Name: Jack Trovato
Party: NDP
Profession: Educator
Education: B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed
Achievements: 2003 Prime Ministerís Award for Teaching Excellence
Theme Song: Rise Up by Parachute Club
Three Priorities: 1. Launch $15/day childcare program. 2. Modernize, not privatize, healthcare. 3. Meet Canadaís climate change commitments
Should the New Democrats win in Richmond Centre it would mark a monumental shift in voters’ intentions and aspirations within the riding.
Candidate Jack Trovato would stand to be at the helm of that — here comes that word — change.
“People want change,” says Trovato, a Burnaby high school teacher, born in Argentina and raised in Richmond.
He came to Canada as a toddler and says, growing up, he witnessed a caring society that helped his family grow.
“The big thing for me is fairness, accessibility and equality,” said Trovato.
Asked what got him involved in politics at age 51, Trovato said it was the increasing cuts to the school system by the BC Liberal Party (he ran unsuccessfully to become a school trustee last year).
So what is it about the federal Conservatives, then? “Oh boy. Well. There’s a lot,” replies Trovato, who says under Prime Minister Stephen Harper the country’s fundamental democratic values have eroded.
If Trovato hopes to win, he, like all challengers who have not formed government, will have to be convincing and trustworthy.
On the NDP’s platform, Trovato maintains it is a fully balanced fiscal plan. He says his party’s pledge to create jobs via high-tech manufacturing will be helped by reducing small business taxes and “reprioritizing” subsidies away from the fossil fuel industry. According to the NDP, its promise to raise corporate taxes and cut income splitting should generate some revenue.
Trovato affirms his party will divest from oil sands production but notes the NDP will not “turn off the taps” as that would be “ridiculous.”
Trovato is also hoping to implement his party’s $15/day daycare plan to help young families. He says he sees poverty in the schools where he works.
