SDSG – Alfred resident Sabile Trimm is hoping for a change in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry in the 2018 provincial election, a Libertarian change.
Trimm is the Libertarian Party of Ontario’s candidate for SDSG this year. Her nomination was announced in January.
Originally from Montreal, she relocated to Alfred five years ago. A farmer, her background is as a scientist in pharmaceuticals. Since moving to the region, she has been involved as a vendor at the Cornwall Garlic Festival and with All Things Food SDG.
Trimm feels there are a few important issues for SDSG voters including high taxation and government interference.
“We pay a lot of tax money into a big pot at Queen’s Park, but we don’t get a fair share of that back here,” Trimm said. “We have a high cost of living for rural areas, but don’t have the money that big cities have.”
To help bring costs down, Trimm said the Libertarian platform has the right ideas.
“Less government intervention into our daily lives, focus on local.”.
A personal issue for Trimm is farming and property rights.
“Everyone has a right to earn a living off their own property and live as they see fit,” she said. “If you want to have chickens in your backyard in Cornwall and it’s not interfering with the property of others, you should be able to .”
She cited examples of people who want to have their home off the grid, disconnected from the utility company.
“In the city, you can’t do that, they won’t let you,” Trimm said.
For farms, she sees government classification of protected wetlands as an issue.
“If the government wants a certain part of the land to be protected, then they should buy it and protect it,” she said.
“Don’t expect the owner to steward the land the way the government wants, and make the farmer pay.”
She also feels that the lack of internet connectivity in rural areas is an issue stating that if a business wanted start or relocate to a rural area, they can’t.
“We need further deregulation to make the market work for businesses,” Trimm said.
To grow the local economy in SDSG, Trimm said that the region should be more of a tourist destination.
“Being on the border with the US, it should be so much better.”
If elected, Trimm said she would love to defend small business and free enterprises.
“There is a voice that needs to be heard from the smaller areas here. There is so much potential.”
Trimm decided to get involved in politics in the past year.
“After Trudeau came out against the small businesses last summer, I decided I had to be active,” she said. “I looked at all the different parties to see what best suited me, and it was the Libertarians.”
Trimm opted for the Libertarian party based on her belief that it is a principled party.
“If you are not standing behind any principles, how can you be trusted,” she said. “You can’t say that about the mainstream parties, they are all over the place.”
She said the Libertarians have a clear, simple and logical platform and policies.
“Vote for what you believe in, not strategically. Open your minds up and don’t vote out of fear. Look at the platforms and vote for what you believe in.