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 does your party plan to steer the country back to physical and economic health?
Liberal candidate Greg Springate:
During this pandemic, we learned critical lessons about the health-care system, especially in terms of long-term care for seniors. With my Liberal colleagues, I am committed to our plan to train 50,000 new personal support workers and ensure they are paid appropriately for their efforts. The Liberal proposal to double the Home Accessibility Tax Credit will help those seniors who wish to stay in their homes longer. Long-term economic health means paying attention to small businesses, and I will work to ensure that they can continue to access the support they need to recover from COVID-19.
People's Party of Canada candidate Brigitte Cecelia:
We are very disciplined in our platforms for all Canadians. The PPC is the only federal party whose priority is to tackle the debt, to stop inflation caused by injecting fiat currency, and maintain a smaller and accountable government for the taxpayer.
Conservative incumbent Michael Cooper:
Conservatives have a plan to recover the one million jobs lost during the pandemic. The plan includes the Canada Job Surge Plan to pay up to 50 per cent of the salary of new hires for six months; the Canada Investment Accelerator, providing a five-per-cent investment tax credit for any capital investment; the Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit, providing a 25-per-cent tax credit on investments up to $100,000 made to small businesses; and the Main Street Business Loan of up to $200,000 to help small- and medium-sized businesses in hard-hit sectors, including retail and hospitality.
New Democratic Party candidate Kathleen Mpulubusi:
The pandemic has given us an opportunity to rebuild our economy in a fair and equitable way that will benefit everyone, not just the ultra-rich and big corporations. The NDP will rebuild our economy and support Canadians by implementing a wealth tax and excess profit tax to ensure that the ultra-rich pay their fair share; investing revenue from those taxes in services that Canadians need, like pharmacare, affordable housing, and child care; creating one million green jobs that help rebuild local economies and create green infrastructure; and extending pandemic supports until the pandemic is over and implementing permanent paid sick leave.
