Will your platform promote the growth of manufacturing jobs in Hamilton? If so, how? If not, why not? - Raise the Hammer Elections

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5 Candidate Responses (top)

Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale
Candidate	Brief Response	Full Response
Anthony Giles	Yes	Our party does not discriminate based on job type. We would not come up with some sort of "manufacturing jobs" plan. However, we would make Canada a very attractive place for business people and entrepreneurs to invest. We would have almost no business tax and very few rules. If a business deals honestly, provides a safe work environment, and is environmentally prudent, there should be no other red tape for business to deal with. That type of business environment would encourage a lot of investment.
Dave Braden	Yes	The Liberal Platform recognizes a deficiency in funding innovation. We've increased support for training and education through the New Learning Passport but we need to promote and provide funding to commercialize ideas and inventions. We will consider conditional support of basic primary industry with legal consequences determined in advance. We will focus on long term, green industries where there is a strong potential for long term employment.
Jamile Ghaddar	Yes	The MLPC in Hamilton is at the fore-front of the work to oppose the nation-wrecking of the monopolies, and for manufacturing. We are part and parcel of the Canadians from coast to coast who are organizing and fighting on the basis Our Resources Stay Here! and Manufacturing Yes! - Nation-Wrecking No! Governments must do their duty and stop the rapacious monopolies like U.S. Steel, Vale Inco, Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Exxon Mobil and others who come to Canada and try to dictate to the Canadian people what is going to happen with their industries and resources. The wrecking by global monopolies of the resource and manufacturing base of our economy has brought to the fore key questions for all of us. Who should profit from Canada's natural resources -- the people or global monopolies? Who should control the direction of the economy? What is the aim of the economy and Canadian society? Who decides? Under neoliberal globalization, the resources which belong to the people and which are needed to build a society which recognizes the rights of all are being stripped away. Neoliberal globalization is destroying jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector, and reducing wages and benefits and the ability of retirees to live in dignity. Hamilton knows this scenario only too well, as USW 1005 members are still locked out by U.S. Steel, and we continue to lose the factories and jobs that made Hamilton a manufacturing town. MLPC fights for public right, not the narrow selfish interests of domestic and foreign monopolies. These monopolies must be restricted so that they cannot simply do whatever they want to expand their empires at the expense of the workers who produce the wealth, Canada's socialized economy and social fabric. It is outrageous that these monopolies can mumble something about "rationalizing production, competition, production costs or inefficiencies" and then simply shut down plants, destroy entire industries as they have with forestry or ship raw resources and jobs south. Public right must control the direction of the economy, not monopoly right. Public ownership of these resources where the people decide their use and development is required. This starts with workers organizing themselves so as to elect governments that permit the people to exercise control over the natural resources and social wealth for purposes of building a pro-social and self-reliant economy which enters into relations of mutual benefit with others. At the very least, this requires that: * Monopolies must not be permitted to shut down mines, mills, and entire industries, throwing workers onto the street and doing harm to the local and national economy; * Resources must be upgraded, processed and manufactured in Canada and near their source. * Wholesale prices must be publicly controlled, not left in the hands of the speculators and price-fixers. * Monopolies who exploit natural resources must be held to agreements to provide a definite number of jobs at Canadian standard wages and working conditions, including pensions for retired workers. * The public and governments have the right to decide on the claim of the owners of capital on their invested capital to ensure that the investment is of mutual benefit to both Canada and the investors and not one-sidedly to the narrow benefit of owners of capital and ripped out of the economy. * The public and governments have the right to oversee and direct the impact of the project on the environment and to appropriate the needed funds from the monopolies to harmonize the project with the natural environment. For Hamilton specifically, the MLPC has various proposals which are outlined in our daily online newspaper (at cpcml.ca) which can be searched through google or other internet search engines.
Nancy MacBain	Yes	Absolutely. The NDP has a number of policies that will help promote the growth of manufacturing jobs in Canada. We'll * End the fiscally irresponsible corporate tax giveaways that have failed to stimulate the economy * Give manufacturing companies an incentive to create new jobs by introducing a Job Creation Tax Credit * Reform Canada's foreign takeover rules to ensure that foreign investment creates quality Canadian jobs. * Stop the export of Canadian jobs overseas by ensuring that trade agreements serve the needs of Canadians and adopting a Made-in-Canada procurement policy for the federal government and its agencies.
Peter Ormond	Yes	Yes, We believe that the shift to a low carbon economy provides a huge opportunity for the development of green jobs. One of the first opportunities is in "greening" our infrastructure. Retrofitting buildings to be more energy and water efficient provides income today and reduces our energy requirements in the future. A smart economy is efficient. It relies on the lowest-polluting systems and energy sources. It ends waste. It reuses and recycles and considers externalities. This greater efficiency will bring greater competitiveness and prosperity to our Canadian Economy. Traditional manufacturing centers like Hamilton will have the opportunity to be re-invented. Remediation of our brownfields and re-development of lands within Hamilton's established communities is a priority. For Hamilton, this includes Hamilton's waterfront district, abandoned industrial lands, and buildings or parking lots that cover prime land. Where items fall outside of federal jurisdiction, the Green Party will make any federal funds conditional upon completion of projects that re-build and re-establish communities. Hamilton is a city of tremendous potential, and grassroots innovation. The Green Party does not support expansion around Hamilton's airport and resulting urban sprawl for obvious reasons related to peak oil and the cost of servicing new lands. Unlike other parties that observe silently on the sidelines, the Green Party will continue to voice opinions on such projects as an ongoing education measure. For example: Why invest in a project based on the most inefficient mode of transportation - air transport - when peak oil is upon us? What are the reasons behind such an airport expansion project - who are the players, landowners, and corporate entities involved? If this project does not align with the interests of the average Hamiltonian, why is this project being promoted when it is based on assumptions from 50 years ago? This situation is echoed in many communities around the globe. It signifies the control of an old guard or outdated system that needs to evolve if Hamilton, Ontario and Canada are going to ever achieve a low-carbon economy. Excluding Green Party leader Elizabeth May from the debate also represents the need for system change in the political and media realms. Read our platform Vision Green, and you'll appreciate the need for Canadians to Vote Green.

Response Summary (top)

Brief Response	Count	% of Total
Yes	5	100.0%
No	0	0.0%
Maybe	0	0.0%

1 Candidates Have Not Responded (top)

Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale
David Sweet