Q1: If elected, in the event your constituents’ demands are at odds with party policy, how will you vote/where do your loyalties lie?
Above both party loyalty and demands of constituents are ethical issues - I will never vote, no matter who demands it, in a way that violates my principles. As an example, I would never vote to re-instate the death penalty even if it were demanded by all my constituents or by my party.
In a more conventional case, for example a bill which affected spending on a highways project, I would do my best to get a feel for my constituents’ wishes – if there was an overwhelming feeling one way or the other, then I would respect it, even if it went against my party’s wishes. But this would be a most unusual situation – even in a general election, there is seldom a truly obvious expression of the constituents’ will. So generally I will make my best judgment about an issue and vote accordingly.
Q2: As no one person can be educated on all federal issues you will face, on what will you base your decisions when you vote, representing your riding?
While no-one can be expert on all the federal issues, it is a primary duty of a Member of Parliament to get at least a basic understanding of all of them. There is no excuse for not doing the homework.
I have a good education and a broad background in agriculture, economics, environment, business, community organization and politics. I believe in making decisions based on evidence and logic, not on ideology. I will do my research thoroughly, and base my decisions on the best information available to me, and on my sense of the wishes of my constituents.
Q3: How will you be available to constituents, if elected? Will you be available for one-on-one meetings, hold town hall meetings . . . ?
An MP is the servant of his or her constituents, and must be available as much as possible. My constituency offices will be in Merritt, Westside and Penticton and will be staffed with first-class assistants who will deal with routine issues, and will schedule meetings for me for more difficult matters. When I am in the riding, I will work out of those offices and from my mobile office in my motorhome. When in Ottawa, I will be in regular touch with constituents with pressing problems by telephone and email.
Any MP will be asked for help by constituents with personal problems, and such meetings must of course be one-on-one to ensure confidentiality. In addition, I will make myself widely available to community groups, schools, fraternal organizations, environmental roundtables, industry and agricultural associations, and to the local press. Townhall meetings will be regular features in all our communities.
Q4: What is one of your favourite memories of the Westside?
Not quite in Westbank/West Kelowna/Westside, but in Peachland, our house was up on Lipsett Avenue, directly across from Rattlesnake Island. We had a view from the front window almost from Naramata to Mission. One day, it was blustery and rainy in Peachland, but I could see the sun shining on the mountains to the south, and I remarked to my wife Marion that it seemed as if the sun was always shining in Naramata. She said “Oh, didn’t you know? That’s what Naramata means in the Okanagan language.” I took her at her word, and over the course of the next few months I told lots of people what I had learned. Then one night we had company over, and someone saw the sun once again shining to the south, and told us that they had recently heard what the name “Naramata” meant. Marion nearly slid under the table with embarrassment, and I learned how fast an “urban myth” can spread.
Q5: Why do you think the public has a general mistrust of politicians, and what might you do differently?
The public has not always had such a general mistrust. Canadians used to believe that Members of Parliament were honest, ethical, hard-working people. I think almost all MPs still are.
A Liberal MP from Toronto told me that when he was first elected his family celebrated with him that he could now enter Parliament to do his best to act in the service of his country and his constituents. Soon after the election, his daughter came home crying from her Grade 10 class – the students had been asked to describe what their parents did for a living, and when she said proudly that her father was a new Member of Parliament, other students booed and shouted her down. What a horrible thing to happen to a child and to her father, and what a horrible reflection on how politicians are viewed.
I think we have been greatly affected by the “Americanization” of Canadian politics, with a much more confrontational style than we were used to – attack ads, personal vilification, etc. One of the great geniuses of this country has always been our ability to compromise, to understand that while we hold differing views, we have more in common than we have in conflict. We have been able to maintain the political will that holds this widely disparate country together because we are polite and civil, because we can disagree but remain friends, because we can, unlike many of our neighbours to the south, have fierce but enjoyable political arguments around the supper table.
I will do my best to bring back this sort of discourse to political life. It is vital to the future of our democracy that politicians earn once again the trust of their constituents, and that public service is once again seen as enobling rather than degrading.
Q6: If there’s anything else you’d like to say, here’s your opportunity.
An election is an extended job interview – I am applying for the job of Member of Parliament, and the voters are the selection committee and ultimate boss. I have excellent qualifications and training, a demonstrated ability to build consensus, to serve and to lead, and a full commitment to excellence and integrity in all my work. I know the country and the riding from the ground up. I have been active in federal politics for years, I know many of the players and I know how the system works. I will be an effective MP, and the constituents of Okanagan-Coquihalla will be well served.
There’s more about my views and feelings on my website www.johnkidder.ca, and I will personally answer any questions sent to me on john@johnkidder.ca, or by toll-free telephone at my office 1-888-387-5034.
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