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 they will vote in this polarized atmosphere. How will you encourage these voters to cast their ballots for you?
Well, I think first and foremost that that has left a lot of people in a difficult situation. It's also left some of our local politicians in difficult situations as well.
For myself, I think that the BC NDP platform, which has recently been released, supports people and it supports communities. I think that we have a proven track record of bringing services and supporting services in our communities and to working with the communities to ensure that the needs are met of the communities. I would further say that there have been some candidates in the riding that have changed and I find it difficult to understand how someone could change their core values.
I'm running for the BCNDP because my values align very well with that party and what they stand for, which is supporting people and supporting community services. I think that it's important to stand with your values and I question that for some of the candidates that have not shown that consistency.
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 Prince George and the rest of your riding?
I actually was in Mackenzie last night and they have some of the very same issues there that we have here. What I would say is that we need to work with our community partners. I was at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre this morning and met with Barb there and learned about some of the initiatives that they have for housing and supported housing.
I think the BC NDP have done a good job of bringing housing and supportive housing for people who live in the Lower Patricia area into the community and will continue to do that. But we can't do that alone. We need all the partners at the table to be able to do that together and we need to work as one.
One of the other initiatives that I learned about from the Prince George Native Friendship Centre is a supportive mental health unit that goes out to support folks and they work in partnership with the local RCMP. And I think we need to do more of those sort of programs in partnerships and supporting mental health and addictions partner groups in the communities.
This part of BC has always relied on the resource sector for good jobs, but changes like Canfor's latest closure announcement put those jobs at risks. What will you do to advocate for new resource sector jobs in Prince George and the rest of your riding?
Yeah, I know that the recent mill closures have left really hard impacts on families and that's really unfortunate. I think we really need to look at our forestry practices and how we can improve that and work with our communities to support better, better securities in our communities to make infrastructure sustainable and when corporations come in to support communities as well as the resources that they are taking out of the communities. I also think that I've been involved personally.
I worked at a sawmill in my lifetime and the sawmill shut down and I lost my job. So I really can relate to people and the impacts that that has and how important resources are. I've met with Mayor Yu and know how important that is in a kind of like not only for Prince George, but for the North in general.
We are so rich with resources. We really need to ensure that we can export those however that is, but keep the jobs in our communities and ensure that corporations are supporting our communities and our people.
The relationship between the provincial government and B.C.'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?
I think the current DRIPA is really important and I think that in truth and reconciliation we certainly are not where we need to be, but we need to carry on that conversation and we need to carry on those commitments. The federal government made 94 calls to action and we need to ensure that we are practicing that every single day and that everyone in our communities is working together. I come from, I lived 30 years in a Northwestern community, Hazleton, which is predominantly Indigenous.
My children went to school on reserve and I loved having the honour of raising my children in a community where traditions and cultures were honoured and I really strongly support the path that we're on to support Indigenous peoples and truth and reconciliation, as well as supporting, looking at diversifying and looking at business supports within First Nations communities.
Our area's population is ageing. What is your top priority when it comes to addressing the issues facing seniors? Why? I think that we need to do more for our seniors.
I think the BC NDP and the new platform is supporting seniors in a variety of ways by improving the provincial allowance that we give to seniors, as well as one of the things that we're doing is we're supporting transit to be free within non-busy hours, so like 9:30 to 3:30 every day. And we need to ensure that our communities are accessible for our seniors and that they're supported. Seniors live on a fixed income and we need to ensure that we can support and they are able to sustain themselves and to provide programs so that they have supports within their homes if needed and that they have a social network as well.
So I think, I come from a family of nine kids, I'm the youngest, so most of my siblings are seniors. So they share a lot with me as to what the needs are and where there are gaps in communities. So I think we need to work with our seniors better because they are our knowledge holders as well.
Some MLAs excel in the legislature while others become known for their work in the constituency. In a huge riding like this with a mix of urban and rural communities, what kind of MLA are you going to be? I hope to be an MLA for the people.
I hope to support the communities that I will serve and I hope to be able to find the balance to be an excellent advocate when I'm in Victoria, but also support and listen to the constituents that I represent.
I think it's really important that you don't forget as an MLA, or I won't forget, that every community has unique needs. I've lived rural remote most of my life and now I live urban in Prince George and so I know the needs of those communities are completely different and I also know that we have to support all the people within those areas. The North needs advocacy throughout.
We don't want to be forgotten and every single community within the North has the needs that are different and so that's what I think that I will do well. I would like to model myself a little bit like Shirley Bond who has never forgotten where she came from and has always been a person of the people and I admire her for that and that is the kind of, although we're not party particular, that is the kind of MLA I would like to be. That I always remember where I come from and I always remember the people that I support and I listen to the needs of those people.
