As an independent, I promise to hold my loyalty to the people, to bring their needs to the table and fight for them.
Our hospital has closed its ER more times than I can count. It has affected me personally, when I tried to go and found a sign on a locked door. Frankly, an ER should never close. Ever. I promise to fight for proper staffing to accomplish just that.
The destruction of the environment should be avoided at all costs. Humans are advanced enough to solve problems without destroying nature. I plan to work with the government and Natural Resources people to find solutions.
Road and highway construction is a necessary thing, but having lived in a few provinces across the country, I've seen some amazing construction practises that make the project much faster. I intend to work with Public Works to look into ways to improve turnaround time.
The people are the ones who pay for every bit of this. They deserve to have their taxes used for their benefit. They deserve to be kept up to date on government actions. They deserve a community and a province that supports them and provides a standard of living I know we can achieve.
Health & Healthcare
Emergency wait-times
The people deserve proper health care. The health care system in NS is in shambles. Funding is being used for other, lower-priority things, such as various digital health care systems that will do nothing to alleviate wait times in the ER. I intend to bring in the proper amount of staff to keep the ER operating 24/7.
Bringing in more family doctors will remove a lot of the strain on the ERs, as many people do not have a doctor so they have no choice but to go to the ER. Having a family doctor means having someone who knows you and your medical history, someone you can trust with your health.
Biography
Born and raised in British Columbia, James joined the military at age 19 and attended Royal Roads Military College, graduating with a BSc with a combined major in Computer Science and Space Science. James spent his career in Ottawa, retiring from the military in 2003 at the rank of Captain. From then until earlier this year, James has held various jobs in management and customer service. In January of 2024, James left his job as general manager for a chain of retail stores and began working for himself as a carpenter and handyman.
James moved to Nova Scotia in 2013 and lived in HRM, in Beaver Bank. In 2023, he sold his house and moved to Falmouth, and now calls the Valley the first place he's lived since leaving BC that feels like home.
Reason for running
One of the things I plan to repair is the gap between the government and the people. Politics is not supposed to be conducted by a group that holds itself apart from the people they are meant to be working for. Politics is supposed to be something that involves the community. This is why public servants need to hold meetings with citizens, to find out what is needed and wanted, so the plan going forward can encompass these things.
Communication is essential, and as a public servant, I recognize the need to maintain open and honest communication.
And above all, my loyalty is to the people. As an independent, I'm not bound by the policies and politics of the parties. My goal is to always do what is best for the community, and I will always promise to do everything in my power to fight for the people of West Hants, to bring about proper hospital care without ER closures, to thoroughly investigate the impact of environmental damage on our fish and natural resources, to research alternative construction practises to make road and bridge construction and repairs faster and more efficient, to name a few.
This is my home. The people here are amazing. They deserve a government that works for them. That is my promise.
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