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10 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 27, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Economy top priority with Garth Turner By Steve LeBlanc OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Garth Turner looks at Ford's Oakville assembly plant and doesn't like what he sees. And Halton's Liberal incumbent MP doesn't believe the picture is going to change, at least not until federal leadership does. "This sad and shocking announcement stands to be repeated, until a more progressive government is running the country. Ontario cannot afford to be ignored in favour of the oil patch, as is currently happening," said the always outspoken and occasionally controversial politician, referring to the recent scale back of a shift at the nearby factory, resulting in the loss of another 500 jobs. This latest blow to his riding's industrial scene is at the heart of why Turner is seeking re-election, and typifies what he said he's been hearing most about from area residents since hitting the campaign trail. "What people are telling me they want to talk about, overwhelmingly, is the economy. People are quite concerned about family finances," "At the end of the day, that's going to be the central issue -- has the economy been managed well enough over the last three years? Could we have avoided this mess? I think we could have, but we're in it now, so who's got the best plan going forward?" Garth Turner, Liberals said the 59-year-old MP, a former business journalist and author, who's spent much of his time in office fighting for family tax breaks, including spearheading the push for income splitting. "At the end of the day, that's going to be the central issue -- has the economy been managed well enough over the last three years? Could we have avoided this mess? I think we could have, but we're in it now, so who's got the best plan going forward?" As far as his Liberals' Green Shift plan is concerned, Turner feels it's not nearly as complicated as Stephen Harper's Tories and politi- cal critics are making it out to be. "The whole idea is to drop taxes on people and shift taxes over to polluters, so it really has two benefits. By putting a price on pollution, we hope companies stop polluting. And secondly we need a family tax cut, and this is a way to get one of $9 billion. That's the crux of it. "It's not what the Conservatives have said, which is a tax on everything, like the GST. It's just not. It's (Green Shift plan) not that hard, but it's different, it's new and it takes people a while to absorb it." Turner says another scare tactic the Tories -- and specifically their Halton candidate -- have attempted is implying that his party would wipe out the $1,200 per year universal childcare benefit. "That's created confusion because it's a falsehood. It's just not true." The MP stressed that not only would the Liberals not scrap the benefit, but has the only comprehensive strategy for reducing poverty as a whole and child poverty specifically through their 30/50 plan. "A bunch of that money is involved in the Green Shift, which takes money from polluters and channels it back to low-income families. It's one of the things Mr. Dion is extremely passionate about. It was basically the first policy he announced after becoming leader and I have no doubt he's really committed to it." On the local front, Turner believes the federal government should indeed have a role to play in easing the growing pains of Canada's fastest-growing community. "Milton has a major infrastructure challenge. We can't build roads fast enough. Traffic has gone from acceptable to ridiculous in two or three years. We don't have enough GO trains, we don't have enough buses for public transit. With families under stress and gas prices so high, people want transportation alternatives. "What can the federal government do? ... give more money to municipalities, far more money. This is what we announced recently, it's $70 billion over 10 years. It's the most ambitious infrastructure plan announced to date and would give money specifically to communities like Milton in a number of ways." Questioned about the war in Afghanistan, the veteran politician had a very straightforward response. "It should end... at a determined date, which has now been decided is 2011. The Liberals were instrumental in actually getting that comprise to happen. Mr. Harper wanted no date, he wanted an open-ended commitment. It's been (war) pretty costly to Canadians, almost 100 soldiers and $4 billion. It's got to end." Looking back on his past term, Turner is quite proud of his commitment to accessibility -- through his popular and interactive daily See Turner page 12 Editor's note: In this issue, The Oakville Beaver presents profiles on the four candidates -- Garth Turner, Liberals, Lisa Raitt, Conservatives, Robert Wagner, NDP, and Amy Collard, Green Party, running in the Halton Riding in the Oct. 14 federal election. In the next Weekend edition of The Oakville Beaver we will look at the Oakville candidates Lisa Raitt promises strong voice for Halton By Melanie Hennessey OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Lisa Raitt's goal is clear and simple -- she wants to speak for the community on Parliament Hill to make sure local residents' needs are understood. The north Oakville woman is the Conservative flagbearer in Halton riding for the upcoming federal election, going up against Liberal incumbent Garth Turner, Green Party newcomer Amy Collard and NDP candidate Rob Wagner. While Raitt was the president and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority until she recently took an unpaid leave, these days she's busy door knocking, meeting constituents and finding out what their concerns are. She took some time to sit down and discuss the Tory platform and her positions on the hot-button issues that range from Halton's health care needs to childcare. The married mother of two said having children has given her a different perspective of the world and what's important. With that in mind, it's no surprise that the family-oriented "It's pretty simple, at the end of the day, whatever the government can do to make a family's life easier and free up more money in their pockets, I support." Lisa Raitt, Conservatives aspects of the Conservatives' plans are paramount to Raitt, like the $1,200 per year universal childcare benefit the party implemented. "Keeping those family programs intact and helping develop new ones is really important to me," she said. "It's pretty simple, at the end of the day, whatever the government can do to make a family's life easier and free up more money in their pockets, I support." She said while some people think the Conservatives haven't put any money into childcare spaces, this isn't true, since the government has been investing $250 million per year to assist provinces in creating new spots for children. The funding is in addition to the universal childcare benefit. "It's a two-prong approach," Raitt said. "It's not only about dealing with regulated childcare. It's also about helping families make better choices for themselves (with the childcare benefit). One size doesn't fit all." The Cape Breton native said she likes the plan recently put forward by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to allow the self-employed to pay into employment insurance so that they can take advantage of maternity and parental leave. "It's a very simple program that doesn't cost a lot to implement, but it does make a significant difference," she said. Locally, Raitt said one of the biggest issues right now is the need for an expansion at Milton District Hospital. While funding for the expansion will ultimately come from the Province, she said she thinks Halton's federal member of parliament has a role to play. "You (the federal MP) still have to work with the Province, and you have to have a strong voice with the Province and municipalities to build a coalition to make sure that Halton, and specifically Milton, gets its fair share," she said. It's no secret that the rest of Halton's infrastructure, like roads, are also experiencing growing pains with the population boom. To help meet infrastructure needs, Raitt said the Conservatives put together a plan called Building Canada, which directs $33 billion toward investments in infrastructure across the country. On a personal note, Raitt said infrastructure is an area she gained expertise in at the Toronto Port Authority -- experience she feels she can put to good use if elected. "This is another area where you need to have a really strong voice in Ottawa to get the infrastructure that Halton needs -- somebody who will make a great case with really good evidence," she said. "I believe I'm the person for the job because there's no learning curve." While Halton is largely affluent, homelessness is still a reality in the region. Raitt said the best way the federal government can tackle this problem is through its homelessness partnering strategy, which puts money into community-based programs to prevent and reduce homelessness. The economy has been front and centre during the election so far, particularly with the recently announced job cuts at the Ford plant in Oakville. Raitt emphasized the importance of remembering the effect the economy can have on an individual. "At the end of the day, the See Raitt page 12