McNair feels that the focus of the main parties has shifted away from representing constituents and towards staying in power. When he discovered the direct democracy system and Canada’s Fourth Front Party (CFF), he saw it as an opportunity to better involve citizens in decision making.

The CFF aims to integrate a direct democracy system into the current electoral system. They hope to involve constituents through the use of a website and phone line, through which they’d be able to vote directly on issues instead of relying on politicians to voice their concerns. Then, under the system, their MP would bring what constituents had to say to parliament and act solely based on the will of voters.

“Essentially, I’m just a mouthpiece for citizens of the area,” said McNair. As a direct democracy MP, “your own opinions are irrelevant, you’re directly controlled by the people of the riding.”

He explained that the current representative system was designed when politicians used horses and buggies to travel from place to place. Now, with the internet and phone services, citizens have a greater ability to quickly voice their beliefs on issues without slowing down the conversation.

McNair got involved with the party earlier this year after contacting the party’s founder, Partap Dua. The two now serve as co-leaders.

McNair owns National Capital Construction and runs the Shawville Hotel. When police find someone who is causing a disturbance but is not violent, McNair encourages them to bring them to his hotel to spend the night without worrying about payment.

He tries to use his hotel as a “temporary landing spot” where people who are in trouble can spend the night so that they “don’t float around in a bad state and end up doing bad things.” He hopes to help others get back on their feet, as well as free up police resources.

McNair added that he’s running because he wants to help make the Pontiac a better place for his daughter.

“Shawville is her favourite place in the world,” said McNair. “The little community that started a long time ago, before confederation, and she loves it, so I will fight to make sure it’s still here for her when I’m not.”

McNair described one of his priorities within the region is repairing relationships with the Indigenous communities in the area and “working with them to bring prosperity to the area and peace and tranquility.”

Another one of McNair’s priorities is to ensure that all cultures within the region – including French, English, Indigenous and more – are maintained and protected so that all Pontiac citizens can express themselves freely.

McNair hopes to adress housing within the region. Instead of retirement homes or affordable housing, McNair hopes to begin building small 3D-printed concrete homes that will be given for free to citizens so that they are guaranteed to have some sort of housing or an asset.

“They’re not big homes, but it’s going to allow people that are in trouble to get their own house in their names,” said McNair. ”

He suggests that this would allow for older residents to have more dignity.

McNair added that providing housing to those struggling will help reduce other issues, such as crime and addiction. He noted that the party has already begun to look at building these homes in the riding.

“With or without an election, with or without winning, we’re not going to stop,” said McNair. “We’ve already started. We do it without the help.”

While McNair is hoping to be elected this year, his ultimate goal as a politician is to retire from politics after shifting the political system, both locally and nationally, towards direct democracy.

“The people of the Pontiac must make history, and vote in at least one direct Democracy MP to parliament,” said McNair. “Pontiac will be the only riding in Canada where the people have direct control.”

The party’s direct democracy forum can be found at https://cffdirectdemocracy.com/ and 1-(800)-457-0462.

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