CALEB NICKERSON
PONTIAC June 5, 2019
The newly formed People’s Party of Canada (PPC) has announced their candidate for the Pontiac riding.
Mario Belec has been a bus driver for the STO in Gatineau for nearly two decades and previously served in the Canadian Forces for several years. He hopes to run a positive campaign for the fledgling party, which currently has only one seat.
Belec has some experience in politics, having run as the Gatineau candidate for the Conservative Party of Quebec in the 2018 provincial elections. He placed sixth out of seven candidates with 697 votes or 1.99 per cent of the electorate, behind eventual CAQ winner Robert Bussière.
He said that after his debut into politics, he wanted to get involved at the federal level, but disagreed with some of the federal Conservative’s policies, including supply management and immigration.
The PPC is a right-wing populist party that was formed in late 2018 by Beauce, Que. MP Maxime Bernier, who left the Conservative Party following a spat with current leader Andrew Scheer. The departure stemmed from Bernier’s opposition to Canada’s supply management system – which Scheer supports – among other issues.
Belec said that Bernier’s views on such issues are why he chose to join the PPC in November 2018 instead of the federal conservatives. He became the Electoral District Association President for the Pontiac earlier this year after former President Mark Buzan had to step down. He said that he was the only one from the district to put his name forward as a candidate and was thus chosen to run in the Pontiac.
Belec said that if elected, the PPC would phase out supply management over a span of five years, and would help farmers adjust to the free-market system.
The PPC supports cutting the amount of immigrants that enter Canada each year from 300,000 to 250,000. Belec said that he would be in support of streamlining the immigration process, to allow those entering the country to find work and become citizens sooner.
Belec said that he will be using his time to comment solely on the PPC’s policies, and stated that he will not be commenting on the actions and policies of other parties. He did express his support for Pontiac MP Will Amos’ Private Members Bill M-208, which calls for increased funding for rural internet and cell phone access.
This fall’s election is scheduled for Oct. 21 and so far there are three parties who have announced candidates for Pontiac in addition to Belec: Incumbent Liberal MP Will Amos, Conservative Dave Blackburn and Claude Bertrand of the Green Party.
