Know your candidate: Martin Kendell, Burnaby South

We asked each candidate for an interview, followed by a short segment recorded on video. Not all candidates were available to appear on video or agreed to do so. The Beacon will post the segments with the candidates who did appear on video on our social media channels.

Candidate: Martin Kendell, IndependentRiding: Burnaby South (Read more about the riding here) 

Martin Kendell responded to Burnaby Beacon’s questions about why he is running in Burnaby-South as an independent candidate and his priorities if elected.

Martin Kendell is a first-time independent candidate. His name may sound familiar because he recently ran as an independent in Burnaby’s byelection in June. Kendell told the Beacon that one of the biggest things he doesn’t like about federal politics is “the need to choose a team.”

“Personally, I want to have a defined and aggressive green agenda along with a push for social programs that will help the majority of Canadians. At the same time, I think it’s important to have some fiscal responsibility and not burden the next generations of Canadians with massive amounts of debt,” he said.

Housing

Kendell’s housing platform pledges to tax people who own more than 3 properties to help fund new housing initiatives for lower-income Canadians. He’s also proposing a 5-year moratorium on Canadian real estate purchases from foreign buyers in order to allow the sector to “cool off.”Kendell told the Beacon that although the major parties are promising billions to build housing, there is a missing element when it comes to municipal zoning bylaws.

“Nothing can be done until the municipalities rewrite their zoning bylaws to allow more flexibility in their neighbourhoods,” he stated.

“Before a single dollar is spent, these bylaws need to be in place to allow the effective and efficient spending of funds on duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, laneway houses, apartment buildings and single family homes for Canadian families.”

TMX

In a previous interview when he was running for Burnaby city council, Kendell told the Beacon that although he is against the TMX pipeline expansion, “the project is now past the point of no return and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.”

Kendell confirmed with the Beacon that he has been against the project since day 1.

“However, I am trying to be realistic in my stance as I know that this pipeline is now owned by Canadian taxpayers thanks to Justin Trudeau, that billions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on construction, and that the pipeline expansion is one of the key components of the FIPA trade deal that was ratified by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2014,” he said.

Kendell said that green energy solutions need to be prioritized and Canada must look to transition to modern green energy such as geothermal, tidal, solar and nuclear energy.

“We cannot save the planet by continually building 20 billion-dollar hydroelectric dams. It is not sustainable and it causes a great deal of damage to ecosystems and the environment every time we clear cut trees and flood arable farmland to try and meet our energy needs,” he stated.

Decriminalization and toxic drug supply

Kendell told the Beacon that he does not think that the possession of simple illicit substances should be decriminalized because “there is a level of personal responsibility that all Canadians must undertake for their own well-being and for the good of society.”

Instead, he wants to see the federal government invest in a comprehensive rehabilitation system that helps individuals “get better physically and mentally and lead productive fulfilling lives.”

He also said that law enforcement should be focusing on organized crime groups who are responsible for smuggling large quantities of fentanyl into Canada, which is contributing to the toxic drug supply.

Indigenous rights and reconciliation

Kendell said he has been in touch with Indigenous members of his local community to speak to them about reconciliation.

“The thing I keep hearing is that our First Nations people want to be treated with dignity and respect, and want the apologies and resulting actions of the Canadian government to matter,” he stated.

One of the issues Kendell said needs to be addressed immediately is the lack of clean drinking water in First Nations communities across the country. As well, Kendell said the federal government must “immediately acknowledge and apologize for generations of abuse, neglect and genocide of the Indigenous population of Canada.”