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Candidates differ on the economy

Voters go to the polls on Oct. 21
Election CandidatesOct9
Foothills candidates John Barlow, Conservatives; Greg Hession, People’s Party of Canada; Mickail Hendi, NDP; Cheryl Moller, Liberal Party, and Green Party's Bridget Lacey share their views on Canada’s economy and pipelines.

Foothills candidates are far from being on the same path in regards to the carbon tax and the building of pipelines for helping Canada’s pocketbook.

Pipelines and cutting down on bureaucracy is critical to the oil industry’s survival in Canada, said Conservative candidate John Barlow.

“People need to understand the energy sector is one of Canada’s biggest employers and revenue generators,” Barlow said. “It’s a $150-billion industry, $15 billion goes into federal government revenues.

“This isn’t replaceable… The energy sector is booming in every country, except Canada and Venezuela.”

He said the Conservatives would repeal Bills 48 and 69 and strive to get pipelines going east and west in Canada and getting access to world markets.

“We want Canada to be energy self-sufficient by 2030,” Barlow said. “We want people in eastern Canada to use western Canadian energy.”

He said the Conservative Party would work with indigenous people who would benefit from pipelines and other projects.

He said the Liberals, NDP and Greens’ policies are “economically debilitating.

“We have to reduce the burden on small business and corporations,” Barlow said.

“No. 1 is to repeal the tax increases on small business.”

The Conservatives would also ax the carbon tax.

NDP candidate Mikail Hendi said he and Barlow have butted heads at every forum in regards to the carbon tax.

“We believe the carbon tax is the most effective way to punish big polluters,” he said. “It is a climate measure more than it is an economic measure.”

He said versions of the carbon tax, which have been eliminated provincially, also included rebates to citizens on a regular basis.

“This made up almost exactly the amount of money it cost them… the fact of the matter is the carbon tax isn’t a tax on people.

“It’s a tax on big corporations which omit hundreds of thousands of megatons of carbon into the atmosphere.”

He said energy bills went up for citizens because of corporations passing on the expense.

He doubts that prices will go down if the carbon tax is eliminated.

Hendi said the NDP will not actively push for a pipeline.

“We are going to take away subsidies to oil and gas companies. If they want a pipeline, they have to go through all the correct channels.

“They can’t expect us to pay for it and make their life easier by ignoring the concerns of indigenous people.”

He said the NDP would invest in other Alberta industries such as agriculture, forestry and others.

He wouldn’t speculate as to when the NDP would balance the budget.

“What does a balanced budget mean to someone who can’t afford to eat?” Hendi said. “Our biggest commitment is to the people.”

Liberal candidate Cheryl Moller said there has been a tremendous amount of jobs in Alberta and the Foothills riding due to the price of oil dropping.

“It was not caused by the NDP, it was not caused by the Liberal government,” Moller said. “When there is a downturn you have to stimulate the economy. That is what the Liberals have done in the past four years and it is what it will do in the future.”

She said the Liberals will continue to cut the taxes of middle class earners and tax the high-income
earners.

“The government is staying the course and help the middle class to grow the economy,” she said. “When people have money, they spend it.”

She supported the carbon tax, reiterating Hendi’s point that citizens were given rebates.

As for the pipelines, she said the Liberals have already shown their commitment by purchasing the Trans-Mountain Pipeline for  $4.5 billion.

“It’s going to happen,” Moller said.

She said the Liberals have made a commitment to getting oil to markets beyond the United States.

Green Party candidate Bridget Lacey said the Party will not support building Trans Mountain.

“The Green platform is based on the idea that we have a great opportunity to invest in renewable energy and the green economy in things like home energy retrofitting,” she said. “That could result in 4 million new jobs in Canada.”

She said at present billions of dollars in subsidies are given to the oil sector.

“If those subsidies were turned away from fossil fuels and turned over to renewable energy sector we would have several times more jobs that would be created by the pipelines or oil and gas sector.”

She said several companies are moving in the green direction.

“We do have to make that transition eventually, the Green push is to make that transition as quickly as possible… the economy and the environment do not have to be at odds with each other.”

She said she is against the Trans-Mountain Pipeline.

“Wholesaling our energy at a discounted rate is not good for the Canadian economy, is not good for royalty rates and not good for workers,” she said,
adding the number of jobs being bandied about were inaccurately high.

She said appropriate consultation with First Nations is needed.

Greg Hession, People’s Party of Canada candidate, said the economy is affected by the “false narrative of climate change.

“We are operating now under a globalist model from the UN and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) where they are trying to re-hypothecate our economy based on carbon. It doesn’t sound like a terrible thing but it is completely undermining our domestic
economy and domestic energy supply.”

He said he supports pipelines across Canada. He said the constitution should be used to prevent provinces trying to stop pipelines.

“Provinces like Quebec and British Columbia, who are putting up firewalls to the construction of pipelines, will be met with strong opposition by a PPC government,” he said.

He said to stimulate the economy the PPC would reduce corporate income tax from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

“We also want to abolish the capital gains tax,” he said.

 

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