The withdrawal of BC United has left many supporters of their supporters as well as undecided voters who hover in the middle of the road uncertain about how to cast their vote in this polarized atmosphere. How will you encourage these voters to cast their ballots for you?
Well, to start with, that was a very undemocratic process and I'm worried about democracy in our province because those people had in that constituency had gone with a democratic process to select their candidates and then one person was able to destroy that whole democratic process and just went and draw them. So I think that that's something that I object to and the Green Party objects to and we need to maintain our democracy if we're going to keep it. And they should vote Green because we are a democratic party.
Moccasin Flats is a stark example of the addiction, mental health and poverty issues affecting Prince George. What would you do to address these issues?
The Green Party has a very comprehensive program for health, mental health and addiction and it's based largely on the work that was done by Jane Philpott when she was Minister of Health at the federal level. And it depends on setting up a system where there is, it's sort of like a school board system where when you take your kids to a new community, you don't have to worry about whether you're going to get them into school. These clinics would be set up a similar fashion that they would be obliged to take on any people that are within that clinic's boundaries and provide them with a family doctor and the care that is needed. And these clinics would be, they would be manned by all of the federal, all of the medical health people within that one clinic.
So it would be a 100 per cent service to all the people in that community. And so that's what I would suggest that would be the Green approach to the problem in Prince George and the surrounding areas. The small communities are not immune from this.
This part of BC has always relied on the resource sector for good jobs but changes like Canfor's latest closure announcement put these jobs at risk. What will you do to advocate for new resource sector jobs in Prince George?
I think the biggest problem with the resource jobs is that these corporations come in, they take out the resources. They’ve finished and taken the major profits. They've skimmed off the top, then they leave. And so that's the situation we're in with the forestry in Prince George. And so I think what we need to do, we've got some forest left there, not much, but, you know, there's some left and we need to be trying to get value added.
We should stop sending logs to other places. The other thing that's happening is that we're starting to see the value added industry, and we have some things happening on that, but we also need to start to take care of the forest themselves.
The clear-cutting experiment didn't work. And so we need to try and use the science that is emerging on forestry and do things like, for instance, let some of the deciduous trees come up with the evergreens, so that that makes it more fire-resistant for one thing. That's a much superior method because you're working with nature as opposed to trying to fight it all the time. We should we also need to stop spraying the forest so that we kill out that those broad-leaved plants that that the big corporations sort of look on as weeds.
The relationship between the provincial government and BC’s Indigenous peoples is evolving. If elected, what approach do you plan to bring to your work with area First Nations, including the Lheidli T’enneh?
well the Lheidli T’enneh today, as with all of the different Indigenous peoples across the land, have lived here for thousands of years and they have some claims and those claims have been approved by the superior courts and so we need to work with them and we have to start our consultation process very very early. It can't be just the drive-by - if you drive through the lands and call that consultation, we can't do that anymore. I think we have to involve them right from the very beginning and if they decide to say that some mine or some project is not in the interest of their land and the people in general in BC then - you know, they shouldn't have an absolute veto but they certainly have the right to demand certain conditions that need to be enforced.
Our area's population is aging. What is your top priority when it comes to addressing the issues facing seniors and why?
Being as I’m one and I feel the need to be near medical facilities, so we need to have housing if it's necessary, but most of all, I think we need a program to try and keep people within their homes. And so, as seniors, we feel more at home when we are at home, and rather than moving to a totally different system of existence where you have many people into one little area in rooms and so on.
Some of them, you know, it works out very well, some people adjust very well, but for those people who want to try and stay in their homes, I think we need to encourage them. And I think it also is more economical for the government.
So we need to make sure that there are medical facilities available with staff that are understanding of people who have short memories or whose memories are elapsing a little bit. And I think that we need to have housing that's available for those who can't remain in their homes, but a program that encourages people to stay in their homes.
Some MLAs excel in the Legislature while others become known for their constituency work. In a huge riding with this mix of urban and rural communities what kind of MLA do you think you're going to be?
Well, I have a very excellent example to follow. I mean, Shirley Bond was an excellent MLA, community MLA, and worked very hard for her constituents, and that's what I would be trying to do, because I have a lot of empathy for the small communities. I grew up in a small community. I've always lived in the small communities around the province, and I think that you can do that. You don't have to be part of the government in order to do that.
And I think that Vicki Huntington proved that when she was an independent MLA, because she worked to serve her constituents, and she worked a lot with the staff people in order to get the problem solved. So I would aspire to be an MLA that represented my constituents.
