Wayne Marston, Candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek in Federal Election 2011 - Raise the Hammer Elections

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Candidate Details (top)

Name	Wayne Marston
Election	Federal Election 2011
Area	Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
Party	New Democratic Party of Canada
Votes	0
Email	waynemarston@ndp.ca
Website	http://waynemarston.ndp.ca/
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Business	905-545-5020
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Bio	* Elected the Member of Parliament for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in 2006 * NDP Critic for Seniors and Pensions, Human Rights, and Deputy Critic for Industry (Steel) * Retired in 1995 after 20 years as a technician with Bell Canada * President of the Hamilton and District Labour Council for the past 11 years * Ward 5 Trustee on the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board since 2000 and member of the Special Education Advisory Committee * Member of the Board of Directors of the Hamilton Tourism Board, the Strengthening Hamilton Community Initiative, the Hamilton Downtown Partnership, and the Mohawk College Labour Advisory Committee * Chair of the Worker Education Centre and the McMaster University Labour Studies Advisory Committee * Member of the Ontario Federation of Labour Executive Council * CNR Signalman 1968 – 1974 * Sapper Apprentice Royal Canadian Engineers 1963 – 1964 * Lives in Hamilton with his wife Barbara In 1987, Governor General Sauvé presented Wayne with the Medal of Bravery, and the Ontario Provincial Police gave him a Citation for Bravery for his rescue of a driver from a burning vehicle. Appointed the NDP Human Rights Critic in 2006, Jack Layton added Pensions, Seniors and Steel issues to Wayne’s portfolio in 2008. Since then Wayne has become one of the country’s foremost champions of human rights, and the rights of seniors. In June, 2009, Wayne’s Opposition Day Motion on pension reform passed unanimously in the House of Commons. The motion calls for expanding and increasing the CPP, OAS and GIS to ensure all Canadians can count on a dignified retirement; for establishing a self-financing pension insurance program, as well as for amending the proper legislation to ensure that workers’ pension funds go to the front of the line of creditors in the event of bankruptcy proceedings. Wayne’s motion continues to be the NDP’s blueprint for pension reform. Wayne has also toured the country as the NDP’s Seniors Critic, and has to date convened 40 community meetings with seniors across Canada.

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Responses to Questions (top)

Question	Brief Response	Full Response
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has recommended that CBC's annual parliamentary grant be raised from $33 per Canadian to $40. Will you support this recommendation? Why or why not? If so, will you advocate for a Hamilton-based CBC radio station?	Yes	All three Hamilton-area NDP MPs are on record supporting the re-location of a CBC radio station in Hamilton. Hamilton is an amazing diverse city with a sizeable population and its own unique history and culture. It is not Toronto. That it should have its own public radio station is for me a no-brainer. New Democrats believe that the CBC must be well-funded and protected, even as its administration needs to be made more transparent. The CBC, without adequate funding, will not survive. Underfunded by current and previous governments as it has been, it has lost and is losing its ability to fulfill its mandate. I therefore wholeheartedly and unhesitatingly support Heritage's recommendations.
