Editor's note: Ahead of the Sept. 20 Federal Election, BradfordToday has contacted all of the candidates in the York-Simcoe riding with five questions related to the local opioid crisis, COVID-19 vaccine passports, Truth and Reconcilliation Commission recommendations, climate change, and affordable housing. The following answers were received from Conservative candidate Scot Davidson. More candidate Q-and-A's can be found on our Canada Votes 2021 page.
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1. For the past several years, the region has had a devastating drug crisis, one of the worst in the province. How do you think the opioid problem should be addressed and what is your stance on the proposed supervised consumption site (SCS) here in the city?
While I can’t speak to the specific situation in Barrie, the opioid crisis is also an urgent health crisis here in York-Simcoe, and across the country. To help those struggling with addiction and save lives, Canada’s Conservatives will:
▪ Invest $325 million over the next three year to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and build 50 recovery community centres across the country.
▪ Enhance the delivery of culturally appropriate addiction treatment and prevention services in First Nations communities with high needs.
▪ Provide $1 billion over five years to boost funding for Indigenous mental health and drug treatment programs.
▪ Partner with the provinces to ensure that Naloxone kits are available for free across Canada.
▪ Reorient the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy towards ensuring that every person struggling with addiction has the opportunity to recover.
2. As we brace for a fourth wave of COVID-19 and a more aggressive delta variant, many are suggesting Canada should embrace a vaccine passport. What is your view on this?
Canadians have the right to make their own health choices.
Conservatives support a streamlined system that helps Canadians verify their vaccine status when travelling abroad, but ultimately, it’s up to individual foreign governments to establish vaccination rules for travellers.
Domestically, A Conservative government will require unvaccinated Canadian passengers to present a recent negative test result or pass a rapid test before getting on a bus, train, plane, or ship. We will also require federal public servants who aren’t vaccinated to pass a daily rapid test.
I encourage everyone who is able to get vaccinated, as they are the safest and most effective tool to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, we must also respect the health choices of all Canadians and provide rapid testing to protect our most vulnerable.
3. We are a rich country in many ways, but many Indigenous reserves still don't have clean drinking water. The tragedy of residential schools has ripped open the hurt and trauma many of our Indigenous families have felt for generations. Many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations remain unheeded. How would you address these issues and help heal these wounds?
I am grateful for my relationship with our local First Nations, the Chippewas of Georgina Island through my wife and son, and I look forward to continuing working with Chief Donna Big Canoe and the rest of the community as we pursue meaningful reconciliation and address the various areas where more progress must be made, including ensuring that the entire community has access to safe, reliable and clean drinking water.
I also recognize the deep sorrow and mourning that all Indigenous people and survivors of Residential Schools are experiencing. Conservatives have responded to this tragedy by pledging to:
▪ develop a comprehensive plan to implement the T&R Commission Calls to Action 71-76;
▪ fund an investigation at all former residential schools where unmarked graves may exist;
▪ ensure that proper resources are allocated for communities to reinter, commemorate, and honour any individuals discovered, according to the wishes of their next of kin; and
▪ develop a detailed and thorough set of resources to educate all Canadians on the history of residential schools in Canada.
Indigenous issues are a top priority for Canada’s Conservatives and we will demonstrate our enduring commitment through our actions.
4. Recently, a major scientific report warned of increasingly extreme heat waves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade. Scientists say it’s a "code red for humanity." What tangible ways will your party address climate change in both the short- and long-term?
Canada’s Conservatives have a serious plan to combat climate change and protect the environment that allows us to meet our targets and reduce emissions by 2030, all while repealing Justin Trudeau’s Carbon Tax.
We will do this by encouraging the adoption of zero emission vehicles, expanding carbon capture efforts, improving building efficiencies, and investing in natural climate solutions, including forest management, hydrogen production, and liquid natural gas exports.
We will also focus on conserving our land, water, and wetlands by ending raw sewage dumping, increasing protected areas, and bringing back effective programs like the Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund.
However, Canada is already dealing with the effects of climate change: that’s why we will build resiliency and better prepare Canada for these impacts by implementing a national action plan on floods, appointing a national disaster resilience advisor, and ensure that infrastructure projects are designed to resist extreme weather events.
5. Housing is a human right, but many people in the area are not able to afford a roof over their heads. The cost of living continues to rise while the price of housing and rent skyrockets well beyond affordability for the average person. What would your party do to address this?
The Liberals’ Housing Strategy is broken. Despite committing over $70 billion, we still find ourselves in a housing crisis and too many Canadians – including in York-Simcoe - are unable to find a suitable and affordable home.
Conservatives will address the housing crisis by:
▪ Building one million homes in the next three years.
▪ Reviewing the extensive real estate portfolio of the federal government and release at least 15% for homes.
▪ Providing more Canadians with a path to homeownership by making it easier for more families to get a mortgage.
▪ Banning foreign investors from buying homes. ▪ Encouraging investment in affordable rental housing .
▪ Stabilizing the real estate market by increasing the number of homes being built.
▪ Addressing the soaring cost of renting by partnering with municipalities and the private sector to bring new rental units into the market.
These measures will make a real difference in ensuring that home ownership and renting is more affordable for families, seniors, and young people in York-Simcoe and across Canada.
For more information on MP Scot Davidson with the Conservative Party of Canada, visit his website.
