“They don’t often realize the impact of their vote,” said Lapierre during a September 1 phone interview. 

During his door-to-door campaigning, Lapierre noted several people told him that they either didn’t vote in the last election or did not plan to vote in this one. Some residents, he added, did not seem to realize how strong their vote could prove when the ballots are counted to select Glengarry-Prescott-Russell’s representative in Parliament on September 20. 

Lapierre, a L’Orignal resident since 1997, has a physics degree from the University of Ottawa, coaches youth soccer, baseball, and hockey and is a past-president for his local minor association. He decided to become the Green Party candidate for the riding because he believes that federal government policy needs to put more emphasis on immediate action on science-based solutions to deal with climate change and other environmental issues. 

“This is important,” he said, citing the current controversy about a proposed cement plant project near L’Orignal as an example of an environmental issue that has community impact. 

Lapierre also expressed concern about the need for government policies that will help address social needs issues like subsidized housing and also support economic development to reduce the potential local impact of poverty. 

“These (problems) create emotional and psychological impacts,” he said, “that spill over into other areas of the community.”