is proud to put those values into action in representing the people of Perth–Wellington.
With an interest in public service, John earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from Queen’s University. In 2010, his community elected him to serve on West Perth Municipal Council. He also worked as a lecturer at King’s University College.
In 2015, voters across Perth–Wellington elected John to become their Member of Parliament. He soon became known for prioritizing his constituents and being accessible to them, and for speaking up for all the communities he represents.
John and his wife Justine live in Mitchell, where they are raising their children Ainsley, Bennett and Caroline.
Pirie Mitchell, Liberal (L)
My wife Ruth and I are residents of St. Marys; we have five children and three grandchildren. I have a variety of work experience includes hosting a children’s talent program on CFPL-TV in London; teaching special education students with the Thames Valley District School Board; and ministering to United Church congregations in St. Marys, Stratford, and Palmerston.
As a former town councillor in Parkhill, I have political experience at the municipal level. I helped establish the London Convention Centre and was an early supporter of the Stratford Perth Rotary Hospice. I was a member of Stratford’s Housing Committee looking for housing solutions for homeless people, and a co-organizer of St. Marys’ Community Dinners. My life’s work has been focused on helping people in need. I will always stand up for the little guy. I know that public service is about addressing tough challenges, and I’m committed to continuing my work serving the citizens of Perth-Wellington at the federal level.
Geoff Krauter, New Democratic Party (NDP)
Geoff Krauter has been a social activist and a member of the NDP for the past 17 years. Geoff has lived the experience of physical disability, which in part drives his passion for social justice and equity.
An honours graduate in Political Science from the University of Guelph, Geoff served on the Board of the Guelph Campus Co-op for five years.
His community building efforts include the Rotaract Club of Stratford and The Local Community Food Centre.
Across Ontario, he has actively campaigned for fair wages, the right to water security, and public services.
In this election, Geoff is fighting for all people’s rights to access, to a clean environment, to locally produced food, and to grow old in dignity.
Roger Fuhr, People’s Party of Canada (PPC)
I am Roger Fuhr, candidate for the People’s Party of Canada in Perth Wellington. A life long Perth County resident of 58 years, I was raised on a dairy farm and then acquired my license in the tool and die trade. I started and ran a successful tool and die company in Stratford. I have since retired, financially independent, and have lived on our farm in St. Pauls for the past 22 years. I ran as an independent candidate in the 2015 Federal election in this riding, and I am thrilled to have found a Party with whose policies I substantially agree with.
Collan Simmons, Green Party (G)
Collan Simmons is a physician, Chief of Anesthesia at Stratford General Hospital and an adjunct professor at Western University Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. He is a strong advocate for environmental causes, and was motivated to enter federal politics to advocate for more comprehensive environmental policies and the growth of the renewable economy.
Irma DeVries, Christian Heritage Party (CHP)
For 40 years I’ve lived and worked on a farm near Harriston. My husband John and I, milked cows, grow crops, buy and sell used Westeel grain bins, and create electricity from water-power. We raised four children and we have 11 grandchildren. I’ve been involved in my church as a bible study leader and in the community as a Toastmaster. As a former foster parent I have seen the breakdown in families and the heroic efforts needed to bring harmony.
Candidate questions and answers
1) Many, especially young people, are having problems in finding affordable housing. What is the solution to this problem?
John Nater (C)
Over the past four years, we have been paying more for housing, gasoline, home heating, hydro, and much more.
The Conservatives’ Universal Tax Cut will save the average Canadian family over $850 per year.
Also in our plan: tax credits for children’s fitness and arts programs; tax-free maternity benefits; increasing the age credit for seniors by $1,000; and removing federal tax on home heating.
Andrew Scheer’s plan will make it easier for first-time homebuyers to buy a house:
1. Fix the mortgage stress test to ensure that first-time homebuyers aren’t unnecessarily prevented from accessing mortgages.
2. Increase amortization periods on insured mortgages to 30 years for first-time homebuyers to lower monthly payments.
3. Launch an inquiry into money laundering in the real estate sector and root out corrupt practices that inflate housing prices.
