We asked readers "What matters to you in the upcoming federal election?" We sent the questions to all candidates running on Sept. 11 and have printed their responses, unedited, in the order we received them. We did not receive responses from Rudolf Neumayer, People's Party of Canada, or Daniel Patrick Grogan, Rhinoceros Party.
What is your party’s position on guaranteed annual income as a means to reduce poverty?
What is your party’s position on guaranteed annual income as a means to reduce poverty?
Tim Thompson, Green Party of Canada: Unlike the other parties, the Greens do not support big corporate welfare and loopholes that allow the wealthy to dodge taxes and collect government handouts. We believe the wealthy should pay their fair share of taxes, and that money should be used to help hardworking Canadians get ahead. We support a guaranteed basic income that will lift people out of poverty and put them back to work. A basic income creates more jobs and boosts local economies. We know that New Brunswickers are hardworking people, and a guaranteed basic income would allow people to meet their basic needs while putting money back into local economies, rather than the pockets of wealthy transnational corporations.
Rob Moore, Conservative Party of Canada: We provide a guaranteed annual income to seniors in Canada through the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Old Age Security. Our plan to help New Brunswickers get ahead is to lower taxes, scrap the carbon tax, take the GST off home heating and make parental leave benefits tax free. For working age people, we need to let people keep more of the money they earn. We also need to encourage job creation and invest in infrastructure so employment is available in our region.
John Evans, National Citizens Alliance: First and foremost, poverty will never be totally eradicated from the earth. NCA identifies five (5) core areas of poverty. Pertaining to federal jurisdiction. 1) Aboriginal Affairs 2) Child Care 3) Income (including annual income, minimum wage, welfare and related taxation) 4) Food insecurity 5) Social Services (including immigration/integration services). NCA has a number of policies such as Employment, Economic Growth, Health Care and Food security that overlap the issue of poverty. NCA believes equal and fairness for all Canadians and ensuring middle- and lower-income individuals and families have equal and fair opportunity.
Alaina Lockhart, Liberal Party of Canada: I believe that all Canadians want to see poverty eradicated in our communities. It is something we have taken concrete action on over the past four years with policies to improve the quality of life for Canadians at all stages of life. These policies and benefits are all part of Canada’s first ever National Poverty Reduction Strategy that includes the Canada Child Benefit, the strengthening of CPP, GIS and OAS and the Canada Workers Benefit. These investments have already cut poverty rates in half helping lift more than 825,000 Canadians out of poverty including 31,000 New Brunswickers. We know there is still more work to do and are committed to staying focused on investments in Canadians so that everyone has a fair chance of success.
Rob Moore, Conservative Party of Canada: We provide a guaranteed annual income to seniors in Canada through the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Old Age Security. Our plan to help New Brunswickers get ahead is to lower taxes, scrap the carbon tax, take the GST off home heating and make parental leave benefits tax free. For working age people, we need to let people keep more of the money they earn. We also need to encourage job creation and invest in infrastructure so employment is available in our region.
John Evans, National Citizens Alliance: First and foremost, poverty will never be totally eradicated from the earth. NCA identifies five (5) core areas of poverty. Pertaining to federal jurisdiction. 1) Aboriginal Affairs 2) Child Care 3) Income (including annual income, minimum wage, welfare and related taxation) 4) Food insecurity 5) Social Services (including immigration/integration services). NCA has a number of policies such as Employment, Economic Growth, Health Care and Food security that overlap the issue of poverty. NCA believes equal and fairness for all Canadians and ensuring middle- and lower-income individuals and families have equal and fair opportunity.
Alaina Lockhart, Liberal Party of Canada: I believe that all Canadians want to see poverty eradicated in our communities. It is something we have taken concrete action on over the past four years with policies to improve the quality of life for Canadians at all stages of life. These policies and benefits are all part of Canada’s first ever National Poverty Reduction Strategy that includes the Canada Child Benefit, the strengthening of CPP, GIS and OAS and the Canada Workers Benefit. These investments have already cut poverty rates in half helping lift more than 825,000 Canadians out of poverty including 31,000 New Brunswickers. We know there is still more work to do and are committed to staying focused on investments in Canadians so that everyone has a fair chance of success.
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