Karen Graham
David Marquis is no stranger to political life, having served at the municipal level for 16 years in Brock Township. He hopes to join a Liberal government this fall in Ottawa, where his party plans to make some changes in the way the country is governed.
David Marquis campaign photo.
Having grown up and operated a beef and dairy farm south of Sunderland, Marquis is familiar with a work commitment of 7 days a week, and refers to his political career as a lifestyle commitment. He is now a small business owner, operating Advantage Specialities with a partner out of Brighton, which provides facilities management support to local health agencies.
During his farming years, he developed an acute appreciation for the environment, which led him to serve on the Lake Simcoe Regional Conservation Authority, where he helped launch the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy. He recognizes that as a whole, farmers top the list as good stewards of the land. One of the founders of the Durham Land Stewardship Council, he helped establish this volunteer group which promotes stewardship of the agricultural, forest and water resources of Durham region. He has also been active in the leadership of the local and provincial branches of the agricultural Co-op organization.
One of the biggest issues he seeks to address if elected is the lack of decent jobs for young people. All of his children completed post-secondary education but had to leave the area to find work in major centres like Ottawa and Toronto. He believes that job growth is available in home-based businesses and will work to grow this segment of the economy, which spreads work outside large cities.
He also expresses a concern about the affordability of housing for young people, and believes the debt they must assume to get into the real estate market in major centres is unsustainable in the face of weak job markets. Like his party leader, Marquis* focus is on the middle class, and as a result he is a firm believer in the Liberal tax proposal of providing a 7% tax cut to the middle and lower income brackets funded by tax hikes for high income earners.
With his extensive farming background, he has strong views about the direction of current negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. He believes the Canadian poultry and dairy quota systems must be protected, as these quotas represent $30 billion in value for the farmers, many of whom have borrowed the funds to purchase the right to produce in these markets. The potential partners in this pact who are asking for the elimination of the quota system have other protectionist measure in place, in his view, so creating a level playing field in agriculture is not a simple affair.
Another change he would like to see is in the Senate. Marquis envisions a system where Senators are selected by a slate of non-partisan volunteers for a limited term. It is no place for party hacks and political favours.
Expect to meet Marquis in our township in the coming weeks as this extensive election campaign develops.
