Ryan Rocca: The New Kid In Town
By John Swartz
SUNonline/Orillia profiles candidates from each party in the forthcoming federal election. Each candidate was asked the same set of questions. All candidates were invited to participate, however Rebecca Elming, press secretary of the New Democratic Party said, Simcoe North candidate Melissa Lloyd, “is not available for an interview.”
Ryan Rocca is from Tiny Township. His family moved to Toronto after he finished Kindergarten, but returned frequently to the family cottage and he moved back in 2019.
The 35-year-old works as an import broker/agent.
“International vineyards, gettingt their markets into Canada and help get their products into the LCBO and other areas in Canada,” Rocca said.
He got interested in politics about the same time as everyone else, during COVID.
“Politics has definitely been in the mainstream since COVID and everyone wants to get involved and I thought this was the best way. I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines anymore. It will put me in a position where I can help people that need it the most, which is what I think what everyone wants to do when they get into politics,”
Why did he decide to represent the Liberal Party of Canada?
“If you see what’s going on the in the world with Trump and everything post-pandemic level, the Liberal Party really has the best position to help people and create a strong economy. The Liberal Party is all about helping your fellow Canadian and I believe that’s what being a Canadian is all about.”
All candidates were asked if there is something they would change about the party they are affiliated with, but in Rocca’s case change came to him.
“There’s been so much change recently because of the change of leadership. He’s the right man for the job.”
Politicians and candidates get asked a lot of questions. It’s almost embarrassing to watch one speak endlessly when it is clear they don’t have an answer instead of saying, “I don’t know,” and promising to find out. Each Candidate was asked how they inform themselves about subjects they are unfamiliar with.
“I’m not going to have all of the answers all of the time. Speaking with the constituents in the area, you start learning a lot more than you knew before, but in terms of sources I definitely have a good team that keeps me informed; trying to keep sources to mainstream and as academic as possible because there is a lot of misinformation out there sometimes and you just want to make sure your getting it from the right source,” Rocca said.
Housing
Housing is the first topic posed to candidates. The feds got out of funding housing. Now they want to get back in to support building lots of homes. SUNonline/Orillia believes this is missing the mark, an expensive home relative to ability to pay is still an expensive home. SUNonline/Orillia Also believes the heart of the matter is corporate Canada, through Real Estate Investment Trusts and Airbnb, are the prime instigators of price increases. What would candidates do to change housing from owning commodities to owning homes again?
“I tend to look at it as simple supply and demand. If you increase your supply, prices will go down eventually. The Liberal government is proposing for fist time home buyers, taking off 5% GST up to a million dollars per home, which will save people buying the homes,” Rocca said.
What about Airbnb being responsible for taking so many housing units out of the long term rental market? Should this be stopped?
“A lot of municipalities have legislation to curb the effects of Airbnb, however municipalities fall under the purview of the province. The federal government is doing everything it can to make housing more affordable.”
Immigration
While immigration is a national concern, many economists say we aren’t taking in enough people to sustain the society we created? The CPP and economic growth need working people, but the workforce is getting smaller compared to the retired class. How do candidates think our infrastructure should be rejigged to accommodate immigrants, and will they make sure immigrants are treated fairly by employers?
“Immigration is kind of close to me. My dad was not born in this country. I’ve seen firsthand the effectiveness and necessity immigration brings to Canada. I believe it’s essential for growth,” Rocca said.
Canada also has a golden opportunity regarding the situation south of the border. Many professionals are looking for a way out. What can we do to get those scientists, researchers and doctors to come to Canada?
“I’m sure there would be a benefit to fast tracking, but I do not know enough abut the specifics to make a comment.”
There is also a looming issue which is not talked about by government, climate refugees. People who study this say there will be millions of people fleeing places they can no longer live in. Should Canada be make long term plans for people needing an escape?
“I believe the Liberal government’s already taken steps to ensure sure Canada is a clean and well-fed country.”
“Immigration is part of growth in Canada. In terms of keeping our borders secure we are taking proactive measures. Our government has proposed, I think, a thousand CBSA agents and hiring extra RCMP, we are investing in drones and other technology from illegal immigration, if we have a strong border now, it will be strong in the future,”
But are we planning to respond to mass migration?
“There are many issues in terms of scalability and we are putting a strong effort towards it now. If so many people do come here they need a place to live and they need a clean environment and clean water,”
Climate Change
Many national and provincial politicians, and industries want to back away from climate change measures, motivated by ridiculous deregulation and jettisoning of environment professionals in the United States. Is this a good idea? Or a bad idea?
