Cowichan Malahat Langford candidates answer survey questions

In Canada, voters elect local candidates as Members of Parliament, who then represent their region in Ottawa and in some cases form part of the government. We sent out surveys to your local candidates to ask how they, and their parties, promise to help locals on various major issues.

See their answers right away, or keep reading for a little more about the riding.

Cowichan – Malahat – Langford is a vast riding first contested in 2015. It has been held by the NDP's Alistair MacGregor since then, with the Conservatives typically finishing a distant second. The Greens and Liberals have each managed to pass 20% in some elections, showing that these parties can also be a factor.

This year's race projects to be close, mainly due to the nationwide rise in polls of the Liberal party. That could either push the Liberals into contention for the seat or simply pull enough votes from the NDP that the Conservatives are able to break through.

The riding is split fairly evenly between the Cowichan Valley and Langford portions of the riding. Candidates have been campaigning in both, and whoever is elected would likely maintain the current approach of having two different constituents' offices.

Learn more about the riding, and who is running, here.

All 4 major party candidates replied to the survey questions below.

The questions were on:

1. Housing

2. Public Satety

3. Health

4. Transportation

5. Cost of Living

6. Environment

7. US Relations

8. Their Pitch to Voters

Candidates' full responses are below, in the order received.

To jump to a candidate, click their name here:

🟠 Alistair MacGregor

🔵 Jeffrey Kibble

🟢 Kathleen Code

🔴 Blair Herbert

🟣 Dagmar Goeschick did not provide replies

🟠 Alistair MacGregor, NDP

Question 1: Housing

South Island residents are feeling the squeeze. What is your plan to increase housing affordability and supply, especially for renters and young families?

Canada has lived with a perpetual affordable housing crisis for many years now, as too many Canadians are being forced to give up their dream of having a home that they can afford. The financialization of housing has treated mortgages, houses, and apartments as vehicles for investment, and the policies of successive Liberal and Conservative governments over the last 4 decades have not helped address this trend.

But we have solutions. We can start building on public land to build over 100,000 rent-controlled homes. We will support non-profits, co-ops and Indigenous communities to build housing. And we will use Project Labour Agreements to support good family supporting jobs during construction.

We are also committed to banning corporate landlords from buying affordable housing, fast-tracking and expanding the federal Rental Protection Fund, and helping community-led organizations keep housing affordable. 

Question 2: Public Safety

What will you do to improve public safety in the South Island, including crime and public/road safety?

All members of our communities on the South Island deserve to feel safe; it is important for the federal government to step up and provide the funding and policies that will work to improve our public safety.

Starting at our border, the NDP has committed to action on illegal firearms and drugs by immediately rehiring the 1,100 border officers that were fired by the last Conservative government, establishing a dedicated federal police presence at every major port, and providing reliable scanning equipment for containers.

The NDP also believes in putting in place a funded National Crime Prevention Strategy, which will include establishing crime prevention centers and funding community violence interventions and organizations.

Many of our communities’ public safety concerns are directly related to the toxic drug crisis. Caught between Liberal half-measures and Conservative evidence-free pledges, it is time to immediately declare the matter a public health emergency, invest in dedicated mental health support teams that can work alongside law enforcement, and focus police resources on the real criminals who profit off the drug trade and who terrorize our neighborhoods.

Question 3: Health 

What will you do to address our pressing health concerns, including the toxic drug crisis and the need for more access to medical care including mental-health care?  

Canadians are proud of public healthcare—and the idea that no matter where you live, you can count on care. But right now, nearly 7 million Canadians don’t have access to a family doctor, and 2.5 million Canadians aren’t getting adequate care for their mental health challenges. 

Closing the gap by 2030, New Democrats will ensure that every Canadian has access to primary care by increasing transfers to provinces by 1% above current projected increases, streamlining the process for American doctors to come to Canada, and adding 1,000 additional residency positions each year for qualified, internationally trained doctors already living in Canada. Seniors need to be protected with enforceable long-term care standards guaranteeing level of care under a new Safe Long-Term Care Act.

