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Look for Claire Trevena on the road this summer

45426campbellriverClaireTrevena
North-Island MLA Claire Trevena has big plans for the summer – talking to her constituents and listening to their concerns.

With the legislature done for the summer, Claire Trevena will be on the road talking to constituents for the summer months.

“My job is always, because it is a large riding, getting out to the community, talking to as many people as possible,” she said.

Though the legislature isn’t in session, the serious work does continue. Trevena will be working on increasing internet connectivity in the rural areas of her constituency, battling against education funding cuts and working with B.C. health to try and get continued free parking at the Campbell River Hospital.

“You ask anybody and their number one issue I would say, is BC ferries,” she said.

Despite her pressure on the transportation ministry as the transportation critic, Trevena said that the current ferry system will not be changed by this government.

“This government has shown that it has not got the political will to change it,” she said.

Trevena said that the cost to take the ferry has increased 80 to 120 per cent in the last 10 years, which is much more than wages have increased.

“One of the problems is that B.C. ferries has been allowed to just really change and grow without any relativity to its real role, and it’s real role is to service the communities, businesses and residents of B.C.,” she said.

During the last couple weeks in the legislature, the NDP brought forward multiple bills addressing everything from using taxpayer money for advertisements that further the leading party to protecting renters from ‘renovictions.’

Trevena questioned the minister of education about how the grant allotment decision making process. The Premier gave $150,000 to a federally funded reserve in Old Massett on Haida Gwaii but no funding to the band school on Tsulquate reserve near Port Hardy. Trevena said she didn’t get a straight, helpful answer to her inquiries.

Trevena said she is also working on getting the minister for jobs to meet with the people of Port Alice to discuss the mill shutdown and the affects it will have on the community long term.

The end of Trevena’s third term is coming up and she is determined to run again in next year’s election, as she said she still has things she would like to accomplish.

“We all enter politics because we want to make change and we hope we are making change as the opposition but you want to carry on serving people and doing the best you can,” she said.