Danny Celovsky

Green Party of Canada

Danny Celovsky lives and works in Picton, and finds himself constantly in awe of the sense of community the County provides. With three grown children and a grandchild, he believes that fostering and enhancing that sense of community and ensuring a clean healthy environment is their right, and an obligation that must be provided. Celovsky holds a Bachelor of Science from Trent University and a Masters degree from the University of Saskatchewan. He remains active as a technology entrepreneur focusing on increasing efficiencies in the commercial transportation sector. He has worked in the computing technology sector for three decades, taking eight years off to operate a small hobby farm in Missouri. His passion rests in astrophysics, which defines the environment that has created us and sustains us as a species. Danny was driven to run for the Green Party of Canada by his firm belief that the future of his children and grandchildren is our responsibility to provide and secure in the same form and condition as it was provided to past generations. “A clean, healthy and sustainable future is critical for our overall community at the local, national and global levels,” says Celovsky. He believes that significant changes have to be made to confront the climate crisis, and that current leadership has not taken that direction.

Celovsky says that all three levels of government need to work in unison to tackle the cost of living issues in the Bay of Quinte riding. “We need our three levels of government to act on this cooperatively,” says Celovsky. “If the federal and provincial governments kick in some funds and the municipal governments get the building permits issued quickly, I believe we can deliver one-bedroom units at $500 per month.” He explains these types of communities are attractive because the renters manage them and provide maintenance, which instills a sense of pride in ownership. Celovsky believes that relying on developers is not the answer. “They make higher profit margins on upscale custom homes. We need government-financed co-op housing communities because renters end up owning them once paid back in 20 to 25 years.” Instead, he believes encouraging locally owned trades to step forward would be ideal. “Many can retrofit homes in vacant buildings. Downtown Belleville is a perfect example with the empty arena and the empty upper levels of downtown buildings.” He adds that units should be built with zero-carbon footprint and incentives such as community WiFi so Internet costs become shared and reduced.

Celovsky says his party is open to immigration, citing how the recent addition of Syrian families in the County has enhanced the community, but he says there needs to be a healthy balance of taking care of Canada’s current population as well. “The Green Party is open to immigration and we need to expect it will increase as the impacts of climate change cause massive displacements,” says Celovsky. “Housing is critical as we are not yet housing our current neighbours. How we balance all of it is going to take cooperative leadership with a local focus.”

As Canada’s deficit continues to grow, Celovsky believes that acting on climate change will help creat new revenue. “Just doing that opens us up to participate in the multi-trillion dollar market it represents. We should be grabbing our share of it,” he says. Celovsky rhymes off a list of initiatives—electric vehicles, solar panels, associated infrastructure, retrofit of all our buildings. “Over a 10- to 15-year period we will be generating considerable prosperity not seen since the investment to tackle WWII, which was followed by the largest period of prosperity we ever had,” he says. “We need to look beyond four-year horizons.”

Celovsky believes jobs need to be created in the arts and culture sector. “If we gave these people a guaranteed livable income then they could pursue what they are good at, instead of having to hold down several part-time jobs to sustain themselves while supporting their true talents.” He adds that a guaranteed income with affordable housing would allow a base to live in dignity and with respect. “And we would all win as our communities flourish with music, visual arts and a creative vigour that makes all of our lives full of quality.”