4. Make surplus federal real estate available to increase the supply of housing.
Pirie Mitchell (L)
Low supply, high demand and housing speculation by foreign owners is driving up housing prices for people across the country.
In the Liberal government’s first four years, we established the First-Time Home Buyer incentive to make home ownership more affordable for first-time buyers by allowing them to lower their monthly mortgage payments without increasing their down payment. Liberals launched Canada’s first-ever National Housing Strategy, a ten-year plan that will help more than 600,000 Canadians find safe and affordable places to live.
A re-elected Liberal government will complete the implementation of the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, which provides Canadians with up to ten per cent off the purchase price of their first home. Our party will address the impact of foreign speculation, which drives up housing costs, by putting in place a consistent national speculation and vacancy tax for non-resident, non-Canadians.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
We will reduce corporate income taxes downward from 15% to 10% for companies that provide housing. This will assist those companies with their ability to finance new housing starts. We will assert our Canadian Sovereignty on the immigration portfolio. Right now, our border is basically wide open for anyone to come and live in Canada. Last year, 350,000 immigrants and refugees crossed our borders. This high number is not sustainable and is putting an incredible amount of stress on our housing supply. We will reduce immigration to about 125,000 per year, and we want those immigrants to bring skills that are needed by Canadian employers. We will also vet them to ensure that Canadians remain safe.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
Many people in Perth-Wellington can’t afford to wait for solutions to the housing crisis. We need the Federal Government to get back to work building social and non-market housing and supporting co-ops. I would work with colleagues from all parties to expedite the funding and assistance needed for municipalities, co-ops, or social enterprises to get projects off the ground. The NDP plan is to build 500,000 affordable housing units and waive taxes on new affordable housing to kickstart construction. We also plan to make home ownership a reality for young people by making it easier to buy a home as a group.
Collan Simmons (G)
The Green Party wants housing to be a human right. We will invest in purpose built rental housing, by reinstating tax incentives for builders. We promise to build 25,000 new and renovate another 15000 units per year, over the next 10 years. We would increase the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and Canada Housing Benefit by $750 Million each. We believe that non-profit Cooperative Housing would help low income families, seniors, and those with disabilities to more easily find housing. We also want to change the rules to make municipal housing eligible for financing from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. We would refocus the CMHC to the development of affordable housing. All these measures would make it easier and more attractive for municipalities and builders to make safe and affordable housing.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
Education on how money works. It’s not study hard, go to school and get a secure job as the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” points out. I would recommend teens and young adults “Meet Up” and play the game “Cash Flow” by Robert Kiyosaki. There is also a children’s edition. My pre-teen grandchildren are playing the adult game with me and succeeding in getting out of the rat race. Opening one’s mind to possibilities will turn the focus to what is possible in real life and help everyone resist doodads.
2) Trudeau’s Liberal government holds the record for adding more debt than any other prime minister in times where there has not been a war or a recession. What are your thoughts in this regard? If the Canadian economy is doing as well as the Liberals say, why are we running a deficit in the billions every year and adding to the debt which has now ballooned to $685 billion?
John Nater (C)
Runaway deficits, with no plan to balance the budget, mean future tax increases or cuts to health care and social programs. This is unacceptable. A Conservative government will eliminate the deficit responsibly within a reasonable timeframe.
The last Conservative government led the country through the worst recession since the Great Depression, but still managed to leave a surplus in its last year in government. On the other hand, the current Liberal government promised a small deficit that would be eliminated by now. We all know how that turned out.
After four years of reckless Liberal spending, bringing Canada back to balance will be no easy task. But it’s an effort we must begin.
To help get us there, a Conservative government would review all business subsidy programs to eliminate $1.5 billion in corporate welfare.
Pirie Mitchell (L)
This question appears to be based on an April 2019 Fraser Institute report. The report states that Harper added 11.4% to the debt per person during his 9-year tenure. The Liberals added 5.6% to the debt per person during their first 4 years. However, because of a one-year recession during 2008/2009, the Fraser Institute chose NOT to include Harper’s entire 9+ years in the comparison!
