It seems that there are a lot more NDP campaign signs in Scarborough-Guildwood than in past elections, especially in Guildwood itself. I met with Scarborough-Guildwood NDP candidate Laura Casselman to ask her your questions as well as some of our own.
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We first asked our standard set of questions from readers including questions about Transportation, Daycares, The Rouge Park and amending the elections act.
When discussing a National Transportation policy Laura mentioned that the NDP have a transportation plan called The Better Transportation Strategy that pledges $12.9 billion dollars to the GTA and when it comes to John Tory’s SmartTrack Plan Laura says that municipalities would be provided funding and the responsibility to use it locally.
A National Daycare Policy has been part of the NDP platform from the very beginning of the campaign so I asked for a few more details. The NDP are committed to providing 1 million child care spaces across the country over an eight-year period. Laura says that the daycare spots would be subsidised and that the parents would be paying no more than $15 per day, which comes to about $300 per month on average. This program would be similar to the provincial day care system in Quebec. An NDP government would continue to provide the Universal Childcare Benefit on top of the daycare program.
Regarding the transformation of Rouge Park, the NDP would scrap the Rouge National Urban Park concept, along with bill C-40 – Rouge National Urban Park Act completely and fit the park in as a National Park under the National Parks Act with the protections that come with being a National Park.
Laura says that the most important issue that is unique to Scarborough-Guildwood is income inequality. The NDP’s plan is a “holistic approach” that includes increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for seniors, affordable childcare and overall making living more affordable.
When it comes to electoral reform and capping the elections to a certain length, Laura says that the NDP believes in following the rules set out by Elections Canada. The NDP supports Proportional Representation.
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Since Scarborough-Guildwood has always been a Liberal-Conservative Contest since its creation I asked Laura about her strategy and how she hopes to win the riding. There was a growth in the last election that Laura mentions of NDP support in Scarborough-Guildwood of just over 12%. Locally she says that they have done a lot of canvassing, door knocking etc. She also mentioned that there is movement towards the NDP across the country, in her words “People want change.”
Growing up in Guildwood, Laura went to both Sir Wilfrid Laurier CI and Poplar Road Jr PS, Laura has connections with some of the teachers at both schools. When asked about how she would engage youth Laura says that because she is a younger candidate she has attracted lots of the younger crowd to her campaign and that with someone who is closer in age to them in the MP position, it will engage a younger generation. In addition, she would frequently visit classes as well as visit local youth groups to get feedback from youth.
When it comes to balancing budgets and paying off debt, an NDP government would raise taxes on corporations to about 15% to 17%. They would also cut subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and cancel income splitting for families, keeping it for pensioners.
Laura said she wasn’t sure about the NDP’s stance on the proposed Ontario Pension Plan but she said that the NDP is committed to assisting seniors by bringing the age for benefits back down to 65 as well as providing the GIS. When it come to the TFSA, Laura said that the NDP would keep the TFSA limit at $5,000 rather than increasing the limit to $10,000. UPDATE: Regarding the proposed Ontario Pension Plan, Laura says that the NDP is “committed to sitting down with Kathleen Wynne and reviewing her proposal.”
In ending Laura said “What I have been hearing on the doorstep is that Canadians and people in Scarborough-Guildwood are ready change and the NDP has shown itself to be a very effective opposition leader and that Tom Mulcair is the person with the experience to lead this country.”
The article was updated September 22nd 2015 @ 18:00 to fix factual errors regarding the $15/day day care policy and pension spliting.