“We believe in keeping Canada sustainable, and that includes the environment as one of the best causes we can try to protect. We are taking more of a carrot, not a stick, approach helping people make the better choice when it comes to the environment. We are giving people the options to choose a more environmentally friendly, sustainable approach and subsidizing or providing some type of money towards that,” Rocca said.
‘We definitely won’t see any cuts. We will try our best to make sure environmentalism is at the forefront. We are keeping it sustainable in every way we can. It’s really a balancing act because we want to promote business, but nature is everything. As soon as our nature starts to die everything goes with it.”
“We are prompting going to national parks, getting out in nature, making sure you have this connection. We are giving out free passes to national parks, making more national parks, more water conservation areas and trying to connect people with nature.”
Will there be a return of the carbon tax?
“It’s possible. I don’t think it’s in the books now, we’re more focused on making life more affordable and that’s part of the balancing act between nature and what everyone really needs.”
“Our main focus is the cost of carbon output, putting those costs on industry and trying to get away from general consumers. I can’t really say anything to the specifics right now. We are still at the forefront of EV technology and we really need to start making progress because you can’t put the brakes on it or anything of that nature because we are going to get better, the air is going to be cleaner, the cars are going to be more efficient, there’s going to less overall CO2.”
One province is yammering about oil patch jobs, as if there won’t be thousands of jobs available in the green energy sector as it becomes mainstream. Is there a long-term vision for retraining for the eventuality?
“We are providing, in terms of skilled workers, support and training. In terms of the oil industry, it’s very complicated at the moment due to the stress we are receiving from down south. But, we do need to make sure we are a forefront leader in energy. We are taking precautions against oil; we want to increase our carbon capture abilities and implement these types of strategies, to make sure the air stays clean, but we also want to protect jobs.”
“The balancing act comes with issues down south and with Trump. We have to stand up to him and we have to be prepared for tariffs and protecting our borders; you always have to look at the initial costs, something that will pay out in the future; investing in these types of technologies and providing certain types of grants. The carrot approach is definitely the way our government believes it can get done,”
Americanization Of Canadian Politics
Many people complain about the Americanization of Canadian political discourse. Some politicians have adopted the tactics, the issues and the phrases. Do we not have enough of our own problems without importing them? How much responsibility does media bear for amplifying this?
“When you get down to social media aspect you rarely get the full picture. That’s why we want to see the CBC is funded and you have a strong Canadian voice giving credible information to the whole country. We do have guaranteed freedoms, but we also have a reasonableness clause more or less,”
“It’s hard to plan for the future. If you go back in 1867 they didn’t even think about airplanes or this or that. You have to leave a certain amount of wiggle room that makes the laws make sense.”
Some media are reckless in giving voice to people and groups who argue in bad faith, they create dichotomies on issues that are largely made up or don’t have two sides, and in some cases lie about events and facts. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters used to have an ethical code about truthfulness, but you won’t find one on their website now. The Canadian Association of Journalists also have one, but it is largely ignored. The CRTC regulates broadcast and cable licenses and news was required to be truthful in order to keep a license, but one hasn’t seen a report of a CRTC investigation into irresponsible news dissemination in a long time. It can also be argued our media, largely owned by American venture capitalists is part of the problem. Should there be regulation of ownership and enforcement of what is on the books?
“We are doing what we can. I believe we have some restrictions on Facebook, however implementing funding to the CBC and keeping them strong is one way to combat the issue,”
“You have seen from both sides of the political spectrum there are extremists which aren’t really the representation of everyone. I believe, not necessarily silencing them, but educating them with a strong reliable news source will benefit everyone. In terms of combating hate speech and things of that nature I know we are bringing stronger laws to protect form people doing those types of things,”
The Last Word
Candidates usually have a burning issue not anticipated by the questions posed to all. This is their chance to speak on it.
“Getting into politics is really about helping people and finding a way to do it that’s best. When people are struggling and you hear about people not being able to afford groceries and rents skyrocketing, you’ve got to combat all these issues to make Canada a better and more affordable place and provide safety nets for people.,”
“Creating a unified Canada is really what we are striving towards, making sure everyone works together and creates a strong, sustained, viable country. We are a great country and we will continue to be great.”
“Fishing is definitely a hobby of mine and one thing that is important to me is making sure you can continue to eat the fish you take out of the water.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia) Main: Ryan Rocca is the Liberal Party of Canada Simcoe North candidate.
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