Liberals governments have a long history of being good fiscal managers. I am proud that our party has chosen to invest in people and communities, rather than austerity that hurts the most vulnerable. It is imperative that we make investments to tackle climate change now instead of leaving our grandchildren with a huge environmental debt. Canada has the lowest debt to GDP ratio among G7 countries and that ratio has declined each year the Liberals have been in office. Canada’s debt level is sustainable.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
The first step that is needed is to balance the budget. Our Party will do this in two years. We will be able to do so thanks to our policies such as ending corporate welfare. This will be an immediate savings of about $10 billion per year. Also, we will immediately stop sending money to developing countries to help them reduce their C02 emissions. We will immediately eliminate all foreign aid that is not required, and focus only on humanitarian aid. Those three policies alone will produce over $20 billion in savings which will essentially eliminate our current deficit. We will focus on strengthening our Canadian economy which will allow us to begin paying down the national debt, saving us all from having to pay so much interest.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
It’s time for a new fiscal approach that puts people first. Rather than austerity budgets that cut services and programs in the name of temporary balance, the NDP will take a longer-term view. We will work with the Parliamentary Budget Officer to assess Canada’s fiscal stability and ensure that Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio falls over a 10-year period.
Collan Simmons (G)
The Green Party believes in fiscal responsibility, but knows that healthcare and social programs are extremely important to Canadians. Rather than balance the budget on the backs of the poorest Canadians, by cutting programs that help people in need, we would make the richest citizens and corporations pay their fair share. We want to eliminate tax loop holes that only the richest in our society take advantage of. This includes eliminating the tax advantage to paying executives in company stock options, the capital gains loop holes, ordering the CRA crack down on off-shore tax avoidance, and tax multinational corporations like Amazon, Google, and Facebook that do business here but pay almost no corporate tax. These increased revenues will cut the deficit while allowing spending on the programs that help people.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
The debt of our nation and the way previous governments freely hand out money, is a harm and trespass against all the men and women, present and future who live in Canada. It is a crying shame the way previous governments have mortgaged future generations so they can live as they wish today. The CHP would treat the debt like a mortgage and begin to pay down the debt. We would NOT add to the mortgage. By cutting unnecessary surgeries, special interest grants and defunding the CBC – the propaganda arm of the liberal government – and by not running a deficit we plan to rein in this out of control destruction of our financial markets.
3) What is the solution to long wait times for medical procedures?
John Nater (C)
Under a new Conservative government, Canadians will be able to count on stable and predictable health and social program funding. Stable federal funding is important to ensure our health care system is as strong as possible and available for all of us when we need it.
That’s why we have committed to maintain and increase the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) and the Canada Social Transfer (CST) by at least 3 percent every year.
A new Conservative government will also invest $1.5 billion in its first term to purchase MRI machines and CT machines to replace aging equipment and add machines across the country, reducing wait times for potentially life-saving tests for Canadians.
Pirie Mitchell (L)
This question would most appropriately be directed to provincial politicians. Yes, the federal government is responsible for providing health care funding to the provinces, but how to spend that money to address wait times falls primarily under provincial jurisdiction.
Here’s some of what the Liberal government has done, and will do, with respect to health care. We have helped more people access home care and mental health care through new agreements with provinces and territories, allocating $11 billion in new funding. We will invest an additional down payment of $6 billion over the next four years to support a stronger Medicare and public health system, tied to the clear outcomes, negotiated in collaboration with provinces and territories that Canadians will see transparently reported and tracked. Continuing to improve access to homecare and palliative care are two such outcomes.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
Health care is an exclusive provincial jurisdiction. However, the Federal government has consistently attempted to contribute. Since 2006, when $20 billion was provided to the provinces, this number has doubled to $40 billion last year, yet we have nothing to show for it. The issue is that these transfer payments have been unreliable for the provinces, changing year to year, based on equalization. We will stabilize their funding by collecting the GST, which is expected to be around $40 billion this year, and send the provinces a reliable sum each year so that they can be innovative and actually deal with long wait times. Ottawa will stop meddling in this portfolio and rely on the provinces to decide where and how they spend this money.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
An NDP government will work with the provinces and territories to tackle wait times and improve access to primary care. We will identify coming gaps in health human resources and make a plan to recruit and retain the doctors, nurses and health professionals we need. We also need to look at attracting new medical professionals to Perth-Wellington by improving transportation and tackling the housing crisis.
