With Canadians heading to the polls on Sept. 20, 2021, the NOW has sent Q&As to each candidate listed in Burnaby South and Burnaby North-Seymour.
The same Q&A has been sent to each candidate and answers have not been changed or altered.
BURNABY SOUTH - LIKKY LAVJI - CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA
Question: What are your thoughts on the TMX pipeline project? Should it go ahead? Why or why not?
Answer: When I talk to people in the community, they don’t ask me about the pipeline. Trudeau decided to buy and build it before the pandemic, before the recession, before inflation. Today, people in Burnaby South ask me about how I will help them pay their bills, keep their businesses open, and feed their children.
If you would like to know about how a Conservative Government will reduce your cell phone bills, your grocery bills, and your banking fees go to Conservative.ca/plan to download a copy of the Canada Recovery Plan and discover how a government led by Erin O’Toole will secure the future for ALL Canadians.
Question: What are your views on a snap election being called two years since 2019 and during the start of a 4th COVID-19 wave in Canada?
Answer: It was unnecessary, especially in Burnaby-South where we had two elections in 2019. It was irresponsible of Justin Trudeau to shut down Parliament and distract the Canadian people when the country was facing a fourth wave due to the Delta Variant, wildfires in BC, drought in the West, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, which Erin O’Toole had requested the Government act upon months before Justin Trudeau sent a single plane. When the last plane left, Canada had evacuated 3,700 people who risked their lives to help Canadian soldiers and left over 1000 Canadians behind. Justin Trudeau closed the embassy right after he promised to help 20 000 refugees. His failure to help our allies makes me angry and I want to ensure this does not happen again.
BC lost two communities and Trudeau did not visit or acknowledge their loss until after Erin O’Toole put out a heartfelt message on traditional and social media for those who were suffering in BC. Where was Jagmeet Singh? Not in BC. Not in Burnaby – South. I was reaching out on social media to talk about these issues, while busy with the countless demands of campaigning during an unnecessary election because these events were affecting the people I care about, in the Province I live in, and the community I am rooted to. We need a local voice to bring these issues to our leaders, so they know what is happening in our corner of Canada.
Question: What are your views on climate change? What will you/your party do to address the worsening situation?
Answer: Climate change is REAL. We need to continue to work towards the commitment of the Paris Climate Agreement AND ensure good paying jobs are created, while supporting today’s economic reality. We can create jobs while we move towards a greener infrastructure.
The Canada Recovery Plan lays out innovative ideas to reduce our carbon footprint and create good paying jobs at the same time. Erin O’Toole will create tax breaks for companies who patent innovative new technology for green energy. The initiative will give tech companies in certain sectors the lowest tax rates worldwide to encourage them to remain in Canada and create more good paying jobs for Canadians. It’s time for the Canadian Government to ensure Canadian ideas STAY in Canada.
We will add carbon tariffs to countries like China who have poor environmental records to encourage Canadian consumers to buy goods from countries with better environmental and human rights records. To facilitate this, Erin O’Toole will reach out to Australia, New Zealand, and the UK to create Free Trade agreements.
The direct environmental and climate initiatives in the Canada Recovery Plan call for a repeal of Trudeau’s Carbon Tax in favour of a Low Carbon Savings Account to put the money into the pockets of Canadians so they can afford to purchase “Green” low carbon solutions. We will create policies for the automotive industry to build Zero Emission Vehicles. The Canada Recovery Plan has more innovative ideas to help all Canadians reduce their carbon footprint.
Question: What do you currently think of the federal government’s COVID-19 response?
Answer: We were unprepared for a pandemic and Justin Trudeau made mistakes. He waited too long to secure vaccines for Canadians because he wanted to purchase vaccines from China and when the deal fell through, we had to wait for our orders from Pfizer and Moderna to be filled.
When the pandemic hit, Canada saw the unemployment rate soar from 5.7 per cent to 13.7 per cent and The Conservatives agreed with helping Canadians stay afloat, however it is now time to get people back to work. Canada’s Conservatives will introduce the Canada Job Surge Plan to pay 25% - 50% of the salary of net new hires for six months after the CEWS expires. It is time to recover from the recession and get inflation under control.
Question: What will you and your party do to address the housing situation, especially in the Metro Vancouver area?
Answer: A Conservative Government will build one million homes in the next three years to make housing affordable. We will do this by converting 15% of Federal owned buildings into affordable housing. Erin O’Toole announced that he will partner with provincial and municipal governments to build public transit infrastructure expanding the SkyTrain to Langley and building the Millennial line out to UBC. When these public transit projects are built, high density housing will be developed near the SkyTrain stations. This will increase the supply of homes in the area and reduce the number of cars on the road as commuters from Langley, Surrey, and those going to UBC will now be able to travel conveniently on public transit powered by electricity instead of fuel.
To combat speculation, we will ban non-resident foreign buyers from purchasing properties in Canada and create an investment tool to invest in purpose built affordable rental housing projects instead of purchasing houses that stand empty and unmaintained. To facilitate foreign investment in Canadian Real Estate, we will create an investment tool enabling foreign and domestic investors to invest in purpose built affordable rental housing projects. To help domestic investors continue to provide our cities with rental units, we will defer capital gains taxes on the sale of rental properties when re-investing in real estate.
Conservatives will implement the recommendations of the Cullen Commission on the Federal level to combat money laundering and create a national beneficial owner database so criminals cannot hide behind shell companies.
Unlike Justin Trudeau, Erin O’Toole will never tax the sale of your principal residence. For most people in the area, their home is their main investment, and they are counting on that equity for their retirement. We believe in keeping that equity in your pockets and not the government’s coffers.
Question: Why should voters vote for you? What would you say to those undecided and debating not voting at all?
Answer: I came to Canada as a refugee from Uganda at the age of 10 and grew up in the Burnaby area. My family, friends, clients, and place of worship are in Burnaby-South. I hear about issues in the area, and I want to help by taking our local concerns to Ottawa, hopefully as a member of the Governing party, so I can make a real difference and contribution to the community.
I want to find ways to improve the local economy to put dollars in the pockets of small to medium sized business owners, so they can afford to keep hard working employees by paying them a decent wage, so everyone can have a better quality of life in Burnaby-South.
I am impressed by Erin O’Toole because he has created a document, the Canada Recovery Plan, which Canadians can hold him accountable to. It is not just a list of empty promises, it is a detailed plan of action we can measure our progress against. Accountability is at the core of their platform, and they have a plan to keep the future leaders of our country accountable to ethical behaviours. Trudeau has proven Canada’s laws are not strong enough to deter unethical and illegal behaviour by a Prime Minister and our plan is to put real consequences in place for those in power.
Erin O’Toole’s Conservative Party stands for a strong economic future, protection of an individual’s human rights, real consequences for those in power, a well-funded Universal Health Program, less interference within Provincial jurisdictions, and an affordable cost of living for all Canadians. To discover more about his plan, download your copy at conservative.ca/plan
