QUESTION: If elected, what will you do to help the business community in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding?

ANSWER:

1. Education-One of the most important thing we need to do in this region and for a matter of fact in this country, is to educate our youths and young people, give them the tools and skills they need to find good high paying jobs and to fill the vacancies that exist .I will push for a two years, free post-secondary school education, especially in the trades. Georgian College is subsidise with tax payer dollars and is going to give seven Syrian refugee students full scholarships ,while our own can’t afford to go to college, their parents are struggling ,they have to take loans and work part time to make it. What’s wrong with this system?
2. Transit-We need to create a better transit system so we can make it easier to commute between municipalities.
3. Red tape-I will free up some obstacles businesses are facing with today, for example the amendment of some by-laws. I advised a few businesses to go that route and today they are doing very well and have created a lot of jobs and were able to stay in the region. The needs of businesses in this region varies, so when I become MP, I will immediately put a team together to find what are their most important obstacles and how can we help to fix it , so it could be better. I will keep an open communication throughout my term in office.

QUESTION: There are distinct characteristics for each municipality in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding; as a resident, what are your top three priorities for each of these municipalities and why?

ANSWER: Urban Barrie, rural Springwater, rural Oro Medonte and farmers in the regions. Because of the population and economic growth in the past few years, these regions are facing with a money shortfall, for infrastructure, job creation, transit, affordable housing and maintenance of roads .Also because of higher taxes, high cost of living, high household debt and low wages we are facing with more crimes, especially theft, more homelessness and a strain on the food bank. Farmers are spending more and more to farm and are getting lesser and lesser in return, plus it is very difficult to find farm helpers, so they do it themselves or bring in foreign help. Barrie is the back bone of this region, if Barrie fails spring water and Oro- Medonte fails. Barrie is struggling to pay its bills, they are in debt by almost $ 290 million, people are very unhappy with their transit, taxes, utility rates, infrastructure, just to mention a few.

Of course when I become MP I will consult with the people, the farmers, businesses, the Mayors, councils and city halls to choose from a list of their own, what are their priorities and we will work together to get it done. Vote Ram Faerber for your MP, a vote for me is a vote for you. New riding different approach.

QUESTION: How do you plan to balance these priorities and serve each municipality with their different needs?

ANSWER: I will balance my priorities and serve each municipalities with their needs the same way I have done for more than twenty six years being married to my wife Marzena and raising our four children Samantha, Matthew, Amanda, and Michael while running my own small business .My wife is a stay at home mom and we work really hard and long hours, and with a lot of open dialogue, co -operation and determination we are still together and are always there for our children and my mother –in- law. These municipalities will become part of our family. Also when I become MP, I will put a team together from all walks of life to help me serve the people better, we will come door knocking after the election not to get your vote, but to see how we can be of help. Voters turn out is of utmost importance ,so please come out to vote, I am appealing to all eligible voters, vote for change ,vote independent and your voice will be heard. My wife and I are a two person team so please understand if we don’t get to your doors it doesn’t mean we don’t care. RAM FAERBER.

QUESTION: What is the most important piece of your party platform for the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding and why?

ANSWER: The most important piece of my platform as an independent candidate is education, guidance for youth and young people, and health care. After the Second World War skilled labour played an important part in rebuilding this country and today we are facing with a shortage of skill workers. I will propose a free two years post-secondary school education especially for the skill trades. If we don’t do it now, then in the near future most of the skilled worker will be coming from different countries to fill the needs here, leaving our young people jobless and hopeless because they cannot afford an education .Most of the skilled workers coming from abroad got their deduction for free, including me. At twenty one years old I had certificates in basic engineering, fitting and machining, mechanical engineering technician part one and two. All I did was study, no part time job, no taking a loan that kids are finding hard to pay back and I was guaranteed a job. The only stress I had was” no stress” which made my study so much easier. A lot of kids are in high school that don’t want to be there but instead would like to study a trade. I came to Canada at age twenty two and was at no time out of a job and during which time I have trained a lot of people in the trade. The younger people get into the work force with reasonable paying jobs the better it is for our economy across the board.

QUESTION: If elected, what will you do to help the business community in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding?

ANSWER: The Green Party of Canada wants to: establish a federally-funded Green Venture Capital Fund to support viable small local green business start-ups, reduce paperwork by eliminating duplicative tax filings, bring in legislation to require consideration of the impact on small business of all new legislation, and offer tax rebates to companies that provide on-site daycare, healthy food and facilities for exercise and commuting by bicycle. 

I would personally work on creating a centre of excellence for energy storage in Barrie, maybe at the unfortunately closing Barrie Central school. The purpose would be to do research into better battery technologies, offer instruction and certification in installation, educate people about how and why to save money using energy storage. Local businesses would likely be the early adopters of energy saving plans and expand their current businesses to include selling and installing the new Green technologies that are growing. 