Collan Simmons (G)
Healthcare is a very important issue to Canadians. I’m a doctor, I work Stratford General hospital, so I meet people every day that have been waiting months or even years to have their hip or knee replaced. As a healthcare provider, we have been told to try and do more work with the same or less resources. To provide quality and timely care, we need to invest in healthcare system, but not in the administration, but in front line workers that care for people. Consistent and predictable funding will allow more capacity in the system, to cut wait times. We would change the funding to a population and actual healthcare needs model, not the GDP-based model currently used, started by the Harper government. It doesn’t help that our population has more seniors and elderly with increasingly complex medical problems, so the demands for some procedures are going up and funding isn’t keeping pace.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
Publicly funded, privately delivered health care similar to European programs. Better education on health. The medical system in Canada, and the pharmaceutical industry are for profit. Without competition they both have a monopoly. Health care seems to be rationed on the front lines with a top heavy LHIN. Alternative treatments should be attempted prior to pharmaceuticals. Is there a cure for cancer? Probably. Will one be found? Not likely. It is too profitable for the industry providing services. It is all about contracts and profits.
4) Past VIA President Yves Desjardins-Siciliano made a commitment to His Worship Al Strathdee and All Aboard St. Marys volunteers at a meeting in St. Marys that the two VIA trains dropped in 2012 would be brought back. Will you make a commitment to make sure this is completed expeditiously?
John Nater (C)
Four years ago, in my very first letter to the Prime Minister, I called attention to the lack of sufficient public transit in our area, including VIA rail service to and from St. Marys.
I have repeated this position many times, including in pre-budget consultations and in meetings with VIA officials in recent years.
Local Mayors and Councillors have been working hard on the issues of rural transportation, and I support their efforts. I also support All Aboard St. Marys and its organizers for their outstanding advocacy.
Having sustainable passenger rail service would improve our quality of life, helping people get where they need to go. It would also support efforts to lower emissions, help us attract jobs and investment, and improve accessibility for newcomers to our area.
For all of these reasons, I will continue working to hold VIA to their commitments.
Pirie Mitchell (L)
I will advocate to bring back the two trains dropped from service in 2012 and to improve train service overall.
In 2014, Bill C-640, a private member’s bill, was introduced by an NDP MP to strengthen Via Rail and the services it offers. All Liberal members voted for the bill. All Conservatives voted against and because there was a Conservative majority, it is was defeated.
Unlike Conservatives, the Liberal government supports a modernized passenger rail system that has the potential to increase reliability, frequency, service and provide faster trip times in the Quebec City – Toronto corridor.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
Via rail is the exclusive responsibility of the Federal government. Past governments have failed to manage this portfolio effectively. Part of the issue is that GO transit has expanded so widely in the GTHA that it has essentially cut off, and deprioritized VIA in the Windsor to Kitchener corridor along with the Toronto to Ottawa corridor. We will work towards bringing this travel arrangement under one umbrella so that better planning at delivering service can be achieved. Similar models in the USA and Germany have proven to be successful. Yes, we will make this commitment to invest. Thanks to our other tax saving policies, we will have access to billions of dollars of money that was being wasted elsewhere and we will make this a priority, recognizing fully that transportation of both people and goods are vital to a thriving Canadian economy.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
Our New Deal for People puts a clear priority on expanding and enhancing rural transportation. We have committed to expand rural train service and bus routes that had been abandoned under previous governments. As a person with a disability transportation, inter-city transit in particular is an issue that I take seriously. As your MP, I will work to advance progress on this file and press VIA to keep its commitments to the people of St. Marys with regards to the second train on the North Main Line.
