Lynn Perrin, federal NDP candidate for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon
1) What will you do specifically for rural communities? I believe I have the knowledge that it takes to improve the lives of rural residents in Mission-Matsqui-Fraser-Canyon because for 25 years of my adult life I have lived in rural and isolated communities. I know first-hand about the challenges of the lack of transportation options, inadequate or non-existent internet services, minimal affordable housing choices, and weekend or no Emergency Room services.
2) How do you plan to prepare our rural communities for future wildfires, flooding, and other natural disasters? These are the result of extreme weather due to climate change. Therefore, the first essential step is admitting we are in a climate emergency. The next step is stopping the cause of the climate crisis: CO2 emissions.
3) How will you address issues surrounding childcare in rural areas? Nice promises will not achieve this desperately-needed service that is especially essential to the ability of women to participate in the paid workforce. It is time for the federal government to actually collaborate with provinces and experts in rural communities to create a range of options that will ensure that our children have the care they deserve, no matter where they live.
4) How will you ensure affordable/sufficient housing — including rental housing — in rural communities, especially for seniors and those on fixed incomes? There are a wide range of housing options that best would resolve individual communities’ needs that cannot and should not be dictated from Ottawa. Many affordable housing groups and experts need to be included in the collaboration. The cookie cutter approach will not resolve this critical problem.
5) What do you intend to do to get people back to work during and after COVID-19? New Democrats will put in place a new tax credit for graduates to work in designated rural communities and make it easier for employers to hire and retain the workers they need. To make all of Canada’s communities sustainable for the long term, we need to change how we build them. Rural communities need fair access to federal infrastructure and transit funds, and more help to prepare for and deal with the increasingly severe impacts of climate change.
6) What commitments will you make when it comes to addressing climate change, both locally and nation-wide? NDP candidates pledge “to commit to do everything in my power to respond to the climate emergency with the urgency it demands.” That means stopping all subsidies to oil, gas, and pipeline corporations and stopping the Trans Mountain expansion. We will also enact Just Transition legislation to support workers and communities, especially Indigenous and remote communities, as we move towards a 100 per cent renewable energy future.
7) How will you address Truth and Reconciliation with First Nations? New Democrats will build reconciliation into the heart of our plan to address the climate crisis, ensuring First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples are full and equal partners in Canada’s efforts to confront the climate crisis. Indigenous peoples are best placed to protect cultural and biological diversity through control over their territory. We are committed to working with Indigenous governments, respecting Indigenous knowledge, and upholding Indigenous rights to protect lands, waterways, and biodiversity.
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 imbalance? Having worked remotely and owned a small tourism-based business, and as a New Democrat candidate, I believe that every community in Canada should be able to count on reliable transit to connect them to their jobs, health care services, schools, and family members. Greyhound’s service cuts have hit rural communities hard, and we need a reliable alternative to help people get where they need to go.
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