2019 Manitoba Election

Liz Clayton - Agassiz

1. Why did you decide to run in the Manitoba election?

Like many other people, I am becoming increasingly concerned with the way we have been managing our resources – human, natural and economic.  We need a Green choice in Agassiz on September 10th, and I have stepped up to the challenge.  Our party leader, James Beddome, is a quality person, and I am proud to be a Manitoba Green candidate.  Unlike other parties that are tearing each other up, and campaigning on “fear”, we offer a positive vision of the future for everyone, and we are willing to work with other parties to get the job done.  

2. Why should a voter consider electing you to represent them?

People think we are a one-issue party, but if you vote for me, you are also voting for a full platform that responds to the pressing issues of our province.  Our top priority is to address the climate crisis, but we also have a Basic Income plan that will break the cycle of poverty, and a comprehensive health care strategy that focuses on preventative, community-based health care.

 

 

3. What key issue(s) / topic(s) will you stand for in your role as MLA, and why are these important to you?

Well, I am Green, so I believe that we need a clean green economy.  In rural Manitoba, many of our young people have been migrating to the oil-patch, living in camps, and then coming back home to catch up and help out.  The money might be good, but it comes at a huge sacrifice to our youth, to our communities, and ultimately, to the climate. The transition to clean energy will keep our young people closer to home by creating new jobs in the locally-produced energy and retrofit sector.   We must have access to local health care services, and we need investment, not cuts, to give our students a solid education for the future.  Finally, I am concerned with habitat loss and waterways, as woods and wetlands continue to be cleared, drained and tiled.  We must work with all stakeholders to create incentives that will preserve our prairie wildlands and wetlands.  Our future depends on this. 

 

 

4. Do you have any other comments regarding your candidacy?

People on the doorstep are telling me that they are worried about the future.  They have seen their hometowns change, shrinking as they lose services and young people to the larger communities, or growing, and putting pressure on housing and services.  Even the landmarks are changing, with larger farms, absentee land-owners, and continual clearing, ditching and draining. We need to heat our homes and we need to drive to get around out here, but how can we afford to upgrade to cleaner energy sources?  With the price of land, how can we afford to leave that woodlot? I want to tell people that it is time to put aside the fear, and embrace the future, and vote Green. We have realistic and achievable goals, and I will be proud to represent our riding into the future!