Federal incumbents stay put in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, Sackville-Eastern Shore

The 2008 Federal Election has come and gone, and it's business as usual for voters in the ridings of Dartmouth-Cole Harbour and Sackville-Eastern Shore.

Liberal incumbent Michael John Savage was re-elected in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour with 39.5 per cent of the popular vote, beating second place finisher New Democrat Brad Pye, Conservative Wanda Webber, Green Party candidate Paul Shreenan and Christian Heritage Party representative George Campbell.

Savage said while it was "gratifying" to be re-elected, he recognized early on that this was a different campaign for Liberal candidates.

"The centrepiece of our campaign, the Green Shift, was something that was controversial," he said. "I think it's a policy that had a lot of good reasoning behind it, but it was a difficult policy to explain to people, especially during a campaign. And I think there was a fair amount of misinformation being spread about it from a number of corners."

The incumbent said he considers the first job of any MP is to represent their constituents, so when he returns to Ottawa he will be continuing his efforts on case work put on hold during the election. Also on his agenda are continued efforts to convince government it made the wrong decision to move coast guard vessels from his riding.

"I think that another recent example is the closure of the Air Canada base here," he said. "Air Canada is not directly under the control of the federal government, but I think it's the responsibility of Members of Parliament, as well as other legislators, to stand up for the flight attendants in a situation like that.

"Then, of course, we need to figure out the important national issues, most particularly the economy. It's causing an awful lot of people great concern, and I think we all have to be very sensitive to that."

Savage said it's also important to remember that the lack of a majority government following the election means voters are counting on greater degrees of co-operation in the House of Commons so issues can be dealt with effectively.

In Sackville-Eastern Shore, voters overwhelmingly endorsed New Democrat Peter Stoffer, sending him back to Ottawa with 61.5 per cent of the riding's popular vote.

Also on the ballot on Oct. 14 were Conservative David Montgomery, Liberal Carolyn Scott, and Green Party representative Noreen Hartlen. Stoffer said he was "confident" heading into the election, but was surprised by the margin of his victory.

"It just shows what our office is doing for constituents," he said. "People want to vote for an individual who returns their phone calls and helps them with their concerns and raises issues in the House of Commons in a pragmatic way."

The veteran politician, who holds the critic portfolios in his party's caucus for Veterans Affairs, Fisheries and Oceans and shipbuilding, said he plans to remain busy when he heads back to Ottawa, beginning with his ongoing fight to improve benefits for veterans and their families, and current military personnel and their families under aspects of the Veterans First motion passed in the House of Commons.

"The number one priority of that motion is ending the combat of military personnel and RCMP at age 65," he said. "Coinciding with that is getting the insurance benefit paid to military personnel for pain and suffering they receive when they leave the military (exempt) from claw backs."

Stoffer said he is also planning to continue his efforts to get government to keep their promise to replace vessels for the military and coast guard, strengthen Agent Orange compensation, and promote his party's principle that Fisheries and Oceans should operate in a co-operative, co-management community-based model rather than the top-down model it currently employs.

"I also want to get Autism covered under the National Childcare Act," he added. "There are 300,000 children with some form of Autism in this country, and there's no help for them. Getting this covered means the federal government would assist the provinces in delivering treatment for people with Autism."

weeklydartmouth@hfxnews.ca