As part of our coverage leading up to the Portage-Lisgar by-election June 19th, we have provided an opportunity to each of the five candidates on the ballot to answer five questions related to issues impacting residents across the riding. Over the course of this week, we will be publishing the answers provided by the candidates, as sent to us.
Below are the answers from Green Party of Canada candidate Nic Geddert.
1. If you were to win the election, what would you do to ensure the development of sustainable, additional, water supply and treatment for the region in order to allow for further growth, both from a business/industrial and population perspective?
I would bring together the business and community leaders to develop a long term strategy for the region, and work with industry to supply the necessary infrastructure. To be clear, this should and can happen regardless of who wins the election, but I would prioritize the health of our water supply (and by extension the health of the environment and community). This would require innovations in planning and technology, understanding local and historical wisdom, and encouraging waste reduction habits to minimize the impact of industry and population on the environment. All this is just good project management with public health and the environment as stakeholders.
2. Affordable housing is a topic that is front and center around the country and in Portage Lisgar. Many are saying they cannot find a reasonable place to live. If you were to win this election, how would address this issue when in Ottawa?
Credit to the federal government, they actually have fairly decent affordable housing policy and funding framework. The challenge is creating the organizations on the ground to put this money to use in effective ways. So, most of the work needs to be done in Manitoba, to build up those organizations to meet the federal criteria, start community based non-profits to build, maintain, and manage those community assets through mechanisms like land trusts, co-op ownership, and partnerships with social work organizations to provide wrap around care for tenants in need so that supports are available to provide stability to the renting population and the housing market. I would address this in Ottawa by reporting on what we’ve done in PL (Portage-Lisgar) and asking the rest of the country to catch up.
3. If you were to win the election, what would you do to address the current skilled and unskilled labour shortage across the region, which seems most pronounced in the manufacturing, agricultural and health care sectors?
There is no unskilled labour shortage, because there is no such thing as unskilled labour (unless you count certain politicians). Employers and the job market will have to catch up with new technologies and practices that the workforce are already expecting. Each sector will require a slightly different approach, but the outcomes would require improved working conditions, better training and recruitment, and wrap around supports so that each sector can retain workers.
4. Crime is a top-of-mind issue for many residents in the riding. Considering the significant mix of rural and urban communities, policed by municipal services and RCMP, how does your party plan to address growing concerns about crimes rates across the region?
The most effective crime reduction strategies require stable and affordable housing, social services, supports for youth aging out of care, and holistic health strategies that address addictions, mental health, and historical and present traumas. Policing is not designed, and cannot accomplish crime reduction, only respond to crimes after they happen and seeks to prevent crime through fear of consequences. The care and support needed to make crime superfluous and obsolete come at a fraction of the cost of policing, and produce net benefits to society, the workforce, and safety in our communities.
A locally applied guaranteed livable income strategy would eliminate the need to commit crime for survival, safe drug policy and consumption sites would significantly reduce the instance of addictions issues, and the cascade of problems that come from addictions, and community connections would generate the sense of value and purpose that lead so many to be susceptible to a criminal life. We need to bring at risk individuals into community and provide support to overcome barriers before people enter the legal system, and care when they are leaving that system.
5. Agriculture is a significant part of the riding's economy. If you were to win the election, how do you propose to address concerns/impacts related to the Carbon Tax and the proposed fertilizer emissions reduction target of 30% by 2030?
I honestly don’t know enough of the impact of federal policy on agriculture to precisely address this, but I know enough of the processes of politics and politicians to recognize the disconnect between policy and impact.
It’s is right and accurate to have these targets, but no plan will work sustainably, nor effectively, without localized knowledge and agreements. It’s the habit of our hierarchical system of governance to impose regulation. The most effective strategy is to work bottom up, with a fierce dedication towards reducing environmental impact. Ideally we exchange a carbon tax for a carbon economy (natural impact instead of a ‘save the appearances’ scheme) and work with agriculture to subsidize technological and envirological improvements. This is another case of applying good project management and long term sustainable planning that can transition our industries to e truly green economy.