In addition, we will fight for ensuring mental health care is covered under the Canada Health Act, expand the national pharmacare program, and provide additional funding to provinces and territories to improve mental health services with clear goals, accountability and transparency.

We must immediately declare the toxic drug crisis a public health emergency and employ a health-based approach that will invest in treatment, eliminate wait times for mental health emergencies, and support on-demand recovery services.

Question 4: Transit & Urban Growth

How will you advocate for better transit and infrastructure to support the South Island region’s rapidly growing population?

The South Island’s rapidly growing population presents challenges and opportunities to our communities in the years ahead – a strong federal partnership is needed to meet the moment.

As New Democrats, we will work with provinces and municipalities with a goal of doubling public transit ridership by 2035, including expanding the Canada Public Transit Fund to include operations funding. 

We would overhaul Canada’s procurement policies with a Build Canadian Buy Canadian plan, including banning American companies from contracts if Canadian workers can do them. We would identify shovel-ready infrastructure projects – roads, bridges, transit, community projects and health care capital – and get building, with union workers using Canadian products like softwood lumber from our local mills to get it done. New Democrats would boost our investment in infrastructure to help keep people working, stimulate our economy, and leave our communities better off. I’m also proud to be a member of a team that would offer Canada Victory Bonds as an opportunity for everyday Canadians to invest in the rebuilding of our economy.

Question 5: Cost of Living

What will you and your party do to make life more affordable for everyday South Island residents?

 A constant theme over the years and in this election has been the cost of living, especially food price inflation. Many of the major corporate players in key economic sectors, including grocery retail, have enjoyed record profits, which have come directly at the expense of people in our communities. 

High prices have impacted both the quality and quantity of food that families have been able to purchase, and food bank usage is at record levels. Food security in our region needs urgent attention.

The NDP plans to address these high costs with a permanent GST cut on essentials; a price cap on essentials; legislation to crack down on price gouging, surging, fixing, and shrinkflation; and with fairer taxation on excess corporate profits. As this riding’s MP, I led the way in taking on the corporate grocery retail giants in Parliament, and I have championed legislation to protect consumers and bring in more competition to challenge their market dominance.

Question 6: Environment 

What are your top environmental priorities that you will commit to focusing on for the South Island if you are in office? 

Folks in our riding are doing their part to fight the climate crisis and they deserve a federal government who does its part too, to protect our air and water. Locally, efforts to get the Cowichan Lake weir project completed is a great example of the community coming together and making great progress.

We have a plan to fight the climate crisis, make life more affordable and create good jobs. We support free and easy to access home energy refits, the elimination of handouts to Big Oil, making big polluters pay for their pollution, investing in climate adaptation and disaster preparedness and creating good-paying jobs by investing in clean energy, energy efficient affordable homes, electric transit and zero-emission vehicles. 

Let’s also give our communities hope by creating a youth climate corps and supporting environmental justice, including passing an Environmental Bill of Rights and establishing an Office of Environmental Justice.

For the South Island, I am committed to working on habitat restoration projects that can improve the health of our watersheds. One such example is the Cowichan Lake weir, which will dramatically improve the health of the Cowichan River, helping our precious wild salmon species in the process.

Question 7: US Relations

The US has taken an increasingly aggressive stance on trade, security, and global policy. How will you and your party protect Island interests, including tourism, commerce, and the environment, while maintaining a stable relationship with our neighbours in Washington state? 

Like many in our communities, I have felt betrayed by a country that was supposed to be one of our closest friends and allies. We must fight back using every tool that we can, ensuring workers, industry, and small businesses are looked after in every part of our country. 

With almost 10 years of experience serving my constituents, I, along with my NDP colleagues, will defend Canadian workers and businesses by implementing a federal Buy Canadian, Build Canadian policy, and bringing together all levels of government, industry, and business to develop a National Industrial Strategy aimed at boosting critical domestic manufacturing capacity. 

The NDP is committed to providing our workers a robust and easy-to-access Employment Insurance system is there to protect them, and we'll invest in skills training, apprenticeships, and job transition plans so people can find good jobs close to home. 