QUESTION: There are distinct characteristics for each municipality in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding; as a resident, what are your top three priorities for each of these municipalities and why?

ANSWER: 

Oro-Medonte: I want to support the rural heritage, recognize that it is a community of communities. Focus on improving opportunities for the farming community. 

I will look into the Horseshoe Valley road truck lanes and work towards putting in traffic lights at line 3 and 4 and work towards connecting Hwy 11 south to the 400 north to allow hauling to easily flow on the major Hi-ways. 

The Lake Simcoe Protection Plan is a good piece of legislation that needs to be fully written into all of the official plans of the bordering municipalities including Oro-Medonte 

Springwater: I would encourage Smart growth. That means not on class 1,2,3 farmland, or on or near important wetlands. A priority of mine would be to designate the Minesing swamp as a significantly important wetland. 

For the agricultural community I would direct research dollars into learning how to have clean fields, high yields and healthy animals without using chemicals or cages. And Greens want that knowledge to be provided to farmers for free. 

Barrie: There are many opportunities to improve transportation infrastructure. Connecting bike lanes to train stations and industrial areas. 

There is a need for low income housing for people at all stages of their lives. The Green Party has a national poverty reduction strategy that focuses on housing first. 

Starting a centre of excellence for energy storage. “Barrie builds batteries” where research, training and installation certification can all happen in the same place. 

QUESTION: How do you plan to balance these priorities and serve each municipality with their different needs?

ANSWER: While there are lots of specific needs I will describe one way to balance needs. Everybody needs to eat. Dan Dan the chicken man abattoir went out of business in 2011 due to increased expensive regulations. We need to create a situation that there would be a slaughterhouse, cannery and food processing opportunity in Barrie for all Simcoe County farmers with a warehouse system to sell it to local stores. I would encourage this by working towards a “Made in Simcoe County” stamp that could go on all meat, and produce as well as wood products, gravel, etc. Both the seller and buyer of these local products would be financially rewarded until the local systems are fully resilient. Local farming options would increase under this local is best model. Growth would be directed into the city of Barrie into walkable neighbourhoods where people can sell and shop near where they live. Working on this issue would serve the best interest of the growing (not sprawling) Barrie and the rural, farming communities that surrounds it. 

QUESTION: What is the most important piece of your party platform for the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding and why?

ANSWER: Our Vision Green 2015 (182 pages) platform is very integrated. It has many common sense solutions that deal with the real root of issues. It lays out how to repair our democracy, how to be able to take care of all our people, and do it in a way that addresses climate change by growing the green economy. Half of what the Green Party of Canada suggests is fixing the damaging actions of previous governments, like Bill C51 (secret police) and gutting environmental protection in omnibus budget bills. The other half is trying to turn the fossil fuel bus around before it drives off a cliff. What’s in it for this riding? A shift from your tax money going to the foreign owners of oil and gas corporations in Alberta, to having it spent right here to encourage local resilient commerce around food, and services. And on creating local jobs building renewable energy systems with storage technology and improved green transit systems. Let’s brand ourselves: “Barrie Builds Batteries” and capture a large piece of the growing green technologies.

QUESTION: If elected, what will you do to help the business community in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding?

ANSWER:

• Small Businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and as such they must be supported. I will always be an advocate of lowering taxes for small businesses in order to boost job opportunities and grow the economy in our area. As a commercial banker, I have spent many years advising businesses in our area and helping them succeed.
• The Conservative Government delivered more than $2.2 billion in tax relief to small businesses in 2014. Our Government also has committed to reduce small businesses taxes to 9% - putting an estimated $2.7 billion back into the pockets of job-creating small businesses.
• In Canada, small and medium sized businesses employ 90% of the private sector workforce and account for 40% of GDP. Our Conservative government wants to see businesses grow and hire more employees. We have continually demonstrated our support for small and medium sized businesses through programs such as the Canada Jobs Grant, the Apprenticeship job creation tax credit, and a multitude of other tax credits and programs.
• In Barrie – Springwater – Oro-Medonte, small businesses are the major job creators and they need to have every opportunity to be able succeed and grow, our Conservative government recognizes this and provides those opportunities.  I do not believe that small businesses are just used as a tax haven for wealthy individuals.

QUESTION: There are distinct characteristics for each municipality in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding; as a resident, what are your top three priorities for each of these municipalities and why?