Collan Simmons (G)
The Green Party wants to invest in VIA rail in a huge way. Part of our transportation platform is the reinvigoration of regional travel by train, to make it practical for people to travel by rail and get out of their cars. We also support regional transportation from passenger rail hubs using light rail and electric buses. We want to invest $1.3 Billion in regional rail networks, including sections of new track to avoid bottlenecks between freight and passenger rail. Elizabeth May, the Green Party leader, is the only Federal party leader that routinely travels by rail. In December 2017, Elizabeth May put forth a private member’s bill (C-387) to modernize VIA’s corporate structure and protect VIA Rail’s routes. We need to invest in rail, with better quality track and support the needs of both freight and passenger rail. We see rail as the center of a strong public transit system.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
Will you make a commitment to make sure this is completed expeditiously? Sounds like a great idea. Show me the financial numbers and full disclosure of the contents of the contract, who may be harmed or who will profit, and then I will decide how to commit.
5) Many believe climate change is a top priority. What is your party’s position on this?
John Nater (C)
Climate change is real and requires immediate action. Andrew Scheer’s plan would require the biggest polluters to reduce their carbon output or invest in new green technologies.
It is also a global problem requiring global solutions. For that, we must restore Canadian leadership on the world stage. We need a prime minister the world will take seriously.
Imposing additional taxes on people in our riding—who may have no choice but to drive to work or transport their crops to elevators—will make no meaningful difference in reducing emissions. It will just make life even more expensive.
You can read the Conservative plan for the environment at arealplan.ca
Pirie Mitchell (L)
We’ve seen the impact of climate change, with floods and fires destroying entire communities in Canada. Our children are scared, because they know this will become their mess to clean up.
The Liberal plan isn’t perfect, but it is both ambitious and feasible. Progress has already been made—putting a price on pollution, protecting our oceans, phasing out coal, banning single-use plastics. Canada is on track to reduce our emissions by 30% by 2030 and Liberals are committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That means not putting any more carbon emissions into the air than we take out. A re-elected Liberal government will cut corporate tax in half for zero-emissions clean tech companies. We are committed to building a country where clean tech companies can thrive, where businesses and citizens are encouraged to go green, and where workers can succeed in the clean energy transition.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
We acknowledge climate change and that this has always occurred and always will. However, due to the fact that there is no scientific concensus that our carbon based economy is accelerating climate change, and that plants require carbon to exist, we do not plan to acquire your tax dollars and risk our vibrant and prosperous Canadian society. We will immediately abolish the carbon tax, which would be responsible for driving the price of everything up, which is the last thing we need. We will allow the provinces to develop their own policies on this issue, if they choose to do so. We will also push to complete pipelines, using our Constitutional powers of the Government of Canada. Until scientists substantially agree on this issue, google Patrick Moore et al, we are reminded of the failures of the past, the 70’s ice age predictions, the 80’s acid rain, the 90’s ozone layer, the failed predictions of Al Gore. There is no climate emergency.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
One of the most important issues is the climate emergency. Citizens of Perth-Wellington are keenly aware of the threat posed by climate change. Extreme weather events are seen across the country and we’ve felt the effects here in every part of the riding, both rural and urban. An NDP government would cancel the billions in fossil fuel subsidies as well as the Trans Mountain pipeline project. We also stand firmly behind working people and will create 300,000 new jobs in our first mandate in the clean energy sector. Confronting climate change will require a massive mobilization of labour and resources. Priorities in a new energy economy include: building a sustainable auto sector by manufacturing electric and zero-emission vehicles in Canada; retrofitting every home and public building by 2030 so that they are net zero ready; and expanding the availability of low-cost, zero-emission and accessible public transit.
Collan Simmons (G)
The Climate Crisis is the main issue for the Green Party of Canada. We are the only party proposing a plan that meets our international goals, which were set to keep the average temperature change to less than 1.5 degrees C. Without drastic reductions to the emissions from the oil and gas industry and our transportation sectors, we have no hope of meeting these targets. The greenhouse gases we have emitted stay active in the atmosphere for decades, so we will feel the effects our cumulative emissions well into the future. Canada has not significantly decreased our overall admissions at all, despite signing multiple international agreements to do so. We have the means to do it, but past Liberal and Conservative governments refuse to act in a meaningful way. We need to remove corporate influence from government and do what is needed to keep our planet save to live on.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
Climate change is a powerful lobby group manipulating and creating mass fear of the future. This is big business manipulating you for their profit AND WORLD CONTROL by the United Nations. I will accept their claims that man can do something about climate change when they prove they can stop a lightning strike. Dr. Tim Ball recently won a court case against Al Gore and his hockey stick graph. It has been proven false. Millions have seen the propaganda movie an “Inconvenient Truth” which has been debunked. Big business is ruining our earth by implementing smart meters, spreading chem trails, implementing 5G, all which are harmful to human health. Are pollinators harmed too?
