Know your candidates: Meet Conservative’s Eric Duncan

PC CANDIDATE – INCUMBENT

1 – Please give us a brief biography / tell the readers about yourself. (e.g. work, family, education, experience)

I am a 33 year old resident of the Cotton Mills in Cornwall, and am proud to have been born and raised in the riding. Before serving in my current role as Member of Parliament, I served 12 years on municipal Council in SD&G as Councillor (age 18) and then Mayor of North Dundas (age 22), and Warden of SD&G (age 25). I also had the honour of working as Executive Assistant to my predecessor Guy Lauzon for 9 years in both Ottawa and in the riding. I have a wide range of community experience as a volunteer and Board member of numerous organizations. I have a strong record of working together with Canadians of all backgrounds to make our community and our country a better place to live and work.

2 – What makes you the best choice to be our Member of Parliament?

I have loved the past 22 months as our community’s Member of Parliament. Most of that time has been focused on the pandemic, and advocating for both income and business support programs. As we near the end, we need to refocus on Canada’s recovery and get our economy firing on all cylinders again. We also need strong local leadership to address local federal issues such as the future of the Transport Canada lands along the St. Lawrence River, maintaining and growing our VIA train service in Cornwall, and getting our fair share of funding to tackle important infrastructure projects to grow our city and region.

3 – What is the most important Federal issue affecting people here in the riding of SDSG? How will your party address this issue?

The most important issue locally is having a detailed recovery plan to get Canadians working again and get our small businesses back at 100% capacity. We released a full platform, Canada’s Recovery Plan, on Day 2 that explains how a Conservative government would create 1 million jobs with bold incentives, tackle our housing crisis by building 1 million homes in 3 years and banning foreign buyers. Our cost of living and inflation is at 20-year highs as a result of unsustainable spending levels. Our platform addresses all of those main issues that I believe are top priorities in SDSG.

4 – What are your thoughts on Canada’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic? What is your party’s plan to address the pandemic moving forward?

Conservatives were there to support programs that helped Canadians who lost their jobs, and businesses who were forced to shut down. We constructively offered improvements, like improving the wage subsidy from 10% to 70% and expanding eligibility for the emergency business loans. We also showed leadership by exposing corruptions and scandals like the WE Charity scandal and sole-source contracts to Liberal insiders. The core of our platform is a 5-point to secure our future: SECURE JOBS by recovering the 1 million jobs lost during the pandemic within one year. SECURE ACCOUNTABILITY by enacting a new Anti-Corruption law to clean up the mess in Ottawa. SECURE MENTAL HEALTH through our Canada Mental Health Action Plan. SECURE THE COUNTRY by creating a strategic stockpile of essential products and building the capacity to manufacture vaccines at home. SECURE OUR ECONOMY by balancing the budget over the next decade.

5 – What are the best ways to support economic recovery after a pandemic? What will your party do to support small businesses?

Our top priority is getting as many people back to work in good jobs, in every part of Canada, in every sector, as quickly as possible. We will do whatever it takes to get people working and get the economy back on track. Canada’s Conservatives got us out of the last recession—we’ll get us out of this one, too. Our plan will also increase long-term economic growth. To create more good jobs and put our government finances on a stable footing, we can no longer accept the slow growth of the last few years. Canada’s Conservatives will protect the Canadian social contract. That means jobs and growth in every sector in every part of the country. There are many working Canadians who haven’t kept up with the economic growth and prosperity enjoyed by others for years. Canada’s Conservatives won’t allow areas or sectors to be left behind. Our detailed plan to get Canadians back to work includes will four major initiatives to create jobs: • Canada Job Surge Plan: paying up to 50% of the salary of new hires for six months following the end of CEWS. • Canada Investment Accelerator: getting companies spending money and creating jobs by providing a 5% investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023, with the first $25,000 to be refundable for small business. • Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit: providing a 25% tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years, to get money flowing into main street businesses and create jobs. • Main Street Business Loan: providing loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism get back on their feet, with up to 25% forgiven.

6 – What is your reaction to the UN climate report? Does Canada have a responsibility to reduce carbon emissions, and if yes, what is the best course of action?

