LAKELAND – Three of six candidates running in the Lakeland riding this federal election discussed various issues during the Federal Election Candidate Forum hosted by the St. Paul and District Chamber of Commerce in Elk Point on April 14.
Des Bissonnette with the Canada’s New Democrat Party, Michael Manchen with the People's Party of Canada, and Micheal Speirs with the Christian Heritage Party of Canada were present.
Incumbent Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs with the Conservative Party of Canada, Bridget Burns with the Green Party of Canada, and Barry Milaney with the Liberal Party of Canada were not in attendance.
During the question-and-answer portion of the forum, candidates discussed many issues like crime, senior care, education, health, as well as specific economic issues related to the Lakeland, like the Pathways Alliance carbon capture project, to broader issues like human rights and the war in Gaza.
Economy
Asked what they believe to be the most pressing matter Canada faces today, Bissonnette said affordability needs to be addressed, specifically the cost of housing and food. She said the NDP aims to ensure that working one job will be enough to afford expenses, rather than having to work two or more jobs.
Right now, “having two jobs at minimum wage is not enough,” so the NDP wants to raise the minimum wage, as well as push for rental caps and grocery caps to keep people from having to spend all their finances on rent and prevent overpriced food.
For Manchen, he said federal spending is “far out of control” and needs to be addressed, He criticized recent federal budget allocations, and alleged $171 million is being spent “for all kinds of silly things.”
He claimed the federal government also spent $11 billion on gender initiatives in Africa through Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) in the past decade.
Manchen argued that money would have been better spent on domestic projects. He also claimed the Trudeau government increased Canada’s debt from $600 billion to $1.2 trillion within 10 years.
Speirs agreed the cost of living and federal spending needs to be addressed. He also argued that the country needs to re-evaluate its values around life and community support.
Speirs claimed taxpayer dollars currently fund abortions, which he believes should be redirected to areas like palliative care and support for pregnant mothers. “If we stop abortions, we're going to save a lot of money there.”
Becoming more food dependent
Speaking about food independence in Canada, all three candidates agreed that the country already has strong capacity for self-sufficiency, and that more could be done to reduce reliance on imports but offered different paths forward.
Manchen criticized supply management, such as in the dairy industry having a "cartel," and suggested phasing it out by compensating producers and transitioning to a freer market system, like the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board.
Speirs suggested expanding greenhouse production to grow produce that is difficult to grow in Canada, like bananas and peppers, and emphasized the need to "buy Canadian" more consistently.
Among Bissonnette’s suggestions was a mutual-aid model built around community-led agriculture. She pointed to initiatives like Sustainable Food Systems and greenhouse co-ops, where 70 per cent of produce goes back to the people working at the greenhouses, while 30 per cent are sold for profit.
“It's a lot more sustainable to make your food in your home or in your home community and not have to waste gas for transport.”
Support for small businesses
Speirs said his personal approach to supporting small businesses is to shop locally rather than buy from major corporations. As a politician, however, he expressed uncertainty about what he could do beyond that, citing Canada’s national debt as a major obstacle to increased government spending or subsidies for small businesses.
Manchen called for fewer regulations, particularly around local food production and trade, citing waste from size-based crop standards as an example. He also supported expanding initiatives that allow for more accessible sale of homemade products.
Bissonnette argued that large corporations should be taxed more to free up funding for small businesses and rural services.
Boosting the economy
Also on the topic of economy, all three candidates also suggested ways to boost inter-provincial and local trades to boost the economy. Bissonnette suggested investment in long-term infrastructure like high-speed rails to help boost rural economies, and ensure people are paid with living wages. “When people have money in their pockets, they can spend money.”
Manchen said money is generated by creating product or producing more resources, suggesting more needs to be done to take advantage of Canada’s natural resources to first benefit Canadians. If enough resources are produced, then Canada may worry about international trades.
The candidates also agreed that more investment in tourism is necessary in the Lakeland to generate more money.
Catch and release
The candidates also discussed crime, all agreeing that a catch-and-release system is not benefiting the country.
Manchen argued for a three-strike rule for repeat offenders - and for people to have the ability to defend themselves, their families, and properties.
Bissonnette said the justice system fails to provide support for incarcerated individuals, such as mental health supports. People go to jail and are given no further support, then thrown back into the streets and told to survive on their own also without proper support – leading to a cycle of crime. “It’s investing in human rights and defining what human rights are,” she says.
Speirs said, “the guilty deserves to be punished quickly,” believing that releasing criminals serves them no favour, nor does it serve society. But he agrees mental health support is necessary for people who commits crime due to dependencies on drugs. “They need hope.”
Absent candidates
Roughly 50 members of the community were present during the forum, which was also streamed online.
Manchen, during his opening statement, criticized Stubbs for being absent. He said there are so many issues facing Canadians and the opposition party (Conservatives) is doing nothing about them.
He told Lakeland This Week that Stubbs has the right to do whatever she wants, “But it’s a disservice to the community for not being here [and] debate us on a professional level.”
