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Delta candidate spotlight: Randy Anderson-Fennell

Randy Anderson-Fennell is the NDP candidate for Delta in this year’s federal election.
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Randy Anderson-Fennell is the NDP candidate for Delta in this year’s federal election.

Randy Anderson-Fennell is the NDP candidate for Delta in this year’s federal election. A nine-year Delta resident who works as an electrician for the Surrey School District, Anderson-Fennell ran for the Delta school board in last year’s municipal election on a platform of diversity and inclusion. He has served for several years as an executive officer with his union, CUPE Local 728.

 

Q. Is it fair to say that whether it’s been a Liberal or a Conservative government, you don’t believe they’ve had the best interests of working Canadians in mind?

 

A. We’ve seen that with the Conservatives and the last time we saw big promises by the Liberals and now there’s disappointment four years later when these things haven’t been brought in. The climate issue, for example, has not been addressed and we have a government that instead is buying a pipeline. We’re giving, over and over, subsidies for the rich and powerful, and corporations are getting loans that are being written off, and meanwhile everyone scrambles to try to pay their cell phone bills.

This is something they could have done in their four years. In our platform we came out to say we will put a cap on cell phones, we know how expensive it is. I’m an electrician and I need my cell phone for safety reasons. You know this is an easy way to put money back in people’s pockets, but the Liberals haven’t done it. They promised many things four years ago and they’re still promising many things, but are they going to deliver? We say we will deliver on these things and we know these are priorities. Out door knocking we hear things like car insurance being too high, it’s always something. People are paying too much for so many things and they just don’t get a break. Pharmacare is something that could have been brought in. I can never understand how someone with Type 1 diabetes has to pay more money out of their pockets and being set back financially when, really, a program across the country would put money back in people’s pockets. It should be part of Medicare. We have a plan for dental care and for people making below $70,000 this is a really important issue.

 

Q. One of the NDP’s major planks is to include prescription drug coverage in our universal health care system. That’s a major ticket item, one the NDP says it will invest $10 billion in annually. Where does that money come from?

 

A. On pharmacare, both the provinces and federal government already pay for some prescriptions. Pooling the purchasing power of the entire country will cost our system less. And we will raise revenues through a new, fair and progressive taxation sources, such as rolling back the Conservatives’ corporate income tax cuts by three per cent points to 2010 levels. And we will ask the richest multi-millionaires to pay a bit more with a new one per cent wealth tax on wealth over $20 million.

Also, take measures to close tax loopholes that include eliminating bearer shares, compelling companies to prove the economic reason for their offshore transactions and improving transparency on taxes paid by large corporations.

 

Q. The NDP has made an issue during the campaign of the high cell phone and internet bills Canadians are forced to pay. Has Ottawa allowed big telecom to gouge Canadian consumers?

 

A. We’re the only country that I know of that hasn’t put caps on cell phone bills. We have the ability to do this through the CRTC. We hear about unlimited cell phone plans. Well, they’re not unlimited. The minute you hit your data number they slow down everything so you can’t even load anything. We need real unlimited plans. There’s a way to cap this. They did this down in the (United) States. We know the Liberals and Conservatives have always been very friendly with the big and the powerful and telecom companies aren’t the small guys.

 

Q. The NDP hasn’t historically done well in these parts. How do you overcome the inclination of voters to support centre and right parties and get them to give the NDP a chance?

 

A. It really comes down to knocking on a lot of doors and talking with people and sharing what our message is and hearing what their concerns are. I’ve been out door knocking and our message, I can tell you, resonates with voters. Unfortunately, it hasn’t historically given us the numbers that we want, so far. Our platform are things that will make life more affordable and things that will put more money back in the pockets of people and we will look after their interests with things like pharmacare, things like climate crisis, these are what people are concerned about. It’s really my job to get out there and let them know that we know these are the issues, we know that we need to address these problems and we have a great platform and we want them to hear it. It’s the part of making the connection on voting day… this is a working class town and we are a working class party. One of the biggest hurdles, and we hear this over and over again, is that people are being told this is a Conservative riding.

 

Q. NDP platform says immigration policies and levels should be set in order to meet Canada’s labour needs. Does that mean a greater number of immigrants than what previous governments have allowed?

 

A. Immigration definitely makes our country stronger and brings in new talent and energy from around the world. We want to make sure we’re able to listen to the provinces and hear what their needs are and be able to help them fill the gaps in employment. I’ve always felt this way and we’ve always known that we’ve had a lot of workers that have come here and we’ve always felt that if someone comes here to work, there should be a path for them. We need to figure out ways to protect newcomers by making sure there’s no unscrupulous immigration going on with some of these consultants. We’ve seen that over the years in British Columbia. If we bring people like caregivers into Canada, we need to make sure they are treated with respect and dignity. We need to recognize this is a way people will come to Canada and we need them.