Do you believe human activity is contributing to climate change? If so, what should we do about it? If not, why not?	Yes	We in the NDP will leave climate change denying to the core supporters of the Conservative Party. Tackling climate change is perhaps the most important issue facing the world today. It is fair to say that in the House of Commons the NDP has long taken the lead on this file. Here's what an NDP government will do. * We will re-introduce legislation to ensure that Canada meets the long-term target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to a level 80 per cent below that of 1990 by the year 2050, and will establish interim targets for the period 2015-2045; * We will put a price on carbon through a cap-and-trade system, which will establish hard emissions limits for Canada's biggest polluters to ensure companies pay their environmental bills and to create an incentive for emissions reductions; * We will work closely with the Obama administration in Washington to ensure a coordinated response to climate change, and we will seek at every opportunity to advance an integrated continental cap-and-trade system that ensures a level economic playing field for North American businesses; * We will establish effective programs to help Canadian communities deal with the unfolding impacts of a warming planet, as well as live up to our international obligations to assist developing countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Do you believe parliamentary rule has been eroding in Canada? If so, what will you do to reverse it? If not, why not?	Yes	I find the increasing concentration of power in the Prime Minister's Office to be nothing short of alarming. While the current Prime Minister did not create the present difficulties, he has certainly made them worse. In fact, Canada is now in the midst of an election in part because Opposition MPs were no longer willing to tolerate attempts by the Prime Minister's Office to keep important information about the costs of government programs from us. One of the first things an NDP government would do would be to introduce a Parliament Act that will prevent the Prime Minister from requesting prorogation of Parliament when a confidence vote is before the House of Commons. Our act will also require a Parliamentary vote before the Prime Minister can seek a lengthy prorogation at other times. As I've already mentioned, the NDP will propose electoral reform to ensure Parliament better reflects the political preferences of Canadians. To this end we will propose a new, more democratic voting system that preserves the connection between MPs and their constituents, while ensuring parties are represented in Parliament in better proportion to how Canadians voted. Each vote will count. We will also start the national conversation that will result, we hope, in the abolition of the Senate. In the meantime, to limit Senate abuses, we will bar failed candidates and party insiders from being appointed to the Senate, and ban senators from fundraising for political parties.
Do you support Vrancor's attempt to remove heritage protection from 150 Main Street West (the old Revenue Canada building)? Why or why not?	No	While this may be a better question for my colleague from the riding of Hamilton Centre, as the old Revenue Canada building is located there, I do believe that any final decision must be the result of a dialogue between all the relevant stakeholder groups involved. This is a decision that is too important to be left to the developers alone. Lengthy consultations between members of the community, the developers and the Hamilton Municipal Heritage committee are a must.
Do you believe the Federal Government needs to do more to support cities? If so, what needs to change? If not, why not?	Yes	Yes, the federal government has a significant role to play in supporting cities. An NDP government will implement a national infrastructure strategy and a permanent transfer of a share of the federal gas tax to municipalities so that cities have the resources they need to pay for critical infrastructure like roads, sewers and waste water treatment facilities.
Will your platform promote the growth of manufacturing jobs in Hamilton? If so, how? If not, why not?	Yes	I have responded to two questions together, as the solutions are inextricably linked. No program to rebuild Canada's manufacturing base will succeed unless policies are in place to insure that Canadian materials are used in the production of Canadian goods. Take steel, for example. The NDP will implement policies to promote the use of Canadian steel wherever steel is used in manufactured goods in Canada-in shipbuilding, automobile production, and so on. There are over 50 small, steel related firms in Hamilton, and they will benefit enormously from the NDP plan to reduce the small business tax rate. We will also extend the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for eligible machinery and equipment acquired before 2016. As part of our plan to promote small business and jobs, we will as well introduce a Job Creation Tax Credit that will provide up to $4,500 per new hire. We will likewise continue funding projects such as the metallurgical research currently being undertaken at the McMaster Innovation Park. With more and more R&D being undertaken locally, businesses are more likely to locate and/or remain in Hamilton. As for foreign investment, last November the NDP tabled a motion to amend the Investment Canada Act. We believed then and believe now that the Investment Canada review process is too secretive and has failed to ensure incoming direct investment is, in fact, in the interest of Canadian workers. The NDP motion does away with much of the secrecy that currently surrounds the takeover approval process, and would allow more transparency by requiring public hearings on the bids and public disclosure of the government's reasoning for bid approvals.
Do you believe the Federal Government is doing everything it can to complete the cleanup of Randle Reef? Why or why not?	Yes	The only funds to date that have been provided to the Randle Reef clean-up so far have been due to the successful pressure brought on the current government by the three area NDP MPs. The cleanup is a massive undertaking, and will take a number of years. The NDP will ensure that the now $120 million ($40 million of which is the federal contribution) negotiated to clean up Randle Reef moves forward. The money has been committed and now we will ensure that all levels of government follow through.
