Tom Lukiwski, Conservative Party of Canada

Personal details. Name, age, hometown

Tom Lukiwski, 67 years old, I live in the great community of Regina Beach.

Tell us about yourself

I have a great love for sports, including golf, football and curling. My family of course is very important to me and especially my grandkids!

What’s a little-known fact about you?

I represented Saskatchewan three times at the Canadian Amateur Golf Championship.

Why should voters hire you?

I’ve provided excellent representation since 2004 and will continue to do so.

Who should we call for a reference?

Stephen Harper.

What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness?

Strength: Oratorical skills. Weakness: Severe sweet tooth.

Where do you stand on:

Gun laws? The Trudeau government is rehashing the failed Liberal policies of gun bans and gun registries that do nothing but punish those gun-owners who are already obeying the law. These policies do nothing to address the real problem of criminal use of guns. A Conservative government will focus on putting criminals who use guns behind bars. Police chiefs have confirmed that the majority of gun crime in Canada is perpetrated by gangs using smuggled guns so those are the two problems on which a Conservative government will focus. We will end automatic bail for gang members and impose tougher sentences for gang-related crime. We will enhance border enforcement against gun smuggling and increase sentences for these offences.

The need for more pipelines? Pipelines are vital in many ways. For starters, they are clearly a much safer and less environmentally hazardous way to transport oil than rail or truck. Building pipelines will create jobs across the country, most notably locally at the Evraz steel plant. By creating new markets at premium prices for Western Canadian oil, pipelines will boost the prosperity of Western Canada, creating new jobs in the oil and gas sector as well as incalculable spinoff benefits. More sales and higher prices for Western Canadian oil are also vital to the Canadian social safety net since resource royalties help pay for the hospitals, schools, roads and social services that we all enjoy.

Western alienation? I believe that this is the most important election in a generation precisely because of the sense of alienation I am sensing. Through all the decades I have been active in politics in Saskatchewan, I have never encountered so much discontent among average voters. Because of policies such as the anti-pipeline bills, the carbon tax and the hostility to western interests shown by the governments of Quebec and B.C., people in the West are feeling that Canada has abandoned them. This is a dangerous trend that cannot be allowed to continue. Canada must be a nation in which the interests of all of its regions are respected. It is the job of the federal government to do this and the Liberal government has failed at this.

China? What should our approach be with some of our markets blocked? We must never forget Justin Trudeau’s comment that he “admires China’s basic dictatorship.” This naïve attitude by the prime minister is all the more dangerous in these times when China is increasingly demonstrating its hostility to Western values. As a result, the Trudeau government has failed to take firm action against China’s unfair trade actions and its unfounded imprisonment of our citizens.

Canada’s relationship with China needs a reset. A Conservative government would engage with China in a manner that is fair but firm. We would launch a formal complaint against China with the World Trade Organization. We would pull Canadian funding from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. We will ban Chinese state-owned companies that are solely focused on advancing the political interests of Beijing. So long as China refuses to comply to rule of law and rules-based trade, Canada has no choice but to look for other trading partners in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly among like-minded democracies.

Are we facing a climate change crisis? Is carbon tax the answer? Canada’s Conservatives recognize that climate change is real and evidence from around the world clearly shows that there is a global warming trend.  We agree that this is primarily human-caused and we support the objectives of the Paris Accord.

We do not support a carbon tax because it puts the burden of addressing climate change in the wrong place, on the shoulders of the average consumer. The carbon tax makes life less affordable for all Canadians. Yet, according to the government’s own studies, the carbon tax will fall short of meeting Canada’s Paris Accord targets.

The Conservative climate plan would put the burden of climate change strategy where it belongs, with the heavy emitters who would be required to invest in green technology if they exceed an emissions cap. Rather than punishing consumers, we would encourage them to take green action through tax credits for green home renovations and other incentives. We would invest in the development of green technology so that Canada would be in a position to help reduce not only its only emissions but those of other countries around the world.

It’s a day off and you can do anything you want.  What would it be?

Play golf!

Who inspires you?

My two granddaughters.

What is your hidden talent?

I’m an excellent Trivial Pursuit player.

What do you wish you could do but can’t?

Sing.

Who are the three people, dead or alive, that you’d love to have dinner with?

John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy.

How do you take your coffee?

I don’t drink coffee.

What’s the one album you’d take with you on a desert island? What embarrassing song do you admit to on your playlist?

Eagles Greatest Hits. Embarrassing song: Achy Breaky Heart.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Late-night snacking!

What is the last book you read?

A reread: The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood.

What is your favourite TV show?  What are you binge watching?

Favourite TV show would be Ballers. Binge watching House of Cards.

What is your all-time favourite movie?

Shawshank Redemption.