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By Charlene MacKenzie

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Speak Up

KINGSTON PENINSULA -

In the 2006 election, Rob Moir set a record for the New Democratic Party in Fundy Royal, drawing in 21 per cent of the vote. This time around, Moir and his NDP team plan to break their own record in federal election Oct. 14.

"In 2006, we won because we showed people around the country that the NDP in New Brunswick and in Fundy Royal is a force to be reckoned with," he stated in accepting his party's nomination well before this election was even announced.

An associate professor of economics at the Saint John campus of the University of New Brunswick, Moir advocates a more assertive approach to environmentally-responsible economic opportunities in the area. The Sussex area missed its window of opportunity during Public Utility Board hearings to get access to natural gas for a proposed energy park, he said, but he believes the concept of a "green" energy park is still worth pursuing here.

"You can't separate the economy from the environment," he said of the issues in Fundy Royal, a riding where natural resources such as agriculture, forestry, mining and natural gas provide key employment.

During his campaign he found people had concerns about the proposed storage of natural gas in underground salt caverns, and there's strong resistance to uranium exploration as well.

Rising transportation costs are being felt by businesses and commuter and individuals alike. To combat these costs while reducing commuter traffic emissions, the NDP proposes that one per cent of the federal gas tax committed to provision of public transit, such as the popular bus service now operating in Hampton.

Moir would also like to see better utilization of existing railways in the riding to transport people as well as freight between Moncton and Saint John through Sussex.

Discussing the justice system, Moir pointed out there's a detail some may have missed in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's proposal to identify youth 14 and up convicted of serious crimes. That rule would apply in all provinces but Quebec, where only those 16 and up could be identified. He questions why there wouldn't be one set of rules for all.

He had first-hand experience as a victim of youth crime when his home was robbed in 2003. However, he believes restorative justice is a better alternative than jail for people young not yet entrenched in a criminal lifestyle.

Moir, 41, lives in Clifton Royal on the Kingston Peninsula with his wife Megan and children Sam, Gwyneth and new baby Tobias, born in late August. He joked during his campaign that he would work hard to provide a voice for Fundy Royal in Ottawa, "in between changing diapers!"