Meet your PC leadership candidates

Party gets ready to choose its new leader

Andrew Sain Staff

There are three candidates vying to lead the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party into the next provincial election following the departure of current leader Stuart Murray. The new leader will be elected by PC Manitoba members at the party convention on April 29, and the Manitoban had the chance to catch up with the candidates.

Ken Waddell

A member of the PC party for 25 years, Waddell has worked on provincial MLA campaigns and sat on the national board of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Association as well as the provincial board of directors of the Manitoba party.

Explain your position on post-secondary education funding.

“It’s a revisiting of a policy that was in place in the early 1960s, before I went to university; what it involves is for every year, whether a person graduates or not, attends a university or college in Manitoba, and for every year they work in Manitoba following their attendance . . . I will move towards giving them a tax credit for their tuition. So for a year of university and a year of work they will receive one year’s tax credit . . . I’m suggesting a three-year maximum. It may be more depending on the funding availability, but that’s the philosophy. I’m talking about additional money here, not replacing existing [funding] — we as a province invest an awful lot of money into our students . . . we don’t say to them ‘we want you to stay,’ [but rather] here’s money to prove it.”

What is your vision for Manitoba?

“In the simplest terms, my vision for Manitoba is to have us return to being a ‘have’ province . . . we’re only paying for 65 per cent of our cost of operation right now through our own tax base, and we need to grow the economy so we are a ‘have’ province.”

Website: www.kenwaddell.ca

Hugh McFayden

McFayden has been a member of the PC party for 20 years and worked under premier Gary Filmon as a senior advisor, director of policy, and chief of staff.

Can you explain your position on post-secondary education funding?

“I think the primary challenge right now is how do we balance the need to protect students and ensure accessibility with ensuring the university is financed sufficiently to ensure that students get an excellent education there? I personally would not favour removing the tuition cap until we had a plan in place to ensure that students are going to be protected. So my proposal would be to establish a working group involving both students and university administrators in a process of coming up with a new policy framework to ensure accessibility and also ensure the university is financed sufficiently to be competitive with other universities across the country.”

What is your vision for Manitoba?

“What I want to see is for Manitoba to become a place where there is opportunity for everybody, where there’s excitement, there’s a sense that the province is growing, there’s some momentum — where young people decide that they want to stay here because they can make a good living here, there’s all kinds of things to do, to give them a good life in Manitoba.

Website: www.hughmcfadyen.ca

Ron Schuler

Schuler began his political career as a school trustee with two terms in the River-East school divisions, followed by a stint as chairman of the school division board. He has been the MLA for Springfield since 1999.

Can you explain your position on post-secondary education funding?

“I, being one individual who did not come from a family with money, I came from an immigrant family, and money was definitely not there for post-secondary education, yet through student loans and basically a subsidized education, I was allowed to get my degree. I believe everybody should be given that opportunity. I will be commenting on [the tuition fee freeze] but I don’t want to do it now, I don’t want to pre-empt myself . . . when I do it I want to roll it out as a full platform.”

What is your vision for Manitoba?

“There is no reason why we can’t become a ‘have’ province and be as competitive as any other province in Canada. I feel very strongly and am very passionate about our province.”

Website: www.ronschuler.com





Volume 93 • Issue 26	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	March 22, 2006

Home About Us Advertise Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Personals Volunteer	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly Meet your PC leadership candidates Party gets ready to choose its new leader Andrew Sain Staff There are three candidates vying to lead the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party into the next provincial election following the departure of current leader Stuart Murray. The new leader will be elected by PC Manitoba members at the party convention on April 29, and the Manitoban had the chance to catch up with the candidates. Ken Waddell A member of the PC party for 25 years, Waddell has worked on provincial MLA campaigns and sat on the national board of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Association as well as the provincial board of directors of the Manitoba party. Explain your position on post-secondary education funding. “It’s a revisiting of a policy that was in place in the early 1960s, before I went to university; what it involves is for every year, whether a person graduates or not, attends a university or college in Manitoba, and for every year they work in Manitoba following their attendance . . . I will move towards giving them a tax credit for their tuition. So for a year of university and a year of work they will receive one year’s tax credit . . . I’m suggesting a three-year maximum. It may be more depending on the funding availability, but that’s the philosophy. I’m talking about additional money here, not replacing existing [funding] — we as a province invest an awful lot of money into our students . . . we don’t say to them ‘we want you to stay,’ [but rather] here’s money to prove it.” What is your vision for Manitoba? “In the simplest terms, my vision for Manitoba is to have us return to being a ‘have’ province . . . we’re only paying for 65 per cent of our cost of operation right now through our own tax base, and we need to grow the economy so we are a ‘have’ province.” Website: www.kenwaddell.ca Hugh McFayden McFayden has been a member of the PC party for 20 years and worked under premier Gary Filmon as a senior advisor, director of policy, and chief of staff. Can you explain your position on post-secondary education funding? “I think the primary challenge right now is how do we balance the need to protect students and ensure accessibility with ensuring the university is financed sufficiently to ensure that students get an excellent education there? I personally would not favour removing the tuition cap until we had a plan in place to ensure that students are going to be protected. So my proposal would be to establish a working group involving both students and university administrators in a process of coming up with a new policy framework to ensure accessibility and also ensure the university is financed sufficiently to be competitive with other universities across the country.” What is your vision for Manitoba? “What I want to see is for Manitoba to become a place where there is opportunity for everybody, where there’s excitement, there’s a sense that the province is growing, there’s some momentum — where young people decide that they want to stay here because they can make a good living here, there’s all kinds of things to do, to give them a good life in Manitoba. Website: www.hughmcfadyen.ca Ron Schuler Schuler began his political career as a school trustee with two terms in the River-East school divisions, followed by a stint as chairman of the school division board. He has been the MLA for Springfield since 1999. Can you explain your position on post-secondary education funding? “I, being one individual who did not come from a family with money, I came from an immigrant family, and money was definitely not there for post-secondary education, yet through student loans and basically a subsidized education, I was allowed to get my degree. I believe everybody should be given that opportunity. I will be commenting on [the tuition fee freeze] but I don’t want to do it now, I don’t want to pre-empt myself . . . when I do it I want to roll it out as a full platform.” What is your vision for Manitoba? “There is no reason why we can’t become a ‘have’ province and be as competitive as any other province in Canada. I feel very strongly and am very passionate about our province.” Website: www.ronschuler.com


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