Christian Heritage Party candidate Dee Kranz knows neither her party or her views are mainstream, but she's alright with that.
Kranz is running in the Prince George-Mackenzie riding as one of five Christian Heritage candidates in the province.
"The word 'Christian' is not a popular word anymore, even though it's the foundation of what our country was built on," Kranz said. "We're pro-life. We believe in the sanctity of life, be it in the womb or at any age."
The party's platform is based on the "godly principles" of life, family and freedom, she said.
The former registered nurse and retired business owner said she knows her odds of being elected are low, but she chose to run for a party that reflects her values.
"I'm not a politician. I'm a wife, I'm a mother of four grown children, grandmother of six grandchildren... they're my reason for doing this," Kranz said. "As a citizen, I've been dismayed by what has been going on. It is so deeply troubling."
Protecting freedom of speech is one of the key issues for the upcoming election, Kranz said.
"If you don't have freedom of speech, you don't have democracy," she said.
Kranz said she believes the COVID-19 pandemic is being used as a cover to erode citizen's rights.
"I worked during all the previous, supposed, epidemics. My idea of a pandemic is you have hospitals overflowing, people dying," Kranz said. "The numbers are not bearing out, the hospitals are empty. But Premier Horgan is still calling for emergency measures. What is really going on here?"
Kranz said the death toll from COVID-19 is less than that from the common flu but the Public Heath Agency of Canada reported 224 deaths linked to influenza during the 2018-2019 flu season, compared with nearly 9,600 COVD-19 related deaths as of Oct. 9.
She also questioned the safety of wearing non-medical masks, why Canada is working with the World Health Organization, COVID-19 testing, and called it "criminal" that the province is not prescribing COVID-19 patients with the controversial and unproven hydroxychloroquine treatment.
"Why would churches be closed, but the liquor stores and pot stores are open? People aren't questioning, and they need to be be questioning," she said. "This is no longer about the virus. If you have to go to have a test to see if you have the virus, what kind of test are they doing?"
China is using the economic chaos caused by the pandemic to buy up Canadian assets, she alleged.
"We are in a very fragile position. I'm not talking about Chinese people. (But) the Chinese Communist government does not have the same values as a democratic society," Kranz said. "I realize what I'm saying is not what the mainstream are saying. But I also hold the mainstream media accountable for its role in this."
