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23 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,S eptem ber 9,2021 insidehalton.com JEROME ADAMO PARTY: New Democratic Party AGE: 49 OCCUPATION: Registered Early Childhood Educator PAST POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Progressive activist, la- bour unionist, member of Elementary Teachers' Fed- eration of Ontario and ran in the 2019 election with the NDP IF ELECTED, I pledge to ... "represent the people of Oakville including the un- waged, wage earners and working families in Parlia- ment. "That means fighting for health care and educa- tion systems that are prop- erly funded, a clean envi- ronment, good paying jobs and pensions, decent work- ing conditions and once and for all putting an end to COVID. "I am proudly working class and have fought polit- ically alongside wage earn- ers and working families my entire life. And with federal NDP leader Jag- meet Singh, I am putting forth sound, progressive policies that no other ma- jor political party is even discussing. "Only the NDP is pre- senting clear commit- ments on these issues, as well as the progressive tax- ation system necessary to pay for them." VACCINATION STATUS: "[I and my] staff are fully vac- cinated." ANITA ANAND PARTY: Liberal Party of Canada AGE: 54 OCCUPATION: Minister of public services and pro- curement PAST POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: First elected to the Parlia- ment of Canada in 2019. She was made minister of public services and pro- curement in November of that year. IF ELECTED, I commit to... "continue to serve the citi- zens of Oakville as we work to support the health-care sector, strengthen our economy and further ad- dress the global climate crisis. On Sept. 20, I am asking for your renewed support so that we can fin- ish the work that we start- ed and move our communi- ty and country forward to- gether. "When I was elected to serve the residents of Oak- ville in October 2019, no one imagined that we would face a global pan- demic. Over the course of this health crisis, I have worked hard to ensure that our country has the necessary PPE (personal protective equipment), rapid tests and COVID-19 vaccines required to get us to the other side of this pandemic." VACCINATION STATUS: "Staff and I are fully vaccinated." KERRY COLBORNE PARTY: Conservative Par- ty of Canada AGE: 58 OCCUPATION: Owner of Force 10 Capital Manage- ment PAST POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Two terms as Board Chair of Oakville Chamber of Commerce IF ELECTED, I pledge to... "represent Oakville in Ot- tawa, not the other way around. Bring much needed fis- cal responsibility to Cana- da. Maintain the quality of life our community is fa- mous for, and provide ac- cess for more people to have that quality of life. Fo- cus on the environment, help seniors and promote mental health. I have a track record of delivering for Oakville and success in business and community service." VACCINATION STATUS:"I, my family and the senior man- agement of my campaign team are all fully vaccinat- ed. My family did so as soon as we were eligible. "My 89-year-old father, who is highly compro- mised, lives with us. We have taken COVID very se- riously in this household long before many in Cana- da did (i.e. January 2020). "I am a strong believer in vaccination and in the COVID vaccines avail- able." ORIANA KNOX PARTY: Green Party of Canada AGE:30 OCCUPATION: Hair resto- ration specialist PAST POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Volunteer for Green Party Campaign for Gareth Wil- liams in Burlington, 2019 IF ELECTED, I pledge to ... "represent the interests of Oakville residents in Otta- wa. I will dedicate my time to being Oakville's voice in Parliament, and showing Canadians that there is a path towards a just and sustainable green econo- my. Everyone should know that their vote matters and they can contribute to our progress. "I'll bring the views of my generation to Ottawa in a productive, collaborative manner that focuses on moving us away from the current hyper-focus on "more jobs" or "less jobs," and back onto "What Jobs?" -- what kind of economy and society are we going to have in a future that demands lower emis- sions, new industries, and more inclusive communi- ties? We need more than words - we need to work to- gether for our better to- morrow." VACCINATION STATUS:"I got (fully) vaccinated because I want to do my part to help Ontario fully open back up again, which requires as many people as possible to get vaccinated." JD MEANEY PARTY: People's Party of Canada AGE: 31 OCCUPATION: Downtown Oakville BIA, Hospitality industry consultant PAST POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None IF ELECTED, I pledge to... "work with other MPs to get Canada back on track by ending lockdown mea- sures, to grow our econo- my, promote rational and scientific reviews on pan- demics, review equaliza- tion payments for provinc- es, capping the trillion dol- lar debt and prioritizing practical solutions for the environment. "I am not a career poli- tician. I am an everyday Canadian. We're tired of the broken promises for the First Nations commu- nities. Seniors have been left behind and veterans have been forgotten. I un- derstand the struggle that many millennials my age face with affordable hous- ing. We have a housing cri- sis where many Canadi- ans, like myself, cannot af- ford to buy into the market. Small businesses are un- der the boot of harmful lockdown measures. I have seen first-hand as a restau- rant consultant and a man- ager in the industry how lockdowns hurt and de- stroy business." VACCINATION STATUS: "Ful- ly vaccinated. I had COVID this year and I have fully recovered." HERE'S A LOOK AT YOUR OAKVILLE RIDING CANDIDATES MANSOOR TANWEER mtanweer@metroland.com FEDERAL ELECTION The Oakville riding candidates are (from left), Oriana Knox (Green Party), Jerome Adamo (NDP), Anita Anand (Liberal), JD Meaney (PPC) and Kerry Colborne (CPC). Metroland composite photo insidehalton.com /vote2021 OAKVILLE RIDING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THE RIDING: The Oakville Riding contains the lionshare of the Town of Oakville except a portion west of Eighth Line and north of Upper Middle Road. The median household income of the riding is $106,327. THE RACE: Liberal Party of Canada: Anita Anand Conservative Party of Canada: Kerry Colborne New Democratic Party of Canada: Jerome Adamo Green Party of Canada: Oriana Knox People's Party of Canada: JD Meaney THE ISSUES: Cost of housing in Oakville is of major concern, with more people living paycheque to paycheque. It is more expensive than ever to live in Halton. Environmental concerns, like climate change and green spaces weigh heavily as well. BACKGROUND: Liberal Bonnie Brown was a long time MP for the Riding of Oakville-Milton from 1993 to 1997 when the riding was dissolved. She was then MP for the newly created Oakville riding till 2008. Oakville has been a Liberal Riding for decades with a brief Tory break between 2008 and 2015