As MP for the last five years, and as a City Councillor before that, I've had thousands of conversations with Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich residents - at my regular town hall meetings, on your doorsteps, in my office, and around town. I've proudly represented our community and fought for our priority issues, and I'm running for re-election because I believe we need an MP who will continue to speak strongly on behalf of our community to Ottawa, not the other way around.

• A dignified and comfortable retirement for all
• Housing and homelessness
• Environment
• Economic policy – tax fair and spend smart
• Investing in communities and families

A Dignified and Comfortable Retirement for All

First, I want to strengthen Canada’s public pension system and secure a more comfortable retirement for Canada’s seniors. I hear an awful lot of lip service paid to seniors. We recognize all that they have contributed to making Canada what it is today.

But words like “respect” and “dignity” ring hollow when a quarter-million Canadian seniors live below the poverty line.

Liberal and Conservative governments have pushed private, for-profit savings schemes where bankers and investment benefit, instead of strengthening the public pension system that is still the most reliable way to save for retirement.

New Democrats have a plan to “make poverty history” for seniors, for a fraction of the cost of the Liberals’ and Conservatives’ annual corporate tax break. And we have a plan to boost the CPP so that today’s workers can have a more secure retirement at a lower cost.

As MP, I’ve hosted public meetings to hear seniors’ concerns and feedback on options for pension reform, and I’ve held clinics to ensure that seniors are getting the benefits to which they are entitled.

The Conservatives’ approach is to appoint a seniors’ minister to pay more lip service, and to offer a small fraction of the help that’s needed. They say we can’t afford to do more. But it’s a matter of priorities.

Housing and Homelessness

I’m proud of the remarkable effort that our community’s private, public and non-profit sectors have invested in developing and implementing solutions to homelessness. But cities can’t tackle the crisis in affordable housing alone.

As MP, I’ve applied constant pressure on the federal government to include affordable housing in stimulus infrastructure funding and renewing the Homelessness Partnering Strategy.

I’ve developed and sponsored legislation to stimulate private investment in affordable housing, and to allocate $2 billion in unused Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation surplus to affordable housing projects.

I’ve supported the NDP’s National Housing Strategy, which requires the federal government to lead a joint provincial-municipal-aboriginal effort to address Canada’s housing crisis, and ensure that no Canadian must choose paying the rent or putting food on the table.

We can eradicate homelessness in our community and in our country, for a fraction of the cost of the Liberals’ and Conservatives’ annual corporate tax breaks.

Environment

In Victoria we know the value of our natural environment. We treasure our precious ocean waters, our parks, and our green spaces. Organic agriculture is thriving in our region. We do our best to tread lightly on our planet for the benefit of our grandchildren.

As MP, I mounted a three-year campaign to ban tanker traffic off the BC Coast, and last year Parliament passed a motion affirming the informal tanker ban that Conservatives denied and Liberals said was sufficient.

I’ve sponsored legislation to ban the non-essential use of cosmetic pesticides, to legally protect the green space around the Juan de Fuca Trail, and to reward transit, carpool and cycle commuters by making employer-provided green commuter benefits tax-free.

I’ve fought alongside a remarkable community alliance to halt the secretive, fast-tracked federal approval of the mega-yacht marina project, and pushed Transport Canada to make Victoria Harbour safer by finally regulating the water airport after a decade-long delay.

As Assistant Deputy Speaker, I brought MPs from all parties together with national scientists for workshops on a federal climate change strategy. I’ve shamelessly promoted the local economic and environmental benefits of green business and technology.

I’m running for re-election because our community needs a green MP in more than name.

Economic Policy - Tax Fair and Spend Smart

In this election I want to challenge the myths about New Democrats on the economy and fiscal responsibility. You hear the misleading term “tax and spend”, which I would argue better defines the Conservatives’ HST debacle, mega-prison project and $40 billion deficit.

The difference is that the NDP prefers “tax fair and spend smart”.

Across Canada, NDP provincial governments have a superior record of posting balanced budgets, unlike Liberal and Conservative provincial and federal governments. Think Trudeau, Mulroney, and now Harper.

“Tax fair” means making wealthy individuals and corporations pay their share by closing tax havens and loopholes that allow the richest 1% to pay a lower effective tax rate than middle-class families, cutting subsidies for dirty industries and stopping corporate tax giveaways that aren’t conditional on investment or job creation.

“Spend smart” means investing in our cities, the green economy, an educated workforce, public transit, and preventive approaches to health, crime and poverty – not untendered fighter jet conracts and mega-prisons. It means economic policy that creates good local jobs and supports local businesses.

As MP, I’ve constantly pointed out that as federal corporate tax rates have gone down over the last decade, our property taxes in the CRD have gone up. So have our bus fares. And our health care premiums. And our tuition fees. That’s not fair.

It’s time that our federal government start taxing fair and spending smart.

Investing in Communities and Families

When I was a Victoria City Councillor, and now as Victoria’s Member of Parliament, I’ve always focused on the needs and interests of my community and its residents.

Through my town hall meetings, door-knocking days, and meetings in my office, I’ve heard that the priorities of my constituents revolve generally around smart investment in communities and families. I hear that we’ve had enough of poorly-targeted spending based on Ottawa’s priorities and timelines.

So I’ve worked with various government Ministers to ensure our community’s priorities are known. That’s how we secured the largest federal infrastructure investment in Victoria’s history, for the Johnson Street Bridge no matter which option Victoria chose.

I’ve also worked to shift Ottawa’s priorities toward investing in families, to make life more affordable. That’s the commitment of New Democrats for the next Parliament.

We’d start by investing in making our cherished public health care system more efficient and viable – ensuring that every Canadian has access to primary care, focusing on prevention, and prioritizing cost-effective, patient-centred options like home care.

We’d ensure that college and university education is accessible to every qualified student without a crippling debt load on graduation.

And we’d finally help families access high-quality, affordable child care and early learning opportunities for their children to thrive.

Conservatives say we can’t afford it. Because they have other priorities.