6) Some youth groups were denied grants under the Canada Summer Jobs program because of their beliefs. What is your position on this philosophy?
John Nater (C)
Organizations across Perth—Wellington have benefitted from the Canada Summer Jobs program by hiring young people who need jobs. As their representative, I was proud to support applications in our riding.
The Liberal government sabotaged this program in two ways:
First, they took too long to administer the program. Many local employers had to wait until May or June, long after they needed to complete their summer hiring.
Second, they chose to play politics by excluding those who do not share their values. This was divisive, unnecessary and wrong. Employers and students alike want to be honest about their values and principles. No one should be denied funding or jobs based on their personal views.
The decision to approve or disqualify an application should be based on merit—and only on merit.
Pirie Mitchell (L)
Canada Summer Jobs is a program to help young people between the ages of 15 and 30, particularly those facing barriers to employment, gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need. The program provides wage subsidies to employers. The Liberal government aims to ensure that youth job opportunities funded by the program take place in an environment that respects the rights of all Canadians.
The government listened to concerns and changed the application process at the end of 2018 to clarify that the issue isn’t about beliefs, but about ensuring the projects don’t undermine or restrict the legal rights of Canadians. The new application for summer 2019 no longer asked about a group’s core mandate or what rights it respects. Instead, it listed as ineligible any jobs that “actively work to undermine or restrict a woman’s access to reproductive health services or that advocate intolerance, discrimination and/or prejudice.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
This is a stunningly unfair situation. Religious freedoms are just one of the human rights granted to us under the Constitution. Our freedoms as Canadians have been under attack during the tenures of the last few governments. Free speech and freedom of the press are both in trouble. We are seeing real potential in the Canadian Human Rights Act for the resurrection of the anti-free speech provision. Right now, the People’s Party of Canada is the only party ready to fight for free speech. I ask you, with Remembrance Day only a few weeks away, what did our World War veterans sacrifice for if not for freedom? If we lose our freedom, what do we have left? The CBC is a part of this problem. We will defund them, saving about $1.5 billion a year. Also, we will stop funding certain media, while ignoring others, this is a totally unfair practice that has already cost hundreds of reporters their jobs.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
New Democrats believe a woman’s right to choose is a fundamental human rights issue, I stand firmly behind Jagmeet Singh’s statement: “In fact, I don’t believe we should support any organization whose agenda it is to in any way infringe on reproductive rights.”
Collan Simmons (G)
Freedom of speech is important. As long as your personal values don’t infringe on the rights of others, you should not be disqualified for a position (unless that position is in the area of work that is in question). Freedom of Speech in Canada has limits, as it should. One cannot preach hate and violence against another group. This is appropriate. We are a tolerant society, with our diversity as a strength. People are allowed to have their own beliefs and follow their own practices, but those actions cannot infringe on the freedoms of others. We must be vigilant about racism and intolerance, which tries to hide under the umbrella of free speech. Unfortunately, it is common practice in partisan politics to try and create divisions in the community using inflammatory rhetoric, to try and sway votes by exploiting differences, rather than bring people together with what we have in common.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
I oppose Trudeau’s “abortion attestation” requirement for funding. All youth should be given opportunities for a summer job, if they choose to contract for a job, regardless of the philosophy of the employer. It is shameful that Christian summer camps were the first to be targeted by Trudeau. It seems rather dictatorial to me to even make such a demand.
