The 44th general federal election is well underway with only days left until the Sept. 20 vote. There are four candidates running in the St. Albert-Edmonton riding: Conservative incumbent Michael Cooper, People's Party of Canada Candidates Brigitte Cecelia, Liberal candidate Greg Springate, and New Democratic Party candidate Kathleen Mpulubusi. Each candidate was given a series of questions and up to 100 words to answer each one.
How will you be supporting marginalized communities?
Conservative incumbent Michael Cooper:
Conservatives are committed to supporting and lifting up Canadians who are disadvantaged or marginalized, including advancing reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples by providing economic opportunities, safe drinking water, and Indigenous businesses with better access to government procurement and other business opportunities; addressing the addictions crisis by creating 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and building 50 community recovery centres; and by making recovery the overarching goal; doubling the Canada Workers Benefit, putting an average of $1,000 into the pockets of the most vulnerable workers; and doubling disability support in the Canada Workers Benefit, providing a major boost to lower-income, disabled Canadians.
New Democratic Party candidate Kathleen Mpulubusi:
No one should be made to feel like they don’t belong in our country or not feel safe when being outside. Systemic discrimination is a scourge on our society that must be eliminated. The NDP will create a national action plan to dismantle far-right extremist and white supremacist organizations; adopt national standards for identifying and reporting hate crimes; counter online hate and make social media platforms legally responsible for removing hateful content; and tackle employment discrimination and the racialized and gendered wage gap.
Liberal candidate Greg Springate:
We must keep moving forward on real reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. I will work with Métis and First Nations peoples to confront the legacy of residential schools. Protecting the rights of LGBTQ2S people in our community is critical. I support reintroducing legislation against the harmful practice of conversion therapy. Women continue to face inequalities in the workplace and have been disproportionately impacted during COVID-19. That’s why removing barriers to re-entering the workforce, such as access to affordable child care, is so important to me. We must continue removing barriers to work for Canadians with disabilities.
People's Party of Canada candidate Brigitte Cecelia:
With respect and fairness, as with all Canadian communities.