Will you call for a full public inquiry into the 2010 G20? Why or why not?	Yes	Not only does the NDP support a full public enquiry into the events surrounding the G20 summit, but it was the first political party in Canada to do so. The scale of the abuses that occurred-the mass arrests, the physical and verbal abuse by police of peaceful demonstrators - amount to the most outrageous abuses of human rights in Canadian history. Nothing less than a full public inquiry into these abuses will suffice. That such violations can occur in a country such as Canada is simply unacceptable.
Do you support some form of proportional representation instead of first-past-the-post voting? If so, what will you do to promote it? If not, why not?	Yes	If you watched the Leader's debate, you will know that NDP Jack Layton was the only Leader to come out in enthusiastic support of proportional representation. Just prior to the writ being dropped, the NDP tabled an Opposition Day motion in the House of Commons calling for proportional representation. The NDP motion called for the establishment of a Special Committee for Democratic Improvement that would pave the way for a referendum on proportional representation, as well as for abolishing the Senate.
Please explain how the Prime Minister and cabinet are formed in the Canadian Parliamentary system.	Yes	Canada is a Westminster style parliamentary democracy, modeled after the United Kingdom. The leader of the political party that wins a majority in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister (to gain a majority a party must win 155 seats). If no party wins a majority then the party that wins the most seats is given the first opportunity to form government. If this minority government cannot maintain the confidence of the House, then other parties have the option of appealing to the Monarch (or in our case, the Monarch's vice-regal representative, the Governor General) to form a coalition government. The Cabinet is appointed by the Prime Minister from the governing party's caucus.
Will your party take steps to make sure the foreign purchase of Canadian companies does not cost Canadian jobs? If so, what will you do? If not, why not?	Yes	I have responded to two questions together, as the solutions are inextricably linked. No program to rebuild Canada's manufacturing base will succeed unless policies are in place to insure that Canadian materials are used in the production of Canadian goods. Take steel, for example. The NDP will implement policies to promote the use of Canadian steel wherever steel is used in manufactured goods in Canada-in shipbuilding, automobile production, and so on. There are over 50 small, steel related firms in Hamilton, and they will benefit enormously from the NDP plan to reduce the small business tax rate. We will also extend the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for eligible machinery and equipment acquired before 2016. As part of our plan to promote small business and jobs, we will as well introduce a Job Creation Tax Credit that will provide up to $4,500 per new hire. We will likewise continue funding projects such as the metallurgical research currently being undertaken at the McMaster Innovation Park. With more and more R&D being undertaken locally, businesses are more likely to locate and/or remain in Hamilton. As for foreign investment, last November the NDP tabled a motion to amend the Investment Canada Act. We believed then and believe now that the Investment Canada review process is too secretive and has failed to ensure incoming direct investment is, in fact, in the interest of Canadian workers. The NDP motion does away with much of the secrecy that currently surrounds the takeover approval process, and would allow more transparency by requiring public hearings on the bids and public disclosure of the government's reasoning for bid approvals.
Do you believe global oil production is at or near an historic peak? If so, what will your party do to prepare Canada for declining oil production? If not, why not?	Yes	Yes, we are aware of the discussions around the peaking of world oil supply. In the past, NDP Energy critic Dennis Bevington has been in discussion with energy analysts and peak oil commentators both within Canada and abroad. Ultimately, New Democrats believe that re-shaping energy policy for the 21st century means moving away from fossil-fuel dependence toward a green energy future by investing in solar, wind, wave, and geothermal sources, working with provinces and territories to share clean energy; and ensuring energy conservation in transportation and building methods. Many of these ideas are highlighted in our party's platform.
Will you always vote along party lines, or are you prepared to vote your conscience on a matter in which you disagree with your party's position?	No	While my values are very much in accord with the animating principles of the NDP, I will definitely vote my conscience when circumstances require it. For example, I voted against my caucus on Bill C-429, (M. Asselin, Bloc) use of wood. This bill seemed to me to unfairly single out wood for preferential treatment, when I believe the government should be pushing hard to promote and protect Canadian steel.