A Westlock County man has put his name forward to run as the candidate for the newly formed People’s Party of Canada in the Peace River-Westlock constituency in the upcoming federal election.
John Schrader was raised and worked on his family’s cattle ranch in Westlock County and has been involved in the oilfield for the last 15 years as a contractor working in hydraulic fracturing, horizontal directional drilling and crude oil transport.
“I’m very excited to spread the much-needed message of smaller government. lower taxes, liberty and equality under the law that will unite disenfranchised Canadians across this vast nation,” said Schrader.
“I’m really worried about the future of our country, the way our current government is taking on national debt is unsustainable and it’s growing worse by the day. We really need a change of attitude in Ottawa to straighten out the priorities. The current focuses don’t bode well for the future economy of Canada.”
The People’s Party of Canada will get control of and balance the budget within two years of taking office under former Conservative cabinet minister and current PPC leader Maxime Bernier, said Schrader.
Bernier lost the Conservative leadership race to Andrew Scheer in 2017, but received more than 49 per cent of the vote.
In August 2018, Bernier quit the Conservatives to build the People’s Party, which now has more than 300 candidates running across the country, second only to the Conservatives.
“To be honest, I don’t see much of a difference between the Liberals and the Conservative Party of Canada,” said Schrader. “I believe Maxime Bernier saw that too. I had originally hoped that he would wait it out and run after Scheer lost this election, but I really do believe it’s a corrupt party and I believe the dairy industry controls the CPC and swung the leadership election of the CPC.”
The PPC tax plan should appeal to conservatives in the riding, said Schrader. If elected, the party would introduce a flat tax that would see anything between $15,000 and $100,000 taxed at 15 per cent, while anything over $100,000 would pay $25 per cent tax. Taxpayers making less than $15,000 would not be taxed.
“We’re going to do that by refocusing the priorities in the federal government by completely abolishing corporate welfare. We’re absolutely committed to that. Corporate welfare is opposed to everything I stand for ... Under a PPC government there will be a complete end to corporate welfare. We want the government out of every industry” said Schrader, adding government under Maxime Bernier would also take on the “cartels and oligopolies” that don’t allow for free market competition.
He specifically named the telecommunications, power generation and dairy industries as examples of those that would be examined.
Schrader and the PPC see a limited role for government.
“The government has the role to protect the natural rights of every individual in Canada ... I’m only interested in policies that will allow Canada to reach its potential as the most free and prosperous nation on Earth,” he said. “We have the resources and potential to improve the general welfare of Canadians dramatically. What is preventing prosperity is a litany of bad laws and government excess.”
Schrader also noted the PPC’s immigration policy as “the only one that wants to lower immigration into Canada,” by focusing on economic immigrants and family reunification. Up to 150,000 of these immigrants would be welcomed into the country under a PPC government.
“I really feel for the immigrant community in Canada because the current laws are hurting them the most. The closed work permit system, what’s commonly known as the temporary foreign worker program, creates a class of people that do not have equal rights,” said Schrader.
“Every single individual in Canada deserves, if they’re of good character, a path to citizenship. If they’re not of good character, they should be deported.
“Every immigrant who comes to Canada should have a clear path to citizenship and we should not have indentured servitude going on in Canada.”
The federal election will take place Oct. 21, with prime minister Justin Trudeau expected to drop the writ any day now.
