Mark Friesen, People’s Party of Canada

Personal details. Name, age, hometown

Mark Friesen, 48, Saskatoon.

Tell us about yourself

I was raised in Saskatoon and have lived most of my 48 years in the same riding I hope to represent as a Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Grasswood. I am now a small business owner in Saskatoon after serving my country in uniform for 25 years as a Corrections Officer in both Provincial and Federal Corrections. I am married to a Norwegian immigrant and have three adult children.

I have always shared and supported conservative values of small government, lower taxes, and individual freedom and liberty. I have always had a strong sense of pride in my country and hope to help ensure Canada regains, maintains and protects our country’s sovereignty, culture and prosperity. I will represent my constituents and the People’s Party of Canada with courage and conviction.

What’s a little-known fact about you?

I’m adopted.

Why should voters hire you?

I believe that the folks in Saskatoon-Grasswood, like most ridings throughout Canada, have lacked a representative with strong political values, principles and conviction. I know I would bring a strong voice to the folks who live in Saskatoon-Grasswood. Representation that will help protect our country’s sovereignty, protect our rights of freedom of expression, promote the idea of responsible but supported energy industry and get pipelines to tidewater, reformed equalization and actually represent the people of our riding first instead of representing the party first. Country over party. People over party. The advantage I have is I belong to a party that allows for its members and candidates to represent the needs of the people, even issues outside the party platform, as long as those needs are inline with our party’s core values of freedom, fairness, respect and responsibility. I am not, nor have I ever been, part of the establishment, an establishment political system that has not worked for the people, but in the interest of the political, media, and corporate elite. I intend to work for the people, Canadians and Canada first.

Who should we call for a reference?

Maxime Bernier.

What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness?

My greatest strength is my perseverance and my need to fight for the little guy. That can also be seen as my greatest weakness.

Where do you stand on:

Gun laws? We have gun laws in Canada that are already very restrictive. We don’t need any more restrictive gun laws; in fact, we need to simplify and streamline the existing laws that seem to punish law-abiding and responsible gun owners with onerous and misguided regulation.

The need for more pipelines? Yes, we absolutely must get our resources to tidewater and on the international markets where we can sell our responsibly sourced resources at fair market value. Our establishment parties have failed miserably on this file. The Constitution gives the authority to the federal government to impose pipelines and other infrastructure that is a benefit to all of Canada. Section 92(10) needs to be used in the case for pipelines so we can get pipelines built through B.C. and Quebec. We would get fair market value for our oil and gas instead of being abused by American interests who buy our oil at a discounted rate. We could stop importing oil from horrific dictatorships and other countries that do not have a positive record of sourcing their resources responsibly. In doing this we could also free up our rail lines so that our grains and other farmed products can get to international markets effectively and efficiently, avoiding backlogs of our products.

Western alienation? We need to reform the equalization formula so it is fair for all provinces. We need to incentivize and encourage other provinces like Quebec to start investing in their own natural resources to fund their own social programs that they so cherish. That alone would create a sense of unity in our country — unity among provinces that are all prospering under federal regulation that encourages responsible but robust resource management.

China? What should our approach be with some of our markets blocked? We need to re-establish ourselves as a strong nation on the international stage. For too long we have been weak and abused by foreign entities. Our strength may not be in our population or military, but we could and should balance that playing field through our resources, resources that world wants and needs. We need a strong government that other nations respect. Right now we are not respected on the world stage. It’s time Canada takes back its rightful position in the world economy as a strong trading partner, but a Canada-first approach.

Are we facing a climate change crisis? Is carbon tax the answer? I as a candidate, my leader, and our party do not believe there is a climate crisis. Is there climate change? Yes. The day the Earth’s climate stops changing is the day we need to panic. Until then, we need to greatly scale back the rhetoric on climate change. We need to encourage innovation here at home that will allow us to adapt to a continuously changing climate, whether that is warming, cooling, storming, melting or freezing climate.

The issue has become so politicized that the actual science is being ignored — science that has absolutely not reached consensus. Using rising CO2 levels, a fundamental building block of all life on Earth, as the sole contributor to climate change is not only anti-science, but ridiculous. Reducing CO2 levels by putting a price on their emissions is only a mechanism for governments and ultimately the UN to raise money to fund the overall UN Sustainable Development Agenda (agenda 21/2030), as admitted by the UN’s own literature. The UN Sustainable Development Agenda is simply a global socialist redistribution of wealth scheme, created by a foreign entity to suck as much wealth from western nations to further the UN agenda of equality of all countries around the world.

The Paris Accord is but one of those agreements, an accord that all of our establishment parties have bought into and pledged commitment. The PPC is the only party to denounce the UN Agenda, along with the Paris Accord and all other sovereignty ceding agreements. No carbon tax, no carbon capping, no cost to Canadians for emitting CO2 in a country that is CO2 negative. We are a carbon sink: 1.6 per cent is our global contribution to CO2 emissions, however, that is before we calculate the amount of carbon used by only our 318 billion trees. After that simple calculation, Canada becomes carbon negative. Why are Canadians expected to pay for carbon emissions created by other countries around the world? For the answer, refer to UN Sustainable Development Funding.

It’s a day off and you can do anything you want. What would it be?

Alpine skiing at any resort in Alberta or British Columbia.

Who inspires you?

I have many folks that have inspired me. Outside family members, it would have to be Jordan Peterson.

What is your hidden talent?

I try not to hide anything I’m talented at.

What do you wish you could do but can’t?

I wish I didn’t get old and could play football for the Riders.

Who are the three people, dead or alive, that you’d love to have dinner with?

Stalin, Hitler, and Mao. Pure evil fascinates me. (I served my country in uniform for 25 years in prison; the criminal, evil mind attracted me to that business as well).

How do you take your coffee?

Double Double Decaf.

What’s the one album you’d take with you on a desert island? What embarrassing song do you admit to on your playlist?

Aaron Lewis Lost and Lonely, tied with George Jones Greatest Hits. Nothing on my playlist to be embarrassed about.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I’m too old to feel guilty about a little Crown Royal and a cigar.

What is the last book you read?

The Danger of Political Islam to Canada — Tom Quiggin.

What is your favourite TV show? What are you binge watching?

Favorite TV show: Alone. Binge watching: The Spy, Sacha Baron Cohen.

What is your all-time favourite movie?

Braveheart.