A military reservist living in the Belleisle area wants to become the next MLA for Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins.
Tim Thompson grew up in Quispamsis and has spent the past 14 years as a military reservist.
Currently stationed at Base Gagetown, Thompson previously worked in Halifax and Alberta.
Thompson is no stranger to politics. He ran for the Green Party of Canada in Fundy Royal in the 2019 federal election.
His decision to run for the Greens provincially came after the Progressive Conservatives tried to reduce emergency room hours in Sussex in February.
“I went to all of those meetings, ensuring that the voices of the people that voted for me in the federal election was heard and made sure that I got to talk to the CEO of Horizon Health and ensure that the voices were clear for the people of Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins that there’s no way that that hospital can be reduced,” said Thompson.
Thompson said the biggest concern he has heard from residents is about the importance of the Sussex Health Centre and the services it provides.
If elected, Thompson said one thing he would do to improve health care is look at the scope of work for pharmacists.
“It would take some of the pressure off of family physicians and the emergency room, allowing them to have more prescribing authority. There are other provinces throughout the country that we could look at and model their example for that,” he said.
Thompson said the province also needs to speak with universities to establish more seats for nurses and doctors. New Brunswick is experiencing a shortage of health-care professionals but is not pumping enough people through the education system, he said.
Another concern Thompson said he has heard from residents of the riding is forestry and responsible Crown land protection.
“Crown land is owned by the people of New Brunswick, so we need to ensure that private woodlot owners have access to market. Protecting Crown land from spraying and clearcutting so that everyone can enjoy it for hiking, ATVing, and of course hunting,” he said.
On Monday, Green Party leader David Coon announced his party would immediately ban the spraying of herbicides, such as glyphosate, on Crown lands and under power lines. The leader said he would also end the practice of “indiscriminate clearcutting.”
Thompson said small businesses are also a concern he has heard, which is why the Greens would create a Minister of Rural Affairs to help farmers and small businesses, as well as improve the relationship between the local service districts (LSDs) and the town.
“There have been some tensions in the past with that, so we need to ensure that we have a clear voice in Fredericton to fight for the area and to help with managing the relationship between the LSDs and the community,” he said.
Thompson said he believes his leadership ability sets him apart from other candidates in the riding.
“I think I have the leadership ability to stand up for the people of Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins and have demonstrated that to the people of the area with my military training and with having that tie to the community with the hospital closure in February,” he said.
Voters will head to the polls on September 14.
