YORKTON – Yorkton Green Party candidate Valerie Brooks is seeking the vote to become the next Member of the Legislative Assembly for the constituency.
Brooks was born and raised in Hudson Bay, Sask. and moved to the Yorkton region in 2019 after raising three children in Fort Qu'Appelle with her husband. She began to work for the Good Spirit School Division at that time and has worked as a substitute and on temporary contracts at several schools in the Division since. Brooks has also spent time as a Board Member with the Habitat for Humanity Yorkton Chapter.
SaskToday.ca corresponded with Brooks via email to find out the Green Party candidate's priorities and plans ahead of the coming provincial election.
What do you see as priorities for the area?
Yorkton area constituents are in desperate need for a new hospital and more doctors to serve the area. Many constituents are currently without a family doctor and are forced to go to a walk-in clinic or the emergency department of an already stretched to the limit hospital. Many nurses, doctors and staff are being burnt out and we definitely need to address this issue.
Education is also stretched too thin. Schools are forced to do more with less, and the stress is beginning to show on teachers, students, support staff and parents.
Creating a sustainable local economy that supports small to medium sized businesses and consumers would help to create a secure and predictable future while mitigating the oncoming issues that climate change will inevitably bring to us.
What is your plan on:
Affordability
Poverty is one of the leading issues in our society here and across the country. COVID and the following years of rebuilding and the sharp rise in inflation have caused many people to be thrust into living below the poverty line or from paycheck to paycheck. The Green Party would work toward implementing a living wage and would explore a new policy initiative called a Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI), which would streamline existing benefits and tax credits into one lump payment at a subsistence level to encourage additional income generation. That combined with raising the basic personal income tax exemption to a level above the poverty line and looking at policies and programs capable of housing more people in an efficient and dignified way.
Health
Our healthcare system is in crisis and needs immediate attention and reform. Greens would reduce the administrative burden, provide financial incentives to encourage health practitioners to get their degree and continue to work in the Province including partial or full forgiveness of student loans. We would encourage programs and policies based on whole life health systems including educational programs and combining dental, pharmaceuticals, and other health and welfare services into a fully publicly funded health care system.
Education
Restore funding to 2016/17 levels indexed for inflation and work collaboratively with teachers, school staff, school boards and administration to build a public education system that works for everyone. The quality of our education system is a prime determinant for our collective future in this province. Better education will pay dividends in all other sectors including our economic sustainability.
Public safety
Safety starts with taking care of people's needs. Poverty, addictions, homelessness all play a part in creating the environment where people feel unsafe. If we take care of the most vulnerable with things like a living wage, appropriate housing, and much needed drug addiction programs all of society will be stronger and safer for it.
Highways
This is always an issue in Sask. with the most miles of pavement in Canada and the least amount of taxpayers to pay for repairs and maintenance. A comprehensive look at the revenues from ratepayers (personal and corporate) needs to be done to see how appropriate allocation of funds for highways can be achieved.
What is your stance on the federal Carbon Tax?
Carbon pricing has proven time and again to work to lower greenhouse gas emissions. 8/10 people actually receive more back in carbon pricing rebates than they pay. Whether we create our own system here in Sask. or we continue to work with the Federal Government, Greens are committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040, so we feel some type of Carbon Pricing system is a necessary incentive for consumers to do that by making informed decisions about their carbon footprint.
Most pressing issue affecting your constituency?
Likely the healthcare situation in the riding. We've been promised a new hospital for years now with no movement, and we can't keep doctors in the area as they are overworked.
