I am a North Vancouverite who cares deeply for his community. I bring experience from the private sector, as a vice president of Vanoc, and have worked in Ottawa. I want to advance the issues my community cares about in the House of Commons.

The Liberal party is focused on helping families, taking care of our environment, supporting small business, creating jobs, and restoring our international reputation—all without raising taxes. Every one of these issues resonate as priorities for North Vancouver.

Families

Rising property values and high cost of living make it difficult for young families to make North Vancouver home. We need to do more to help families through a time in their lives where they are most in debt and in need of affordable housing and community resources.

A Liberal government will create tax incentives to foster new innovative jobs, create more employment opportunities for youth, introduce a learning passport providing financial support for higher education, establish early childhood learning, meet the demand for more child care spaces, and provide EI benefits for at-home care of family members who fall ill. We will also work on solutions for providing affordable housing.

Economy

Our community is in need of new infrastructure to support cultural as well as sport and recreation programs. I will work on bringing federal investments in our economy that bring long term benefits to our community, not just short term construction jobs. We have to spend money where we will see a long-term benefit.

A Liberal government is focused on responsible spending—without raising taxes—by doing away with Conservative plans for $6 billion in corporate tax cuts, $10 billion in U.S.-style mega-prisons, and $30 billion in stealth fighter jets without engines.

Environment

We live in a popular destination for tourists because of the wealth of breath-taking natural resources. North Vancouverites are fiercely protective of the North Shore’s environment, where they live, work, and play.

Local governments are leading the charge on strategic initiatives to fight climate change in the absence of true leadership at a federal level. I will work to support local environmental initiatives, and voice support for a more meaningful commitment to carbon reduction strategies in Ottawa.

I support making the North Pacific coast tanker ban permanent.

A Liberal government will quadruple 2009 levels of low-impact renewable energy production by 2017 to reduce GHG emissions and generate jobs. We will also provide a Green Renovation Tax Credit with a goal of retrofitting one million homes by 2017, and continue to look for ways to grow our capacity and expertise in the global clean energy sector.

Celebrating diversity

North Vancouver is home to many different cultures and peoples of varying ethnic backgrounds. Some have been here for decades; others are new to our community, and to Canada. Resources for new immigrants are essential for their success in our community, and for our economy to benefit from the knowledge, experience, and capacity they can provide.

A Liberal government will do more to foster settlement in Canada and will support initiatives such as recognizing foreign credentials to quickly integrate new Canadians into the workforce, increase funding for language skills training for new Canadians, and reverse the Conservative government’s cuts to the family reunification program to increase family class visas.

These are policies I believe in because they ring true to my values, and those of my community. It is for this reason the Liberal party is the right choice for change and democratic leadership in Ottawa.

Taleeb Noormohamed is the Liberal candidate for North Vancouver.