Candidate profile: Liberal candidate Terry Lake

“I saw the Doug Ford Conservative government get elected in Ontario and I saw first-hand the difference that made to people in that province,” he noted, referencing his time living in Ontario as Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibilty for cannabis company Hexo Corp. “Families with autistic kids that get their funding cut. We saw cuts to public health, including funding for supervised consumption sites.”

Fighting the overdose crisis is important to Lake. As the B.C. Health Minister, he helped launch a public health emergency in 2016 that has saved lives. Lake uses the Ford government as an example of how an Andrew Scheer government would operate.

“That’s the kind of choices that I think are at play here in the federal election,” said Lake. “When I see the real progress the Liberal government has made on climate change, on First Nations reconciliation, and how they can play a role in the opioid, overdose crisis, I knew I couldn’t sit on the sidelines.”

Lake was motivated by Justin Trudeau’s commitment to protecting the environment. The Liberals are saying they’re ahead of schedule on hitting 2030 climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement in 2016.

In this riding, Lake says the forestry crisis is something he believes the Liberals can help resolve.

“While it’s mostly a provincial jurisdiction, our plan to plant two billion trees over the next 10 years will restore forest health, which is in large part how we got into this circumstance we’re in today,” he said. “We need to prioritize those forest-dependent. communities for federal and provincial infrastructure projects to keep people working.”

Lake added: “Forestry is a huge issue for people, not just outside of Kamloops but if, for instance, another mill like Adams Lake were to go down, that would mean there would be few chips to send to Domtar. Then all of a sudden, we’re worried about Domtar shutting down.”

Lake hopes to bring a Liberal voice to Ottawa for the first time in this riding since Len Marchand, Sr., who was the riding’s MP from 1968 to 1979.

“I think it’s about time. We have been 40 years since we had a strong MP that was a real strong voice at the table in Ottawa, speaking on behalf of the people of Kamloops and our region,” said Lake. “I think we have an opportunity to send that strong voice back to Ottawa.

CANDIDATE Q&A

Ahead of the 2019 federal election vote, CFJC Today reached out to each candidate in the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding for their positions on local issues. Here is Liberal candidate Terry Lake’s responses.

In your view, what is an MP’s most important responsibility?

“An MP’s most important responsibility is to understand the concerns of constituents and ensure those concerns are addressed by the federal government.”

What are the biggest issues people in our riding have? How would you address those?

“People in different situations have different concerns. Those with young children are concerned about affordability and also concerned about the health of the planet. The Canada Child Benefit has made a big difference in affordability for young families and an additional benefit for children under one year will provide more help. Climate action such as a national price on carbon, low carbon fuel standard, closing coal-fired power plants and working toward net-zero emissions by 2050 will address these concerns. For seniors, affordability is also a concern, particularly around the cost of medication. We have increased OAS and GIS and will add more CPP in survivor benefits. A national pharmacare plan will decrease costs of needed medication for all Canadians but this will particularly help seniors. Forestry is of particular concern today and the federal government needs to help forest-dependent communities by prioritizing them for infrastructure projects to keep people working and our plan to plant two billion trees over ten years will employ many in rural areas and help improve forest health.”

If you were to be elected and then appointed as a federal minister, which department do you believe you would excel in and why?

“While no one can expect to run as a candidate and be guaranteed a cabinet post I feel passionate about several areas including the environment – a provincial post I held for two years and health as I am confident more can be done to address the opioid overdose crisis at the federal level. I also like the new Ministry of Rural Economic Development as it is critical we create strategies that build resiliency in rural Canada where much of our resource wealth is found.”

How would your party address the family doctor shortage in our region?

“This is a complex issue as training physicians and nurse practitioners can take time. While progress has been made at the provincial level, I believe if the federal and provincial governments focus on this problem, the chances of success are greater. We can fund more spaces for residencies for physicians trained outside of Canada and create more spaces in medical training programs that exist today. I also believe by modifying the primary care system into team-based care will allow the physicians and nurse practitioners we have today to operate more efficiently and effectively.”

How would your party address the opioid crisis?

“While conservatives want to reduce access to safe consumption sites which have saved thousands of lives, the Liberal Party will support SCS’s and also provide funding targeted to treatment options like community-based programs as well as residential treatment programs. Problematic substance use is a chronic and recurring medical problem that should be approached with a medical lens. We need to keep people alive and provide access to treatment that is there when they are ready to receive it. We will implement national standards for access to mental health services so people can get help when they need it.”

How would your party address climate change?

“The contrast between the Liberal climate action plan and the Conservative plan is well documented by environmental scientists. The Liberal plan is a commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and experts will be called together to develop a roadmap for this ambitious goal. Meanwhile, a national price on carbon, limits on oil sands emissions, clean fuel standards, faster closure of coal-fired power and interest-free loans for home renovations to reduce energy use will help us meet our Paris targets. It is important that we transition to a low carbon economy in a way that does not destroy our economy as the result would be concern for climate action would fall behind economic worries, limiting our ability to make positive changes.”

How would your party address affordability for young families?

“In the last four years, young families have been helped by the Canada Child Benefit which has lifted 900,000 people out of poverty including 300,000 children. If re-elected a Liberal government will increase by $1,000 per year the child benefit for children under one year of age. Maternity and parental benefits will no longer be taxed and 250,000 more before and after school childcare spaces will be created and fees will be reduced by ten percent to make life easier for working parents. We will also use the government’s regulatory power to reduce cell phone charges by 25% over the next two years. A national pharmacare program will also reduce the cost of providing medication for families.”

by Ashley Legassic

Candidate profile: Liberal candidate Terry Lake

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