With three main opposition parties in this federal election battling to take apiece out of the Conservative pie, newly confirmed Marxist-Leninist Party candidate Alastair Haythornthwaite is, like his fellow 70 candidates across the country, taking a decidedly non-aggressive stance to the campaign.

B次元官网网址淭he reason I agreed to run is IB次元官网网址檓 very much opposed to the wars weB次元官网网址檙e participating in the Middle East,B次元官网网址� says Haythornthwaite, who is running in the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding. His partyB次元官网网址檚 platform calls for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 withdrawal from international defence bodies NATO and NORAD. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been party to the smashing of three states: Libya, Iraq and Syria.B次元官网网址�

Not unlike the mainstream parties over the years that have fought to take out the standing government, Marxist-Leninists also favour democratic renewal, a term Haythornthwaite defines as getting back to a place where government involves its citizens more in the decision-making process.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 pretty obvious to everyone that our whole political system needs to be overhauled,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚n this country itB次元官网网址檚 a question of who makes the decisions and who reaps the benefits, and at this point I donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 the majority. I think people who are going to be affected by a decision are the ones who deserve to be involved.B次元官网网址�

He sees Canada as falling under a great deal of outside pressure from the U.S. and from corporations looking to cash in on this countryB次元官网网址檚 natural resources, a situation he says leads more to B次元官网网址渕ade-on-Wall Street solutionsB次元官网网址� than decisions made in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 best interest.

From a campaign standpoint, he doesnB次元官网网址檛 expect that getting started well after most of his opponents will affect his opportunity to get his partyB次元官网网址檚 message out there.

Haythornthwaite was not on the list when the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association and Dogwood Initiative assembled their South Island ridings candidate debate series on environmental issues. He made sure he was at last ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 event in Langford, lining up at the microphone to ask questions of the three candidates in attendance from the NDP, Liberal and Green parties.

All three agreed that Canada isnB次元官网网址檛 playing the same international role it has in past. Green candidate Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi, who has family members in the military, lamented having grown up with Canada as peacekeepers and moving into a key humanitarian role. B次元官网网址淪omehow weB次元官网网址檝e become warmongers,B次元官网网址� she said.

A relatively recent retiree from a career as a journeyman machinist, self-described lifelong Communist Haythornthwaite, 63, has lived on the Island since 1978. With more time on his hands, he says, taking on a political campaign is to him like working on another project. He acknowledges being an underdog in this race, but plans to offer people a true left-wing perspective on the issues.

B次元官网网址淚 think everyone in Canada recognizes that the path weB次元官网网址檙e on right now is not going to work out for us, either in the short term or the long run,B次元官网网址� he says, calling the Stephen Harper B次元官网网址渁usterity programB次元官网网址� a failure that has seen Canada become beholden to vested interests.

B次元官网网址淲hatever happens, IB次元官网网址檓 sure weB次元官网网址檒l get a good candidate elected out of this riding.B次元官网网址�

editor@goldstreamgazette.com