Ontario Votes 2007: Interview with Family Coalition Party candidate Tad Brudzinski, Newmarket-Aurora
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Tad Brudzinski is running for the Family Coalition Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Newmarket-Aurora riding. Wikinews' Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.
He did not answer the question "Of the decisions made by Ontario's 38th Legislative Assembly, which was the most beneficial to your electoral district? To the province as a whole? Which was least beneficial, or even harmful, to your riding? To the province as a whole?"
Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.
Interview
Why have you chosen to involve yourself in the political process? Why did you choose to run in this constituency?
- I had enough of the political circus on the provincial and federal level and was tired of having only a choice of a smaller evil, when voting for politicians, that were not representing me, nor the people I associate with, and who (not even sharing my values) were not going to keep their campaign commitments anyway. The political landscape has been shared by overpresent, virtually monopolistic parties, that compete with each other in degrees of corruption and levels of scandal scoring.
- The reality of life in Ontario is quite different from the Canada of my dreams and the gap continues to grow. It has costed me a great deal of effort to arrive in this fine country in December 1989 and I do not want to let it be wasted. Therefore I jumped at the opportunity to have a chance to positively change the politics of Ontario, by becoming a candidate at the Newmarket-Aurora Electorial Riding.
- In my opinion we cannot afford to stay away from politics anymore. We have to act, while the opportunity is there. People like myself need to regain our voice in this province, as we have been ignored for too long. We must change and regain our democratic right to participate in the government decisions, which affect us on a large scale at both, public and (more and more in the) private areas of our lives. We need to be represented by individuals, who would stand for the values we commonly share, and would work with our best interest in mind. I believe it is up to us to have our voices heard and acted upon in the provincial government.
Which of your competitors do you expect to pose the biggest challenge to your candidacy? Why?
- Frank Klees, as a man of proven integrity, seasoned MPP and a professional politician.
What makes you the most desirable of all candidates running in the riding?
- I was nominated by and do represent the Family Coalition Party - the only party, that is committed to protecting life. We do not make promises we do not intend to keep, just to get the votes. Only FCP has a sound program of reforms in all the areas of the public life. PC and Liberals do not offer anything new - just differ on details, like funding of separate schools. If people are happy with things as they are, they should vote for the big parties and we will get "the same old" guaranteed. From what I see, Ontarians are not happy with the government, feel detached and oppressed so much, that some of them do not even want to talk politics. FCP will bring a long seeked change for the better.
What do you feel are the three most important issues to voters in your riding? Are these the same top three issues that are most important to you? What would you do to address these issues?
- Eradicate poverty, especially child poverty. Many families are struggling financially and sinking into perpetual debt. The government gladly taxes the low income earners. People living in poverty should be tax exempt. FCP would double the tax exemption amount.
- Give legal protection to the people, who are not yet born and still dwell in their mothers' wombs. These people are future voters, who will be able to vote in 18 years. I'm sure it's extremely important to them.
- The health system is in jeopardy. People do not know what to do to stay healthy, as there are so many contradicting advices. Even a Health Minister gets sick from time to time, and doctors die from heart attacks and strokes. Clearly most of us do not know what to do. We should focus on prevention and research, instead of throwing money at the symptoms and enriching big pharma. Also the system needs a redesign. If you tried the hospital food and experienced how bad it was, it would surprise you how expensive it is. The FCP will propose a system of Medical Savings Accounts (MSA) to increase disease prevention, a responsible use of the system and easier access for those in need. The FCP will consider a system of health insurance that allows for competition, and increase the quality of delivery.
What should be the first order of business in the 39th Legislative Assembly?
- Parliament should make sure, that the courts are no longer able to make the law, but only interpret the law in their judicial activities. Parliament has to have the exclusive right to set the law.
Are the property taxes in your riding at a fair level for the amount of services received in the municipality?
- This is not a provincial issue, but a municipal matter. FCP would drop the educational amount from the property taxes and fund education from the general revenue.
How can the province lead the way in stimulating job creation?
- Province should help small businesses and the people, who are interested in starting small businesses.
- I do not think job creation, should be our goal. I think wealth creation should. People do not need more work, we need more wealth. Generally people are busy enough, but hardly getting ahead. There is so much wealth to be generated. We do not necessarily need to work any harder, but should work smarter. The government should facilitate that.
What are your views on the mixed member proportional representation (MMP) referendum?
- The present system does not represent the voters and that's why there is such a low turnout at the polls.
- MMP would allow more voters to be represented in Parliament. Woters would not need to choose a lesser evil anymore. Party leaders would not need to lie in order to win elections, as with the present systems they do.
What role, if any, does "new media" play in your campaign, and the campaign of your party? (websites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube videos, etc) Do you view it as beneficial, or a challenge?
- New media enable regular people to reach fellow Ontarians in an affordable manner and convey our message in efficient way. I have my website. Our party has the www.familycoalitionparty.com website, that had to be hooked up to a larger pipe, to accommodate all the visitors. The FCP leader has his own blog: giuseppegori.blogspot.com Most of the FCP candidates are on Facebook united in the FCP facebook group.
Sources
External links
- Tad Brudzinski, official site
- Elections Ontario