Why are Christian lawyers denied the ability to practice law in Ontario, because of where they received their education in Canada? At a Christian Law School! Since our laws are founded on the Supremacy of God and the rule of law, wouldn’t they be better educated by knowing the moral foundation of our country? Christians established all the first hospitals, schools and universities in Canada. Trying to expunge Christianity from our world destroys the foundation of our country and will lead to ruin. God is. Read the Bible until you find love and grace and freedom.
7) What is your position on gun control?
John Nater (C)
We are fortunate to live in a country with common sense attitudes and laws toward guns.
There is more to do, however, to stop the violence that still takes place—especially in our major cities. Too many guns are coming over the border illegally. That’s why I support Andrew Scheer’s plan to go after illegal firearms and the criminals who use them.
However, any new laws must be based on common sense. It’s nothing more than lazy government to ask law-abiding citizens to follow more rules instead of going after the real perpetrators of gun crimes. Going after criminals is much more difficult—but it’s also necessary to make communities safer.
Pirie Mitchell (L)
The Liberal plan on gun control includes a promise to protect the rights of law-abiding hunters and pledge NOT to bring back the long-gun registry.
From 2015-2019, the Liberal government provided provinces more resources to combat gun and gang violence. We were also focused on preventing cross-border smuggling of illegal firearms and allocated $65 million for Ontario to prevent and reduce gun and gang violence.
A re-elected Liberal government will introduce a buyback program for all military-style assault rifles legally purchased in Canada with fair market prices and give more resources to law enforcement to administer the program. We will make sure CBSA & RCMP have resources to detect and stop the flow of weapons at the border. We need to support prevention, gang exit and enforcement initiatives, while addressing social and economic issues like housing and employment to create opportunities for young Canadians.
Roger Fuhr (PPC)
Legal firearm owners are exceptionally law abiding and the most highly vetted segment of Canadians. The existing firearms legislation unfairly targets them, does not respect their property rights and is highly arbitrary. We will require that all firearms categories be based on function, not looks or political whims and remove ineffective restrictions that unfairly target sport shooters, but have no deterrent effect on criminals. We will put the safety of Canadians first by stopping illegal border crossings that not only allow illegal firearms a way of entering Canada, but also illegal drugs and human trafficking. A fence will be erected at the Roxham Road entry area in Quebec, and RCMP offices will patrol that fence to direct any border crossers to legal points of entry, where they will be properly vetted by Canadian authorities.
Geoff Krauter (NDP)
Too many lives have been lost in Canadian cities to rising gun crime. We will work to keep assault weapons and illegal handguns off our streets, and to tackle gun smuggling and organized crime. We support giving municipalities the power to ban hand guns, at the same time, we need to respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, none of whom are clamouring to own restricted assault weapons.
Collan Simmons (G)
Gun control is important. I believe that we have struck a good balance in Canada between the rights of law-abiding gun owners and the safety of the public. The vast majority of crimes committed with weapons, are not by licensed gun owners. We should stop the flow of illegal guns from the United States with aggressive action by Canadian Border Services. Safe storage and transportation of firearms stops legal guns from making their way onto the blackmarket. Handguns should be limited to secure target ranges only. Firearms commonly used in mass shootings should be banned in Canada. Hunters or target shooters don’t need AR-15s. To those who say that “gun control doesn’t work, because criminals don’t follow the rules”, I say that the laws of this land are the standards that we set; just because someone doesn’t follow the rules of our society, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have rules at all.
Irma DeVries (CHP)
Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. There was a time that many children carried guns to school in rural areas without turning the gun intentionally on other children. Handguns have been “controlled” for almost 100 years. I support some regulation in reference to assault rifles and training courses such as a PAL. However, criminals don’t register their guns.
What makes a criminal? One aspect is the breakdown of the family unit, less interaction with adults, the lack of a father figure in many homes, and the increased use of Ritalin to control behaviour. What happens when the drugs are discontinued? Sometimes there is an inability to control behavior when the drug is no longer managing behavior. By strengthening the family unit; by making it cool to be normal boys and girls playing outside; by taking sex education out of the schools, we would rebuild a culture of life rather than the current culture of despair and death. Evil men prosper when good people delay getting involved.
