Joe Sinicrope said he’d spend much of his time “pounding the pavement” to bring jobs to North Bay if he becomes Nipissing-Timiskaming’s next MP.
Sinicrope, a lawyer, announced Thursday, he will be seeking the federal Liberal nomination for the area, joining Susan Church, Anthony Rota and Hugh McLachlan.
He told reporters and a virtually empty room at the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 23 that jobs for the area would be his number one priority if elected.
“My approach would be pounding the pavement where ever it has to be pounded in terms of going out and seeking these major employers,” Sinicrope said.
“You need someone at the federal level to work to improve this city. We can’t afford any longer to have a person who just sits there and gives us a big smile as the MP.”
Crystal clear North Bay’s population has remained stagnant for the last 30 years, Sinicrope said.
“And what have the politicians we elected for all these years done about that? The answer to this question is crystal clear: nothing,” Sinicrope said.
The area needs an MP willing to work with “an exciting city council,” with Mayor Vic Fedeli and Nipissing MPP Monique Smith, Sinicrope said, “to ensure that our children will find work here and not have to move elsewhere.”
The jobs Sinicrope wants to bring to North Bay would allow, "paying you mortgage and raising your family.”
Business as usual dead Sinicrope said the message voters gave in the recent provincial and municipal elections is that “business as usual is dead.”
If, Sinicrope added, the current local Liberal membership “and those who will become Liberals shortly” want business as usual, “then they should vote for one of the other candidates, for the one who has the biggest smile, for those who won’t tell them where they stand on important issues because they were not asked, or for those who hide their positions behind what their handlers tell them to say or do.”
On the other hand, Sinicrope continued, “they can vote for me and vote for someone who will work for them and bring real change and improvement for this riding.”
Out the window Sinicrope said he’s been concerned about “what’s been happening in Ottawa” for some time, “as I know all Canadian have been.”
Family values, Sinicrope said, “have gotten thrown out the window.”
He also reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriages and believes parliament must ensure “the institution of marriage remains as it has been for thousands of years.”
Sinicrope also said he’s been “angered” by the waste of “millions of dollars" for the gun registry, for government advertising and MP perks.
“The federal government has to be able to work much more efficiently with our hard-earned tax dollars, and we need an MP prepared to stick to the stands he takes on those issues. These are the issues that are important to me and I believe to the people of our federal riding.”
And while there were only a handful of supporters out for his announcement, Sinicrope said, “we’ve got people clamoring for memberships.”
“It doesn’t matter to me how many people showed up here today
