Members of the Thunder Bay-Rainy River federal NDP riding association had the chance to hear the two candidates vying for the nomination speak here Tuesday night, then cast their votes at the first of three nomination meetings being held across the new riding this week.
Candidates John Rafferty and Larry Richardson each spoke for 20 minutes before members cast their votes.
Rafferty, who lives in Thunder Bay, spoke for 10 of his allotted 20 minutes, then took questions from the floor.
“I stand here before you ready, willing, and able to win this election,” he told the roughly 30 members who turned out for last night’s meeting.
Rafferty talked about the rising popularity of the NDP’s leader, Jack Layton, and the declining popularity of the federal Liberals.
“[Paul] Martin and his friends have been at the trough for 11 years now,” he remarked. “Martin can be beaten. And I’m here to tell you Martin will be beaten.”
Rafferty, who ran for the NDP in the last federal election and most recently in last fall’s provincial election, said he has one question he always asks before deciding where he stands on an issue.
“Is this action, or is this decision, good for families? If the answer is no, then it’s not good for the people of Thunder Bay-Rainy River and it’s not good for the people of Canada,” he said.
“Politics is about people.”
The recent $100-million sponsorship scandal in Ottawa is proof the Liberals no longer value what the majority of Canadians value, Rafferty charged.
“I believe we pay taxes to the government to be held in trust. It’s ours, not theirs,” he stressed. “We trust the government to use our money wisely.
“I believe jobs, a social safety net, education, and health care are the priorities of Canadians.”
Rafferty said the $2 billion spent on the national gun registry would have been better spent on customs officials to ensure guns aren’t smuggled illegally into Canada.
“I believe in fiscal responsibility and innovative business practices,” he noted, adding that as a small-business owner, he understood the importance of small businesses to the economy.
“I am pro-business,” he said.
Speaking of the next federal election in the local riding, Rafferty said “[Liberal candidate] Mr. [Ken] Boshcoff and his Conservative/Liberal friends cannot be allowed to hijack Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
“The Liberals have lost touch and the Conservatives were never in touch,” he chided.
Richardson spoke next and began with an account of his history in the district. He served eight years on town council in Fort Frances in the 1960s and also ran for a provincial seat.
“I was the youngest councillor elected in this town at that time,” he noted. “I was 26 years old and I was going to set the world on fire.”
Richardson said his experience in municipal politics would serve him well in the federal sphere.
“If you know what a municipal politician is supposed to do, it’s not unlike what he’s supposed to do provincially or federally,” he noted. “When you get into politics, you best know what you’re there for and do it well.
“I have to look after what you, the people of Thunder Bay-Rainy River, send me to do,” he stressed.
Richardson called for increased security at the Canada-U.S. border through the separation of immigration and customs on the Canadian side, as was done in the past.
“If Mr. [George W.] Bush is really concerned about security, why don’t we give them the security we had before?” he asked. “If we go back to having customs officers and immigration officers, we could have a dozen more jobs right here.
“Why isn’t there a customs officer there every time an American gets out of his boat?” he wondered.
Richardson also expressed support for a bridge across Rainy River at Ranier to help boost tourism. “If we work together, we can make certain basic changes that would make this into a tourist town again,” he said.
Richardson ended his speech by saying, “I’ll make one hell of a good MP.”
Following the speeches, party members cast their votes, then listened to guest speaker—local MPP and Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton.
“This is going to be an incredibly important election for everyone in Canada,” Hampton said.
Should the new Conservative Party of Canada win the next election, “we would see private hospitals, and a plethora of private schools and private universities,” he charged.
What some Canadians fail to recognize, Hampton noted, is that “Paul Martin is very much of the same pedigree.”
“New Democrats say that’s not OK. Health care is essential and there is no room in the health care system for profit-driven corporations,” he stressed.
Hampton also had strong words regarding the recent sponsorship scandal and Martin’s role in it.
“One hundred million dollars didn’t go missing. One hundred million dollars went into the pockets of the friends of the federal Liberal government,” he said, adding Martin, as finance minister and the senior minister in Quebec, must have known what was going on.
Hampton compared Martin to Sgt. Schultz of the TV show “Hogan’s Heroes,” who would say “I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing” whenever things went wrong.
“The Sgt. Schultz of federal politics want you to vote him prime minister,” Hampton said. “It shows absolute disrespect for the average Canadian.
“Honesty, decency, and fair play. These are all issues that are at stake in this election,” he concluded.
The ballot box from Tuesday night’s meeting was sealed and will travel to Atikokan on Wednesday night for a second vote there.
A third vote will take place in Thunder Bay on Thursday, when the votes from the three polls will be counted and the winner announced.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
