Madison Erhardt
Tim Krupa may work for a Toronto-based company, but denies he was parachuted to Kelowna to run in the September 20th general election.
During a one-on-one interview with Castanet News, the Kelowna-Lake Country Liberal candidate said he grew up in Kelowna and, like many others, left to continue his education.
“I studied at Oxford and got a job with the Canada Pension Plan to invest for Canadians and ensure a strong financial future, especially for our seniors,” said Krupa.
“This is my home, I am here all the time. I do not own any property or rent it anywhere else. I want to build my future here. “
He says he took unpaid leave in July to focus on the campaign and the community.
Krupa and incumbent Conservative MP Tracy Gray have exchanged political taunts. Gray complains about his residence, while Krupa has held her accountable for her silence on climate change and vaccinations.
“I’ve been vaccinated and I’ve been encouraging others so we can get back to work and protect our loved ones, and we just have a member of parliament who didn’t say she was vaccinated and” didn’t encourage anyone to get vaccinated, “said Krupa.
“For me, those two issues, extreme weather and COVID, are what are holding our companies back right now.”
Krupa also suggests that the measures set by the Trudeau government mandating vaccination of officials in Ottawa and travelers are fairly strict.
Other measures affecting restaurants, bars and sporting events are local measures and should be left to city and provincial governments.
On local issues, Krupa says that developing a federal housing strategy to make housing more affordable is a top priority for him personally.
“The liberal plan is pretty strong and pretty brave. First, we will prevent overseas buyers from buying homes for the next two years.
“We’re creating a hire purchase program so those like me who don’t have a down payment now can save it over a five-year period to eventually own a home while we rent it out.
“There are a number of other measures, including a new Bill of Rights to stop blind bidders, that will protect Canadians and help us move into the home market in the future.”
If elected, he would work with local and provincial governments to seek quick housing finance to build more affordable housing.
Krupa says he is running to provide stronger leadership and representation for the residents of Kelowna-Lake Country.
“I think that our representation at the moment is falling short on climate change, COVID, our local economy and the creation of an inclusive society.
“These are topics that I feel passionate about. I want to fight for climate change, I want to get our community back to work, and I want to create a diverse and inclusive society for all.
You can watch the entire interview below.
One-on-one interviews with all candidates from both Kelowna Ridings will be published in the coming days.
