1. What do you believe is the most relevant federal issue for residents of this riding, and how would you/your party address it?

Parliamentary Reform. First and foremost that is a move to Proportional Representation. 68 percent of Canadians want this change now. Secondly, we need to reform the party system of politics which is presently an extremely adversarial system. This may sound like nothing in face of the world situation of tariffs, US expansionism and the assaults on human rights going on globally, and the domestic situation of housing, cost of living and health, but we can only deal with those other issues in a long term and effective way if we have a legislature where all parties a) represent all the people of Canada and b) work together to achieve long term positive results to issues.

2. U.S. tariffs on Canadian Goods are emerging as a major issue in this campaign. Why is your party’s approach best suited for the current situation? What are your concerns about the impact on this riding specifically?

As said, I believe we need to replace the adversarial party system with a collaborative system. However, as an Independent in the present system, I have the advantage of being able to vote in support of or against any party. Poilievre’s Conservatives have shown themselves to be devoid of moral integrity, flip-flopping about where they stand on Trump from a few months ago to now. How will tariffs play out in Huron-Bruce? Everyone is going to be affected by tariffs – costs of groceries, goods, etc. Specifically, in terms of “making a living”: our agricultural sector is going to be affected as are construction, small businesses, etc. Never has it been a better time to “Think global, act local”. My greatest concern is for those already marginalized and having to access food banks, for example. But, sometimes, the line dividing not being marginalized and becoming so can change rapidly. So, I think we need to be very aware of that.

3. What, in your opinion, is the best approach to the following issues:

1. Housing affordability
2. affordability due to general inflation

Two factors affect housing: on the one hand is construction cost (which will be affected by tariffs) and the other is living cost (also affected by tariffs, but also by wage inequality). Underlying that, the real issue that we have is wealth distribution. 57 Canadian billionaires owned $245 billion dollars in 2023. By 2024, that income had increased by 29 percent – just passive increase on investment. Meanwhile 2.5million Canadians struggled below the poverty line. That is not only immoral, but socially and politically bad for the country. We need to address that through legislation.

There is nothing wrong with having the incentive of becoming wealthier, but it has to be “within reason” – both in terms of everyone being able to live decently and in terms of no one private entity having excessive power. Democratic governments don’t have that kind of power, so why, in our Canadian democracy would we allow private entities to do so. At which point, I might add that we should not change our banking to suit the Trump administration. We should change it to prevent that kind of excessive wealth being stock piled – whether by “quasi-legal” or illegal players.

How do we get more money into the hands of the poor – the working poor? Small businesses aren’t in a position to absorb increases in minimum wage. The government doesn’t want to increase its debt. I propose a “Robin Hood Levy” and the incremental topping up of income in the lowest wage brackets: $5 top up for $20 per hour or less wage bracket; $4 for $21; $3 for $26 - $30, $2 for $31 - $35, $1 for $36 - $40.

4. Health care availability is an issue in many local communities. How would you address the shortage of health care professionals in this riding?

Generally, this issue definitely relates to three obvious areas: the education sector and the barriers between provinces – and immigration.

It is ridiculous that we refuse doctors from countries who have health care systems of a standard equal to Canada’s or don’t help experienced doctors to get working in our system as soon as possible. If you are a refugee from Ukraine or Gaza and a medical practitioner, you probably have a heck of an experience as an emergency care physician. We need to deal with that. Right now, with the Trump administration gutting the system in the US, is a very favourable time for us to invite doctors, nurses and other health care specialists to consider Huron-Bruce. So, we need to let them know that we are here. We need to go to them and tell them just how beautiful Huron-Bruce is!

For the long term of our health care as a country, I believe we need to review how we are dealing with education. Bringing back the age of starting school and concentrating exclusively on STEM isn’t going to solve things. It is the humanities that develop skills in such areas as human empathy, moral thinking, creative thought. The Arts are proving to be as essential to human health and society as Science, Tech, Engineering and Math.

And using foreign students to pay for our colleges and universities was obviously a bad move. We need, as a country, to invest in our educational system – at all levels, but right now, especially at the college and university level to provide home-grown, capable workers in health care – at all levels and in all sectors. And we especially need to expand the area of training in mental health, geriatrics and women’s health which have either been side-lined or have become critical as the make up of society has changed.

We also need to address the convoluted application and acceptance procedure to get into medical school and the fact that a lot of good, but not wealthy students, just can’t afford to pursue their dreams – especially in terms of lengthy study terms like medicine.

Lastly, we need to get rid of these barriers to Canadians working in other Canadian provinces!

5. What is your government’s position in regard to upholding treaty rights for Indigenous People?

This is a no brainer. If a treaty was made, you are morally obliged to adhere to it – just like Trump needs to abide to CUSMA. However, if that treaty was made immorally, taking advantage of a group, well, we need to look at that. You can’t go back to the past, but we can go forward to fair and honest decisions developed through working together to find a new path that honours both the Indigenous group and the Canadian State and works for our common good – that includes resolving outstanding issues of inequality that indigenous peoples face in health, housing, clean water. Our indigenous peoples have a great wealth of knowledge and understanding to contribute to this land and people and we hurt ourselves when we don’t listen to it.

6. What positions do you have that are contrary to those of your party, and what will you do to make sure those positions aren't lost in the din of toeing the party line?

Well, it’s hard to be contrary to your party when you are an Independent, isn’t it! But, as said, the joy of being an independent is how you can influence the other parties through debate, lobbying and voting. I am going to exert the pressure of the Sovereign People of all political parties

● for them to be at the service of Canada IN GOOD FAITH, instead of meddling in the 3-handed gambling game (one on the table, one under the table, and a third one behind the back) that I have constantly seen played on Parliament Hill: a game played to first of all secure their turf and their electoral path to POWER, leaving the Nation’s well-being as a total side consideration, if a consideration at all – Trump the snake oil salesman’s sinking of the US bipartisan border bill being a textbook example of that cynical, malevolent, criminal prostitution of the political process;

● for Parliament to return to being the Sacred Forge of our National Identity as a country, instead of the political fish market (when not the brothel) it has been reduced to;

● to RE-EVOLUTIONIZE our political process, forcing political parties to negotiate competitively, yes, BUT SYNERGISTICALLY, and again IN GOOD FAITH, with reaching an honourable, consensus-based compromise as the top priority.

If I become Prime Minister Caesar Salad, I will hear an Inter-Party National Health Government with ministers proportionally drawn from ALL THE PARTIES THAT THE Sovereign People sent to Parliament – so help me the Spirit of the Mystery of Existence (call that God or whatever pleases you!).