Healthcare and public safety among Balsom’s priorities for Carbonear district

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The PC candidate for Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde district, Riley Balsom, is making health care and public safety his priorities this campaign.

The Shoreline interviewed Balsom on six topics it has posed to other candidates, including the deficit, the proposed new Churchill Falls deal, and immigration.

On the topic of government finances, Balsom criticized the Liberals asserting they have made it less affordable for Newfoundlanders to get by. More people are using food banks, the gas tax has gone up, and that the Liberals have introduced over 300 taxes and fees, he said. 

“We’re going to increase the provincial personal (tax) exemption to $15,000 no matter where you live,” said Balsom.” Basically, you won’t pay a cent of provincial income tax on your first $15,000. That will actually be the highest tax exemption in Atlantic Canada.” 

Balsom said the Progressive Conservatives, if elected, will permanently reduce the gas tax, provide a targeted tax credit to rotational workers, increase the seniors benefit by 20 percent, and expand eligibility for the Childcare Benefit so that 30,000 more children will be helped. “Delivering on these promises, of course, will cost money,” said Balsom, “but priorities require hard choices. It’s not just good enough to help people get by, but we’re going to help you get ahead.” 

Balsom said his party is prioritizing support for residents over reducing the deficit. 

“Right now, our focus is making sure that families and residents of Newfoundland and Labrador can balance their budget first before we go back and look at the government,” he said.

Regarding the Churchill Falls deal, which Liberal Leader John Hogan appears to be trying to make the ballot box question this election, Balsom stated it should not go ahead without a full independent review.

“We support the development of the Churchill Falls, Churchill River, and the Gull Island Project,” said Balsom, “however, given the information that’s currently available, the proposed agreement with Quebec cannot be supported in good conscience. We have no reason to be confident that the Liberal deal is, in fact, the best deal. We’ll immediately end the Liberal sham review that they are running and replace it with a truly independent review from the Public Utilities Board.” 

Balsom added the PCs will not proceed with any deal on Churchill Falls without a public referendum. 

“I have issues with the term length, and what we would be selling the power for,” said Balsom. “It’s our resource. We need to maximize the benefit to Newfoundland and Labrador.”

On the subject of immigration, which has been blamed by economists for contributing to the housing crisis and driving up unemployment for young Canadians, Balsom said the federal government should fix the immigration issues.

“We will reduce the red tape surrounding new home builds and redevelopment, and work with municipalities to encourage red tape reduction, and explore modular home construction as a solution to build homes faster,” he said. 

The PCs also want to help create affordable and independent housing for seniors who prefer to move into a more supportive community environment, he added. This will, by extension, free up more housing throughout the market. Balsom said they will also repair or replace uninhabited public housing units. “Where possible we will modify large multi-bedroom units into smaller units for single individuals,” he said.

Turning to healthcare, Balsom said the C.D. Howe Institute reported that Newfoundland has the worst healthcare in Canada. “That’s not a political talking point, that’s from a respectable institution,” he said. “We have 163,000 people without a family doctor, and there’s over 8,500 people waiting for an MRI.” 

But how would he address that?

“It’s going to include fully free nurse practitioner visits, adopting the recommendation of the Registered Nurses Union, covering medical travel costs for patients,” Balsom said. “And we’re going to purchase and staff four new MRI machines — one in Labrador, one in Grand Falls-Windsor, one on the Burin Peninsula, and a fourth one to be determined based on need.” 

Balsom said if elected, the PCs will overhaul the system to recruit, train and retain more health care professionals. They plan to add 50 more seats to MUN’s School of Nursing, expand the medical school, and double the nurse practitioner program. The party also aims to entice healthcare workers to stay in this province with paid work-terms, job offers at the beginning of their studies, and a tuition refund, he added.

As for issues particular to the district, Balsom said Conception Bay North has the highest crime rate in the province. 

“We’re committed to hiring 25 new RCMP officers that will focus on rural Newfoundland and Labrador, on drug related crime, hiring more Crown attorneys to keep more violent and dangerous offenders behind bars, and make Newfoundland and Labrador a leader in pushing the federal government to fix its lax catch-and-release bail laws,” Balsom said. 

He added the PC party also supports the creation of new treatment centres and the expansion of mobile mental health crisis teams.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying this campaign,” said Balsom. “We had some really great days. I really loved getting out and meeting all the residents here in the district. We have a lot of ground covered, and we’re going to keep on the doors every day that we can. I look forward to meeting more of the residents and hearing their issues and their concerns, what matters to them the most. It’s truly an honour to be a candidate here in the general election.”