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?
I think it's pretty straightforward that voters who are trying to consider where they should place their vote this election need to ask themselves, are they happy with what's going on? And if they're happy with what's going on, they probably want to vote for the status quo.
However, if they have concerns with the rising cost of food, with the deterioration of our medical system, with the access of health care to seniors, with the various problems with the fentanyl crisis, addictions, mental health. And the whole host of problems that have been brought to bear under this particular NDP government, if they're concerned about those things at all, then they need to be voting for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Because the Conservative Party of British Columbia is representing a common-sense approach and serious significant change to what's been going on already. We're not here to keep doing the same things and be making the same mistakes. What we want to do is represent... We want to represent a significant shift in public policy that benefits the people of British Columbia, returns us to an atmosphere of prosperity and a time in which all British Columbians can look forward to the future. We want to stop people telling us that they want to leave British Columbia if the NDP wins.
Well, we want to make sure the NDP doesn't win. And if you don't want the NDP to win, you need to vote for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
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 Moccasin Flats situation requires a serious investment in health care. Because what has happened... What I've seen happening is the addictions crisis, mental health crisis, multi-diagnosis problems that are resplendent there, as long with people who are legitimately economically homeless, is creating a terrible burden on our health care and public services.
So, in my opinion, what needs to happen is triage of individuals, making sure that they are treated for the condition or situation they have, and have some follow-up with that. In addition... In addition, what we really need to see is the construction of some long-term forensic psychiatric care facilities in this province that will properly treat, or properly diagnose, properly treat, and make sure that the people who are in need of these services get them, and that they are not in a situation where they are causing problems for the general population and to the businesses in the downtown area.
It is important to work collaboratively with the city and local people, local businesses, to ensure that the needs of the community are being met, as well as the need to make sure that the people who need help to get off of their addiction, or to have their mental health problems treated, are getting what they need.
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?
Well, I think the curious problem is, how did we allow this to happen in one of the most resource-rich provinces in Canada? What really needs to be dealt with in this particular situation is access to a smooth permitting process. We need to take a lot of the red tape away, and make sure that it's a one permit, one permit process for resource extraction, whether it be mining, forestry, or other requirements, while at the same time respecting environmental and community concerns with regards to resource extraction. We need to do value-added projects to make sure that we can do that, that work efficiently.
But again, the big thing is to smoothen the permitting process, which has slowed down dramatically under the NDP government. And also to deal with things like stumpage and revenue sharing appropriately, so that it is worthwhile for companies to stay in British Columbia and not leave, so that they can hire, employ, and add to the communities in which they live.
Access to fibre is a key component of forestry, and right now you have mills that are bringing fibre from great distances in order to meet their requirements.
When I was at one of the major mills, I noticed they only had a few weeks of fiber supply left to process. And when people talk about things like housing, they need to understand that logging gets the wood that builds the houses that are needed for British Columbians to have roofs over their heads.
So there's an awful lot to be done to make this province work that has not been getting done under the previous few governments.
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 there are many First Nations groups in this region, and the big thing to do is to build strong personal relationships with leaderships and people of the various bands, including the Lheidli T’enneh. Yeah. the bands in Nazco and those in Tsay Keh Dene, for example. I've been meeting with representatives of Tsay Keh Dene recently to discuss these very questions.
And it's important to meet on a level of mutual respect and understanding and to cut back on the pandering and virtue signaling, which is characterized in governmental and native relations. Those types of relations are critical to building an environment that allows industry and recreational users, community users, to work with First Nations in sharing the resources and the lands in which we all live. It's important to build mutual respect.
That's really got to be the focus. Governmental and Indigenous relations. And with mutual respect, you get trust and you get honest and frank discussions about what needs to happen and how it needs to happen.
Our area's population is aging. What is your top priority when it comes to addressing the issues facing seniors and why?
Seniors are facing a whole host of problems, some of which are federal, some of which are provincial. Fixed incomes are not helped by things like the carbon tax and the heavy tax burden that all British Columbians are facing. Access to affordable health care is an issue for everyone, but especially hit seniors quite hard.
One of the things I realized was a problem when I attended a seniors meeting in Quesnel was that getting back from health care in the Lower Mainland, is a serious concern for many seniors. There are means of getting them to health care, but once they're treated it's very reliant on their resources and their family's resources to get them back to their community. Ideally, seniors need to be able to stay in their homes for as long as they can.
But you need to have the medical resources, the health resources in their communities to best serve their needs, as well as the needs of everyone else.
And we are seeing a real problem with doctors and nurses leaving their communities for brighter areas because of the problems that are associated with our economy, with the drug addiction, fentanyl, mental health crisis, which is taking up hospital beds and taking up space that would be otherwise allocated for surgeries, for the needs of people who are aging and have to have medical treatments, or those just having emergencies. So the seniors issue is part of a greater problem or a series of problems in the province that needs to be looked at holistically.
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 that's a great question. I like to think of myself. I think of myself as someone who is connected with my communities and is going to be able to represent them well in the legislature.
And that will be a big part of what I'm doing. I think when you have good staff in offices located in key population areas, like I'm going to have an office in Quesnel, I'm going to have an office in Prince George, we may talk about a shared office or something, but people need to have access to help. The main role of an MLA is to help people with their problems in dealing with the provincial government and to guide them to where the resources are, if those are not the areas in which that MLA has responsibility.
I think I could provide a great service to my community, both in the legislature and in the community.
I know this area well. I was born here, I've lived here my whole life. I have hunted and fished. I have played bagpipes. I have climbed mountains. I have gone to the mountains. I have hiked. I've been greatly involved in my community and I know the people who are here and I've been building relationships to make sure that they know me better.
Travelling throughout the riding and meeting the diverse needs of this community is critical. And this riding in particular is very much a microcosm of the whole province with its mix and urban contained within it. And my view is that I have to represent. I have to represent everyone. And I have to make sure that I'm hearing those voices, hearing those concerns and where there are conflicts, trying to do what is best for the majority without harming the minority.
