ConservativeFederal

ANDRE ROBICHAUD (Conservative Party)

The Economy/FedNor

The issue of the area economy is something Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing Conservative candidate Andre Robichaud is very familiar with, as he is also the Economic Development Officer in Kapuskasing. When asked about what to do about FedNor and its lower allocation of funding, Robichaud’s reaction was that there was apparently nothing wrong with it…

Robichaud is open to seeing a more diverse economy that would be connected to the existing resource-based sectors, particularly in agriculture. He also suggests lowering the small business tax from 11 percent to 9 percent as part of a job-creating, balanced budget plan.

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Health Care

Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing is a large riding, scattered with many small towns and communities. When it comes to health care, some patients could end up travelling far from home to receive the specific care they need. Conservative candidate Andre Robichaud says it’s not necessairily up to Ottawa to determine how exactly health care dollars are spent — that this is a provincial responsibility…

Robichaud did not mention just how much those transfer payments have been going up — a Conservative statement opposition parties and candidates have been disputing. He did say that meetings will continue between the senior levels of government on health care, but that specfic renegotiations of transfer payments to the provinces would happen when economic circumstances warrant.

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership

Negotiations regarding the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership resumed late last month. The proposed agreement has been mentioned in this campaign because of what little information has been made public — in particular, about how Canada will benefit or not from the deal. A-M-K Conservative candidate Andre Robichaud feels his region will benefit from the agreement…

One of Robichaud’s opponents — New Democrat candidate Carol Hughes — expressed concern about the deal when it came to agriculture. She feels prices for food will become too expensive, resulting in Canadians not being able to afford to feed themselves. Robichaud dismissed Hughes’ comment, calling it ‘fearmongering’ and a tactic to mislead Northerners.

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Bill C-51

The Conservative party passed the controversial Bill C-51 back in June. The Anti-Terrorism Act allows C-SIS to move in and make an arrest on anyone — without evidence, but on suspicion — for thinking or planning an act of terror. When asked about the bill, Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing Conservative Andre Robichaud defended his party’s actions regarding it…

The first use of ‘new powers’ was exercised by the Conservative party late last month. While Bill C-51 was not specifically mentioned here, Zakaria Amara’s plans to kill hundreds of Canadians through a bomb attack in Toronto resulted in a forfeiture of his citizenship. Opposition parties and candidates have offered to either review the bill in the future or repeal the legislation altogether.

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Syrian Refugee Crisis

It was announced late last month that 17 Syrians drowned after their boat sank off the Turkish coast. This is one of many instances in recent weeks of Middle East refugees attempting to leave an environment of war for a better life in Europe. A-M-K Conservative candidate Andre Robichaud was asked about the refugee crisis and the situation in the Middle East. He again defended his party’s actions — this time in the fight against ISIS and took exception to Canada becoming more like a member of the ‘War Party’…

Robichaud did sympathize with the refugee situation after the picture of 3 year old Alan Kurdi went viral, being a father himself. The Conservatives have stated that they are working on bringing in refugees from Syria and Iraq to Canada. Other parties have set short and long term targets regarding the number of Middle East refugees they would bring in.

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Energy Infrastructure/Grid Protection

With more advances towards cleaner and green energy, questions are also raised about what — if anything — is being done to protect the electrical grid. The grid continues to be something millions of North Americans depend on. But countries like Russia and China are reportedly better protected against large-scale blackouts like the one that affected parts of Ontario and the Northeast US in 2003. Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing Conservative Andre Robichaud pointed to past efforts by his party to protect our electrical system…

Other parties suggest that more money needs to be set aside for greener forms of energy. The Liberals have announced their multi-million dollar investment during this campaign, while the New Democrats mentioned a ‘climate change’ plan of their own.