What separates you from the other candidates in your riding?
My priorities for the families in Etobicoke-Lakeshore and across Canada set me apart from the other candidates. I have a lot of respect for my political opponents, but the Liberal Party is the only party that has a fully-costed platform that focuses on strengthening families right now. Instead of spending $30 billion on fighter jets, $10 million on jails and giving $6 billion to the largest corporations like the Conservatives, a Liberal government will bring a new level of economic stability to Canadian families by helping them with the cost of post-secondary education, child care, family care, saving for retirement and energy-efficient home improvements.
What is the defining issue in your riding this election?
No issue in this election is of greater concern to Canadians than the future of our cherished health care system.
In five years in office, Stephen Harper has done nothing to secure the future of the system or to prepare for the 2014 expiration of the current Health Accord, which was negotiated by prime minister Paul Martin and health minister Ujjal Dosanjh in 2004.
The Liberal Party’s passionate belief in universal, free, quality, timely public health care remains unshakable. We are the party that made universal health care and the Canada Health Act a reality.
We recognize that the provinces are coping with budgetary deficits and spiraling health care costs. A Liberal government is committed to investing in health care beyond 2014, so that provinces can get on with the job of reforming our health care system. We must ensure it will be there when every Canadian family needs it. That’s why a Liberal government will maintain the current 6% health care funding escalator beyond 2014.
In addition, we will support the following new initiatives:
• The Liberal plan for Family Care – supporting Canadians who care for loved ones at home
• Investing in health promotion, sport and a National Food Policy
• Introducing a Canadian Brain Health Strategy
• Collaborating with provinces and health professionals on quality and innovation
• Implementing new measures to improve rural healthcare
• Addressing the gaps in coverage of prescription drugs, and the high costs of drugs in general.
Do you believe the relationship between municipalities and the federal government needs to be redefined, and if so, how?
Canada’s cities are drivers of good living standards and economic competitiveness in today’s global economy. Still, serious infrastructure gaps are costing us jobs and productivity. The Harper government has paid little attention to cities, and advanced no vision of their role in the economy of the future. A Liberal government’s Canadian Transportation and Infrastructure Strategy will address the needs and opportunities of cities, and build on their dynamism and innovation.
Liberal infrastructure priorities include:
• Highways and major roads that support international trade, regional commerce and economic development
• Local and regional transit, rapid transit and commuter rail that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing efficient alternatives to private vehicles
• Municipal infrastructure, particularly for water and sewers to meet local needs and reduce pollution, and major public multi-function spaces
• High-speed rail in regions where rapid, convenient connections between major urban centres promise environmental benefits, enhanced mobility, decreased congestion and a boost to international commerce, if coordinated with investments underway in the United States.
Which of your party’s policies would make the biggest impact on Torontonians’ lives?
I believe the Liberal Family Pack will make the biggest impact on Torontonians’ lives. The Family Pack is a five-point plan to strengthen families by bringing a new level of economic stability to Canadian families and includes help with the costs of college and university high quality accessible early childhood learning and care support to care for a family member who gets sick public pensions you can count on and help to make your home more energy efficient.
Tell us something flattering about your main rival in this campaign.
Every candidate running in this election should be admired for their dedication and commitment to public service.
