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John Barr knows first-hand how jobs in the oil patch can dry-up in a hurry. And that's one of the reasons he was attracted to the People's Party of Canada. Like Leader Maxime Bernier, Barr believes concern about global warming is being overstated by some of his political opponents. Barr sat down with us to talk about his decision to enter the contest in the riding of Kelowna-Lake Country.
Another key issue for the PPC is immigration. The party platform suggests that the number of migrants that our country needs to make some tough decisions on how many migrants we let into the country. "We want to have immigration that is sustainable," said Barr, "Numbers we can bring in that we can be sure are contributing to Canadians welfare and the welfare of the people coming into Canada as well."
Barr supports his party's goal to reduce the number of people entering the country by about 50% while shifting more of it to people who come ready to contribute to the economy. And he likes the idea of people going through a more thorough vetting process as they arrive. "Are their values agreeable with or compliant with what we have as our laws in Canada," he said.
When asked about the suffering of individuals or families that those policies might shut-out, Barr admits these are difficult decisions. "We have enough issues here in our own country. We need to take care of our house first," he added. "The Canadian government's first responsibility is to its citizens."
Barr admits a more restrictive immigration policy could attract people with racist or xenophobic views, but that doesn't mean they find a place there. "That part of the population, which I think does exist," he said, "is not welcome in our party."
On climate change, Barr says there is a lot of alarmism in this election campaign on the issue of climate change and he said it's not helpful. "It's the politicizing of this issue," he said.
When asked about his decision to seek office Barr said "The House of Commons is for common people." He said his work in the oil patch qualifies him for the job. "I'm in favour of people who perhaps have a little more dirt under their fingernails," he added.
He and the other candidates are looking for your vote on October 21.
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