Nicole Bellay, Green Party of Canada candidate for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon
1) What will you do specifically for rural communities? The Greens recognize that access to high-speed internet connections is now a critical aspect of infrastructure, and we will work to shrink the urban-rural divide.
Public transportation is an essential service to support safe personal travel between communities and business needs, and we will work with communities to make transportation accessible, affordable, safe, and green.
We want to protect farmland and ecosystems on farmland. Farmers need support in their energy transition from polluting to renewables. The goal is to have food security closer to home.
It’s important to have seniors well taken care of in their communities. That means more funding for at-home services and funding for long-term care in the community. We understand that community amenities are important for the well-being of people and the retention of grown-up kids.
We also want to support the tourism industry, and the Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI) is a policy that encourages entrepreneurship because people have a backup system. GLI is also a key policy because it secure finances for people going through the challenge of transitioning into clean energy.
2) How do you plan to prepare our rural communities for future wildfires, flooding, and other natural disasters? We can count on more wild climate events even if we stop using fossil fuels today, and funding for adaptation measures will be very important. Prevention is always cheaper than dealing with the disaster after the fact.
To create strong and resilient communities we first need to assess our vulnerabilities and create a plan to address them. To reduce the disruptive impacts, we will supply communities with the tools and funding for fire hazard mapping, flood plain mapping, ecosystem restoration, and green building practices, to name a few. We’ll need a strong social network and adaptability to be successful.
3) How will you address issues surrounding childcare in rural areas? The Greens want to invest in quality childcare for all. That means more access to training in rural areas, and we need to pay childcare workers a livable wage.
4) How will you ensure affordable/sufficient housing — including rental housing — in rural communities, especially for seniors and those on fixed incomes? The Greens will focus the National Housing Strategy to address the needs of rural communities with priority on seniors, Aboriginal Peoples, single parents, seasonal workers, and newcomers.
5) What do you intend to do to get people back to work during and after COVID-19? The transition from polluting energy to renewable energy, the retrofitting of all existing buildings to make them energy efficient, and the work to restore our ecosystems will be creating a lot of good local jobs. I would also like to see the tourism industry expanding all over our province, and not only around the Fraser Valley.
6) What commitments will you make when it comes to addressing climate change, both locally and nation-wide? The Greens will stop giving subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. We would stop building new fossil fuel projects and retrain affected workers. Locally we would invest in renewable energy and the retrofitting of all existing buildings. We would invest in the restoration of ecosystems.
7) How will you address Truth and Reconciliation with First Nations? We are committed to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation recommendations. We want to establish and maintain a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
8) Rural communities looking for badly needed infrastructure funding are often left out in the cold, while billions of dollars of federal funding go to “big ticket” items in urban centres. How will you redress this? Rural communities have unique needs, challenges, and opportunities. Rural communities require stable and predictable funding so they can invest in critical infrastructure and community amenities. The Greens are committed to the doubling of current funding for rural programs and initiatives.
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