The withdrawal of BC United has left many 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, certainly the seismic shift in BC politics was unexpected, but I've been campaigning now for more than a year, and what I heard from voters is that they're ready for change.
They're ready for a big shift in politics from the NDP's politics of division to a new party system in British Columbia. So we did see that there was a lot of unhappiness with the former vote split. I was one of those candidates that was invited over to the Conservative Party to help the free enterprise come together again for a united front to defeat the NDP and actually have a chance of forming government.
I think there are a lot of people who are excited about the chance that this Conservative Party is a new movement. It started grassroots, but with the experienced candidates that have come over, we have a real shot at forming government now, and it's exciting. There's a lot that we need to do to fix the problems under the NDP.
John (Rustad) is building a team. He's building a platform that I think speaks to those who are on the fence. They are looking for something new and different and for change in this election.
So with that, we have a government that is not providing the critical services to British Columbians, whether that's the fact that one in five don't have a family doctor right now. We've had a 60 per cent increase in food bank usage under the NDP. We need to do better for British Columbians.
For taxpayers, we need to make sure that we're using taxpayers' dollars wisely and supporting those critical services that we need.
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 in your writing?
Well, the toxic drug crisis is absolutely devastating for families. Families have lost loved ones, including aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters. It's absolutely devastating.
What we've seen is a government that has enabled the unfortunate cycle of addictions. Under the NDP, of course, they brought in decriminalization of hard drugs. This has been an absolute disaster.
In the 2023 budget, they allocated $184 million to safe supply and decriminalization programs. This is not working. Feeding more drugs into the system is not breaking the cycle of addictions.
What we need is treatment options that currently don't exist. When I was the president of the Chamber of Commerce, we advocated for a rebalancing of the model from the NDP's one-sided focus on harm reduction to rebalancing to get back to prevention, treatment and enforcement of the law. I think that is really important.
We need a rebalancing. That starts with addictions treatment here in the North. I've recently met with mental health professionals here in northern BC.
There is a petition circulating in Prince George for a psychiatric care mental health and addictions facility. That's something that we need to focus on to actually get results, to get people out of their cycle of addictions, to break that and to get the crime off of our streets. What's going on in Moccasin Flats right now, where there's a fire department there every day, police there every day, it's not working.
We need results and a new approach.
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 and in your riding?
For most of my career, I've worked in the resource sector, both in government and in the private sector. This is something that's critical for northern BC. The last 11 years working for the Coastal Gas Link pipeline, I've traveled the north, listening to the concerns and aspirations of people within northern British Columbia about our resource sector.
We've had an opportunity with five major projects that were started before the NDP were in government in our resource sector, so Site C, the LNG projects, as well as the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. All of these projects are coming to completion, but the NDP have not planned what's next for our resource sector economy. The major projects are one thing.
Within forestry, within mining, within oil and gas, all of that requires certainty for industry. That's something that's lacking right now under the NDP. They're creating division on the land base, creating uncertainty for investors.
What we need is to get back to British Columbia being a place that is attractive to investors. We're losing mining investment, for example, to Ontario right now. We have 17 mines that are in a stage of development, many of those in northern BC, that we have an opportunity to actually develop those, but that capital is not choosing British Columbia right now because we have a government that is, quite frankly, overtaxing our industries and making it very difficult for investment decisions.
Providing that certainty with one project, one permit, is critical for these projects to succeed. If we form government, the Conservative Party will focus on our resource sectors and provide opportunities. The relationship between the provincial government and BC's Indigenous people is evolving.
If elected, what approach do you plan to bring to your work with Area First Nations, including the Lheidli T’enneh?
Certainly, we're so fortunate to live on the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, the traditional territory. They have been such supportive partners. I thank Chief Logan and her council for really welcoming all in Prince George, as well as newcomers to the region.
It's critical for reconciliation that we work together in partnership. It's a long-term process of reconciliation to right some historical wrongs within Canada, but we have to do that work together. A big focus, I think, that I will bring to the table is a focus on economic reconciliation.
I've worked within the resource industry and coastal gasoline pipeline, working with 20 nations across northern BC. Complex relationships, but we worked in partnership to find solutions to really find economic opportunity for young people. Here in Prince George, we have groups like the Prince George Nachako Aboriginal Employment Training Association.
I've worked with groups like that to find Indigenous employment and training opportunities to find hope for young people. I think that's Indigenous and non-Indigenous. We want the same thing.
We want opportunities for our kids and we want a better quality of life overall. I think that's what working together in partnership in reconciliation really means. It's providing hope for the next generation and also respecting each other and walking a new path of reconciliation.
Our area's population is aging. What is your top priority when it comes to addressing issues facing seniors and why?
It used to be that Prince George was a working town where people would retire elsewhere, maybe to the Okanagan. Well, people are choosing to stay in Prince George because of the amazing community that we have.
I think it's incredible that seniors have given back and we need to make sure that we are supporting our seniors. We have some amazing seniors network support groups in Prince George. I've spoken to many of them and we do need better supports for seniors.
I'm on the board of the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation and I recently toured UHNBC as part of that. It's so disheartening to see the hallway medicine that we have right now that the NDP have enabled. We have seniors who are in long-term care within our hospital, so that's actually their home right now.
That's unacceptable. We need better long-term care options. Recently, there is a dementia care facility by Providence Health that has been proposed.
I firmly support that project actually. We need to, as someone who, my grandmother had dementia and Alzheimer's in her latter years. Really, I know how difficult that was on our family.
We need proper care and long-term care for those suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, but also all of our seniors deserve the respect and dignity of a good home and a good quality of life. We need to make sure that we are supporting and respecting our seniors.
Some MLAs excel in the legislature while others become known for their constituency work. In a huge riding with a mix of urban and rural communities, what kind of MLA will you be?
I worked in the legislature for six years, both for private member MLAs versus the job that a purely urban MLA has that has a tiny riding. It's very complex to navigate representing a riding that's the same size as many European countries. What we need to do is ensure that Victoria knows that the North matters.
That is something that is often missing. We always talk about the fact that the government often forgets about whatever's beyond hope. We need to stop that.
We need to make sure that we have an MLA who will stand up both in the legislature, in the community, shouting from the rooftops if we need to, to get what we deserve, our fair share. A lot of the resource wealth that really goes to the critical public services in our province is actually produced here right in northern British Columbia. We need our fair share, a lot of that money coming back to northern BC.
That's what I'm going to be fighting for is our fair share type of MLA. I will focus on being someone who cares and connects with our community, but I'm also going to be someone vocal in the legislature to try to find change, try to be a voice for all those in northern British Columbia who need our voice represented down in Victoria.
