An NDP candidate is looking to fight for workers’ rights and be a voice for the people in the Lakeland region.
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Des Bissonnette has put her hat forward in the upcoming federal election with issues at the forefront such as economic stability and environmental responsibility.
She acknowledges the financial benefits of the oil and gas industry but highlights the long-term costs as she has personal ties to the industry.
“It’s an extremely physically stressful job. It’s stressful on the family. Sure, you’re making a lot of money, but you’re also damaging your body over time. You’re damaging the environment,” she said.
Bissonnette wants to shift the conversation toward transitional jobs and job equity. She sees a future where workers are protected through education programs, pensions, or guaranteed jobs in new industries.
“Whether that’s giving them schooling for new jobs and paying them during their schooling time and then guaranteeing them jobs after in a transitional model, or it’s paying them out of pension for working in the oil field and allowing them to retire,” she said.
She recognizes this transition will not be easy, but she believes it is necessary.
“Times change, things have to move forward. Technology has to move forward,” she said. “As much as we want to be resistant against the change of fossil fuels, it has to happen in order for our planet to stay habitable.”
She noted that while other political parties focus on cuts to healthcare and education, the NDP prioritizes investments in people and social programs.
“The biggest difference is that the NDP isn’t really focused on making any kind of big cuts like that. We’re focused on enriching people and enriching programs that are helpful to people,” she said.
Funding these programs, she explained, would come from taxing the ultra-wealthy.
“The thing is, corporations and people who are above a certain tax amount are making so much money that they don’t need,” she said. “If we taxed all of them appropriately, we would have more than enough money for all of our services.”
She pointed to billionaires like Galen Weston as examples of excessive wealth hoarding.
“It is meant to harm us, to keep us where we are and keep us stationary and knock us down and take our wealth,” she said.
Bissonnette acknowledged concerns that wealthy individuals might move their businesses out of Canada in response to higher taxes. Her solution to that is investing in small businesses and local economies.
“We start investing in small businesses and we give people the opportunity to build from the ground up,” she said. “People want to have those jobs. People want to have those amenities. And we can make it possible and we can make it local.”
She also believes strongly in cross-party collaboration to advance initiatives like clean technology.
“You see the Conservatives and the Liberals fighting each other all the time to the point where things don’t get done,” she said.
She defended the NDP’s cooperation with the Liberals in a minority government, citing gains like Pharmacare.
“Without party cooperation and agreeance on things, we don’t have a functioning government,” she said. “And that’s what this is about, is having a functioning government that does good things for Canadians instead of enriching themselves or enriching the wealthy.”
She also confirmed she would take the same approach if a Conservative minority government were in place.
Looking ahead, Bissonnette has a vision for Lloydminster’s future. She dreams of a city with better infrastructure, more sustainability, and stronger local food production.
“I really love living in Lloyd, but it’s not as walkable as it could be. We don’t have public transit,” she said.
Bissonnette says she would love to see high-speed rail not only enter Canada but be an option for Lloydminster. She also hopes to see more community-driven sustainability efforts.
“The biggest thing I think I would really love to see is for Lloyd to have more long-term projects, like what the street team is doing for sustainable food, but more community-based,” she said.
Bissonnette sees agriculture as a key part of this future.
“I would also really love to see the farms around this community being invested in so that our grocery stores and our farmers’ markets can be more locally filled,” she said.
She emphasized her commitment to representing all residents fairly.
“I am open to listening and to being the voice that’s needed, even if it’s an opinion that I don’t necessarily fully agree with,” she said.
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