et an on is the lowest corporate taxes of all industrialized countries. Companies who have not been held accountable are also bullying a workforce that is in peril, he said. "Now workers are disposal, com- panies are allowed to throw away workers in the community for a few more dollars," said Gannon. "We in the NDP want to find employment for everyone who wants it." To get there, however, the feder- al government must make more of an effort to reinforce solid educa- tional reforms to better educate the people who can then access a better quality of life. Gannon, who attended journal- ism at Loyalist College and enrich- ment courses at Queen's University, is still wrestling with a student loan and said young people need help, not hindrances, when they gradu- ate. "We have a huge problem with the fact that students can't pay their student loans. I know what it is like to be under the thumb of a student loan and not being able to pay it," said Gannon, who said the NDP proposing to make student loan interest tax deductible and "all inter- est since 1995 would be regarded as principle." Gannon's belief in education has prompted him to tutor with Quinte Literacy in Belleville to help adults unlock the world of the written word. People need other NDP policies to get out from under poverty. "By raising the standards for those who have the least in society, we raise the standard for everyone. Traditional parties have decided to make us expect less." Those standards need to be raised not just in the regular work- force, but also in areas such as the Canadian military and the national agriculture community where cuts to both portfolios have hurt, he said. The federal government, mean- while, must put more emphasis upon cleaning up the sad environ- mental legacy left in the Bay of clean air, clean water and safe food." Quinte area due to a legion of care- This profile of NDP candidate less past practices over the cen- Jason Gannon is the first in a series turies. of profiles on candidates in the "The Bay of Quinte is a disgrace Prince Edward-Hastings federal rid- with the amount of toxins in it. We ing. The remainder of profiles will need tough national standards for be featured tomorrow.