What is Jim Wiedrick's Vision Archives

What is Jim Wiedrick’s Vision: 5 Public Policy Pillars

What feelings do you get when you go to vote? The most common answers I hear are fear and frustration.

What is Jim Wiedrick’s vision? We should feel engaged and excited when we vote! Once people see voting as the start of a journey of ownership not just a dead-end waste of time, people are energized.

Do you know your Member of Parliament (MP)? Could we make your answer? Yes. Can you communicate with them? Let’s make the answer = ABSOLUTELY.

Sadly, not many people get good vibes from the democratic process. So often someone is elected and does only what their party leader wants for the rest of the parliament. The citizens in the riding no longer matter.

And from my perspective, this results from the political system not functioning as it was designed. Canada’s parliamentary system is busted because it only serves those in the inner circle of party leaders.

The public, that would be you & me, is left in the dark.

I want to restore the REPRESENTATIVE in representative democracy.

That’s why I’m running!

Naturally, as an independent charting a new path, voters want to know … “What are you about?”

What is Jim Wiedrick’s Vision?

I want to break free from the party system that divides and embitters us. I want folks to see and taste that politics can work for them. Use the technology of the 2020s to customize and shape how the Member of Parliament represents you and the riding.

Here is Jim Wiedrick’s Vision: Five Core Policy Pillars….

PILLAR #1: ELECTORAL REFORM

We need voting reform.

Our current system favours the status quo and the practices of the past.

First past the post has got to go…it just lets the Liberals and Conservatives keep a chokehold on the political system with an ever-shrinking percentage of votes.

Shout with me: PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION! Single Transferable Vote is the best system of proportional representation out there — if this concept is new to you, the following video will give you a simple explanation.

Changing our voting system will give you a real sense of ownership and engagement! Fair Votes for All: Embrace Proportional Representation!

PILLAR #2: TAX REFORM

Tax reform! If you want government to change, you need to change its intake.

Tinkering is not enough. Simplify, reduce, renew. Stop feeding the beast. The government is too big and too inefficient.

Parkinson “law” reminds us that the number of workers in public administration or bureaucracy will tend to grow regardless of the amount of work to be done.

Sounds right to me – the federal civil service has grown 40% in the last 8 years and yet the government did not get 40% better or more productive (Size of federal public service swells to record high, according to report Silcoff, S 2024.1.2 Globe and Mail).

Let’s immediately stop adding to the civil service.

Promote productivity, promote innovation and promote entrepreneurship by reducing government.

Shrinking the government lowers your tax bill – giving you money in your pocket and hope for the future! Cut Taxes, Cut Red Tape: Empower Innovation and Prosperity!

PILLAR #3: PRAGMATIC ENVIRONMENTALISM

Promoting the environment matters! I’m in favour of pragmatic steps to make our earth and world better. So what does that practically mean?

Practical point 1: Society is electrifying and artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an everyday reality. Wind, solar and hydro-generated power will NOT consistently provide enough power – we need to embrace nuclear sources for a clean emissions future. (The future of energy: why should it be nuclear based?) 2024.6.18 researchfeatures.com)

Practical point 2: A major car manufacturer has a 1:6:90 rule that speaks to me: the amount of minerals and mining needed for 1 fully electric car could make 6 plug-in electric hybrids or could make 90 hybrid cars. The carbon footprint reduction of 90 hybrids is 37x better over the combined lifetimes than a single fully electric vehicle. So wouldn’t getting 90 hybrids on the road be the best goal for the next 5 years? (Toyota’s 1:6:90 rule – The Case for HybridsJune 7, 2023 energyminute.ca)

Practical point 3: Your local neighbourhood is full of opportunities. At my hospital, I have reduced harmful anesthetic gas usage, created safe bike storage and use space, and worked with a team to create a green hospital scorecard system.

Everyone in the riding benefits when we take practical action to help the environment! Pragmatic Solutions for a Greener Future.

PILLAR #4: HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE

Is Healthcare working for you and your family? From where I stand as an emergency room physician, the answer for many people is NO. If you haven’t recently visited an emergency room or heard from anyone who has, you know the scene is less than ideal. (Why patients are waiting so long in emergency rooms across Canada Amad Feb 2024 Macleans).

Let’s stop pretending our healthcare system is in good shape. How do I see it? Healthcare in Canada needs frequent and repeated cardioversion. And that ain’t healthy.

Tinkering on the edges is not working and the bureaucracy in the system is getting worse, not better.

Our Canada Health Act is now 40 years old! We need something new.

I propose we take the five principles of the Canada Health Act—comprehensive, portable, accessible, publicly administered, and universal—and expand it with two new principles: 6. ‘timely’ and 7. ‘patient-focused’.

Access to a waiting list is not access to healthcare!

‘Patient-focused’ healthcare redirects the financial focus from bureaucracy to actual healthcare, ensuring funding follows patients throughout their health journey. This approach creates incentive and efficiency.

And it’s high time we look at the best principles of hybrid healthcare systems found in Australia or Europe where access to care is so much better. (Healthcare wait times by Country 2024 datapandas.org) Citizens of these world regions access the tests, procedures and services they need in a much more timely fashion.

A healthcare system that works is the boost our society needs! Time for Real Care: Fixing Healthcare from the Front Lines.

PILLAR #5: DEFENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

The basic reason we need good government is “to get things done we cannot do ourselves”. Defence and infrastructure certainly qualify as things we can’t do ourselves.

Citizens know Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories –the provinces have oversight responsibility for many services.

Overall, the federal government has one significant role: defend the country and maintain national infrastructure.

We need enormous upgrades in our electrical grid, we need to ensure border and coast guard sovereignty, and we must maintain robust search and rescue infrastructure.

In these volatile times, we shouldn’t rely on our southern neighbour for assistance – we need to achieve self-sufficiency in protecting our nation’s vital interests.

The federal government exists to do the things we cannot do ourselves! Securing Our Future: Federal Responsibility, Canadian Strength.

Jim Wiedrick’s vision focuses on five key pillars for a stronger Canada.

He champions electoral reform for fair representation and advocates streamlined tax policies to spur innovation. Jim promotes pragmatic environmental solutions, including nuclear energy, and prioritizes healthcare reforms for better patient care. He emphasizes national defence and infrastructure upgrades to ensure Canada’s self-sufficiency and security.

Charting a Bold Course: Jim Wiedrick’s Vision for Canada