ANSWER: 

Barrie 

1. Lake Simcoe -I am strong supporter and advocate of the Lake Simcoe Cleanup Fund and I was also involved in the Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority. Since 2008, our Government has invested over $59 million into the Lake Simcoe Cleanup fund, which has supported initiatives to preserve and protect the environment of Lake Simcoe. I will continue to advocate for investments to ensure we are able to work together with local partners toward improving the water quality and ecosystem health of Lake Simcoe. 
2. Infrastructure Spending -I will continue to advocate for sustainable infrastructure programs delivered by the Conservative Government which have already provide significant investments for the Duckworth St. interchange, Eastview Arena, Fire Station 1, the Downtown Theatre, Georgian College, and Lampman Lane. 
3. Low Taxes and Job Creation 
   

Oro 

1. Lake Simcoe -Lake Simcoe not only affects residents of Barrie, but residents of Oro as well. As I mentioned in the previous section, I will remain a strong advocate for continued funding and the preservation of our cherished Lake. 
2. Lake Simcoe Regional Airport -Our Conservative government has already invested over $4.5 million in the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport. The airport is an integral part of the local economy and continued investment by our government will help the airport grow and will be beneficial to all residents in the area. 
3. Access to high speed internet 
   

Springwater 

1. Nottawasaga River and Minnesing Wetlands –Along with the Lake Simcoe funding, our Conservative Government also allocated funding for the cleanup of the Nottawasaga River and Minnesing wetlands. I will be a strong advocate for further funding to protect the Nottawasaga Watershed. 
2. Access high speed internet –As I mentioned previously, access to high speed Internet is an integral part for the growth of economy in rural municipalities and businesses that reside in the municipality. Myself along with Conservative Government will continue to support major investments in fibre and broadband infrastructure in rural communities. 
3. Infrastructure
   

QUESTION: How do you plan to balance these priorities and serve each municipality with their different needs?

ANSWER: The needs of each municipality in our riding are not mutually exclusive. The cleanup of Lake Simcoe and the Nottawasaga River and Minnesing Wetlands, along with continued infrastructure investments and low taxes across the board are not competing interests, they are synchronized and require a comprehensive approach. 

 All of our communities and municipalities need to work together and I am here to advocate and ensure each of the needs of the individual municipalities are addressed and represented. 

There will always be an alignment within my offices, in both Ottawa and our riding, to ensure that there is a focus on both urban and rural needs.

QUESTION: What is the most important piece of your party platform for the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding and why?

ANSWER:

• Locally, Lake Simcoe is the most important issue and the Conservative Party has successfully delivered on our promises to cleanup the lake. I will advocate for continued funding over and above the $60M already committed.
• In terms of the national party platform, a balanced budget and strong economy, consisting of low taxes for small and medium sized businesses and reducing the payroll taxes is the most important piece in the Conservative plan for Canada. Unfortunately, both the Liberals and NDP have vowed to increase payroll taxes on small business, killing jobs and hurting business.
• Keeping taxes low and the budget balanced will remain a priority for the Conservative Party and myself. A balanced budget creates the environment for an economy to thrive and allows for small businesses to focus on what they do best: creating jobs and prosperity for our economy, especially in our great riding of Barrie – Springwater – Oro-Medonte. .

No response received at time of publication.

QUESTION: If elected, what will you do to help the business community in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding?

ANSWER: I will start by ensuring that existing and potentially new employers have access to a skilled and educated workforce. This means more applied research/technology transfer support, access to more degree level studies, apprenticeship programs and training. Our travel times need to be reduced through better highways, roads and bridges, getting products and services to market more quickly. We should aim to have a quality of life that is second to none in Canada, and we have the natural resources and diversity to achieve this goal through steady progress. I hope to also be personally involved in approaches to attract business and industry to the region, and to expand existing businesses and industry, working closely with municipal and provincial representatives.

QUESTION: There are distinct characteristics for each municipality in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding; as a resident, what are your top three priorities for each of these municipalities and why?

ANSWER: My top priorities for Springwater Township include obtaining funding to improve the health and sustainability of the Nottawasaga River watershed. I also see an amazing opportunity to establish a world-class eco-tourism business in the Minesing Wetlands, improving the appreciation of the importance of wetlands and creating employment. As population growth does occur, to whatever degree, infrastructure support will be required to ensure environmental sustainability and a high quality of life. These infrastructure needs include more varied accommodation for seniors. 

Oro – Medonte (and Springwater) has a range of agricultural issues that I want to help the local community address, including crop insurance and supply management. Planning for an expanded Highway 11 should be advanced. Expanded support for improving the health of Lake Simcoe will also be sought. 

Barrie’s priorities are everything infrastructure related (touched on in the first question), including affordable housing, and green initiatives and business. Improving the health of Lake Simcoe is an ongoing priority, with Little Lake also needing to be considered

QUESTION: How do you plan to balance these priorities and serve each municipality with their different needs?

