Sarah Sobanski
Green Party candidate William MacCallumfor the Halliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock riding is an environmental activist in the community – he would work towards a moratorium against wind turbines increased to 2 kilometers instead of .5 kilometers in a residential area –but he recognizes that other issues are important too.
“I’m not just a Green Party candidate because of the environment,” saysMacCallumexplaining the party’s 186 page Vision Green plan of parliamentary platform. “Some people think we are just a one issue party, we’ve evolved from that.”
MacCallum says the economic situation in our riding is not terrific and believes that small business is the engine of growth for the 21st century. He and his party would see more incentives for small businesses and less red tape, keenly aware that small businesses create and keep jobs locally where big corporations – and he uses the Target mishap as an example – can cause more trouble than they’re worth. This concern includes agricultural sector.
Lindsay High School teacher Bill MacCallum is running as Green Party candidate for our riding. Photo: Supplied.
“The Green Party believes that you have to promote small and medium sized family farms,” says MacCallum. He says those types of farms are the ones young people can afford to get into. “We would encourage farmers to grow crops more efficiently on land that they currently have instead of expanding.”
This could mean a decrease in corporate and factory farming, which MacCallum notes is bad for the environment anyway.With the Green Party, he would consider bringing in legislation to stop land speculation on farmland so prices do not continue to rise as they have in the past in the midst of urban sprawl, which is a huge concern for our riding.
MacCallum is a familiar face to many residents, especially in Lindsay where he has been teaching since 1988 – a new angle for the party who has nominated candidates from outside of the riding in the past. The Queen’s University graduate has taught over 3000 teenagers during his career which includes LCVI and I.E Weldon. Building a rapport with young adults and their families, while also volunteering locally with groups and shelters, adds a personal touch to MacCallum’s politics. He is focused on change for those struggling locally – from individuals to small businesses.
MacCallum says running for the Green Party gives him the opportunity to make a difference, even if that means disagreeing with his party if he is elected. According to MacCallum, the Green Party is the only party where MPs are not held to the position of their leader, Elizabeth May. They are always free to vote on their views, whereas in other parties this is not the case unless the leader in question calls a free vote.
“Historically, people didn’t vote automatically the way the leader said to,” says MacCallum who believes that MPs should be free to vote according to their conscience to contribute to a democratic society. “We should be voting the way our constituents want us to vote, and I plan to listen constantly.”
