The Cambridge riding candidate for the People's Party of Canada (PPC) says that if elected, she will end all mandates related to the pandemic and carbon tax.
"I really want to get people to open their businesses to go back to living a free life," said Maggie Segounis, currently a resident of Waterloo. "They should be able to express as much freedom and Canadian spirit to the City of Cambridge and the country."
As a small business owner herself, she said, she knows how important it is to have businesses open and to work and provide for one's family.
"I don't agree with any of these drastic lockdown measures and mandates and restrictions," said Segounis. "I think we're all adults and responsible for our own health and decisions. We're smart enough to do what we think is right.
"I think getting people out there and being more responsible for yourself is where we should be and we shouldn't rely on government tactics to tell us how we should be living our lives," she added. "I just feel that people shouldn't feel the need to close down and put their lives on hold due to these mandates, regardless if they are provincial or federal."
Segounis said she would end the mandates by allowing all businesses to open up and operate with restrictions determined at their own discretion.
"I got into this to tell people that it's okay to want to live properly and free," she said.
Talking about other issues, Segounis said, the PPC will get rid of the carbon tax completely.
"The one thing we do is we stand behind every point that we make, unlike the Conservatives that flip flop between implementing one and not," she said. "We'll leave it up to the provincial leaders to take on their own programs."
A carbon tax, Segounis said, should not a huge federal matter. If provinces want to implement independent carbon taxes and strategies, she added, they should go ahead and do so.
"Our planet has been around for millions and billions of years and at this point people like to say that the carbon dioxide is giving us the problem," she said. "We need CO2 to live; the plants need CO2. As humans, there's no hard evidence that humans are at fault for ruining the Earth."
So far, Segounis said, her political venture has been an incredible experience.
"I'm not a politician by any means; I'm an esthetician," she noted. "I run a salon. I used to own a restaurant. I'm basically your very down to earth regular woman who wants to make a change. I did not expect the outpouring of support."
The only negative aspect of politics Segounis said she had noticed was people's attitude toward campaign signs.
"I have to say about it is that signs are being stolen all over the region," she said. "It's not just the PPC signs, but also the Conservative signs and Liberal signs are being damaged. It's not the Canadian way. I'm disappointed by that."
