Brunelle Wants Change
By John Swartz
SUNonline/Orillia profiles candidates from each party in the forthcoming provincial election. Each candidate was asked the same set of questions. All candidates were invited to participate, however Jill Dunlop of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario did not make arrangements to meet with SUNonline/Orillia.
Dave Brunelle is the New Blue Party’s candidate. He was unable to travel to Orillia for an interview, but did submit some answers to the questions posed to all candidates. Here are his remarks, unedited except for spelling.
“I’m 6th-generation from Simcoe North, raised and currently live in Lafontaine, in the Township of Tiny. I have a Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wilfred Laurier University. I have 40 years experience in various industries, including construction and hospitality, 30 years of community coaching, and 20 years as a small landlord, all of this in the North Simcoe area. Over the past two and a half years, I represent the residents of Tiny as a member of council.”
Why stand as a candidate , and why New Blue?
“The reason why I’m running is because I, like many residents of the Simcoe North riding, became increasingly frustrated with our current provincial government’s fiscal irresponsibility, lack of integrity, disregard for accountability to constituents, and government policies driven by unelected bureaucrats, lobbyists and special interest groups. It’s time for a change in how we do politics. I am committed to bringing about that change. Elected officials must be held accountable to the people they serve and uphold their duty to listen to, and represent their constituents respectfully, transparently, and in a lawful manner.”
“In its first election in 2022, the New Blue Party became Ontario’s fifth largest political party! Since that election, there has been 7 by-elections, the New Blue had candidates in all 7 by-elections, and garnered more votes than the Green Party in 4 of the 7 by-elections. And as of today, the New Blue Party have candidates in 108 of the 124 provincial ridings in this election.”
How much more privatization of healthcare can the public take before the system breaks?
“The private healthcare system has been in place in Ontario for decades, and is here to stay. Japan, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden have integrated health systems that are successful. The system is broken because supply-demand gap across all health professions. A recent Health Canada survey report states that Canada is facing a shortage of nearly 69,000 health-care workers, and the shortages will get worse due to population growth and early retirement. We need to embrace private healthcare that focused on preventative practices to alleviate the demand on the public system.”
“Rebuilding Healthcare is another high priority for voters. New Blue Party will; Rehire the Nurses and healthcare workers fired as a result of COVID-19 mandates; Clear the backlog of procedures by offering choice in healthcare services including private healthcare options; Reallocate Funding to Healthcare from government funded “green” and “climate change” initiatives, administrative costs in the education system, and corporate and political party subsidies.”
Many national and provincial politicians, and industries want to back away from climate change measures, is this a good idea? Or a bad idea? Why?
“Good idea. Canada is not the causing climate change on a global scale, we need to demand countries that are to pay for the harm they are causing.”
“New Blue Party will Axe the Carbon Tax including the federal Liberal government’s carbon tax and the Ontario PC government’s industrial carbon tax and carbon pricing system.”
“New Blue Party will reallocate funding from government funded “green” and “climate change” initiatives, and corporate subsidies, to where the funds are needed in healthcare and education.”
Housing is still unaffordable. Why do governments not recognize the role corporate investment of ownership on a large scale and of the rental market is a prime cause and restrict their activity?
“(This is) Another example of the supply-demand gap. The supply of housing cannot catch up to the demand, creating a higher cost of living. With rising costs of housing, this creates an attractive market for all types of investors, especially corporation with more resources than the average resident.”
“Reduce Housing Costs by increasing housing supply, by supporting legislation that provides a direct route to evict tenants within 30 days of not paying rent and causing property damage. This will bring back the small landlords, and attract new ones, offering long-term rental housing.”
While immigration is a national concern, it has local effect, What is the role of the province toward integrating immigrants into society?
“Because the federal government is allowing an unprecedented amount of immigration to occur, they should be responsible for providing funding and programs to integrate immigrants.”
“New Blue supports provincial immigration control, like Quebec, including the ability to set its own immigration levels, select the economic status of immigrants, and control temporary residence admissions.”
Many people complain about the Americanization of Canadian political discourse. Many politicians adopt 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 this?
“Our two countries share several common problems, so why worry about having a different “Canadian” language to talk about these problems. Instead of listening to people who complain, let’s agree that the role of a provincial government is to de-escalate tensions between our two countries, and work together to find common ground, and restore our mutually beneficial relationship. And to also work with our federal government to secure our border to curb the influx of Fentanyl and undocumented migrants.”
The Last Word
Every candidate was invited to speak to an issue of their choosing.
“Reducing Cost Of Living is by far the number one issue for Ontario voters. New Blue Party will; Provide Tax Relief by cutting Ontario’s HST from 13% to 10% with long term objective of scrapping the HST entirely; Axe the Carbon Tax including the federal Liberal government’s carbon tax and the Ontario PC government’s industrial carbon tax and carbon pricing system.”
“Apathy plays a role in every election; what is the importance of having all voters turn out so their vote is counted, and what will you do to try to reach those voters into participating with their ballots this election?”
“What needs to be done to reduce apathy is to restore voter integrity and public trust. The people of Ontario are sick and tired of the usual rhetoric during an election from the four established parties telling people what they want to hear, and doing what they want to do to stay elected by spending their way out of it, which leads to higher taxes.”
“The New Blue Party of Ontario was formed to offer the solutions necessary to ensure our province’s future is one of hope, opportunity, and prosperity, by renewing accountability, promoting meritocracy, providing tax relief and growing Ontario’s economy.”
(Image Supplied) Main: New Blue Party candidate Dave Brunelle.
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