150 Randall St., Suite 100, Oakville, (905)842-4343 voteterenceyoung@gmail.com

99 Bronte Road, Oakville L6L 3B7, 905-601-5646 john@voteoliver.ca John Oliver is the former President and CEO of Halton Healthcare Services, following a lengthy and successful career in public service. John envisioned the future needs of the community and ensured those needs would be met by leading the $2.7B infrastructure project for the new Oakville Hospital. The new hospital is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canada, and John is proud of its innovative, patient-centric and environmentally responsible design. Once it opens in December, the hospital will begin to employ an additional 1,000 people over the current hospital’s staffing levels. John has considerable experience working with various levels of government, both through the new hospital project and from having served as Assistant Deputy Minister to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. John currently sits as Chair of the Partnerships for Health System Improvement Review Panel of the Canadian Institute for Health Research, and he served as Pension Observer of the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) Board. Part of John’s desire to enter federal politics stems from his passion for our universal health care system and the principles of the Canada Health Act, and the failure of the current government to renew the Federal/Provincial Health Accord. Also, John is motivated by the need to solve the significant economic and social challenges that lie ahead—such as economic development and diversification, and income and wealth inequality—and renew our commitment to democratic principles. The Liberal Party platform focuses on a three-point plan to:

• Create jobs with the most significant infrastructure investment in Canadian history – almost $60 billion in new funding over the next ten years;
• Grow the middle class by raising taxes on the wealthiest one percent and cutting taxes for middle class Canadians; and
• Help those working to join the middle class by investing in essential social infrastructure, including affordable housing and child care, as well as providing more money to help families with the high cost of raising their kids.

John has lived in Oakville for 19 years with his wife Joanna and his children Rachel, Alex and William. John is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University and a Master’s degree in Health Sciences Administration from the University of Toronto. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 for service to Canada. In your opinion, what are Oakville’s top infrastructure needs and how does your party plan to address them? In Oakville, I believe that the top infrastructure needs are public transit, green infrastructure, and social infrastructure. Public transit As is the case throughout the GTA, Oakville needs more public transit to shorten commute times, cut air pollution, strengthen our communities, and grow our economy. Canadian cities have been growing at a rapid rate, but investment in public transit has not kept pace. Stephen Harper’s failure to invest has led to worsening traffic congestion, making it harder for families to spend time together. This gridlock also costs our economy billions of dollars in lost productivity each year. We will get our communities moving again by giving our provinces, territories, and municipalities the long-term, predictable federal funding they need to make transit plans a reality. Over the next decade, we will quadruple federal investment in public transit, investing almost $20 billion more in transit infrastructure. Green infrastructure Green infrastructure refers to infrastructure that makes our communities safer and more resilient, given the challenges inherent in extreme weather brought about by climate change. Responsible governments do not walk away from challenges, or pretend they do not exist. We will protect our communities from the challenges of climate change and grow our economy by making significant new investments in green infrastructure. This includes investments in local water and wastewater facilities; clean energy; climate resilient infrastructure, including flood mitigation systems; and infrastructure to protect against changing weather. We will boost investment in green infrastructure by nearly $6 billion over the next four years, and almost $20 billion over ten years. Social infrastructure There is a pressing need for more affordable housing in Oakville. The recently released Vital Signs 2015 report found that 96% of homes sold in Oakville were unaffordable, because house prices have greatly outpaced the living wage in Oakville. Even though the Regional Municipality of Halton has introduced innovative programs to address affordability, the average wait time for rent-geared-to-income housing is 2.5 to 5 years. Clearly, more needs to be done to improve housing affordability in Oakville. Today, one in four Canadian households is paying more than it can afford for housing, and one in eight cannot find affordable housing that is safe, suitable, and well maintained. When affordable housing is in short supply, Canadians feel less secure and our whole economy suffers. We will renew federal leadership in housing, starting with a new, ten-year investment in social infrastructure. We will prioritize investments in affordable housing and seniors’ facilities, build more new housing units and refurbish old ones, give support to municipalities to maintain rent-geared-to-income subsidies in co-ops, and give communities the money they need for Housing First initiatives that help homeless Canadians find stable housing. What measures would your party pursue to ensure Oakville manufacturers can compete globally? Canada is a trading nation. A Liberal government will expand trade because it is good for Canada’s economy and for job creation. Exporting industries pay 50% higher wages than non-trading industries and lead to economic growth that will deliver a real and fair chance for middle class families. Free trade opens international markets to Canadian goods and services, grows export-oriented businesses, creates jobs, and provides Canadians with choice and lower prices. A Liberal government will re-energize cooperation and collaboration inside and outside of Canada to reduce trade and commerce roadblocks between Canada and other countries. The Conservative government’s one-dimensional view of the world leads to trade negotiations conducted in secrecy and without consultation, and final agreements that Canadians do not trust are in their best interests. Liberals strongly believe in the need to deepen our economic relationship with China. The Liberal Party of Canada supports free trade, as this is how we open markets to Canadian goods and services, grow export-oriented businesses, create jobs, and provide choice and lower prices to Canadian consumers. The Conservative government has refused to meaningfully engage with China which has hurt Canada’s trade, bilateral, and tourism relationship. A Liberal government will reengage with China to rebuild our historically strong bilateral relationship. The Liberal Party of Canada supports free trade as this is how we open markets to Canadian goods and services, grow Canadian businesses, and create good paying jobs. Liberals will take a responsible approach to thoroughly examining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal. If the Liberal Party of Canada forms government after October 19, we will hold extensive consultations and have a full and open public debate in Parliament. We are committed to ensuring that Canadians are fully consulted on this trade agreement. We are also broadly supportive of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), which stands to remove trade barriers, including regulatory barriers, widely expand free trade between Canada and the European Union, and increase opportunity for the middle class. How will you and your party fill the growing gap in skilled trades? And in particular, how will you attract young people to the trades? There are too many hard-working Canadians who are looking to upgrade their skills and find better jobs, but they do not have access to the training that they require. A Liberal government will make it easier for adults to get the additional skills they need to acquire and retain good jobs throughout their working lives. A Liberal government will increase investment in skills training, through a $750 million annual increase in funding for training programs delivered in partnership with the provinces and territories. This will include:

