Donnan McKenna

Dauphin - Swan River - Neepawa: Peoples Party of Canada

Name, age, hometown
Donnan McKenna, 54, Pine River

Tell us about yourself
I am married with children. I retired from the RCMP after a 30-year career.  I graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Justice and Law Enforcement
 
I was a member of the army reserve while going to University and I joined the RCMP in 1989.  I was first sent to Montreal to learn French, then I was stationed at Beausejour, lac du Bonnet, Thompson, Portage la Prairie, Emerson, Fisher Branch, St. Pierre-Jolys, Ottawa, then I was sent to the Ivory Coast (Africa) as the Canadian Contingent Commander on a year-long UN mission, then I returned to Canada and was sent to Edmonton and finally Grande Prairie, upon my retirement I returned home to Manitoba.

What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
When I retired from the RCMP I bought land and have been farming and this has provided me with a firsthand insight into the challenges that producers face.

Why should voters give you their vote?
I represent the average working person who is fed up with the legacy parties’ lockdowns, and the crippling of the economy.  Many businesses have shut down and will never be able to return.  I will represent my constituents’ needs and not my own personal interests.  The status quo is not working and the hypocrisy of the legacy parties is sickening.  The legacy parties shut down parliament as it was too dangerous for them to sit in the same room with 338 people, but they are ok with clerks in a big box store being exposed daily to thousands of people from across cities.  They ask people to do what they are not willing to do and at the same time they shut down local businesses forcing them to close their doors permanently. People are angry and they should be, it is time to take action and save our country.

What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness?
My greatest strength is my strong commitment to justice and fairness and that I am willing to stand up and fight against legacy politicians and will not be deterred.  What I tell you today will not change tomorrow for the sake of political convenience.  I will take the fight to Ottawa and change will come. 
 
My greatest weakness is that I will work until the job is done and that can be difficult on my family as some projects take a great deal of care and my time.

Where do you stand on:
The need for more pipelines?
I support pipelines as they are the safest, most environmentally friendly and cost effective way to get oil to market. Shutting down pipelines decreases government revenue, increases pollution, increases danger to the public. All of this translate into higher prices at the pump and long term negative environmental consequences. 
 
The Carbon Tax?
The carbon tax is a feel-good initiative that does nothing for the environment, but adds inflationary pressure to Canadian manufactured goods as well as to the consumer's wallet. I would abolish the carbon tax and implement environmental regulation to protect our environment for future generations.  An example of this Canadian innovation turning plastic and unrecyclable waste into biodiesel, Cielo waste is an excellent example of this.  (See their website for more details. https://www.cielows.com)

Much of what people think that they recycle today only gets buried and is never recycled.  In fact Canada exports garbage where it is burned and sent into the atmosphere.  The shiploads of garbage that was repatriated from the Philippines in 2019 was sent to Vancouver where it was burned.  A lost opportunity to demonstrate innovation and care for the environment.  The hypocrisy and lack of accountability of the Liberals and other legacy parties is astounding. Can we not simply stop exporting garbage and recycle it ourselves?  Right now 4% of diesel has to be biodiesel, so we import this from Singapore, the US and Finland.  It is shipped from overseas on big tankers, putting whales at risk, dumping bilge in the ocean, polluting the environment so that it can be added to a tank and the government can say look at us, we are using bio diesel.  Anyone that knows about environmental issues sees this as smoke and mirrors.

The level of the federal deficit and debt?
Horrendous.  The kitty has been emptied to pander to Trudeau’s vanity and to fund ideological feel-good projects. The PPC will end the debt by stopping wasteful spending at home and abroad.  Small business, which is the backbone of our economy will be supported, corporate welfare bailouts to large multinationals will stop.  People don't realize that we have communities that don't have safe drinking water, our health care does not have the supplies to run our hospitals and protect staff, rural Canadians have to travel a long way to see specialists, rural Canada is under policed and detachments are running short of staff.  It is like owning a house where the basement is crumbling and in need of repair, so instead of dealing with the problem we give our paychecks to the neighbours so that the neighbours can get new wallpaper.  