I welcome a stable relationship with our neighbours in Washington State, but we did not ask for or start this economic warfare between our countries, and I will always stand up for our communities in the face of a threat. I think it is important that we continue to welcome American tourists to our beautiful area.

Question 8: Your Commitment

In one sentence: Why should local voters choose you?

In this time of great uncertainty, I am the one candidate who offers voters a solid 9-year track record of standing up for our riding as Member of Parliament and can hit the ground running, able to get to work right away on defending our healthcare and our communities in the face of the threat from Donald Trump.

Go back to the candidate list, or keep scrolling.

🔵 Jeffrey Kibble, Conservative

Question 1: Housing

South Island residents are feeling the squeeze. What is your plan to increase housing affordability and supply, especially for renters and young families?

Many simplistic solutions are being advanced to solve a very complex problem. However, the one thing that we have learned for sure is that having the government build housing is not an efficient solution. That is just a prescription for more government debt and waste. 

A big part of the high cost of housing comes from government red tape. We need measures to cut through the layers of bureaucracy that prevent the private sector from meeting the demand for housing. The CD Howe institute has shown that 60% of the cost of building a house in Vancouver comes from approval delays, fees, regulations and taxes. If we want to reduce rents and enable young people to buy a house, that is an obvious place to start. 

The federal government has spending power to incentivize municipalities to increase approvals and reduce unnecessary red tape. We also need to reduce demand by calibrating immigration to a level that our housing supply and public services can keep up with. 

Another effective measure would be to eliminate the GST on new homes with rental prices below market value.

Question 2: Public Safety

What will you do to improve public safety in the South Island, including crime and public/road safety?

Addressing crime is complex, and no one has an easy solution. We can start with some general principles, but they need to be fact-based. For example, it is an observable fact that decriminalization and providing a safe supply have not solved the opioid crisis which drives so much of our crime rate these days. To reclaim our parks, playgrounds and neighbourhoods, we need to recriminalize extremely dangerous drugs like fentanyl, lock up the dealers and reallocate our resources to proven programs for supporting and sustaining recovery for addicts. 

For another example, it is a known fact that repeat offenders are disproportionately responsible for most types of crime. The revolving door, catch-and-release justice system that has been made so much worse over the last decade needs to be fixed, and career criminals need to be behind bars.

Question 3: Health 

What will you do to address our pressing health concerns, including the toxic drug crisis and the need for more access to medical care including mental-health care?  

Canadians should have reasonable access to timely, quality health care services, regardless of their ability to pay. The federal government should provide stable and transparent funding, and work with the provinces in a co-operative and constructive manner. 

We have people dying on waiting lists and in our emergency waiting rooms, and this is unacceptable. Throwing money at the problem has not helped, and any additional money we would throw at it would have to be borrowed money, money our children and grandchildren would have to repay. We can’t continue to just do the same things and expect a different result. That’s why there should be flexibility for the provinces and territories in the implementation of health services to include a balance of public and private delivery options.

As for the toxic drug crisis, we have spent untold billions of taxpayer dollars trying to solve it without any obvious improvement. Here at home on the Island, we can all see what hasn’t worked just by walking through the downtown cores of any one our towns and cities. 

According to Health Canada, 50,928 apparent opioid toxicity deaths were reported nationally between 2016 and 2024. To put that number in perspective, it is more than all the soldiers we lost in WWII.

Legions of bureaucrats, special interest groups and various advocates keep telling us the only solution is to spend ever more on their demonstrably failing programs, but decriminalization and providing a safe supply have not solved the opioid crisis. We need to recriminalize extremely dangerous drugs like fentanyl and lock up the dealers. Our resources need to be reallocated to programs for which there is clear and objective proof of effectiveness, and to supported, sustainable recovery for addicts. 

Question 4: Transit & Urban Growth

How will you advocate for better transit and infrastructure to support the South Island region’s rapidly growing population?

