Gary brings a strong desire to fight for the North. He strongly believes that Northern Ontario has been used as collateral in the sense that the three main parties keep pulling Money, Natural Resources, and People away from the North but invest little to grow and raise the North to fill the hole they leave. His desire is to turn it around by finding ways and implementing incentives to bring businesses and people back to our North. Accomplishing this one step at a time, through networking with same minded people, people in the know of each industry, people willing to also make a difference by standing up for what is possible and right for our North.

Gary diligently spends most of his extra time making these connections, sharing perspectives and experiences from Northerners he meets as he travels across our Province. Mr. Schaap believes that by fighting for the incentives to inspire businesses to build here in the North we will improve many rural communities and cities. He constantly questions why other Political Parties voted into our North to represent our economic well being continue to take, leaving a trail of destruction and ghost towns.

Lowering hydro and taxes, are two visible improvements Mr. Schaap strongly believes are possibilities. As well as, investing in all businesses, manufacturing (Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing) and people. He believes these kinds of incentives are possible once Northern Ontario begins to see more of its tax revenue spent in the North. In his words “Doing this helps the North to bring in Doctors, Fix Roads, and give Towns the ability for Growth and to repair aging infrastructure”.

Gary, (among the rest of the NOP) questions why the Provincial Government or our Local MPP’s will not tell us how much of our current Northern Tax Dollar Revenues return to our North? How much of our Northern Tax Dollars generated are actually spent here in the North? No one is talking. Mr. Schaap knows once we have a NOP MPP in Queen’s Park these figures WILL be as transparent as they should be.

Mr. Schaap grew up in a family where both parents worked. His Father as a Dairy Farmer, and Mother as a Veterinarian. He learned at a young age that if he wanted something he had to work for it, it was not given. During high school in Timiskaming District Secondary School, he began to work with his father in managing the Farm. Helping to figure out how much food they needed for the animals, breeding who to who and maintenance on equipment were among his responsibilities until his Father got sick. At which time they had to give up the work. At this same time, Gary also ran the local youth group out of his church for 2 yrs. When he graduated T.D.S.S he went to Kemptville College where he received his diploma in Equine Studies. These studies trained him in how to manage and run an Equine Farm. Gary also had odd jobs to help with the cost of his schooling. After graduating he went straight into the world of Equine Farming. Managing the training of horses, people, and running ridding camps. Then the Equine Market collapsed.

This did not stop Mr. Schaap, he went back to school at Northern College Haileybury School of Mines and took Natural Resource Technician. There he participated in the Student Council as Sports Rep and delivered the local papers. Upon leaving school and finding that work here in the North was not as readily available or paid enough to cover his OSAP, he left Northern Ontario in pursuit of the money he needed to pay off these debts.

He traveled to Alberta, where he worked as Heli Seismic Driller, Oilrig Helper, and Rig Mover, where eventually his love for big trucks was born. When he had succeeded in paying off his OSAP Loans from his Alberta employment he returned to the North where his heart is. He then pursued his love for big trucks and entered the world of Transportation driving Transport Trucks across Ontario.  Where he really started to see how much the government was hindering the growth of the North. ” When I found this party with the same views and desires I had to be part of it. I had to be a part of trying to stop the abuse of the North and help to grow the North”.