EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series on the Federal Candidates in Sarnia-Lambton and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex ridings

Bria Atkins has never been involved in politics and she thinks that may be one of her greatest strengths as she runs for the new People’s Party of Canada.
Atkins was born and raised in Wallaceburg and now makes her home in Dresden with her husband and two children. The family runs a hunting and fishing equipment store and a commercial beekeeping operation.
And she says, aside from voting, she has never been involved in politics in her 37 years.
But the PPC – founded a year ago by former Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier – caught her attention.
“I have had a growing concern with the government and the direction we are going and some of the things I’ve seen happen. I feel very concerned about the future of Canada and the future of my children.
“ I want to preserve the freedom of our country.”
Atkin believes one of the biggest issues is taxation. “Our income tax consistently increases…and it seems to be whether the blues or the reds are in power, we see more and more of our income slipping away.
“I am for personal responsibilty, individual liberty and individual prosperity.”
The PPC, she says would end “corporate bailouts” like the Liberals gave to General Motors.
“I don’t see the fairness of taxing a small business to give it to a bigger business.”
She adds often, like GM, the corporations don’t pay back the money and leave the country anyway.
Bernier, she says, favours breaking up larger companies and allowing smaller companies the opportunity to compete in the marketplace instead of providing federal support.
The PPC, she says, would also defund the CBC – the nation’s public broadcaster – saying it should rely on donations, similar to America’s public broadcaster. “That way it would be wilful donations and it would also help to unbias the media.”
Atkins is also concerned about gun-owner’s rights. “All of the government initiatives seem to target the lawful gun owners….lawful gun owners are not the ones committing crimes; it is illegal weapons and the smuggling of the weapons across the borders which are the problem.”
Atkins says the PPC would strength border security and take a tough on crime approach.
She’s also critical of a Liberal campaign promise to give municipalities more say in banning guns. “Gun reform should not be based on the whim of bureaucrats – we will insure new gun legislation goes through parliament only..”
And Atkins favours the PPC’s immigration policy which would reduce the number of immigrants entering the country from 350,000 to about 100,000 and put greater emphasis on skilled labour.
“This is a country built on immigration and we’re proud of it…but Canadian immigration should be there to address Canada’s economic needs,” adding immigrants without skills are a drain on the system. Statistics Canada says in 2017 almost 80 per cent of immigrants to Canada found work in the first year.
Perhaps one of the party’s tougher sells in rural Ontario would be the leaders desire to get rid of Canada’s supply management system. Bernier sees it as a barrier to trade.
Atkins says the PPC is willing to buy out quota from farmers and keep other countries out of the market place for five years so Canadian agriculture can prepare trade without trade barriers. She adds they also plan to increase inspection at the borders to make sure whatever agricultural products enter the country meet Canadian standards.
Atkins says the PPC’s message has been resonating with the people she meets as she takes her rolling RV office across the massive riding. “This riding is a Conservative stronghold,” she says acknowledging Bev Shipley held the riding for four terms. But she says with his retirement, the field is wide open.
“A lot of people from every political stripe, are shopping around for a new option, a new choice. They’re not trusting the establishment anymore.
“They know if we teeter totter between blue and red…we’re still having the same problems….people are looking for change.”
Atkins faces, Liane Rood (C), Jesse McCormick (L), Dylan McLay (NDP) and Andrew Li (Green) in the Oct. 21 vote.

Anthony Li believes his generation is afraid of politics, so he bucked the trend and decided to run in the federal election, at the age of 20.
“What really drew me in is how important it is on a global stage, there is so much at stake. A lot is going wrong and there is not a lot of appetite to even get involved with politics right now.”
Li grew up in Ottawa and attended Western University. He is now studying in the medical field in Kingston and decided he wanted to run for the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding as a representative for the Green Party. Li ran for the Ontario Green Party in the provincial election in 2015.
Li says a sustainable environment and a strong health care system are the most important issues leading up to the Oct. 21 vote. “If my children and their children want to have a future, we have to act now. I am passionate and this election will be very scary. It’s very important, we need to make sure that the right thing for Canada gets done.”
Li says Canada has to be innovative to help solve the climate emergency.
“Canada can become a global leader and by being a world leader in green practices, we would be able to restore our place on a global stage.”
Li’s campaign in 2015 gave him the chance to talk to many farmers and agriculturists in the area. He believes many traditional conservatives are apprehensive about switching their ways to benefit the climate.
“When you have done things the same for a while and it’s worked, it’s scary to think of other options.”
However he believes that agriculturists are realizing a green economy is important for their industry, noting the environment impacts crop yields. Li points out farmers see the importance of protecting natural waters, and question how to keep more nutrients in the soil so crops can continue to produce.
“Their mindset really has changed in this election, which is really great.”
Li says public opinion on climate change is turning and he wants to be part of the solution. He credits Green Leader Elizabeth May for part of that. May is an icon for Li.
“She stands for what she believes in, she won’t change her mind, and she stays true. That is one thing we fail to see in other leaders.”
Although the Green Party may not win this election, the goal is to hold the other party’s accountable. Li’s personal goal, is to engage with voters.“For me , if I’m able to get more people engaged at the end of the day, I made them feel like they have a voice.”

Editor’s Notes: This is part of a series of articles about the candidates in the federal election.

Peter Smith says the federal political parties talk a good game about the climate emergency but have little desire to follow through.
The 68 year-old is running for the Green Party in the Sarnia-Lambton riding. He was also the party’s candidate in the 2015 election.
In that election, Smith says the other parties were polite but didn’t see the Greens as a threat. But with climate change constantly in the news and federal parties talking about possible solutions with few actions, the Green Party, he says, seems like a viable solution to the people he’s meeting this time around.
“The parties seem to be conflicted in so many ways; they say things they’re going to do and you know they’re not going to do them because they’re influenced by outside parties – the oil industries or other industries or even the unions…clearly it is not in the best interest of those companies (to deal with climate change); the history of what they’ve done – putting out false information or outright lying instead of doing the right things…they’ve done everything to profit for themselves…they’ve put us in a huge risk.”
While those may seem like harsh words, the candidate speaks from his experience in the energy industry. He has a degree in nuclear engineering, worked in the nuclear industry for nine years before moving to Canada. When he came to Sarnia in 1987, he started working for Polysar. He recently retired from TransAlta.
Smith has also been involved in the community, serving on the board of a children’s mental health committee, and he was the director and vice president of the Sierra Club of Canada Foundation.
To many young people, Smith is known as the guy who coordinates the local science fair. And it’s science that drew him to the Green Party.
“The Green Party bases all of our platform on research and science and were open to changing … it’s not ideologically based, we don’t start with the idea that this should be go and find the facts to support it.”
The Sarnia-Lambton riding may be a tough nut for the Green’s to crack. It is widely viewed as a small C conservative riding. Last election, that translated into a victory for the Conservatives’ Marilyn Gladu.
But Smith says Sarnia-Lambton may not be as conservative as people think, pointing out Gladu won with only 38 per cent of the popular vote.
As he’s going door-to door, people are asking more serious questions, but Smith admits people still think the Green’s simply want to shut down companies the Chemical Valley. “No, that’s not what we want to do; but we do need to reform it. Plastics for example – there are so many worthwhile uses for plastics but we need to make them in a responsible manner and dispose of them in a responsible manner…it’s not a question of trying to turn us back to the stone age it’s about doing things responsibly.”
Smith faces Gladu, Carmen Lemieux (L), Adam Kilner (NDP) Brian Everaert (PPC) Tom Laird (CHP) and Joe Loizer (I) in the Oct. 21 vote.