We have to have a serious look at what we can do to get the Vancouver Island Rail Corridor up and running in order to get people out of their cars and on to commuter rail. The Island Corridor Foundation has been looking at this problem for over twenty years, and the province has prepared assessments, reports and evaluations of the various requirements. I will champion bringing rapid transit along the corridor and this is where the federal government can step in to enable a public-private partnership. Rapid transit along the corridor will connect our riding and our island bringing economic prosperity as well as safety and environmental benefit. 

The Rail Corridor is just one part of the solution. Making something happen to either improve the Malahat or build an alternative route is another. There is much we can do, but for anything to happen we need to make the case that federal support for transit and transportation infrastructure for the South Island is an investment not just in the environment, but also in economic efficiency that will pay dividends.

Question 5: Cost of Living

What will you and your party do to make life more affordable for everyday South Island residents?

The rising cost of living is not a riding-specific problem. It’s a nation-wide problem of inflationary pressure caused by irresponsible regulatory, fiscal and budgetary management in Ottawa. 

The Liberal/NDP government likes to distract from a problem they caused by pointing to COVID or big business. But the fact is that business doesn’t cause inflation. Government causes inflation. 

The Conservative Party’s and my answer to inflation is to return common sense to the finances in Ottawa. If we stop printing money at a rate faster than the economy is growing, we’ll slow inflation. If we take the shackles off our natural resource sector and produce products other nations want to buy, we’ll strengthen the Canadian dollar, making it cheaper for Canadian families to buy imported goods. If we stop strangling the economy with over-taxation and over-regulation, we’ll create the good, high-paying jobs that Canadians need to afford housing, groceries and the other good things that we used to take for granted.

The solution to the cost-of-living crisis is not more government borrowing and handouts, the answer is to change the government so we can revive the flatlined Canadian economy.

Question 6: Environment 

What are your top environmental priorities that you will commit to focusing on for the South Island if you are in office?

I believe that ensuring we have a healthy natural environment to hand down to our children is a moral imperative. Facts matter, and so we need to look at what works rather than what just sounds good. We also need to work more collaboratively with our Indigenous communities to make our natural resource management practices more sustainable.

We do not have a lot of heavy industry on South Island, so our primary focus needs to be on improving traffic flow and on providing public transit alternatives. People sitting in their cars and trucks stuck in traffic jams on the Island Highway are getting zero miles to the gallon and emitting greenhouse gasses for no reason.

Investing in getting people moving or, better yet, out of their cars and into transit rail, will do more for the environment than anything else we can reasonably do. 

We also need to have a look at the environmental impacts of large commercial ships in our anchorages. There are already solutions in the works that will not cripple our overseas trade and damage our economy but will bring efficient traffic management and minimize environmental impact. Banning anchorages is economic folly.

Question 7: US Relations

The US has taken an increasingly aggressive stance on trade, security, and global policy. How will you and your party protect Island interests, including tourism, commerce, and the environment, while maintaining a stable relationship with our neighbours in Washington state? 

I believe in focussing on the things we can control, rather than on the things we can’t. The current volatility outside our borders in not something we can control so our efforts are best directed towards strengthening ourselves at home. For example, it is within our control to eliminate job-killing over-regulation and interprovincial trade barriers. It is within our control to develop and promote alternative markets for Canadian products. It is within our control to build the pipelines we need to get our oil and natural gas to the coasts for export. We have deep cultural and historical economic ties to Europe, India and many other countries that we can, and must, expand. 

There is such a thing as a Canadian identity — contrary to what the Liberals tried to make us believe for the last decade — and much to be proud of in our history. If we are to stand firm against the threats from the current US administration, we must honour and protect the many aspects of Canada that make our country a place to admire, one that has attracted immigrants from all over the world since Confederation. 

Question 8: Your Commitment

In one sentence: Why should local voters choose you?

I have come out of retirement after serving in the Navy for 28 years to address the issues and challenges we face here in our riding - I am driven to reverse economic decline, reduce the cost of living and keep repeat violent repeat offenders off our streets - I know our riding well and the challenges we face together, my own family included. 

