NDP Announce Candidate

Jacquie Robichaud running race for NDP

S.RYAN QUIGLEY

JOURNAL PIONEER

SUMMERSIDE- As of Wednesday night, Jacquie Robichaud became the NDP’s Egmont candidate joining three others on the ballot.

Robichaud is a single mother and widow of former Island NDP leader Gary Robichaud. She has a Home Ec. degree from the University of Prince Edward Island and a Human Ecology degree from the University of Manitoba.

Robichaud said she learned a lot from helping her late-husband in his campaigns and after the previous NDP candidate favourite dropped out she knew she could do it.

“I don’t want to be riding on Gary’s coat tails too much.”

 The high cost of drugs, which we could save billions on by buying in bulk, would be one of the first things she would address, said Robichaud.

“At the moment, people pay what the drug companies would want us to pay. I think there would be more control that way. Plus there’s some drugs that are covered in one province but not covered in another. This would be a national program that would be better rounded and cover more in certain provinces.”

She said one of the things she would rather do is have money put into small businesses that keep employment here rather than corporations that outsource work.

“I think (Harper)’s there for the people that have money. People that have money do fairly well under him, but because of the recession there are many people falling between the cracks for no reason.”

Teamwork is needed in Ottawa and a majority government will disrupt the sense of community, said Robichaud.

“Stephen Harper’s in control and if the rest of the party doesn’t say exactly what he wants them to say then there’s problems created,” she said. “Coming from my family studies background, I’ve always been taught peace begins in the home and to have peace in the home you need to have teamwork.”

She said Michael Ignatieff is part of the problem.

“There is even Liberals that do not want him to be Prime Minister. His record does not match his words, how can we trust him to follow through with what he says he will do?”

Robichaud said the NDP is more in tune with the everyday citizen.

“It’s time the ordinary citizens got a break. Only the NDP can fix what’s wrong with national politics.”

The slogan for her campaign is “It’s time for some respect” and Robichaud said it’s because she’s tired of watching the Liberals and Conservatives play their “partisan games”.

“Coming from my background, like if you watch them on CPAC and if children under my care were doing that, they’d be put on a time out.”