Saying she's "serious, focussed and here to win," current school board trustee and former provincial MLA Lois Boone accepted Saturday the nomination to run for the New Democratic Party in the now-vacated Prince George-Peace River federal riding.
Her acceptance and a fiery speech drew a standing ovation from about 70 supporters who packed a meeting at the Coast Inn of the North. Boone, who won the nomination by acclamation, took prime minister Stephen Harper to task on a handful of fronts.
She accused him of dangling a $1.6-billion carrot to convince the B.C. government to take on a harmonized sales tax that has severely hampered many small businesses at a time when the economy was just beginning to rebound.
"Why would you impose a tax that shifts the burden from large, multinational corporations to individuals...without any discussion of the people it affects?" she said. "Stephen Harper must be held accountable for his actions and I intend to do it."
Boone also accused Harper of no longer supporting an elected Senate but instead now prefers the appointing members and noted the now Conservative-dominated chamber recently scrapped a bill on climate change.
A Senate committee also killed Thursday a proposal to prevent long-term disabled workers from being treated as unsecured creditors in bankruptcy proceedings.
"New Democrats do not support electing the Senate, New Democrats support eliminating the Senate," she stressed and argued the $90 million a year the Senate costs could be better spent on tackling child poverty, supporting seniors and reducing tuition among other things.
And while the NDP supports Canada's troops wherever they may be, Boone said there should be a vote in the House of Commons on whether to bring them home from Afghanistan. Harper plans to keep 950 troops in the country until 2014 to help train the Afghan military without taking the issue to MPs.
"Young men and women are losing their lives and Canadians have a right to have a debate and a vote in the House of Commons to determine if this should continue," Boone said.
Boone said she stands for job creation and local development and working for practical, affordable proposals.
"Any company that pays its fair share of taxes and treats its employees well and does not mess up the environment will find an advocate and a friend in me," she said.
She called on the Conservative government to immediately eliminate the goods and services tax on home heating fuel and to reintroduce the tax credit for home renovations. Most important, she said, a by-election should be called soon - the riding has been without an MP since Oct. 25 when Conservative Jay Hill retired.
The Conservatives have not yet chosen a candidate and pundits speculate a general federal election will be held in February or March.
Boone was an MLA from 1986 to 2000 and is currently a trustee on the Prince George school board. She's announced she won't seek reelection as a trustee when local elections are held next November.