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🟢 Kathleen Code, Green

Question 1: Housing

South Island residents are feeling the squeeze. What is your plan to increase housing affordability and supply, especially for renters and young families?

Housing is a human right. The Green Party plans to build and maintain public housing across the country, customized for each community. The homes will be protected from the public market predatory investors and well maintained through ongoing funds. Shelter costs will be no more than 30% of a person’s regular income. The homes will be built in connection with our new Strategic Federal Reserve program, whereby we will buy up resources such as aluminum, steel and lumber that would normally flow south, but in view of the American tariffs, we would stockpile and use them to build Canadian homes.

This strategy keeps our workers employed in the sawmills and factories and ensures good paycheques for thousands of Canadians. Homes would be built from a generational and community perspective and be constructed using ecologically friendly materials and techniques. 

We also plan on eliminating the federal tax for Canadians earning less than $100,000, for the first $40,000.

Question 2: Public Safety

What will you do to improve public safety in the South Island, including crime and public/road safety?

Public road safety is the shared jurisdiction of the provincial, federal and local governments. The Green Party advocates for few internal combustion vehicles on the road, advocating for public transit and vehicles using renewable energy. 

The federal government is responsible for national and border security, federal law enforcement and coordination of federal responses for emergency management. 

According to the Police Reported Crime 2023 report issued by Stats Canada, crime rose 2% in each of the three previous years, with violent crime remaining virtually unchanged. This is a far cry from how Poilievre presents the situation, where he contends that crime is rampant in the streets and his solution is to throw more people in jail. Makes you wonder if he has stocks in a prison construction business. 

Homicide was down 14%, while hate crimes are up 32% and in BC, crime is down 4%. In terms of what is classified as a non-violent offence, child pornography is up 52%, yet this does not seem to draw the ire of Mr. Poilievre. This is an alarming statistic for any community. 

We would be pleased to work with the provincial governments and the territories to increase public safety by building affordable and appropriate housing, providing accessible healthcare (including mental health, dental and pharmacare and counselling and treatment centres). 

Question 3: Health

What will you do to address our pressing health concerns, including the toxic drug crisis and the need for more access to medical care including mental-health care? 

We must address our failing healthcare system by training more medical professionals and providing them free education so they are not burdened with debt for the rest of their lives. We would recruit American health professionals and ensure that immigrants will credentials are able to gain their Canadian credentials in a timely manner. We must also provide heath care that is culturally appropriate for Indigenous peoples. 

The starting point for me with the opioid crisis is that people who fall prey to drug addiction are our brothers, our sisters, our sons, our daughters, our family. According to frontline workers that I’ve spoken with, compassion and healthcare are the answers, not prison and criminalization that will cause further trauma and harm. Compassionate care, given when wanted and needed, involves a full spectrum of services including a safer supply, housing, counselling, overdose prevention and safe consumption sites, among others. This health care approach leads to fewer emergency room visits, fewer interactions with law enforcement and the courts and less need to build more prisons.

This approach also leads to people buying fewer drugs through the black market, where drugs are becoming more toxic and lethal. Statistics indicate that approximately 13% of Canadians suffer from drug-related substance abuse, affecting people from all walks of life and social-economic levels, of which the unhoused are a small minority. Prohibition does more harm than good. The Green Party will build a drug recovery program that is evidence-based and cost-effective. There is scientific evidence that such 

programs produce cost savings for prison, law enforcement, hospital use. Caring for people in pain is the right thing to do. 

Question 4: Transit & Urban Growth

How will you advocate for better transit and infrastructure to support the South Island region’s rapidly growing population?

Public transit and light rail transit would be ideal transportation modes for the South Island, especially connecting the rural areas with the urban centres. The federal Greens would be pleased to work with the other levels of government to generate transportation modes that are more accessible to the public and that use renewable energy. We must find a way to reduce carbon emissions and building a national electrical grid across the country will help connect remote and rural communities, including the South Island.

Building appropriate and affordable homes in the context of walkable communities would help ease some of the congestion and ensure that everyone has access to housing. We would build 1.2 million homes over 7 years across the nation in partnership with non-profits, co-ops and public housing agencies, charging no more than 30% of household income. These would be public housing units not available to predatory investors and built on an ecologically sound basis. 

