People's Party of Canada Candidate Alain Houle

Emily Mailhot Reporter – Vegreville News Advertiser

As Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada stirs the federal elections pot in the east, a local candidate has been announced in the MP running for the Lakeland riding.

Alain Houle, Ontario-born long-time Vegreville resident, says that he joined the party because of his concerns regarding Andrew Scheer but didn’t think mere membership would elicit the kind of change he hoped for.

“I signed up for a PPC membership in March because all of their values lined up with mine but felt compelled that I needed to do more,” says Houle, “It is important to me to bring awareness to the issues at hand and to make sure that the people of this riding have another choice on the ballot come October.”

Like many PPC candidates, Houle explained that his allegiance with the party stems from core conservative values, and a discontent with the way that the current powers that be have handled federal management.

“For me, core conservative values means fiscal responsibility, free market capitalism, small government, personal responsibility, and in the sovereignty of our Nation.”

Houle stated that a large part of restoring Canada’s sovereignty will require pulling out of UN, (including the Paris Accord and the Migration pact.)

Losely governed borders, but not anti-immigration. “We want people to come in. People who want to take advantage of the economy and diversity that Canada has to offer. But we want to govern borders more tightly to make sure we’re letting in the right people.”

The party also plans to revisit and reduce equalization payments to the provinces, completely separate from “climate alarmist” messaging, and pay off the country’s debt in two years.

About the climate change movement, Houle describes the party’s stance as “to not do anything. To say no to climate alarmists, and acknowledge that the climate is always changing, it has been for milenia and we just need to learn how to adapt… there is no unanimous scientific conclusion regarding climate change.”

The provinces, however, would have the right to govern and tax as they wish.

Houle believes that debt can most easily be eradicated by cutting “the fat” in a few unexpected places. Namely, the discontinuation of funding to CBC networks, Canada Post letter, and all that falls under the umbrella of foreign aid. “It’s not really in our abilities right now, as in-debt as we are. We need to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first so that we have something to offer the rest of the world.”

As for CBC and Canada Post, he believes they will either figure out how to fund privately, be replaced with an alreadyexsisting service, or become obsolete. “There’s no reason that a federal government needs their own media platform. A journalist cannot be objective on state payroll… It leaves too much room for propaganda and programming under the guise of entertainment.”

Houle’s ideal Canada involves better relationships with the First Nations people, with plans to consult with First Nations leaders on better possibilities that would benefit them for the future, rather than the current system. “It’s true that the Canadian government has mistreated first nations in the past, and the current reserves are a product of that. I think with some consultation we can work out something that will offer better opportunity for them going forward.”

Among his suggestions, land ownership in current reserve or treaty land was one idea. Also mentioned were the disparity of clean water and proper roads.

Also in Houle’s sights, and available on the PPC website, are points such as:

Abolish the capital gains tax

• End corporate welfare

• Repeal the federal carbon tax

• Protect Canadian values from political & religious extremism

• Withdrawn from UN agenda including the Paris Accord and

Migration Pact

• Balance the budget within 2 years of taking power

• Bold federal tax reform (0-$15k no fed tax, $15k-$100k=15% & <100k=25%)

• Review the billions spent on foreign aid, and phase out all aid with no moral or economic efficiency argument

• Drop Corporate Income Tax from 15% to 10%

Finally, he added that the most important thing any eligible voters can do is to be educated on all party platforms, and approach the polls with a sense of the Canada they wish to see.

“Give the PPC platform a read, even for the sake of informing yourself. Give every platform a read… there can be an attitude which dismisses a party because they are small or new, and a definite attitude we’ve seen recently of “voting against someone,” instead of voting in a way that aligns most with your beliefs. If there’s anything I would want to encourage voters to do this fall, it would be to vote for something, not against something.”