Q-and-A with Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa candidate Lori Falloon-Austin

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This article was published 18/09/2021 (1643 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. 

Hailing from Foxwarren, Lori Falloon-Austin is the Maverick Party’s candidate for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa and the party’s only candidate in Manitoba. A stay-at-home mom, Falloon-Austin has served her local emergency services organization for the last 15 years as head of social services and registrar and writes stories for her local newspaper.

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

The right approach here is to give our producers what they need and to get it to them now. There needs to be clear and concise communication between the producers and both the federal and provincial levels of government and all the ag sectors involved. Your member of Parliament should be working hard for you on this issue. Communication is key in getting things to happen and the clearer and broader the communication is, the faster things are apt to happen and speed is of the essence right now. I am a firm believer that ag should be recognized as a global superpower and that Canada should be at the forefront of this movement. 

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?

First of all, the Maverick Party does not support carbon taxes of any kind. What we advocate for instead, is a market-based approach that will have a positive effect on both consumers and the environment. There is a market out there for “green practices.” It may be in its infancy, however, it is growing every day as our environment needs immediate attention and it will be at the forefront of industry sooner rather than later. In this regard, the Maverick Party fully supports the idea of increased investment in innovation and research of new technologies being developed. And for any existing facilities that are found to be heavier emitters, we advocate for upgrading their systems to help reduce their footprint. The Maverick Party supports the advocacy of delivering clean energy such as nuclear, thermal, liquified natural gas and carbon and hydrogen capture. We also support the idea of exporting our clean energy technology to the heaviest emitters around the world. By following through with these innovations, we will create more employment and start to lessen our environmental impact.

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

First and foremost, the need for recognition that racism exists daily for our Indigenous population is imperative. Racism is learned and the trick is to “unlearn” it and what is the best way to do that is the question. Everyone has their own thoughts on how to achieve this, and my thoughts are to let us hear from our Indigenous friends and neighbours on what they need from us. In turn, we all need to listen and act accordingly. I feel strongly that before reconciliation has any chance of happening, the native [Indigenous] population’s plight needs to be recognized first and that comes down to constructive communication between all of us. We all need to listen and then move forward in ways that support both communities.

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

The “I” in the Maverick logo is “freedom” spelled vertically. The Maverick Party firmly believes in one’s right to choose. Having the freedom of choice is part and parcel of overall freedom and if you don’t agree with one’s choices, then you are exercising your own right to choose just like the rest of us and that right needs to be respected. Not shamed privately, or publicly. We have a race going on at the provincial government level that bears watching closely as, at the time of this writing, one of the leadership candidates has publicly stated that they do not support the vaccine mandate of any kind and neither does the Maverick Party.

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?

Throwing things, racial insults, full-on assaults at any candidate are absolutely unacceptable and need to be punished to the full extent of the law. I have been fortunate enough to receive nothing but a positive welcome as people are ready to hear my message of change and balance of power. My 13-year-old son accompanies me on some of my campaign swings and he would be mortified if anyone treated his mom like what some candidates have experienced. So, I will take this opportunity to thank you all for the respect you have treated me with on this campaign trail.

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 Maverick Party’s stance on gun control is quite simple. Keep your hands off of our guns. These gun grabs do nothing but showcase the ignorance Ottawa has shown us rural people. I feel they are purposely misleading people with the use of such words as “semi-automatic assault weapons.” These guns fire a single shot. They do not spray bullets as the label would have you believe. They are accomplishing instilling fear by using the words “assault” and “semi-automatic” lumped together like that. It’s a marketing tool, fear-mongering, and that is misleading and therefore unfair. The Maverick Party advocates for a chief firearms officer that would be headquartered in the West and would have jurisdiction over the four Western provinces instead of being dictated to by the current whim of Ottawa. 

» The Brandon Sun