Question 5: Cost of Living

What will you and your party do to make life more affordable for everyday South Island residents?

People need to know they can afford food, a home, education, health care and the necessities of life, no matter what stage of life they’re at. We need to take back our power as people and stop voting for the status quo parties that keep us on the same failed path. Green policies include the elimination of federal taxes on the first $40,000 for Canadians earning $100,000 or less, the provision of a Guaranteed Basic Income, improved universal and free health care (including dental, mental, pharmacare and substance abuse treatment), public housing, fair taxation and investing in clean energy and innovation. 

These programs would be available through fair taxation and wealth tax measures. Here’s a few that would yield billions of dollars over a five-year period:

• Eliminating the corporate meals and entertainment expenses: $4.8 billion.

• Increasing the corporate income rate tax from 15 to 21% on taxable income exceeding $100 million: $42 billion.

• A Wealth Tax: $121 billion.

• Eliminating resource deductions for the oil and gas sector: $14 billion.

Financial Transaction Tax: $237 billion. 

Question 6: Environment

What are your top environmental priorities that you will commit to focusing on for the South Island if you are in office?

Since 2000, I have watched heartbroken as governments have steadfastly refused to protect citizens and their communities from climate crisis-related disasters. Wildfires have burned millions of hectares of 

forest and entire communities, droughts have wiped out biodiversity and farmers’ crops, floods have destroyed infrastructure and homes, landslides, heat domes – it is gut wrenching to see government obfuscate and bow to lobbyist demands, while using taxpayer dollars in an attempt to clean it up. My top priority will be to protect all the remaining forests left to us, particularly old growth and boreal. 

These are not renewable resources, but the lungs of the planet and the foundation of the Indigenous culture. We will use renewable energy resources to transition from oil and gas and build an electrical grid across the country, creating thousands of well-paying jobs and lowering energy costs. We will stop giving out corporate subsidies, and instead, make polluters pay, holding them accountable for the climate damage they cause. Our children and their children deserve a world that holds clean drinking water, food security and an abundance of nature. 

Question 7: US Relations

The US has taken an increasingly aggressive stance on trade, security, and global policy. How will you and your party protect Island interests, including tourism, commerce, and the environment, while maintaining a stable relationship with our neighbours in Washington state?

Canada is a proud and sovereign nation and we must stand together against the American tariff and takeover threats. Ironically, these threats have done a great deal to unite us and prompt us to explore better ways of interprovincial trade and more suitable trading partners. I am very proud of the way Canadians have spontaneously and as one stepped up to buy local Canadian goods and services and this is certainly true of the people in this riding. We will provide grants and loans to small and medium-sized businesses to build up our local manufacturing sector and ensure we protect the last of our old-growth forests and intact ecosystems. While we plan vacations here at home, we can also let our Washington neighbours we still love them and we welcome them to come and visit our island.

We are now galvanized like never before and the Green Party has an exceptional Protecting Canada planto strengthen our economy, our border, our partnerships and make better use of our raw resources for Canadians. The plan advocates a new economic NATO with like-minded democracies, proposes an alternate location for the UN Headquarters, establishes a Federal Strategic Reserve of raw resources so we can build homes here, provides strong financial support for Canadian small and medium sized businesses, and calls for the construction of a strong East-West electricity grid. We will bump up our shipbuilding strategy, cancel the purchase of the F35s and secure more manufacturing jobs here in Canada. We will create 120,000 new well-paying jobs for a civilian Federal Home Guard and invest billions in innovation and entrepreneurial loans.

Question 8: Your Commitment

In one sentence: Why should local voters choose you?

I am the candidate with the education, the experience, the skills and most of all the compassion to find solutions for you and your family so you can live a comfortable and fulfilling life.

Go back to the candidate list, or keep scrolling.

🔴 Blair Herbert, Liberal 

Question 1: Housing

CRD residents are feeling the squeeze. What is your plan to increase housing affordability and supply, especially for renters and young families?

