FedLiberals

TERRY SHEEHAN (Liberal)

    The Economy/FedNor

    The last 12 months have been difficult for the local economy, with the loss of hundreds of jobs and a smaller budget for FedNor in recent years. Sheehan says FedNor is an important issue that needs to be looked at…

    Sheehan would like to see the FedNor system re-tooled have the same amount of money allocated to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund at about 100 million dollars. That would be an increase of nearly 60 million from the amount set aside for FedNor now. He adds that infrastructure for roads and bridges along with affordable and seniors housing will be high priority investments aimed at kickstarting the economy.

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    Health Care

    Health care is always a trending topic in any election campaign. It’s frequently discussed even when there isn’t a campaign in progress. Right now, hospitals are struggling to meet balanced budgets and provinces only provide so many dollars, in part to smaller transfers from Ottawa. Sault Liberal candidate Terry Sheehan says his party has a plan to improve health care…

    Sheehan adds the plan also includes work regarding partnerships with the provinces and territories to set a ‘national standard of excellence’ in the delivery of health services.

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    The Trans-Pacific Partnership

    A tentative deal has been reached. But the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn’t official yet and it continues to be an interesting topic during this election campaign. Rallies took place last month outside a number of Conservative constituency offices, even attracting the attention of Unifor’s National President Jerry Dias. He suggested the Harper government is sacrificing jobs in the auto sector for a trade deal. Sheehan feels more transparency is needed to make the proposed TPP more beneficial for everyone…

    Sheehan criticized the Harper government’s backroom, closed door approach to TPP talks, suggesting that it doesn’t make sense to Canadians. He adds that a problem with the Conservatives is that the number of agreements that party has signed are very minute in scope, while the Liberals were involved in 80 percent of the actual trade that is going on at the present.

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    Bill C-51

    One of the most important issues in recent months is the passing of Bill C-51. Supporters feel the legislation protects Canadians against terror, while opponents feel it stretches too far into the privacy of people and actually makes Canadians less safe. Sault Liberal candidate Terry Sheehan talks about what his party did to make the bill more tolerable…

    Sheehan feels the Conservatives and NDP are involved in the politics of fear when it comes to Bill C-51, with both parties suggesting that nothing more is needed to be done to protect Canadians’ rights or security. He adds the Liberals are committed to establishing a national security oversight body of Parliamentarians for the bill and a mandatory review of C-51 in its entirety every three years.

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    Syrian Refugee Crisis

    It is an important subject — the ongoing refugee crisis in the Middle East. With thousands of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan cramming border crossings into parts of Europe, the call was made for Canada to do something. All three parties have thrown out numbers and timelines, with the Conservatives saying they have already brought in hundreds of refugees from Syria. Sheehan says Canada can do more and needs to retain its role as a country that welcomes immigrants without hesitation…

    Sheehan mentions that this would be done by taking opportunities to send teams in to process refugees, or perform security screening to make that process quicker. The Liberals had previously promised to provide 100 million dollars to the United Nations High Commission for refugees to support critical relief activities in Syria.

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    Energy Infrastructure/Grid Protection

    It’s not a subject that is very familiar to people. But protecting energy infrastructure is critical — particularly the electrical grid most people depend on — when the lights go out without warning. A question was posed to Sault Ste. Marie Liberal candidate Terry Sheehan on what is going on when it comes to keeping the electricity flowing and he answered that protecting this infrastructure is an issue to keep an eye on…

    Sheehan did mention a lean towards alternative and green forms of energy. He says the Liberal party will allocate almost 20 billion dollars over the next 10 years to allow provinces and territories to invest into ‘modern’ grids, power storage and transmission related to clean energy. Buildings would also become more energy-efficient — one example involves the use of solar thermal systems for water and heating.