Which of your competitors do you expect to pose the biggest challenge to your candidacy? Why? What makes you the most desirable of all candidates running in the riding? The incumbent is the biggest challenge, aside from the voters themselves. The incumbent has the immeidate benefit of name recognition and a pretty good track record in office. She's done a pretty good job, just for the wrong party, in my opinion. The voters are a challenge because some of the policies that the Green Party are suggesting seem strange and radical. In some ways, they are: comprehensive, inclusive, and holistic. We don't compartmentalize policy. Transit=climate change=health=economy. They're all connected. And that's what makes any Green candidate the best option: we're thinking of the whole picture, now and tomorrow. I understand this city. I understand this province. I understand the challenges we will face, and I'm prepared to take step NOW to address them. I'm ready to educate the other politicians in Queen's Park, and tell them what I think needs to be done. I also know that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and we're going to have to pay up, sooner or later. i don't want my daughter to have to pick up the tab. What do you feel are the three most important issues to voters in your riding? Are these the same top three issues that are most important to you? What would you do to address these issues? In London, as with most communities in Ontario, the three most improtant issues to voters will be health care, health care, and health care. I agree that health care is important, but it can't be addressed in isolation. We need to make sure we have enough doctors. We must also provide doctors with support from other health care professionals. We must address quality of life issues for health care workers, and the populace at large. We must clean up our air, water and soil. We must produce our food locally. We must plan our communities to encourage walking and transit use (more exercise means less obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more transit means less air pollution and fewer respirator illnesses). We must discourage sprawl. We must address poverty. We must provide shelter. To look at any one issue in isolation misses the point: our society is interconnected, and our government policy should be, too. Are the property taxes in your riding at a fair level for the amount of services received in the municipality? Currently, no, because existing taxpayers must not only pay for services, but must also subsidize new development, expanded infrastructure, and repairing our existing infrastructure, in addition to providing a whole host of services downloaded by the previous government and not yet uploaded. And since property taxes are really the only way municipalities can raise funds, they must continually increase to cover costs. However, uploading services in some way only reduces a municpal tax to replace it with a provincial one, so the taxpayer doesn't see it as plainly, but still pays it. We must allow municipalities to stop subsidizing new development, and develop new revenue streams ot cover costs, while we upload some services to give them a little wiggle room. Municipalities must be able to choose their destinies. How can the province lead the way in stimulating job creation? What we do currently, propping up failing industries, is a short term solution. Investing in sustainable inustries : green power, green manufacturing, manufacturing based on renewable resources, sustainable farming, will go much farther. So will encouraging more local economies. Our global economy is remarkable centralized. A part is made here, another in Kentucky, and another in Hokkaido. The whole thing is assembled in Michigan. THis means fewer jobs. But if things were built locally, and designed locally, and sold locally, and repaired locally, and recycled locally, then we would have a much more vibrant, interesting, sustainable and flexible economy. That means more jobs. Of the decisions made by Ontario's 38th Legislative Assembly, which was the most beneficial to your this electoral district? To the province as a whole? Which was least beneficial, or even harmful, to your this riding? To the province as a whole? The best decision was to replace lost funding for health care and education. We've taken steps that will help repair these vital social services. More must be done, but immediate funding was desperately needed. This helped my riding and every other riding in Ontario. The worst decision was to not close the coal fired generating plants. They are responsible for about a quarter of Ontario's GHG emissions, and climate change is going to cost us a hell of a lot, and not just in economic terms. This costs all Ontarians, even those not born yet. If we had focussed on conservation, rather than nuclear, would have been able to get those plants shut down, and been well on our way to meeting our Kyoto targets. External links Brett McKenzie, official site Elections Ontario Category:North America Category:Canada Category:Ontario Category:Politics and conflicts Category:Elections Category:Elections in Canada Category:2007 Ontario provincial e