Canada must not ignore the reality of climate change. It is already affecting our ecosystems, hurting our communities, and damaging our infrastructure. Every single target that Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have set for Canada- they have failed to meet. As the world continues to mobilize to meet this challenge, it will inevitably lead to change. This will present challenges for Canada but also opportunities if we are smart. If we are to secure our future, we must be prepared for both. Increasingly, the world will be demanding cleaner products, and investors will be demanding to see real efforts to lower emissions. Fortunately, Canada is well-placed to compete in this world. All it needs is a government that is focused on helping Canadians succeed in every sector and in every region of the country. We will fight climate change and protect the environment, but we won’t do it on the backs of working Canadians or by hurting the economy. Canadians can’t afford Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax hike. Canada’s Conservatives will meet our Paris climate commitment and reduce emissions by 2030, but without the government taxing working Canadians and driving jobs and investment out of the country. We recognize that the most efficient way to reduce our emissions is to use pricing mechanisms. However, having a market-based approach means that we cannot ignore the fact that our integrated North American partner – the United States – does not yet have a national carbon pricing system. Further, the present state of global trade allows some of the world’s worst polluters to become free riders to the detriment of Canadian workers. Any serious plan has to recognize these realities. Carbon pricing should not result in Canadians sending billions of dollars of new tax revenue to the government – revenue which it will be increasingly tempted to spend. To reach our goal, we’ll work with the provinces to give Canada the best chance to be a leader in climate action. We’ll bring the provinces together to discuss the next steps in climate action and how we can work together to meet Canada’s goal. This is the plan we will put to the provinces as a federal partner.

7 – Tragic discoveries have been made at Residential schools. What should the Federal Government do to address this and other issues impacting Aboriginals (e.g., land claims, clean drinking water, etc.)?

Indigenous peoples and all Canadians should expect their government to recognize Indigenous and treaty rights and to work together with Indigenous peoples as nation-to-nation partners to resolve long-standing challenges. Recent events have illustrated the scale of the obstacles that Indigenous peoples have faced throughout Canada’s history, and Canadians are more determined to move forward with reconciliation than ever before. At this singular moment in Canada’s history, it is crucial that our efforts are focused on durable solutions that make a real and meaningful impact on the quality of life of Indigenous peoples. Recent reports, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, have identified significant gaps in opportunity and outcome between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. All levels of government need to engage with Indigenous peoples to make meaningful progress in closing these gaps. Canada’s Conservatives believe in building a true partnership to ensure a just and secure place for thriving, self-determining Indigenous nations within the fabric of Canada. That starts with making the recognition of Indigenous rights a top priority and that is the lens through which we will approach all Indigenous issues. It also begins with making serious efforts to listen, learn, understand, and demonstrate our enduring commitment through our actions. Specifically on addressing our tragic Residential schools history, Canada’s Conservatives will: • Develop a comprehensive plan to implement TRC Calls to Action 71 through 76. • Fund the investigation at all former residential schools in Canada where unmarked graves may exist, including the sites where children have already been discovered. • Ensure that proper resources are allocated for communities to reinter, commemorate, and honour any individuals discovered through the investigation, according to the wishes of their next of kin. • Develop a detailed and thorough set of resources to educate Canadians of all ages on the tragic history of residential schools in Canada. • Build a national monument in Ottawa that honours residential school survivors and all the children who were lost.

8 – Canada banned blood donations from gay men since 1992. Since 2013, there have been ongoing restrictions. Do you support lifting the remaining restrictions? Why or why not?

I am proud of my work on Parliament Hill to raise awareness of the discriminatory blood ban and calling out the Liberal government’s broken promise of 6.5 years to end it. Conservatives will get the job done by safely changing the questionnaire from a sexual orientation-based to behavior-based. It keeps the blood supply safe, and allows more people to safely donate.

9 – What are your thoughts on the Trudeau government? Most significant accomplishment and/or biggest failures?

Justin Trudeau and the Liberals called an unnecessary $600 million election in the midst of a 4th wave, BC wildfires, the crisis in Afghanistan, and other challenges that deserved their full attention. I am not an overtly partisan person, but their performance since the campaign began is a good summary of my thoughts on their conduct. They were arrogant and unprepared. Justin Trudeau and Liberal insiders simply expected Canadians to quickly give them a majority government with less accountability in the House of Commons. Instead, they have had major gaffes, broken pandemic protocols and rules, and had to change positions on major issues numerous times. Simply put: the Liberals are out of ideas, are out of touch, and I believe we need a steady, competent government in Ottawa that can maturely lead Canada’s economic recovery from this pandemic.

10 – Which political leader is the best choice for Prime Minister and why? Erin O’Toole will make a fantastic Prime Minister of Canada. I have had the pleasure to work alongside him in Ottawa the past 10 months and got to see what Canadians have come to witness the first few weeks of the election campaign. He is smart, compassionate, well spoken, articulate, and actually answers questions asked of him. We didn’t call this unnecessary $600 million election, but Erin and our team has shown we are ready. We had a fully-costed and detailed platform on Day 2. Canadians are getting to see more of Erin O’Toole with more equal coverage taking place during the campaign. He has served as country well in our Canadian Armed Forces, and I believe he would make us proud as Prime Minister of Canada