Andrew Park, Green Winnipeg South Centre

Why do you want this job?

I think the country is going in the wrong direction under the current government, and I think there's never been a time in Canada's history when green policies were not more needed.

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

For Canada as a whole, there are so many. If you're a person of a certain age, it's likely health care. The international economy is weak and has been since 2008. There's a serious issue of how the federal government is going to pay for its responsibilities under the Confederation. So far I haven't heard anybody address that to any satisfaction.

If I look at it in an international context, the most important issue facing Canada is the most important issue facing the world, and that is are we going to take real action against climate change. This is something the different political leaders in Winnipeg haven't been talking about, because climate change is seen as a slow-motion crisis. The worst effects of climate change are still to come.

The future of Kapyong Barracks is one issue in our riding that's going to affect the western area of Winnipeg South Centre. We know something's going to happen with it going forward, but I think people are still waiting to see how that plays out going forward.

The rapid transit corridor occupies quite a bit of Winnipeg South Centre, and I think how that develops is also important. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the current route but it's the plan we've got.

What would you do with the Senate?

I think we need the Senate. The Senate can serve a very useful purpose. I know there are a lot of constitutional challenges to reforming the Senate and I know there are difficulties of getting provinces on the side of the Senate, but I really do believe it has to be done.

I disagree that the only path forward is to abolish it, and I don't think you can do that constitutionally anyway, so we have to work with the provinces to arrive at an acceptable formula to reconstitute the Senate. This can be done with the Triple-Eformula, elected, equitable and effective, in which case all the people in there right now would have to reapply for their job and get elected.

An alternative would be to keep the system of appointment but take it out of the hands of the prime minister because the system Senate appointment is fatally politicized and has contributed to the current dysfunction within the Senate. An alternative for that option would be to strike provincial committees of knowledgeable people and put forward names of those parties who are actually qualified to apply some sober second thought to legislation.

You may never get all the politics out of Senate appointment, but you have to try and minimize it so the Senate can actually do the job it was originally intended to do.

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

Racism is everywhere. By virtue of the fact that you live in a city with a mixture of different cultures, there's going to be some racism.

Racism in Winnipeg has a particular flavour in that it is more often directed at people of aboriginal ancestry. The challenge is to allow the aboriginal members of our population to live fully realized lives. There are too many barriers in the way of them getting the education they deserve and getting their career on track. It's frequently very difficult for people who come down off of isolated reserves to move to the big city. As far as I can tell, the support networks in place are inadequate for that.

I think, as with any prejudice, the answer to prejudice is often long-term programs of education. We're moving in the right direction,but to say Winnipeg is the most racist city well, racism is everywhere.

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

The federal government is the linchpin in climate change. The federal government is responsible for negotiating our international position on climate change.

The current government, for the last 10 years, has been playing the role of spoiler in climate negotiations. This is a huge problem. We see it in the fact that the prime minister, to my knowledge, has never attended any of the negotiations surrounding climate change;it's always been the environment minister.

It's time the federal government started taking climate seriously. It has to take its responsibility to negotiate finding targets. Mr. Harper made a start to that at the G7 summit, when he actually signed on to a pan-European target to make very large greenhouse gas reductions by 2050, but anyone can set a target for something they are going to do in 35 years time. The point is if you set that target, you've got to start achieving that target now. Eventually the federal government will have to get together with the provinces in order to talk about how we're going to achieve the targets set.

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

Right now, Canada provides child-care spaces for less then 22 per cent of its kids under the age of six. The average figure for Europe is more like 70 per cent.

It's not just an issue of fairness and flexibility for mothers, it's an issue of what it's costing the Canadian economy and what it's costing families. Show me a family where they can make enough money with only one person working there's not that many around. Bringing child-care spaces up to the European average is a win-win situation. It may cost something, but it will also allow us to save money and also allow people to make money.

Under what circumstances is deficit spending a good choice?

I don't think we should be deficit spending all the time because that has its own consequences, but on occasion, deficit spending is necessary. Specifically of course if your economy finds itself in a recession where revenues are falling,you're then faced with a stark choice:you can either start running a deficit or you can start cutting the services you provide to Canadians. Deficit spending is something that every country, in the history of the industrial civilization at least, has done from time to time.

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

I think the answer depends on what's the crime. If you're talking about the trouble youth get into, then the answer is you've got to have mentorship. You have to have enforcement, but there has to be enforcement with compassion. More attention needs to be paid to rehabilitation.

We've got far too much into the habit of seeing prison as strictly a punitive system, and I think we're in danger of the rehabilitation aspect falling through the cracks. We need to look at who's at risk to reoffend, and who can go on to be a productive member of society if they have the correct mentorship, correct education and correct programs to reintroduce them into society.

What should be done about homegrown terrorism?

First of all we have to see who the vulnerable youth are, and we have to find out why these extremist appeals have some sort of allure for certain subsections of the youth. Can we prevent them from being exposed to radicalized things? Should we prevent them from travelling over to Turkey and passing into Syria, where their radicalization will actually bear fruit? I think we should consider it.

There is very little reason for a Canadian other than an aid worker, member of the military or diplomat to be in any of these regions right now. For certain places, especially places that are beyond the reach of consulate, officials should very much think about instituting travel bans.

I will tell you Bill C-51 is not the answer to homegrown terrorism. It will do absolutely nothing to prevent the radicalization of youth.

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

I have gone to pride and am fully in support of it. I wanted to show we, as a party, and myself, as an individual,support gay pride. Quite a few of my friends are gay, and I know what they go through.

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

We know there are plenty of people who have had frustrating experiences, whether it's waiting times for long-term care facilities for elderly people or finding long-term beds for rehabilitation. We know the health-care system is definitely under strain.

What would you do to get more people to vote?

This is something that exercises my attention a lot. First of all we go into the areas where we know voter turnout is low and try to engage the people. Having a candidate at the door and talking about voting is important. Actually having the candidate at the door more than on social media, the radio or in the paper is one thing that encourages people to vote. If I get a person that says I don't vote for whatever reason, I definitely encourage them to vote, because I believe this is going to be the most important election in our generation.

I think experts are still wrestling with how to get people to vote. We know if you're in a family where your parents vote, you're more likely to vote, and if yourfamily has routinely been politically disengaged, then chances are you're not going to vote. We have to find ways to engage people. I think it starts in school. We have to boost our civics programs so that the structure of Parliament and what goes on in Parliament is known.

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

It's not either/or, it's both. When you look at the conditions of the roads in Winnipeg, a majority of those roads need fixing, so you've got to fix those roads, but transit infrastructure is incredibly important, especially in any city that's growing. You've got to have a rational plan to get people from place to place. At a certain point building more roads or widening roads isn't going to cut it, because we know that traffic expands to a volume that completely occupies whatever road you build.

We need to think of a holistic transit strategy where we think about how to deliver reliable transit to Winnipeggers in every corner of the city. I guess that's one of my problems with the current transit plan it's very focused on one particular route, but people are facing frustration with infrequent bus services in other parts of the city.

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

Yes, in the Green Party we support legalization. It's very simple: legalize it, tax it, but do not promote it in any way.

I have tried it. I can't say it does much for me.