TIM ROBSON
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Age: 60
Occupation: Insurance agent
Residence: Wetaskiwin
Family: Married with an adult son and daughter
NDP candidate Tim Robson is hoping the third time is the charm. Robson came in a distant second with 8.62 per cent in the 2008 federal election, and finished third in the 2004 race with only 7.2 per cent of the vote.
The contempt of Parliament ruling against the Conservative government prompted Robson to add his name for a third time to the ballot. Robson said there needs to be more honesty and accountability in the government.
“It’s the first time in all the Commonwealth countries that a government has been found in contempt of Parliament,” said Robson. “I think that’s nasty.”
Voters are concerned about health care and Robson says improving health care is a large part of the NDP party platform.
“Our platform says we would immediately as quick as we can hire 600 more doctors and 1,200 more nurses,” said Robson. “We would do so by repatriating as many doctors as we could because a lot of doctors have left for greener fields. We will try to bring them back.”
The party would make it easier for foreign doctors in Canada to practise and look at programs aimed at recruiting and supporting low-income, rural and aboriginal medical students. He said Conservative leader Stephen Harper wants to hire 100 more doctors.
“If there are five million Canadians now without a doctor, that would mean each new doctor had only 50,000 new patients,” said Robson. “That doesn’t really work. We need a lot more doctors than that.”
Robson said most voters would be interested in reduction of credit card rates. He said many people have credit cards and many do not pay 100 per cent of the balance when it is due.
“One of the things we want to do is reduce interest rates to credit cards to five per cent above prime,” said Robson. “Right now (prime) is anywhere between three and five per cent depending on if you are loaning money or investing. Interest rates is not five per cent over that. It’s basically between 18 and 22 per cent.”
The party platform also states they will give federal financial regulators new powers to identify and ban excessive interest rates on credit cards, payday loans, store cards and other forms of consumer credit.