Brad Trivers says he's the best person to lead P.E.I. PC Party
'I think it's time to get back to basics in our party,' says District 18 MLA
Leadership candidate Brad Trivers says it's time for the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative Party to be reinvigorated so it will be prepared to lead the government after the next election.
Trivers, the MLA for District 18, is one of two elected MLAs running for the leadership of the PC Party. He says he's the best person for the job.
"I think it's time to get back to basics in our party and really focus on our mission and our values because I believe they are the values of Islanders." Trivers said in an interview with CBC News: Compass.
Rival candidate James Aylward will be profiled by CBC on Wednesday. The leadership vote takes place Oct. 14, Oct. 17 and Oct. 20 and only party members are allowed to vote.
Trivers went on to discuss his priorities as leader, the shortage of psychiatrists on P.E.I., and the legalization of marijuana, among other topics.
CBC: What is your core mission for the Conservative Party?
BT: We need to get back to grassroots. We need to listen to our members and we need to engage our members. If we want young people to get involved in the party we need to make sure they have an active role.
CBC: If leader, what would be your first priority?
BT: I would take all the MLAs and send them back into their districts to listen to the people and come up with a strategy to address the problems in their districts at a district level, at a community level.
I would start with economic development and probably the next thing I would do is I would fund school food programs as requested by the home and school federation.
CBC: A lack of psychiatrists — what would you do to fill the void?
We have to look at how do we prevent mental illness in the first place but immediately in the very short term because we have such a crisis on our hands with the shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists, we need to make sure when someone reaches out and needs help we provide it to them.
CBC: James Alyward - what makes you different from his vision?
BT: I think James is someone who really plays on people's emotions and makes promises that people think, 'Yeah, we really need that,' but we need to make sure we are fiscally responsible with what we're promising.
He's talked about having a public inquiry into e-gaming and of course, everybody wants to get to the bottom of e-gaming but really we have the tools in public accounts to do that if the Liberal majority would let witnesses come forward.
So really it's a problem with Liberals blocking progress as opposed to needing to spend hundreds of thousands if not million of dollars on that.
CBC: Where do you stand on the legalization of marijuana?
BT: I'm not entirely sure we need another recreational drug on P.E.I. We have enough problems when it comes to alcohol as well as to tobacco. But then on the flip side, what I've heard from concerned parents is it's getting into the schools and they just don't know what is in the pot that's there that the kids are getting access to so they want to see some controls in place even if they're against the use of it.
I think the federal government is pushing it through way way too quickly without allowing the various stakeholder groups to have their say.
CBC: Public engagement during leadership race?
BT: One thing I'm finding, I'm knocking on doors and when I'm talking to people face to face they are really glad to see me and they are getting engaged now.
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