This Riding has an average home price of nearly $800,000; a price far out of reach for many.  The solution?  The Liberal housing plan to get the federal government back into the business of home building.  Liberals will double the pace of construction to almost 500,000 affordable homes annually, creating a positive economic spin-off by partnering with builders for the construction of projects and supporting apprenticeship opportunities to grow our trades workforce.  This initiative builds on the Liberal’s commitment to eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on homes at or under $1 million.  Canada has solved a housing crisis before, and we can do it again.

Skyrocketing rents are often the product of supply and demand.  Without enough supply, landlords can rent to the highest bidder.  Our investment to increase the housing supply should drive down rental costs.

In contrast, Pierre Poilievre wants to take the government out of homebuilding. He wants to cut policies that are already working – like the Housing Accelerator Fund – and let the market do the rest. That’s not leadership, that’s ideology. 

Question 2: Public Safety

What will you do to improve public safety in the CRD, including crime and public/road safety?

Canadians deserve to feel safe where they live, play, work, and worship. A Liberal government will:

• Reinvigorate the implementation of an efficient gun-buyback program for assault-style firearms.

• Automatically revoke gun licenses for individuals convicted of violent offences, particularly those convicted of intimate partner violence offences.

• Legislate a requirement for the RCMP to classify new firearm models entering the market, instead of the gun industry.

• Toughen oversight of firearms licensing.

• Recruit 1,000 more RCMP personnel to tackle drug and human trafficking, foreign interference, cybercrime, and the organized criminal gangs that steal cars. 

• Train 1,000 new CBSA officers to crack down on drugs and illegal guns and to stop gangs from stealing cars and smuggling them out of the country. 

• Toughen the Criminal Code and make bail laws stricter for violent and organized crime, home invasions, car stealing, and human trafficking – including and especially for repeat offenders.

• Take specific measures to crack down on sexual violence and intimate partner violence.

• Aggressively pursue action to protect children from online crimes.

• Fight the horrifying rise in hate and protect our communities.

Question 3: Health 

What will you do to address our pressing health concerns, including the toxic drug crisis and the need for more access to medical care including mental-health care?  

There are two sides to the toxic drug crisis that I would work on as MP.  

Firstly, I believe we need a treatment-centered and evidence-based approach to the drug addiction crisis that addresses its main causes.  When people who use drugs decide they want to make a change and commit to a treatment plan, I want to make sure there is a place available to them versus being put on a waitlist which only puts them at greater risk.  

On that front, a new re-elected Liberal government will:

• Introduce a comprehensive strategy to address substance use to end the opioids crisis.

• Invest $500 million to support provinces and territories in providing access to a range of treatments.

Support provinces and territories in creating standards for treatment programs so Canadians can access quality and evidence-based support when they need it.

Secondly, as a business operator myself, I am aware of the impact this epidemic has on businesses and residents within the communities in this Riding.  I have to admit, I don’t have the answers, but I want to be part of the solution.  I have no doubt that the local and provincial governments have tried many solutions, but I am not quite sure they are working or, at least, I have spoken to voters who feel they are not working.  As your MP, I will bring the Federal government to the table to find solutions for all of us.  

Question 4: Transit & Urban Growth

How will you advocate for better transit and infrastructure to support the CRD’s rapidly growing population?

Transit and municipal infrastructure are the responsibility of the local government.  But, once consensus is met locally on the best solution to address the CRD’s rapid growing population, there are programs of the Liberal Party that could apply.

For example, Liberals will:

Invest to build infrastructure that connects Canada, breaks down barriers, and brings people and economies closer together. We will work with all orders of government and Indigenous Peoples on critical infrastructure that connects communities. A current example of this is the George Massey Tunnel.

Make rural and small communities more affordable and accessible through investing an additional $250 million in the Rural Transit Solutions Fund. By working with provinces and territories, we will lower costs and further support the development, expansion, and operation of local, regional, and cross-Canada transit and bus solutions that help Canadians get to work, school, medical appointments, and visit loved ones. 

