Marcella Pedersen says the New Democrats have a plan that will address many concerns faced by residents in Battlefords-Lloydminster. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

‘People before profits’: NDP’s Pedersen ready for final leg of federal campaign

Oct 7, 2019 | 9:10 PM

Marcella Pedersen says the New Democrats have a plan that will address many concerns faced by residents in Battlefords-Lloydminster; poverty, crime, employment, healthcare and the environment.

That is why she has put her name forward to represent the party on Oct. 21. Pedersen held an official opening for her campaign office Monday evening.

“[The NDP] have an actual platform all written out about how we are going to make life more affordable for people,” she said. “I have seen the Liberals taking some of our platform here and the Conservatives taking a chunk of our platform there. We are on the right track.”

She said the NDP is about putting people before profit and has always been for the people while the Tories and Grits only “support their rich friends and corporations.”

Pedersen was born in Unity and resides in Cut Knife. She has a background in grain and sheep farming and was a beekeeper. She is a reflexologist farmer and is concerned about climate change, farming, food, health and how it all relates.

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“You can’t have good health if you don’t have good food,” she said, linking this to many issues plaguing the region.

She said unemployment and racism drive poverty, which in turn drives addictions and crime. Pedersen said tackling these issues at their root is the only way to remedy the situation.

“Loneliness, unworthiness, hopelessness, fear of the future; those are all things that drive this,” she said. “You have to deal with those things before you even look at crime. Jagmeet Singh himself has said that more guns and more police are not the answer [to crime]. I agree with that.”

She said the New Democrats have a plan for affordable housing, childcare, and other social issues faced by residents.

On the environment, Pedersen pointed to her own situation as an example that should be followed by Canada. Pedersen lives in a solar-heated home and has for 35 years. She said she is shocked that the nation has not adopted a policy to reflect new and efficient means of generating clean energy to help address climate change.

“People have got to turn 180 degrees. We still need oil and gas, yes, but we need to go the other direction to solve the problem,” she said.

Asked her opinion of the federal campaign thus far and what she has heard door knocking, Pedersen highlighted voter apathy and a disconnect with the political system.

She sighted Western alienation as a driving force behind some of the disconnect on the Prairies, as many say they do not feel like they have a voice in Ottawa.

“The decisions are made out East before we even vote,” she said.

The next two weeks, she said, will be filled with days spent shaking hands and connecting with potential voters.

Pedersen is up against incumbent Tory MP Rosemarie Falk, People’s Party of Canada candidate Jason MacInnis, Liberal Larry Ingram, and the Green’s David Kim-Cragg.

—

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr