Suzanne Hrynyk, NDP Kildonan-St. Paul

Why do you want this job?

I've been a person who has believed in serving the public my whole adult career, whether that has been in labour relations or in nursing.I've always held jobs where I've served and helped others, and I helped peoplemanoeuvre difficult times, whether that was difficult labour relations issues or whether that has been medical and health issues.

I see the job of member of Parliament being anextension of that. It's an opportunity to help people in the community, to help them through having a government system in place that will provide them with resources so that they can be the best Canadian that they can be.

What's the biggest issue for the country and in your riding?

Our riding is quite large geographicallyand also covers quite a large area outside of city limits. So depending on what part of the city I am canvassing in, there are different issues.

For example, in Garden City and in WestKildonan, bringing that door-to-door mail delivery service would be important to people. In NorthKildonan, reasonably priced daycare has been a concern, along with a large number of elderly people living in poverty, and outside the Perimeterin East and West St. Paul is more about people havingaccess to infrastructure. So there are very different types of issues depending on where you are spending time in the riding.

What would you do with the Senate?

The NDP believes in theabolitionof the Senate, and we recognize that this is not an easy task or an easy process, but we want to start the ball rolling. So we do not support an unelected Senate that has access to funding and to dollars that theymisspent.Several senators are under extremescrutinyright now.

Winnipeg was described as the most racist city in Canada. What would you do to combat racism?

Well, I think combating racism islargelyabout educating people, talking about it and have those conversations.

But I also think it starts even at a much younger age fostering tolerance, educating students about different cultures, different religions, so that people aren't relying on fear.

What role should the federal government play in dealing with climate change?

I think the federal government should be a leader in dealing with climate change. I know that Tom Mulcair has talked about upholding Kyoto standards, making companies more accountable, and so I would expect that the federal government should be a leader.

If there was one government policy you think is done better in another country, what is it?

I would like to see Canada Post look at postal banking. We've seen Canada Post, and I guess that's not necessarily a policy, but a Crown corporation that we've seen that is determined to reduce services and reduce actual services that [it] provides to Canadians. I've travelled to countries in Europe that have small communities, they have postal services and banking services. And this is something that we can offer citizens that live in other remote communities in Canada that don't have proper access to banking.

Under what circumstances is deficit spending a good choice?

Federally we believe that we canimplementprograms, our costplatform has been put outand we believe that we can do that within a balanced budget. We believe that we can work towards that, and we believe that's attainable, andthat's what our party is putting forward to people. We do not have to run up deficits to get things moving.

What do you believe is the single most effective way to fight crime?

I think largely people areresorting [to] criminal activity because they lost hope, whether that is because of their own family situations, their own social situations that have to leave school,whether they don't haveemployment to go to, whether there are some mentalhealth issues related. And I think that we have to, as society, work diligently with schools and agencies to show young people that there are alternatives to gain life, there are alternatives to criminal activities, criminal behaviour, and we have to generate those opportunities for people.

I know that the province has been doing agreat job as far asapprentice programs, making those options available to students in school, because we want students to stay in school, to learn a trade. Not everyone is interested in pursuing an academic track. So if we can continue to create more of those opportunities for people and show them that there are other ways of living sometimes we have to break some of those barriers.

What should be done about homegrown terrorism?

As you know, the NDP was the only party that voted against Bill C-51 in the House of Commons the Conservatives and the Liberals both supported Bill C-51so we feel very strongly that thisbillinfringes upon people's rights. [Green and Bloc Qubcois MPs also voted against it, but they don't have official party status in the House.] We believe that thereare current laws in place that will deal with individuals that are involvedwith terrorist activities, and that by participating in activities such as Idle No More, going to events that union members may be involved [in], these aren't terrorist activities but they could be defined as terrorist activities under Bill C-51. So we think that there was existing law and, of course, we committed torepealing Bill C-51.

If there was a gay pride parade in your riding, would you go? Why or why not?

Absolutely. I support individuals' rights to live their lives as they choose, to express their individuality, and I think that we need to encourage each other insociety to be kind and caring and giving and support those individuals who choose to celebrate thatparade. I, very proudly, have attended gay pride parades in the past.

Have either you or your family had a frustrating experience with the health-care system, and whatwould you do to fix the problem?

I've been a nurse who has worked in our health-care system since 1987. I, myself, personally, have had very positive experiences with thehealth-care system, both as a consumer, of course, and as a nurse, although I did spend a couple of years laid off in the '90s, living with a pager in my pocket because the Conservative party decided to lay off nurses to save money. That was probably my negative experience with heath care.

I don't think that any system we have is perfect. There will always be opportunities for us to improve and learn, and I think as long as individuals are constantlystriving to improve the health-care service delivery that we have, then that's a positive thing.

And of course, we put forward some tools that Ithink will improve our system even more. We've launched our platform on a nationalpharmacare program, we'velaunched our plan for expanding and increasing Alzheimer and dementia care for families and for those individuals that are suffering with that terribledisease, and we've also put forwardadditional dollars for use regarding metal health services. We've really looked at some areas we need to expand and develop.

What would you do to get more people to vote?

Icertainly have encountered [people] at the doorstep who told me that they'd never vote. I think that there are individuals who choose not to vote because they don't see a purpose in it anymore. One of the reasons why we have been advocating for proportional representation is because many people are frustrated with the type of elections we have in our electoral system here in Canada. I had a gentleman tell me at the door in NorthKildonanthat if we get elected and we don't bring this in he'll never vote again. So I know that there are many people that are discouraged about that.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives have reduced that component of what Elections Canadawould also do. They used to spend time and money on educating people about elections, which of course they no longer do. It is very discouraging. Thankfully Elections Manitoba still has a large educational component, and I also encourage parents to bring their children with them when they come to vote, so that is not such a mystery to them as they become young adults. I had some conversations with some young people at the door who I think just get a little too intimidated by what's involved and they may not feel as though they are as prepared as they should be. I think it's just about creating thatcomfort zonearound exercising our rights.

What's a better use of federal dollars: fixing roads or building rapid transit infrastructure?

That's a tough question because cars aren't going away any time soon, althoughof course we want to encourage people to use transit. We want toprovide infrastructure dollars to the provinces but I also think that as part of our budgetary process, we need to set aside some dollars for the long term. So you've got to find how to balance things so you're setting aside money and budgeting dollars to assist with the here and now, but you've also got to be forward-thinking and planning about where we see ourselves in the next decade. If you've been to Torontoor Calgary or Vancouver, you see the benefits of having a rapid transit system from airport to downtown, from many places. Even as a visitor, [it] just makes it so much easier. The last time I was in Vancouver, it was fabulous to be able to get on the train [in] downtown Vancouver at the airport, and I'm looking forward to my next trip to Toronto and using their trains.

Would you support legalizing a small amount of marijuana? Have you ever tried it?

The NDP have said publicly forquitesome time now that they woulddecriminalize marijuana, so that's our party's position. I tried it once in about 1988 and it justwasn't for me.