Federal support for agriculture?
The federal government does not have farmers' best interests at heart.  Every part for tractors and other equipment that the farmers buy, every piece of machinery is becoming more expensive thanks to the carbon tax, poor fiscal management and runaway inflation.  Farmers and business owners know best how to run their businesses and they do not need interference from the government.  To be profitable farm sizes have grown, costs for equipment, maintenance and fuel are ever increasing and profit margins are shrinking. The best way to remedy this situation is to get out of the farmers way, stop the endless money printing, stop inflationary pressures and allow the farmers to make a profit. 

The federal response to the Covid-19 crisis?
Terrible, vulnerable people were left to die in personal care homes, healthy people were locked up, PPE was destroyed and not replaced.  Flights from highly infected countries were allowed into the country for some time with no screening being done.  The virus was allowed to enter the country and the government had only one reaction and that was to lock everyone down.  It was simplistic and unscientific thinking.  Criminal investigations into the abandonment of the vulnerable in personal care homes must be launched. I will make it my mission to spearhead the push for criminal investigations in to the abandonment of the vulnerable.  People died from dehydration, this is unacceptable and the families of the victims need to hear that justice will be done.  Lockdowns have kept victims trapped them with their abusers, those with addiction issues were left without support, increased suicides, isolated people leading to mental health issues, forced people into bankruptcy, destroyed families and the government is threatening it again. 

The state of ethics in our federal government?
This government has had multiple ethics violations and has not taken any responsibility. The laissez-faire attitude of this government in regards to parliamentary rules, conflict of interest, defending Canadian citizens, national security and defending minority rights is abominable.  This government lacks any sense of morality and makes decisions based on what would look good in a 2 minute news clip.  Reform is needed to root out the cronyism and have the sycophants replaced with those that work for the people and not for their own betterment.   
 
Are we facing a climate crisis?
Yes, two-thirds of dairy farmers indicate that they don't have enough feed to take them through the winter.  Hay is in short supply and farmers are working to get every bit that they can off of the fields, Mexico has lost 10,000 cows because of the drought.  The government has done nothing to prepare for this and they have taken no action to protect the environment.  Banning plastic straws is ridiculous and accomplishes nothing.  Prices on meat, which were already under inflationary pressure, will rise even more. Farmers are selling their herds as they won’t be able to feed them, this does not translate into lower prices at the supermarket as the feedlots are under the same pressure.  The legacy parties have done nothing to prepare for this, as the climate changes you will see groceries cost even more.  The best way for the government to help is to let farmers operate without adding hidden taxes that undercut their profits, this will encourage farm productivity and reinvestment in agriculture.  We need to make this planet sustainable or our grandchildren, not pander to special interest groups and implement regulations that have no environmental value.

Who inspires you?
My father, he had two heart attacks, one when I was 13 and he died when I was 15 years old from a second heart attack.  My father loved his family and was always working to make our lives better.  If he was not at work he was at home fixing something and he always seemed to be carrying a tool, usually a hammer.  Yet he always had time for me, my mother and my siblings, he was patient, kind and fearless.  After his first heart attack he was told that he wouldn’t be able to walk upstairs again, yet he did. After his first heart attack he was on a subway and a group of four young men were harassing a female passenger.  My father got up, confronted them all and chased them off the subway, he was never afraid to do the right thing. 
 
Who are the three people, dead or alive, that you’d love to have dinner with?
My father, General Rick Hillier and Winston Churchill. I admire all of these men as they were faced with adversity, were courageous in the face of relentless opposition and they cared about the people in their charge.  These people served something greater than themselves and were an inspiration to those around them. 

What’s the one album you’d take with you on a desert island?
The Guess Who - American Woman. I am the youngest in the family and listened to my older brother’s music.  I grew to appreciate this Canadian band from the North end of Winnipeg, the music reminds me of my childhood.  These musicians were talented and their success stemmed from hard work and each other.  It is also a good album.

 If elected, what do you hope to accomplish in the next term?