As MP, I would partner with the CRD and advocate for them accessing these Liberal programs to improve transit for CRD’s rapidly growing population.

Question 5: Cost of Living

What will you and your party do to make life more affordable for everyday South Island residents?

As discussed in the first question, the Liberal plan to develop more affordable housing will be a significant contributor to making life more affordable with respect to both buying a home and reducing rent costs.  

Other Liberal initiatives to make life more affordable include:

• Protecting the $10/day daycare and continuing the Child Canada Benefit.

• Cancelling the carbon tax, which is already saving Canadians on average 18 cents/litre on the price of gas (including those in BC, as the BC government followed the Federal government’s lead in cutting the tax).

• Delivering a middle-class tax cut, saving a two-income household up to $825 a year.

• Eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers on homes at or under $1 million, saving Canadians up to $50,000 on the purchase of their first home.

• Getting Canadians the benefits they deserve by delivering automatic tax filing, starting with low-income households and seniors.

• Making mortgage payments more affordable by reviewing barriers to longer interest rate terms on mortgages, which would give Canadians more financial stability.

• Funding home retrofits and lowering utility bills while making it easier for low- and middle-income households, including renters, to adopt heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades. 

• Expanding dental coverage to Canadians aged 18-64 to provide access to around 4.5 million Canadians, so more people get the care they need, saving Canadians around $800 in dental care costs.

Question 6: Environment 

What are your top environmental priorities that you will commit to focusing on for the South Island if you are in office? 

As your MP, I believe the Liberals’ environmental initiatives will serve the South Island well and these include:

• Conserve nature and biodiversity by creating at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, and 15 new urban parks;

• Bolster Indigenous stewardship by establishing a new Arctic Indigenous Guardians program;

• Protect our freshwater, including investing $100 million in a strategic water security technology fund to advance Canadian R&D, AI, monitoring, and data tools;

• Enshrine First Nations’ right to water into law;

• Clean up, maintain, and protect wildlife in and around our coastal waters, by investing an additional $15 million to modernize the responsible disposal of the ghost gear threatening marine mammals and birds; and,

• Champion nature conservation internationally, by stopping illegal wildlife trade across our borders with modern digital solutions.

I would also prioritize the development and education of environmentally friendly programs that reward Canadians and Canadian businesses for making green choices.  The Greener Homes Loan program is an example; it offers Canadians interest-free financing to help them make their homes more energy efficient. 

And, finally, I want readers to know that their day-to-day actions matter – take reusable bags when you go to the grocery store, return cans and bottles, recycle cardboard and plastic with your curbside pick up, upcycle old clothes, shop at second hand stores and reuse containers before buying new ones.  There are many environmentally friendly actions that are low cost (or no cost) that we can all do and, if all 40 million Canadians did, can you imagine the impact we could have?  

Question 7: US Relations

The US has taken an increasingly aggressive stance on trade, security, and global policy. How will you and your party protect Island interests, including tourism, commerce, and the environment, while maintaining a stable relationship with our neighbours in Washington state? 

The United States tariffs are a clear violation of trade agreements and require serious trade and economic responses. I support dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs aimed where they will be felt the hardest in the United States with the least impact in Canada.   

At the same time, we need to boost investment and support Canadian workers, including Islanders, through this difficult moment.  We will work to diversify trading relationships and build new sources of jobs and growth based on our natural resources, our talented people and their innovation. 

One last thought to pass on to readers is this – difficult times can present amazing opportunities.  The swell of national pride and a united Canadian economy are two of those opportunities.  Rather than 13 different provincial and territorial economies, I believe we can create one amazing national economy.  Removing barriers to internal trade, alone, would lower prices for consumers by reducing trade costs and would expand our economy by up to $200 billion.

Question 8: Your Commitment

In one sentence: Why should Victoria voters choose you?

Voters should choose me because I am committed to this Riding and it is time for us to have a voice in the government so that: (1) our issues will truly be heard, (2) we’ll have a say in government policy and (3) we can access Federal government funding for local projects and initiatives; for too many years we have been represented in the back benches

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