2015 Federal Election: Your Green Party Candidate Brent Bouteiller

This is the first in a series of four articles PuslinchToday is publishing to help you better understand the candidates vying for your vote in the upcoming federal election. All four national parties were contacted and given the opportunity to provide an article and photo – these will be printed here completely unedited, one per week every Monday until October 5th. We welcome your comments at the bottom of this page.

-Kevin Johnson, Co-Editor, PuslinchToday.ca

Dear Citizens of Puslinch:

My name is Brent Bouteiller and I am your Green Party Candidate.

My wife, Eliza, and I have lived in Centre Wellington for 17 years. We have two girls who are off to university this year for the first time. As a result, I understand the needs of families.

For the past 25 years, I provided consulting engineering services regarding roads, bridges, traffic, parking, storm sewers, watermains and sanitary sewers to municipalities. I understand the infrastructure needs of the governments of this Country.

From 2003 to 2009, I served on the Board of Directors of the Community Resource Centre in Fergus where I was President for 2 years. The Centre provides outreach to people in need with well-executed programs that help them get their feet back on the ground. Consequently, I have come to understand the struggles and needs of people in our community.

The Conservatives like to say that they are good stewards of our money and the economy. I disagree. The Liberals handed them a surplus in 2006. The Conservatives began depleting the surplus immediately. They ran deficits for the last 7 years adding $150 billion to Canada’s debt. Our unemployment rate is too high. It just nudged up to 7% while the US rate has reduced to 5.1%

The conservatives tried to put all our economic “eggs in one basket”, the oil sands. Saudi Arabia decided to increase their oil production. This has reduced the cost of a barrel of oil to below $50. Canada can’t sell bitumen at that price and make a profit. This took the rug out from under the Harper economic plan. The Conservatives have been poor stewards of our money and our economy.

Our Vision:

The Greens want to provide a more diversified economy based upon alternative energy production and innovative new technologies, products and services. I believe we need to develop innovation hubs across the country including right here in Wellington Halton Hills.

These hubs would bring together governments, businesses and educational institutions to foster the growth of these new technologies, products and services. One area where we could innovate is in ecology monitoring. Continued innovation would provide a steady stream of new, high quality jobs.

Across Canada, municipal infrastructure is crumbling. Greens would provide consistent funding for public infrastructure which would also create jobs.

Greens would work toward a Guaranteed Livable Income that would help to alleviate poverty and also reduce health care costs dramatically.

Greens would provide a National Pharmacare Program. Most countries with universal health care have Pharmacare programs. We would develop national standards for home care and long term care programs since they are more efficient and affordable than long hospital stays and offer respectful options to our elderly.

Greens care about the environment and the economy. You can’t have a strong economy without a healthy environment.

On October 19, please Vote Green. Elect Brent Bouteiller.

For a Canada that works together.

See www.greenparty.ca for all our fully costed policies.

Thank you.