Huron-Bruce New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate, Jan Johnstone, took time out of her campaign schedule to give her thoughts to Midwestern Newspapers on some of the issues facing voters in the 2021 federal election.
MN: The pandemic is still top of mind for most voters. What are your thoughts on mandatory vaccinations?
Johnstone: To get to the other side of this pandemic, we must contribute to the greater good of our everyday society.
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in everyday society are the jurisdiction of the provinces. However, an NDP government will mandate vaccines in all federally regulated sectors and government agencies. To get as many people vaccinated as possible, we need to back up the commitment with actions. An NDP government will work with public sector unions to provide more education, remove barriers and give workers ample opportunity to get a vaccine. For employees who still refuse to be vaccinated, we would expect the collective agreement to be followed without reason related to health status. Discipline should always be a last resort but may be necessary in rare cases to protect the health and safety of Canadians.
MN: Agriculture is a huge part of life in Huron-Bruce and some say it is being affected adversely by climate change. Any thoughts on actions that can be taken to deal with the effects of a changing climate that can create erratic conditions for farmers?
Johnstone: This climate crisis will continue to impact every aspect of our lives, especially our agricultural sector that relies on mother nature to support the growth of crops and produce. The drought we see in the prairies could quickly happen here in Huron-Bruce, and that’s why the NDP has a plan to support farmers, producers and farm families with the adverse impacts of the climate crisis.
Farmers can and are leaders in the fight against the climate crisis. That’s why the NDP will promote sustainable land-management techniques and methods to reduce Green House Gas emissions and help the agriculture sector access low-carbon tools and technology to assist with the adaptation to climate-induced weather changes and pests and invasive species.
MN: Mental health issues are prevalent this year due to the pandemic. Farmers are one group that has been dealing with mental health issues, even before the pandemic. How will your party deal with mental health issues?
Johnstone: Mental health care should be available at no cost for people who need it. The NDP will bring in mental health care for uninsured Canadians – ensuring that people with no coverage for mental health services could gain access to these supports without worrying about the cost.
We will work with provinces and territories to implement a truly comprehensive approach to mental health services that supports Canadians from all walks of life – including farmers.
MN: What does your party plan to do to make housing affordable again especially considering wages are not going up at the rate they once were in comparison to housing?
Johnstone: In Huron-Bruce, buying a home is financially out of reach for many, and rental options are next to impossible to find. Huron-Bruce and all of Canada is under a national housing crisis.
An NDP government will work to make sure everyone can afford a place to call home. We will do this by creating at least 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing. For those who need help paying rent, the NDP will provide $5,000 a year in rental support for families.
For those who want to buy a home, we will re-introduce 30-year terms to CMHC insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first-time homebuyers. This will allow for smaller monthly payments, freeing up funds to help make ends meet for young families. We’ll also give people a hand with closing costs by doubling the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit to $1,500.
MN: Rural broadband remains a major issue for many within Huron-Bruce. How do you see that being dealt with if your party is elected?
Johnstone: Staying connected digitally is more essential than ever, yet too many rural communities like Huron-Bruce don’t have a reliable cell phone or internet service.
A New Democrat government will change that, delivering high-speed rural broadband to all communities in Canada without delay and ensuring that reliable cell phone service is expanded to every area of Canada, including Huron Bruce – while keeping rates affordable for families and businesses.
We will accomplish this plan by declaring high-speed internet an essential service, introducing price caps of internet and cellphone bills, and abolishing data caps.
MN: How will your party help people who have been hit hard financially by the pandemic? Some examples are small business owners, people who work in arts and entertainment and the tourism industry?
Johnstone: The pandemic has impacted small businesses especially hard and even more so in Huron-Bruce, where many businesses rely on the tourist season. That’s why the NDP will make sure small businesses’ wages and rent subsidies continue until businesses can reopen fully. To help small businesses get people back to work, we’ll put in place a long-term hiring bonus to pay the employer portion of EI and CPP for new or rehired staff.
The NDP will also invest in regional economic development agencies and provide economic support for rural areas to create jobs in tourism and community development sectors. Through a dedicated re-building package, the NDP will provide much-needed support to performing arts, theatre, festivals and other arts that the pandemic has most severely impacted.
MN: How would you provide relief to parents of young children in desperate need of support due to the high costs of child care services?
Johnstone: Young families need access to quality, affordable child care. But today, there is an affordability crisis in child care across the country. Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have had six years to act, but families still have to give up careers to care for their kids. The NDP is ready to make child care affordable and available to everyone with a universal $10 a day child care system.
An NDP government will also create enough child care spaces, so families don’t spend months on waitlists while ensuring that child care workers are paid a fair, living wage.
MN: Indigenous issues have been at the forefront of the news recently. What would you say Canadians can expect as far as the furthering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action if your party is elected?
Johnstone: Decades of Liberal and Conservative governments have denied Indigenous communities basic human rights like clean water, health care, and education. On-reserve child poverty is more than 50 per cent, and people are forced to live in unsafe housing conditions with exposure to harmful mould that is causing severe illness in children and seniors. Enough is enough.
The NDP will put equal partnership and equal funding at the heart of everything we do. We’re committed to providing safe housing, clean drinking water, and access to health care to every Indigenous community.
We will work with Indigenous communities to close the education funding gap and end the discrimination against Indigenous children that has gone on for far too long. We’ll fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), along with the recommendations of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and The National Inquiry of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
We will also fully fund the search for gravesites at former residential schools and the maintenance, commemoration, reburial and protection of residential school cemeteries according to the wishes of Indigenous families, residential school Survivors and communities.
MN: The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is seeking a location for a proposed deep geological repository to store high-level nuclear waste, with the Municipality of South Bruce being one of two locations currently under consideration. What is your stance on the proposed project, and do you think South Bruce is a more suitable location than Ignace?
Johnstone: Nuclear power is one of many great solutions to solve the climate crisis as nuclear produces no carbon emissions. However, its used fuel is highly radioactive and remains a hazard to people and the environment essentially forever. Currently, this used fuel already exists in our riding and is safely stored on an interim basis at the Bruce Power site.
Canadians have been clear that they want to see this generation take responsibility for this waste and not pass this challenge along to future generations. The NWMO’s approach requires it to be responsive to citizen involvement and input throughout the implementation, responded to changes in societal expectations and technological advances and identify a willing host community for the DGR.
Once a final site is chosen (South Bruce or Ignace) based on safety and security, the project will only move forward to an informed and willing host community – this includes the involvement and approval of the local municipal and Indigenous communities. These local voices must and will be heard and respected in the decision-making of a DGR location.
MN: Is there anything else you would like to let constituents know about what you intend to do for them that has not been asked?
Johnstone: The Canada Health Act is supposed to fund all medically necessary services that Canadians might need. But in reality, there are many kinds of medical services Canadians need for their health and wellbeing that aren’t covered by public health care plans. Canada’s health care system today reflects the health care needs of the 1950s.
New Democrats believe that we need to work towards health care that covers us from head to toe. An expanded Medicare system will ensure all Canadians will access free pharmacare, dental care, mental health, long-term care, hearing care, eye care and more!
This is just one of many of the ways the NDP will be everyday life more affordable for everyone in Huron-Bruce and across Canada.
