Tell our readers a little bit about yourself and why you are qualified to serve as MP.
I’m Seamus, I am a master’s student researching farmers and rural ridings in politics.
I am a teaching assistant, meaning I teach the undergrads tutorials and mark their assignments.
Last year, I worked as an intern for parliament for two semesters. I’ve helped with health-care legislation, mainly lowering the age of free breast cancer testing starting at age 40, as well as bringing testing to rural areas. I also met with health stakeholders, who brought issues forward like lung health, brain injuries and Alzheimer’s.
I’ve also helped in my community creating a tenant’s guide, especially for seniors losing their apartments for demolition or people facing illegal evictions. I actually helped house people in the last summer in a non-profit and I volunteer regularly at the food bank.
I think it’s important regular people who face inflation and changes in the market run for office.
What is the most pressing issue facing Chatham-Kent right now?
The most pressing issue is tariffs and potential layoffs. We have a robust manufacturing industry. We need to make sure that if there’s subsidies, there can’t be layoffs.
We can’t go easy on companies like Amazon who want to lay off an entire province of their workforce because of unionization.
The government should not pursue contracts with American companies who threaten our jobs.
To support Canadian auto workers, we want to give tax rebates for people leasing Canadian cars, especially electric cars. We make a lot of electric car parts in Ontario.
Grocery prices are the most immediate concern for people in C-K–Leamington. We all know they aren’t going to lower prices even if gas is cheaper. The Loblaws stock has more than doubled since the pandemic, big shareholders are impressed with their profits. Grocery profit margins have doubled in the past decade, according to economist Isabella Webber. We need to investigate what they charge to suppliers and farmers.
The Liberals and Conservatives both voted against an investigation on charges for consumers and suppliers.
Since there are only a handful of grocery companies, grocery companies can charge suppliers and farmers whatever they want. I think local farmers deserve help from the government, not big grocery.
Any other issues of note?
Mark Carney is signaling to his corporate buddies that he is not on our side. He did not even give us a labour minister. How are we supposed to negotiate trade with the U.S. if workers aren’t at the table?
The Conservatives want to cut the social safety net. That is counterproductive if workers could get laid off. They already threatened Canada Pension and employment insurance in the House of Commons. If regular people lose their jobs and have no support, the whole economy will fall apart, that is not smart thinking. Workers are the backbone of the economy, not collateral damage.
How can the federal government better address the homeless issue in C-K?
The federal government has a role in building housing. It was actually Chrétien who cut the federal housing program. The government used to build 15,000 units of affordable housing per year. It’s been 32 years, and we are 500,000 units short.
Today, people live in the homes that were developed after the Second World War. We want to develop affordable housing on government land.
Also, some people who are homeless are struggling with mental illness and that is a health-care issue. We want real mental health care and services for people struggling.
Summer 2024, I worked at a non-profit to help house people. I saw the housing crisis first hand. A lot of people we helped were seniors, at least two a day. Some pensioners are going homeless, they deserve affordable units too.
If elected, what will you do to best represent your constituents?
I represent regular people. People paying their rent or mortgage, people paying for groceries and who just need a decent wage. I will also represent farmers; they need much more attention and support. I will make sure people have good jobs and good wages, especially with the route of unionization, that is directly correlated with a living wage and pension. We need to listen to people and respond to local issues, because when we are united, we win.
