Stéphane Lauzon says he has unfinished business and needs another four years as the Member of Parliament for Argenteuil-La Petite Nation to take care of it.
The Liberal candidate was first elected in 2015 and is seeking another term of office.
Without even being asked about the issue, Lauzon called reports of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau appearing in brownface or blackface costumes in the past “ridiculous news.”
“We have more important issues to talk about,” he said.
He listed the environment, infrastructure, senior citizens, and middle class families as examples of what is important.
Lauzon said restoring the Grenville Canal is a major local issue that needs to be addressed. He said the federal funding is there for the project, but it cannot go ahead without the Québec government agreeing to its portion of the project.
The amount of federal funding the riding has received over the past four years is an accomplishment Lauzon is proud of. That includes $9 million for rural internet improvements and more than $1 million for projects under the Nouvel Horizon program for seniors, which he said was the third-highest amount in Canada. Lauzon also noted that 13 applications were made for Canada 150 projects in the district in 2017, and 11 of them were granted.
The Liberal candidate said he wants to develop better communication with local farmers so he can know their needs. He said the compensation package for dairy farmers affected by having to allow more market share to imported products was well-received.
The SNC Lavalin scandal has not been on voters minds in Argenteuil-Petite Nation, according to Lauzon. Volunteers in his Lachute campaign headquarters confirmed this, based on their experiences going door-to-door and making telephone calls.
“Economy and environment go hand-in-hand,” said Lauzon.
He said he wishes for a day when gasoline and other fossil fuels are no longer used, but change has to be made step-by-step.
Lauzon defended the Liberals approving the Trans-Mountain Pipeline in British Columbia but said a pipeline through Québec will never be approved by a Liberal government if Québec does not want it.
When asked about the federal deficit and the Liberal plan to continue running deficits in future years, Lauzon said it is more important to pay for the deficit in infrastructure and social needs that exists due to issues being neglected in the past. He said the infrastructure deficit in Canada is still worse than its fiscal deficit.