ANSWER: I plan to work very closely with each municipality and provincial representatives around local priorities and challenges. I strongly believe that the Federal Government should generally be a funding partner rather than driver of infrastructure decisions – these are better left to the municipal and provincial governments to prioritize. I will have an open door to constituents, and I will seek advice from established local groups on local issues. I will seek out funding opportunities for our riding and the broader region, and work to make the possible a reality.

QUESTION: What is the most important piece of your party platform for the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding and why?

ANSWER: The Liberal Party is committed to the largest infrastructure program in the history of Canada - $125 billion over 10 years. This is necessary because of our country’s huge public infrastructure deficit, an economy that is sluggish at best, and record low interest rates. In our area, that means better public transit, new roads, bridges, environmental initiatives and investments, and low income and seniors housing. We also have railways and an airport that in time may need added federal investment.

QUESTION: If elected, what will you do to help the business community in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding?

ANSWER: Barrie, Springwater, Oro-Medonte boasts so many fine small businesses. We commit to helping these businesses flourish by reducing the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%. We feel confident that a savings of almost 20% will encourage business owners to expand, hire staff, and enjoy greater prosperity. 

To assist the business community, we need to grow the economy. NDP initiatives like $15 per day day care will help to ensure an available labour pool. And when this labour pool is working, they are buying goods, paying taxes, and jump-starting the economy. This benefits every business in our riding and across the country. 

As a former small business owner and a current mentor to Canadian business, I recognize that businesses need each other to survive and thrive. When we attract manufacturing opportunities to our community (like green technology, software development and others) and pay employees a decent wage we know that there will be more dresses sold, more restaurant meals consumed. All good things. 

We need to keep Barrie, Springwater, Oro-Medonte the safe and welcoming place that it is, and we need to provide affordable housing and transit to attract workers who are here for the long haul. The NDP is committed to creating 100,000 new affordable housing units, and investing an additional .01 per litre of your .10 cent per litre gas tax in infrastructure and transit.

QUESTION: There are distinct characteristics for each municipality in the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding; as a resident, what are your top three priorities for each of these municipalities and why?

ANSWER: While the municipalities are geographically and in many respects characteristically distinct, the common needs of each community that can be met by an NDP government are consistent throughout. 

Barrie, Springwater and Oro-Medonte all need economic growth – more people working, paying taxes, and buying goods. 

Barrie, Springwater, Oro-Medonte needs to improve the lives of seniors – by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement, by providing a caregiver tax credit, by increasing the number of homecare workers, by re-investing in health care to make hospital wait times shorter, and by making long-term care beds accessible to our seniors without an average 230 day wait. 

And seniors throughout the riding are telling me that we should roll back the OAS benefit to 65 from the 67 that the Conservatives raised it to. We know that the CPP is rock-solid, and that there is money to provide for Canadians in their golden years. We’re committed to returning it to 65. 

To point out some items that are specific to each, I would say that we would need to focus on the following: 

Barrie – infrastructure and transit, affordable housing, and $15 per day daycare. The NDP commits to improving the lives of residents in all of these areas. Without increasing personal income taxes. 

Springwater and Oro-Medonte - having grown up in farming community, I can relate to the distinct needs of farmers living in these absolutely beautiful areas. 

Under the Harper government, we have seen the loss of over 30,000 family farms, and farm debt has increased by 70%. The NDP promises a payment protection plan for produce farmers and to maintain our supply management system.

QUESTION: How do you plan to balance these priorities and serve each municipality with their different needs?

ANSWER: We have a unique and fortunate blend in our riding of rural and urban communities. I think that many of the needs and priorities are similar – people throughout the riding want to work at decent paying jobs without having to leave the area. The NDP is committed to making that happen. 

I think the MP for this area needs to be on the lookout for opportunities that will benefit Barrie, Springwater and Oro-Medonte. 

Primarily though, I think that the MP needs to really listen to residents, fact gather, and bring those questions and concerns to Ottawa, and get answers. What is important to the hardworking farmer who risks losing a 3rd generation family farm is different than a student who wonders how they’ll pay tuition. Where there are problems, there are solutions. Your MP needs to compile data through dialogue, really know the community, and make noise about it in Parliament. When opportunity knocks, your MP needs to be ready to respond.

QUESTION: What is the most important piece of your party platform for the Barrie Springwater Oro-Medonte riding and why?

ANSWER: While each and every bit of the platform is well thought-out, doable, achievable and with the best interests of Canadians in mind, I would have to say that our commitment to growing the economy by reducing the small business tax, providing affordable housing, providing $15 per day daycare, by supporting business at every turn without increasing personal income tax is going to significantly improve the lives of residents of our riding, and of all Canadians.