Talk:CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate Katy Austin running in Simcoe—Grey

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- Original Message - From: "Wikinews Election Coverage"  To:  Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 6:18 PM Subject: Wikinews requests interview regarding election

Hello,

Wikinews, the news-based sister project of Wikipedia, is hoping to   interview you regarding your run for office.

We're ambitiously hoping to publish interviews of all candidates, in   all ridings, from all parties; we've had similar articles series for the most recent Ontario provincial and Toronto municipal elections.

All candidates receive the same questions (incumbents are asked to   answer two alternates), which are left open-ended enough to allow you to call the shots and discuss what's most relevant in your riding.

Interviews, once published unedited on Wikinews, will be linked to   from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is the top result for many popular search terms, like "2008 federal election Canada", and most individual riding names, and so an interview linked to from our site can be very beneficial in your campaign's promotion.

If you have any questions, let us know.

Thanks, Nick Moreau CanadaVOTES coverage lead Wikinews

Your name: Katy Austin Political party: New Democrat Riding: Simcoe-Grey

I am running in this campaign as the New Democrat candidate because I believe that the strength of a democracy depends on the active involvement of all its citizens in the issues that are most important to the country, and because I want to be the spokesperson for those who agree with the fundamental values and policies of the New Democrat Party of Canada.

I have been involved with the New Democrats in all federal and provincial elections since 1974, first as a canvasser, then election day organizer, campaign office manager, campaign manager, and finally candidate. I have also been on the executive of the riding association for 10 years and am currently the president.

The three most important issues people in my riding seem to be discussing are:

1. The environment, especially the need to deal with global warming. Our party is committed to making big polluters pay, meeting promised emissions reduction targets, moving away from dependence on oil and gas, and moving towards a green energy economy with green collar jobs.

2. Help for small farmers to make a decent living. Our party is committed to fighting to end export subsidies and dumping that have caused worldwide price distortions and have devastated rural economies around the world.

3. Job losses. Our party is committed to investing $100 million a year in skills training and the manufacturing sector and reforming employment insurance for workers and tradespeople to provide greater access to full- and part-time training.

All methods of getting the message out to people are effective. The important thing is for people to study these messages with a critical eye and to make an informed and wise decision which benefits all Canadians.