Canada’s economy and finances were hot topics as the Macleod riding candidates faced off at a forum in High River on April 26.
About 100 people attended the event at the Heritage Inn to hear from five of the six candidates running for the Macleod seat in Parliament in today’s election (May 2).
Conservative candidate Ted Menzies, Liberal candidate Nicole Hankel, NDP candidate Janine Giles, Green candidate Attila Nagy and Progressive Canadian Party candidate Brad Carrigan attended the event. Only Christian Heritage Party candidate Marc Slingerland was not at the forum.
Economy
Menzies said the Conservative Party has provided a stable government during one of the worst economic periods in recent memory.
During the Tory’s time in office, he said Canada’s economy has been financially sound and the party has a plan to balance the budget.
“Canada is a leader, financially we were the strongest in the G7 and one of the strongest in the G20,” said Menzies.
Menzies, Giles and Hankel all said their parties would balance the budget.
However, Hankel said her party would do it without increasing taxes.
She said a Liberal government would invest in families and health care, not “jets, jails and corporate tax cuts,” as she targeted a number of Conservative proposals.
Giles said the NDP would lower taxes for small businesses and raise them for larger corporations.
“It’s small businesses that are going to drive the Canadian economy,” she said.
Pensions
Menzies said the Conservatives have already done a lot to improve pensions and retirement savings, including introducing Tax Free Savings accounts. He said the budget proposed by the Conservatives before the election included initiatives such as topping up the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Hankel said her party supports strengthening the Canada Pension Plan and the issue comes down to ensuring people of all ages have a sustainable pension plan when they need it.
“I want to see seniors retire in dignity,” said Hankel.
Giles said the NDP would work with the provinces to double the public pension benefits people receive and it would seek legislation to put pension plans at the front of the line when a company declares bankruptcy.
Nagy said Canada knew the baby boomers were going to retire and the government didn’t prepare. He said rising prices are hurting seniors on low and fixed incomes.
“So many seniors in our nation have been squeezed by inflation,” said Nagy.
He said the Green Party would not require anyone who earns less than $20,000 to pay taxes, which would help low income seniors.
Carrigan said the US dollar is going to fall dramatically and it will affect Canada and the rest of the global economy. He said pensions plans will not be worth anything if the US dollar collapses and people need to ask what is being done to protect their savings.
“We’re coming into a global financial collapse right now and we’re not talking about it,” said Carrigan.
Mortgages
Menzies said greed in the U.S. housing market caused the recession and a Conservative government would not reverse a decision limiting the value of home equity loans to 85 per cent of the home’s value, down from 90 per cent.
“If you don’t have more than 85 per cent equity on your home, should you be able to borrow more than that?” he asked.
Nagy agreed the collapse of a housing bubble in the U.S. caused the global recession and the new mortgage rules were put in place to help stabilize and protect the economy.
Hankel acknowledged the new rules have made it more difficult to buy a home. She said the government needs to balance ensuring a safe lending system while making sure people can still afford to buy homes.
Credit cards
When it comes to credit card debt and interest rates, Giles she said an NDP government would limit credit card interest rates at prime plus five per cent.
“People are being gouged,” she said.
Nagy said credit card companies are getting away with charging exorbitant rates and should be limited.
However, Menzies said people wouldn’t have to pay any interest on their credit cards if they paid them off every month.
“Everyone loves to have a credit card, but you hate to pay any interest on it,” he said.
The federal election is today (May 2) and the polling station is at the Foothills Centennial Centre in Okotoks and is open until 7:30 p.m.
