The federal Conservative candidate for Nickel Belt is Sudbury area paramedic Charles Humphrey, who says he’s motivated to run out of concern for “the devastating consequences of the Trudeau Liberals’ ineptitude in managing the myriad crises our country faces.”
Humphrey lives in Azilda with his wife Angelene and their two children. He grew up in Toronto where he went to high school in French, and then attended Dalhousie University where he got a double major Bachelor’s degree in political science and contemporary studies. He later completed a Masters in international relations, focusing on China and its government’s involvement in arms-length corporations.
Humphrey worked as a teacher in rural Japan and in China for four years, after which he set his sights on becoming a paramedic, which he’s been doing for the last five years.
While the Tribune was unable to meet with the candidate before press time, we’ve perused his online posts and his party’s platform to see where he stands on issues.
On rebuilding the economy as Canada gets through the pandemic, the CPC plans on winding down support programs that emerged during the crisis, “in a responsible way”. They note four major initiatives moving away from the current enhanced EI, CEWS and CEBA programs: a job surge plan (a wage subsidy for businesses), two different investment tax credit programs for small businesses, and another business loan program.
The CPC also would implement a national rapid COVID screening program, including rapid testing at all borders, making at-home rapid tests available to households, as well as provide more rapid tests to provinces. They would also support the production of vaccines by Canadian companies, and implement a plan for “rapid procurement” of vaccines.
On the topic of housing, their plan is focused on incentivising landlords and developers to invest in rental housing, offering them tax benefits. The CPC would tackle home price inflation caused by foreign buyers by encouraging them to invest “in purpose-built rental housing that is affordable to Canadians.” In an effort to make mortgages more affordable, the Conservatives would “encourage a new market” in 7-to-10 year mortgages and reduce the need for mortgage stress tests.
