Under new leadership, PCs receive pitches for policy platform

More than 40 people gathered at the Causeway Bay Hotel in Summerside Tuesday night to pitch ideas to improve government services on P.E.I. and to help the provincial Progressive Conservative party develop an election platform.

Tuesday night marked the third of four "solutions workshops"proposed by Dennis King, who became leader of the party Feb. 9.

"What I found personally, when you get to some of these meetings we tend to just talk about the problems," said King.

"So I tried to challenge our party members and Islanders to come up with solutions to these challenges so we can come up with a viable platform."

During the leadership campaign King was criticized for his lack of a specific policy platform. He said policy should come from the people, not the leader, and said holding a series of public policy discussions would be his first order of business.

Roundtable discussions

Participants Tuesday night chose which of several roundtable discussions to take part in by choosing where to sit with cards on tables listing topics including health, education, youth and improving the standard of living.

Gary MacKay, who described himself as a swing voter who's now supporting the PCs, took part in the discussion on standard of living.

Among the ideas put forward by his group raising the basic personal income tax exemption to $11,500, and introducing a lower co-pay for low-income Islanders under the province's generic drug program.

MacKay said he lovedthe idea of being able to take part in discussions that could contribute to the party's platform.

"There's a lot of ideas people won't bring forward. They think that it's a crazy idea. Well no idea is crazy that you don't put forward," MacKay said.

"If you put it forward, it's probably something to make a person think."

Barb Broome said she's seeking the nomination for the PCs in district 25 O'Leary-Inverness. She took part in a discussion around youth issues. Her group called for an Island-wide transportation system and access to high-speed internet as ways to help create more opportunities for youth.

They also discussed expanding school breakfast programs into higher grades to help families that are struggling financially.

"I feel that this is an amazing opportunity, there are so many great ideas here," said Broome.

To Islanders, from Islanders

The end result of the meetings will be "a really, really comprehensive policy platform that speaks to Islanders, because it's coming from Islanders," King said.

Just over a month into his job as leader and with an election likely this spring, King said he's working "sun up to sundown every day" to ensure his party is ready.

He said his mornings are spent campaigning in his home district of Brackley-Hunter River, while afternoons are spent on party business going door-to-door with candidates, recruiting for districts that don't have them, and helping the party "spread [its] positive message."

Four years ago Rob Lantz had just been named PC leader when the writ came. He ended up losing his seat by just 22 votes, leading to speculation he spent too much time campaigning for the party across the province, and not enough time in his own district.

King seems determined not to make the same mistake.

"I'm working hard every day in that riding, I'm up over 400 doors so far," he said.

King said the party's policy platform will also draw on ideas from the five candidates who ran for the position of party leader, adding the party still has a lot of work to do to make that platform ready for the election.

"We can't control when the election is What we can control is to be as ready as we possibly can be when that election is held," he said.

The the fourth of and final of the meetingsis Wednesday night in Poole's Corner.

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