• A $500 million annual increase in funding to the Labour Market Development Agreements with provinces;
• A $200 million annual increase in funding to be delivered by the provinces and territories and focused on training for workers who are not currently eligible for federal training investment. This will undo Stephen Harper’s cuts in 2014 to the Labour Market Agreements, which help Canadians outside the labour market get the basic literacy and numeracy skills they need to find a decent job;
• Renewing and expanding funding to the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) by $50 million;
• Investing $25 million per year in training facilities, partnering with labour unions so that more facilities have the equipment they need to train workers across the country; and
• Working with employers and workers to determine an appropriate apprenticeship ratio for all federal infrastructure projects.

During the Harper decade, thousands of young Canadians remain unemployed or underemployed, and opportunities are so scarce that many have stopped looking for work altogether. This lack of job opportunities places a heavy burden on young Canadians and their parents. It is time to invest in our shared future, and that means investing in young Canadians. As part of our $1.3 billion investment over three years to create jobs and opportunity for young Canadians, a Liberal government will invest $40 million annually to help employers create new co-op placements for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business students. Would you please define “middle class”? And how would Oakville families and businesses benefit from your policies? It is difficult and perhaps unwise to define ‘middle class’ in terms of income ranges. I believe that Canadians whose working income affords them decent housing, quality of life, and a good education for their families—while saving for a dignified retirement—fall into this category. Help for the Middle class The Liberal Party offers a very comprehensive set of strategies to assist the middle class. A Liberal government will cut taxes for middle class Canadians. Canadians with taxable income between $44,700 and $89,401 per year will see their income tax rate fall – from 22 percent to 20.5 percent. This tax relief is worth up to $670 per year, per person – or $1,340 per year for a two-income household. We will also create the Canada Child Benefit (CCB): one bigger, fair, tax-free, automatic monthly child benefit that puts more money back in the pockets of Canadian families who need it most. This is one, simple benefit which replaces the current, complicated system of benefits and tax breaks, including the Universal Child Care Benefit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit and National Child Benefit Supplement, and the unfair Income Splitting policy. Other policies that will help Canada’s middle class include:

