Ariane Jaschke, Green Party of Canada

Birth place: Saskatoon, Sask.

Occupation: Family photographer

Main reason for running? What do you want to accomplish?

I’m running for my children’s future. I am worried about climate change and I am worried about how quickly the current government is able to transition out of fossil fuels and I hope that by being a part of Parliament, I will be able to advocate for our community and for our environment and make sure the government … will make changes … in an acceptable amount of time.

Question: How would you or your party address the constantly increasing cost of living and housing?

Answer: With the Green party it really isn’t about making sure every single person can buy a house. We’re really about getting every single person inside a house and into a home. Strengthening the national housing strategy to support more funding for co-ops and not for profit housing, get people into homes. We have a pretty high of home ownership rate in Canada but we have a pretty high homeless rate as well. It’s getting those people into homes.

Question: Why would your party be most effective in addressing homelessness and mental illness in Maple Ridge?

Answer: The Green party is about people and making sure people come first over any kind of corporate interest. We’re really about working on the mental health initiatives … and making mental health easily accessible in all communities, not just the middle of the city but even into rural communities and all over Canada. There’s a huge homeless population that isn’t just people on the streets with mental illness or drug addiction and we need to make sure we invest in everyone.

Question: What is the most pressing environmental issue and how would you address it?

Answer: The most pressing issue that we have been studying over 30 years … is obviously our pipeline and making sure that we do shut off all subsidies going into the fossil fuel industry so that we can use that money to make changes with the mental health, with our homeless … pharmacare, universal schooling. Once we cut off the taps to the fossil fuel industry, we’re going to have access to money that will allow us to make many changes that are going to work for the people as opposed to the corporations.