Eduard Hiebert, independent Kildonan-St. Paul

Why do you want this job?

There is such a humongous, large gap between what the elected do and what the people want. I have also recognized that, as a farmer, we have lost many institutions.

I'm trying to alert people to how we can achieve a much better democratic outcome even now in the 2015 election.

What's the biggest issue for the country and in your riding?

The very large gap between what the elected do and what the people want in Canada. In my riding, the fact that we don't have honest representation.

The problem is that the vast majority of the MPs declared elected are elected when the majority didn't vote for them. All of our party leaders were elected bywhat I calla vote 1-2-3 ballot. It takes a village to raise a child. I am also saying that it takes a village to achieve democracy. None of the candidates can actually give it to the people. It's something that the people have to participate in themselves.A vote 1-2-3 at the local level can achieve that for us. It ends up with a more pleasing democratic outcome than the current first-past-the-post system.

What would you do with the Senate?

I think it needs to be made more effective. The aspect of how the prime minister can stack the whole thing is irresponsible. The short answer isyou don't throw the baby out with the bath water. I think there is an appropriate stage for a second sober thought. However, it should be on a much more democratic perspective. Currently, the appointments are all partisan, which is ridiculous.

Winnipeg was described as the most racist city in Canada. What would you do to combat racism?

Through the vote 1-2-3 process, I would certainly push that would be done. It would help in many ways for the elected to be much more responsive to the needs of the people and that the people themselves would be able to change it.

Clearly, to some extent, the police use profiling. With this, we would have much more accountable policing. I think that is also true, for example, with the missing and murdered indigenous women. We would be clearly looking at that. But it would also extend to drugs. It would contribute to a much more holistic society. The abuse of power is part of it. There is an awful lot of bullying going on.

My sense is that racism is just another abuse of power. I'm not trying to minimize it. It needs to be addressed. But it's just a part of a larger fix that is necessary.

What role should the federal government play in dealing with climate change?

A much more progressive one. First of all, look, it's worth repeating that there's a large gap between what the elected do and what the people want. My sense, through the vote 1-2-3 system, there would be many, many people that would want a more fiscally responsible and greater stewardship with the resources that are out there currently.

I think there is a real need for reduction in greenhouse gases. It's nuts to get a subsidy to replace a larger vehicle with another large vehicle and not for something much more economical. Too much of the current Harper government is based on what's good for big businesses and not what's good for planet Earth.

If there is one government policy you think is done better in another country, what is it?

I think the European countries do a much better job with prostitution. The Harper government tries to ignore it. I'm not advocating the lifestyle, just like cigarettes. But I think a much more properly done harm reduction society would be a lot better than what the current government is doing.

Under what circumstances is deficit spending a good choice?

The spending needs to be divided into two different categories. One is with regards to day-to-day maintenance, just like in a household as far as your day-to-day needs versus just building a house or a road. With a whole host of things that will have a return on investment, such as education, they have an opportunity to pay themselves back, and especially now with the low interest rates and high unemployment, I think there's a big role government plays in stimulating the economy that way.

At the same time, we have to be very cautious that we don't live out of our means. We can't live on our credit cards, maxing them out. That's a very fast track for financial ruin. Deficits on their own need not be good or bad on their own.You need to understand what they are for.

What do you believe is the single most effective way to fight crime?

Very similar with what happens in work: progressive discipline. It starts from education, at the best level, all the way to the aspect of having to censor people for behaviour that isn't tolerated. The emphasis is on education and modification as opposed to the current fiasco of locking people up and throwing away the key.

What should be done about homegrown terrorism?

The current government uses fear as a wedge issue. Fear is not a natural state of civilized people, quoting Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.

To bring it back to the vote 1-2-3: We would be encouraging society that the rules of the road are more collaborative.

My own sense is that we need to make sure that the safety net of our society, both from a health and economic reason, is that people have living wages. Because we are putting so many people at risk, having a more appropriate safety net will help reduce some of the things going on.

If there was a gay pride parade in your riding, would you go? Why or why not?

There's an old cartoon that I saw in the '60s that had to do with the hippie movement. There were two young people who were enjoying each other's company and then there were two older people who were also on a different park bench. One asks, "Can you tell which is which?"The other one wisely responded, "As long as they know."

I'm not here advocating the lifestyle, but there is no need to discriminate who they are.

Have either you or your family had a frustrating experience with the health-care system, and what would you do to fix the problem?

Yes. I've had the experience of a family member being in home care. I think home care is a phenomenally good service, but it is not run appropriately.

There was a report indicating there were a lot of problems. Health care is divided into, I think, seven jurisdictions across Manitoba. Far too many of them at the highest levels, both the directors and the people at the highest levels too much of that is patronage, and they're not hired on the basis of the qualifications they have.

What would you do to get more people to vote?

That brings me back to the vote 1-2-3 system. In doing that, my recommendation is that we limit it only to those who are registered with Elections Canada, which means two things. One, it means we don't have to duplicate what Elections Canada is doing for vetting who is qualified to vote or not. The other aspect is, because there is so much voter suppression and it's difficult to get voters registered, through the vote 1-2-3, we are basically empowering the community to ask people if they're registered or not. If not, please register, and if you do, you can participate in the preferentialpoll beforehand.

The whole process, if the community takes it on, reinvigorates and takes back democracy. It's a means where the community can do its own canvassing. When the community is doing it, their basic function is to encourage the people to participate and vote and leave it up to the people to decide the ranking of the candidate. Currently, parties are just trying to find people who are going to vote for them. They don't care what the voter turnout is. They just care what the voter turnout is for themselves.

What's a better use of federal dollars: fixing roads or building rapid transit infrastructure?

Life is more complex than an either/or. Both are necessary.

Would you support legalizing a small amount of marijuana? And have you ever tried it?

I have never tried it. The closest I've been is when people around me have used it. I don't intend to use it, but I do think some form of legalization or regulation is absolutely essential.

This business of throwing so many people in jail for small amounts of possession is idiotic. By regulating it, we will see very significant harm reduction, and it will make for a much better society than this punitive war on crime we currently have.