• Investments to create more jobs and better opportunities for young Canadians
  • We will create 40,000 good youth jobs – including 5,000 youth green jobs – each year for the next three years, by investing $300 million more in the renewed Youth Employment Strategy.
  • We will more than double the almost 11,000 Canadians who access Skills Link each year. This program helps young Canadians – including Aboriginal and disabled youth – make a more successful transition to the workplace.
  • After this initial three-year boost in funding, we will set the renewed Youth Employment Strategy’s funding level at $385 million per year – a $50 million increase from 2015/16.
  • We will invest $40 million each year to help employers create more co-op placements for students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business programs. And to encourage companies to hire young Canadians for permanent positions, we will also offer a 12-month break on Employment Insurance premiums. We will waive employer premiums for all those between the ages of 18 and 24 who are hired into a permanent position in 2016, 2017, or 2018.
  • We will also work with provinces, territories, and post-secondary institutions to develop or expand Pre-Apprenticeship Training Programs. This will provide up to $10 million per year to help young Canadians gain the skills they need to enter high-demand trades.
• Providing Canadian seniors with a more secure retirement
  • We will help Canadians realize their goal of a secure retirement. That security starts with a strong and stable pension program. We will work with the provinces and territories, workers, employers, and retiree organizations to enhance the Canada Pension Plan.
  • We will maintain pension income splitting for seniors.
  • We will also restore the eligibility age for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement to 65, putting an average of $13,000 into the pockets of the lowest income Canadians each year, as they become seniors.
  • We will help to lift hundreds of thousands of seniors out of poverty by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement for single low-income seniors by ten percent. This will give one million of our most vulnerable seniors – who are often women – almost $1,000 more each year.
  • Because many seniors live on fixed incomes, we will introduce a new Seniors Price Index to make sure that Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits keep up with seniors’ actual rising costs.
• Making it easier for Canadians to find an affordable place to call home
  • Today, one in four Canadian households is paying more than it can afford for housing, and one in eight cannot find affordable housing that is safe, suitable, and well maintained.
  • When affordable housing is in short supply, Canadians feel less secure and our whole economy suffers.
  • We will renew federal leadership in housing, starting with a new, ten-year investment in social infrastructure.
  • We will prioritize investments in affordable housing and seniors’ facilities, build more new housing units and refurbish old ones, give support to municipalities to maintain rent-geared-to-income subsidies in co-ops, and give communities the money they need for Housing First initiatives that help homeless Canadians find stable housing.
  • We will encourage the construction of new rental housing by removing all GST on new capital investments in affordable rental housing. This will provide $125 million per year in tax incentives to grow and renovate the supply of rental housing across Canada.
  • We will modernize the existing Home Buyers’ Plan to allow Canadians impacted by sudden and significant life changes to buy a house without tax penalty. This will ease the burden on Canadians facing job relocation, the death of a spouse, marital breakdown, or a decision to accommodate an elderly family member.
  • We will direct the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the new Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide financing to support the construction of new, affordable rental housing for middle- and low-income Canadians.
• Making post-secondary education more affordable
  • For too many Canadians, rising costs have made post-secondary education increasingly out of reach.
  • It is harder and harder for middle class families to save for their kids’ education, while many lower-income families are not able to save at all. At the same time, the federal government spends billions each year on non-refundable tax credits that offer little direct help for students when they need it.
  • We will provide direct help to students from low- and middle-income families to help them pay for their education and ensure that debt loads are manageable.
  • We will increase the maximum Canada Student Grant for low-income students to $3,000 per year for full-time students, and to $1,800 per year for part-time students.
  • In addition, to help more students from middle class families qualify for Canada Student Grants, we will increase the income thresholds for eligibility, giving more Canadian students access to even larger grants. This investment will be funded by cancelling the poorly targeted education and textbook tax credits. The tuition tax credit will be maintained.
  • This will increase the level of non-repayable grant assistance to students by $750 million per year, rising to $900 million per year by 2019/20.
  • We will also make our student loan system more flexible. We will ensure that no graduate with student loans will be required to make any repayment until they are earning an income of at least $25,000 per year.

Help for small and medium sized businesses Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the backbone of the Canadian economy, often face serious barriers to success including red tape, difficulty finding skilled labour, and poor access to capital. A Liberal government will help SMEs grow, secure funding, and innovate, and create an environment that reduces barrier to their success. We believe SMEs are vital to strengthen Canada’s economy and stimulate job growth. The Liberal party has a plan to support small- and medium-sized enterprises in Canada and ensure their continued success and important contributions to the Canadian economy. Our plan includes:

• We will reduce EI Premiums from $2.63 to $2.31 and follow through on Budget 2015’s reduction of the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%.
• We will reinstate the Labour Sponsored Venture Capital Corporation (LSVCC) tax credit, allowing labour funds to make significant investments in small- and medium-sized enterprises which need a steady source of capital to succeed.
• We will invest $100 million annually in clean technology producers, many of whom are small and medium sized companies.
• We will invest $500 million in the federal-provincial Labour Market Agreements to help ensure small- and medium-sized business owners have access to a well-trained labour force.
• We will make the largest federal investment in community infrastructure in Canadian history helping to not only create immediate jobs but help improve productivity and reduce costs for business over the medium to long term.
• We will also introduce a significant overhaul of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) operating practices to develop a client relationship rather than that of simply a taxpayer. These reforms will include ensuring CRA correspondence is user-friendly.

Pam Damoff, Liberal Party Candidate, Oakville North-Burlington  David Doel, Green Party Candidate, Oakville