Tiessen wants to paint Brandon-Souris Green

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/04/2019 (2384 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Green Party of Canada has nominated Crystal City resident Bill Tiessen as their candidate in the upcoming federal election for Brandon-Souris.

Tiessen is a former farmer but now works in bookkeeping with his wife. While he’s relatively new to the political scene — having run for city councillor in last fall’s municipal election, but ultimately losing — he said he feels there is a movement behind the party.

“I think environmental issues are foremost, and I think (Green party) policies with that sort of being a standard or a major lens of focus for the other things they promote and speak on are vital … I think the Green Party has really grown and matured in Canada; they have a really comprehensive platform.”

The riding is “smack dab in the middle of the bread basket of Canada” and so people living here have a responsibility to look after the land, he said.

“We have a responsibly to look after that, just like the people in British Columbia have a responsibility to look after the forest they have there.”

Tiessen said he is concerned with the consolidation of large-scale farms and unsustainable farming practices he sees as becoming more prevalent. Producers need to look at planting more forage and crop rotation to keep the land healthy and viable in the long term, he said.

Climate change, with more extreme weather, exacerbates the need to look after the land.

“We’ve seen a lot of blowing land and a lot of storm damage,” Tiessen said. “With climate change, we’re going to see more intense storms, rainfall, runoff happening more quickly, and if we don’t deal with those issues we’re going to deal with erosion.”

His platform is not all to do with environmental issues. Tiessen said he is also concerned with the health of local rural communities and helping them thrive.

“I’d very much like to see our kids coming back to find jobs locally, not just go away to study and then leave.”

To do so, he pointed to the Green party’s plan to retrofit all public and private buildings, which would create jobs all over the country.

“I think that making sure our buildings are up to code would be a monumental task, but rather than seeing $50 (in energy costs) go up in smoke or up the chimney, I’d rather see that $50 go into the pocket of the plumber or the carpenter who’s able to plug some of those leaks.”

On the carbon tax, he said he generally agrees with the government’s implementation and the market-based solution, but the party advocates for taxing carbon where it is actually taken from the ground.

“If I stuck a tailpipe into your house and spoiled the air in your home, you’d probably be on the phone with your lawyer pretty quick … In the case of carbon emissions, we don’t have that priced into the product at all. I think that needs to change. People are realizing more and more it’s a cost of doing business that has always been ignored.”

Despite the carbon tax, he said both the Liberal and the Conservative parties have done too little to address climate change. He particularly criticized the Trudeau government speaking about action on the environment but not taking bold action.

“The legacy of the fossil-fuel industry has fingers in lots of things … Both the Liberals and Conservatives are responsible and beholden to that. I think the Green party is an outsider and has much less of that to deal with.”

“That’s not to say we’re not going to make some problems and mistakes if and when we are given the opportunity to govern, but I think we have some great ideas.”

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_