In the fourth and final installment of TimminsToday's candidate profiles for the riding of Timmins-James Bay we feature John Curley of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Curley served on Timmins city council for 23 years, until narrowly losing his seat in Ward 2 in the 2014 municipal elections.
A longtime worker in the mining industry for Xstrata, Curley has lived in Porcupine since the age of 4.
Curley is also a former president of the Ontario Good Roads Association.
He recently sat down with TimminsToday to discuss his campaign and politics at the national level.
Q - Why did you decide to run in this election?
A - Well all the years of being on council and seeing what actually takes place. I've been down to many Minister's meetings provincially, and down to the federal, trying to get something happening here.
I've been at meetings with former mayors Vic Power, Tom Laughren and now with Steve Black. I didn't like what I was hearing. It was always if we're not the voice of the government, we don't stand a chance.
Coming into this here, all the times speaking at council and seeing what we're missing out on, and not having the actual ear of the government. I said I can't sit there and criticize and expect somebody else to do it, so I had to step up to the plate.
Q - What are your ideas for boosting economic growth in the Timmins-James Bay riding?
A - We're basically a mining and lumbering economy, and lumbering has gone by the wayside. But the mining part of it, obviously the tax incentives and credits that Harper has announced has helped. We heard the next day, I was down in North Bay when Mr. Harper made that announcement and it was later that day that announcements were coming from the mining sector that it was good. Because that gives them more dollars to put into ore exploration work, and they're going to get the tax credits for it.
If you don't give them the incentives, they're going to sit back.
The unfortunate part is that gold prices are low, and a lost of business is done in American dollars. The trouble is, to get something started here, you are working in Canadian dollars so its a fight either way. There is lots that's just waiting, and they're waiting until we get our Canadian dollar back up there. We have a lot of mines standing at the door.
Q - How would your many years of experience serving on city council benefit you in Ottawa if you are elected?
A - I think that's probably a strong point of mine. 23 years on council. Being on the provincial Ontario Good Roads association, I've got a lot of experience dealing with people.
Charlie (Angus) has 11 years in Ottawa, Todd (Lever) has 4 years on council, but with my experience in dealing with people and how the government works and what really affects them.
I've been at many, many meetings of mayors up here and they're telling me what their problems are. They've been down south to meetings and it's always the same thing. I know what their concerns are at that level and we can't seem to get any further than that. Everybody's saying the same thing up here and I'm actually having endorsements of different communities because of my involvement in municipal politics. That's where it starts.
We have to get things moving along in Timmins-James Bay, and if somebody is going to get it going, its going to be me.
Q - The out migration of young people has become a major concern for this riding. How can you combat this problem and keep them living in the north?
A - That's been an issue for years. Of course, you try and attract them here with better jobs.
If you’re in the down part of a cycle, like we are right now, once we get these initiatives going again the jobs are going to be coming back.
There are actually some job fairs that have come up here with employers looking for people to work for them, and that's good news. It's not at a standstill. We're not declining.
When you have job fairs happening in communities, that means they are looking for workers. It might not be the highest paying job, but its something to carry you through until we get these industries going. A strong mining economy helps with service and retail as well.
Q - The housing crisis in the northern most communities of this riding is impossible to ignore. How do you think the situation should be handled?
A - Up on the coast up there it's very difficult. The Harper government has put a lot of money into that and it always seem to be an issue for them.
Some of it is location. If you go back a number of years on a study that was done about possibly relocating them, they weren't in support of it.
We've got to try and work with them up there and to see what we can do better for them. The housing up there, the schooling and everything else. Flowing the money there and ensuring that its spent properly, I think that would definitely help.
Q - Income splitting has been talked about a lot at the federal level. Why do you feel the Conservative approach to the issue is superior to the other parties?
A - Trudeau is talking about ending income splitting. I think that's ridiculous. I've knocked on thousands of doors and I've met with a number of seniors, and I'm a senior myself. The income splitting has made a world of difference even for myself.
The income splitting is something that should probably be advertised a little more to get people fully aware of it, and what the savings are. People don't want to see that lost.
Q - Marijuana has been much discussed in this campaign. There is a strong movement for legalization or decriminalization. Recently Stephen Harper said marijuana was 'infinitely worse' than tobacco. Do you share his stance on the issue? Is there tax dollars to be had?
A - Maybe Mr. Trudeau is looking to try and get more taxes from marijuana, but no, you can't be going there.
Marijuana is the first step into drugs, and then you step after that. If Mr. Trudeau is looking at legalizing it, and maybe Mr. Mulcair is too, then what's the next stop?
The best bet is 'no'. We've got rules for drinking. What age, no drinking and driving and others. This one here, all you've done by legalizing is opening the door to the next level. So, no.
More to come in Part Two of our interview John Curley.
