BarrieToday is running profiles, in alphabetical order, on each of the five candidates in the Barrie-Innisfil riding. For more campaign coverage, visit our election page.
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The two most common complaints Conservative candidate John Brassard hears coming up among voters are interwoven.
They are "affordability anxiety" as well as debt and deficit, which means "a government that can live within its means," he says.
"A lot of people feel like they're not getting ahead; they're just getting by," said Brassard, who's seeking his second term as Barrie-Innisfil MP. "I'm hearing a lot about people working two jobs. I'm hearing a lot from seniors, as well, that they're not getting ahead."
On the country's financial affairs, Brassard says debt and deficit, and the effect that has on services, has people concerned.
"The two issues go hand in hand," he said, adding where Canadians are going to "feel the pinch" is in servicing the debt. "Somebody has to pay for that and it's taxpayers."
Climate change is also taking a front-row seat this campaign as a national and global issue.
Brassard says "people want government to do something about climate change, but they don't want to pay for it."
The Conservatives would scrap the carbon tax, instead focusing "on technology, not taxes," he said.
"The carbon tax has had a cascading effect across the economy," Brassard said. "It's increased prices not just on fuel, but on groceries or anything that wholesalers, producers and manufacturers pass on down the line to the consumer, they end up paying for it."
Due to the high level of commuters in Barrie-Innisfil, Brassard says the carbon tax also has a "disproportionately high effect on people" living in the riding.
"This is a global problem and Canada is punching way above its weight with respect to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions," he added. "We're doing everything that we can. Canada should be taking a leadership role."
Meanwhile, to solve the concerns around affordability and debt, Brassard says the Tories have a "series of tax measures designed to put more money into people's pockets: our universal tax cut, and removing the GST on home heating, because heating your home in Canada is not a luxury, it's a necessity."
Brassard says they would also increase the age credit for seniors so they can get more back on their taxes, as well as implementing tax credits associated with sports, fitness, arts and culture.
"We're also focused on cutting our foreign spending by 25 per cent, repatriating some of that money back here into Canada so it can be put into programs and services to help seniors, to help veterans, to help the most vulnerable in our society," he said.
Brassard says there's a "bidding war" going on between political parties, "with all of the promises they're making, and the deficits that are going to occur as a result of those promises. People who are looking for a government to live within its means, that's precisely what we're going to do."
Brassard's campaign office is located at 500 Huronia Rd., Unit 208. For more information, click here.
The federal election is Oct. 21.
