Q-and-A with Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa candidate Shirley Lambrecht

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/09/2021 (1658 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the residents of Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa go to the polls for the federal election on Sept. 20, they’ll have six candidates spanning the political spectrum to choose from.

Incumbent Conservative candidate Dan Mazier will look to keep his job while Green candidate Shirley Lambrecht, Liberal candidate Kevin Carlson, Maverick candidate Lori Falloon-Austin, NDP candidate Arthur Holroyd, and PPC candidate Donnan McKenna try to unseat him.

To help voters in the riding gain a better idea of each candidate and their party’s policies, the Sun sent them six questions, for which they provided written responses.

Answers were received from all candidates except for the NDP and have been edited for length, clarity and style. Please note that The Brandon Sun does not necessarily endorse or agree with the opinions expressed by participating candidates.

A Q-and-A with Brandon-Souris candidates was published Friday.

Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa’s Green Party of Canada candidate is Shirley Lambrecht. Hailing from Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Lambrecht originally comes from the Regina area and has family ties to the region.

1. Agricultural producers are being hit hard by dry conditions this year. What would you and your party do to assist struggling farmers?

We need to ensure a support structure or safety net remains in place to assist farmers during extreme weather which impacts their crop yields and subsequently their incomes.

We will reprioritize investment in research, development, and infrastructure to develop local and regional value chains by the National Food Policy. From the $3 Billion Next Policy Framework (2023 to 2028), we will reallocate dollars from industrial agriculture to supporting ecologically sound small farming operations. Industrial agricultural models that focus on high production monocultures have a significant impact on the land, biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, increase vulnerability to pests and disease, reduce the quality of care for livestock, and generate increased greenhouse gases. Our support needs to be directed to the small farms which are more focused on sustainable land stewardship practices, animal welfare, and plant health.

We will develop a model that assists small or family farms to transition into low-impact farming such as regenerative farming or permaculture practices that preserve subsoil moisture and nutrients; invest in and develop green technologies which support low-impact farming, as well as support existing and new farmers wishing to enter the agricultural sector through strategic partnerships, financing, and land matching or other acquisition opportunities. The cost of land and equipment are significant barriers to small farmers entering the industry currently. Climate change adds a significant level of risk to the equation which needs to be assessed and mitigated through a series of strategies. Climate change mitigation and adaptation are two sides to the same coin.

2. Canada has seen a lot of extreme weather this year, causing drought, flooding, wildfires and massive storms. What would you and your party do to tackle climate change and its effects on Canadians?

The Green Party of Canada has a comprehensive plan to aggressively tackle greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Approximately 52 per cent of our GHGs are directly attributable to the oil and gas industry. A steady transition away from our reliance on oil and gas is our first but not our only line of defence. Every industry needs to embrace and participate in the green economy. We will provide incentives to those industries implementing green solutions.

In our platform (available at greenparty.ca) we have an exhaustive plan detailing how to ramp up green technology and infrastructure, create a green economy we can be proud of, and transition workers out of the oil and gas industry into good-paying green jobs. These transitions will not occur overnight, although some are already in motion. In 2019, green job growth was already outpacing oil and gas six to one. A green economy is where a sustainable future lies.

The Green Party has set a target of 60 per cent GHG reduction from 2005 levels, which is the most ambitious target of all of the federal parties. We plan to update the Environmental Protection Act, Develop and National Forest Strategy, and engage Indigenous peoples and their governance systems in leadership roles to guide in the stewardship of the lands and the waters.

3. What will you and your party do to meaningfully address reconciliation and racism?

To address systemic racism we will audit our governmental policies, procedures, and practices within all of our government departments and service organizations, from health to justice to education, intergovernmental affairs, etc., to dismantle systemic discrimination in public institutions. We need to review any complaints and establish a tribunal that can assess concerns and complaints individually through reform measures. We will work with the RCMP to educate officers.

We will implement the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Calls for Justice from the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the recommendations of the Report of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its mission to Canada. The Green Party of Canada will seek to implement an Employment Equity Act which was only introduced in 2021 immediately prior to the election.

4. How do you think the idea of vaccine mandates and immunization cards should be handled?

I support the use of immunization cards as a means for businesses and organizations to limit the risk of COVID-19 exposure to their employees and customers. The pandemic has placed unusual demands on both governments and businesses to protect the public.

The science is overwhelmingly clear: vaccination does provide a significant layer of defence to both the vaccinated and those around them sharing air space. Vaccinated individuals experience lower rates of infection, less serious illness, and spread less of the contagion. The newer variants such as the delta strain are more prolific and more contagious.

We always need to balance the rights, freedoms, and safety of the individual with that of the common good. An individual needs to have the right to determine what is done to their body and assess their own risk versus benefit. The public has a right to expect that our governments will do everything in their power to keep us safe from harm.

5. There have been instances of political candidates getting threatened or having things thrown at them on the campaign trail. What do you believe should be done in response to these incidents?

I have a zero-tolerance policy for violent and abusive behaviour. I understand that individuals may have fearful emotional responses to situations that seem beyond their realm of control. This does not give anyone the right or permission to assault another human. Certainly, we should make every attempt to de-escalate an individual if their behaviour is aggravated. However, we set a dangerous precedent when we accept or make allowances for abusive behaviour. Assault needs to be treated as such.

6. Gun control has been a hot topic during the campaign. What are your and your party’s stances on how the government regulates firearms? 

The position of the party is to crack down on the smuggling of illegal handguns across the US-Canada border, enact stricter storage and transportation laws for both individuals and retailers, and increase requirements needed to obtain a possession and acquisition licence. My position is to use evidence-based decision-making to form policy with respect to firearms.

I was raised on a farm and acknowledge the need for guns as a tool of the trade to protect livestock from predators such as coyotes, badgers, and other rabid or diseased animals. I also acknowledge there are safe recreational gun owners and hunters. Again, we need to strike a balance between public safety and the needs of the user community.

» The Brandon Sun