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Candidate questions: CARMEN LEMIEUX - LIBERAL

Editor’s note : The Journal invited the six local candidates in the federal election to participate in a Q&A on issues. The answers of the five who participated are presented this week, in alphabetical order.
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Carmen Lemieux

Editor’s note: The Journal invited the six local candidates in the federal election to participate in a Q&A on issues. The answers of the five who participated are presented this week, in alphabetical order. People’s Party of Canada candidate Brian Everaert did not respond.

1 – What do you see as the most pressing issue in Sarnia-Lambton right now, and why?

 The most pressing issue that I see is the lack of affordable housing, which predominantly affects youth and seniors. I hear about this at the doors, I see homeless people in my neighbourhood, and it is heartbreaking. I worked hard to retain affordable housing in the downtown core of Sarnia. With a group of fellow citizens we won our case at the OMB to prevent the rezoning and demolition of homes in Sarnia’s core. There is a National Housing strategy, but we haven’t seen that much of it in Sarnia-Lambton and I want to work with our community and in Ottawa to change that.

2 - Do you believe climate change is caused by human activity? And what should Canada do about it?

Climate change is definitely caused by human activity. The science is clear, the evidence is clear, and Canadians are clear having witnessed the severity and frequency of storms, wildfires, floods, and heatwaves in the last 20 years. No issue is more important to our future and I am proud of the Liberal Party’s Climate Action Incentive, which puts a price on pollution. We pay a modest price of 4 cents a litre and we get a rebate that grows each year. Our plan also supports energy-efficient buildings and invests in better public transit. The Liberal government has taken action to ban single-use plastics by 2021. Our party has shown leadership and is the only party with a real plan, while the Conservatives have vowed to destroy it.

3 - Residents know Sarnia is in the grip of a serious addiction problem. Any solutions?

As a principal I got to know the challenges that affect families, from poverty and addictions to mental health and stress. I worked hard to connect families to services in our community. As an MP I would work hard to advocate for funding for these local agencies. I am proud to say that the Liberal government negotiated a $1.98 billion agreement with the provinces specifically for community-based health and addiction services and if elected Liberals will invest an additional $6 billion to support stronger public health. 

4 – Despite a robust economy, none of the major parties are promising to balance the government’s books in the next four years. Is that a mistake?

 Not at all. Governments have a choice to invest in the economy or cut services like health, training/education or environmental programs. What counts is the debt-to-GDP ratio, growth in the economy, and overall ability to meet debt/bond obligations. The Liberal program invests in infrastructure and in the future of Canada. The bond services have agreed that our plan resulted in: 1. growth in our economy, 2. lowering of future debt-to-GDP ratios, 3. positive returns from our infrastructure investments. Bond rating services like Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s examine government budgets and place ratings on the ability to repay debt. Our rating is AAA. As a retired principal, I can tell you that there is no better report card!

5 - Sarnia-Lambton’s economy rests heavily on the oil and gas industry. How should this community position itself in a world moving away from fossil fuels?

We are already doing it. The petrochemical industry will be the heart of our economy for years and that is why I support the Liberal party’s balanced approach that respects our workers while investing in research and innovation so that we can be leaders in clean energy and biochemicals. Here in Sarnia-Lambton we have benefitted from that support for projects like the Nova expansion, Bio-Industrial Innovation, Lambton College and the recent Woodland Biofuels plant. Justin Trudeau has announced that money made from the gas and oil industry will be used to transition to clean energy projects. Pollution is no longer free, and Canadians have created more than 1.1 million new jobs since 2015.


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