Which of your competitors do you expect to pose the biggest challenge to your candidacy? Why? What makes you the most desirable of all candidates running in the riding? The incumbent is the biggest challenge, aside from the voters themselves. The incumbent has the immediate benefit of name recognition and a pretty good track record in office. She's done a pretty good job, just for the wrong party, in my opinion. The voters are a challenge because some of the policies that the Green Party are suggesting seem strange and radical. In some ways, they are: comprehensive, inclusive, and holistic. We don't compartmentalize policy. Transit=climate change=health=economy. They're all connected. And that's what makes any Green candidate the best option: we're thinking of the whole picture, now and tomorrow. I understand this city. I understand this province. I understand the challenges we will face, and I'm prepared to take step NOW to address them. I'm ready to educate the other politicians in Queen's Park, and tell them what I think needs to be done. I also know that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and we're going to have to pay up, sooner or later. i don't want my daughter to have to pick up the tab. What do you feel are the three most important issues to voters in your riding? Are these the same top three issues that are most important to you? What would you do to address these issues? In London, as with most communities in Ontario, the three most important issues to voters will be health care, health care, and health care. I agree that health care is important, but it can't be addressed in isolation. We need to make sure we have enough doctors. We must also provide doctors with support from other health care professionals. We must address quality of life issues for health care workers, and the populace at large. We must clean up our air, water and soil. We must produce our food locally. We must plan our communities to encourage walking and transit use (more exercise means less obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more transit means less air pollution and fewer respirator illnesses). We must discourage sprawl. We must address poverty. We must provide shelter. To look at any one issue in isolation misses the point: our society is interconnected, and our government policy should be, too. Are the property taxes in your riding at a fair level for the amount of services received in the municipality? Currently, no, because existing taxpayers must not only pay for services, but must also subsidize new development, expanded infrastructure, and repairing our existing infrastructure, in addition to providing a whole host of services downloaded by the previous government and not yet uploaded. And since property taxes are really the only way municipalities can raise funds, they must continually increase to cover costs. However, uploading services in some way only reduces a municipal tax to replace it with a provincial one, so the taxpayer doesn't see it as plainly, but still pays it. We must allow municipalities to stop subsidizing new development, and develop new revenue streams ot cover costs, while we upload some services to give them a little wiggle room. Municipalities must be able to choose their destinies. How can the province lead the way in stimulating job creation? What we do currently, propping up failing industries, is a short term solution. Investing in sustainable industries : green power, green manufacturing, manufacturing based on renewable resources, sustainable farming, will go much farther. So will encouraging more local economies. Our global economy is remarkable centralized. A part is made here, another in Kentucky, and another in Hokkaido. The whole thing is assembled in Michigan. This means fewer jobs. But if things were built locally, and designed locally, and sold locally, and repaired locally, and recycled locally, then we would have a much more vibrant, interesting, sustainable and flexible economy. That means more jobs. Of the decisions made by Ontario's 38th Legislative Assembly, which was the most beneficial to your this electoral district? To the province as a whole? Which was least beneficial, or even harmful, to your this riding? To the province as a whole? The best decision was to replace lost funding for health care and education. We've taken steps that will help repair these vital social services. More must be done, but immediate funding was desperately needed. This helped my riding and every other riding in Ontario. The worst decision was to not close the coal fired generating plants. They are responsible for about a quarter of Ontario's GHG emissions, and climate change is going to cost us a hell of a lot, and not just in economic terms. This costs all Ontarians, even those not born yet. If we had focussed on conservation, rather than nuclear, would have been able to get those plants shut down, and been well on our way to meeting our Kyoto targets. 
R
immeidate
immediate
R
improtant
important
R
municpal
municipal
R
inustries
industries
R
THis
This
D
External links Brett McKenzie, official site Elections Ontario
D
Category:North America Category:Canada Category:Ontario Category:Politics and conflicts Category:Elections Category:Elections in Canada Category:2007 Ontario provincial e