The Council of Canadians (CoC) Campbell River chapter would like to publicly thank the Campbell River Library for providing space for the Earth Day All Candidates Meet and Greet.
The CoC would also like to thank the four North Island Provincial election candidates who attended: Sue Moen [Green Party], Dallas Smith [Liberal Party], Claire Trevena [New Democratic Party] and John Twigg [B.C. First Party]. Both the candidates and the large number of citizens who were there liked the format which allowed the public to interact face to face with the candidates with a chance to share personal stories and concerns with no interest group dominating questions.
Many people also wrote down their issues of concerns on paper provided and we would like to share the topics noted by citizens at the Meet and Greet. Dominating the concerns were respecting Indigenous peoples’ rights and supporting their land stewardship efforts; decreasing excessive B.C. Ferry rates; increasing support for homeless and poor people and lower cost housing; making B.C. Hydro more accountable for their fiscal and environmental policies with a special dissatisfaction for Hydro’s increasing household electric bills and building Site C; increasing protection of watersheds and waterways from pollution related to resource industry spills, contaminated soil, logging; protecting Medicare and public health care from further privatization; encouraging affordable production and use of green energy; making local food production and farming more affordable and accessible; examining the Province’s forestry policy with many expressing opposition to log exports, first growth logging, forestry roads inaccessible to the public and habitat destruction relating to current logging practices; opposition to free trade agreements that allow countries owning Canadian resources to import foreign workers at the expense of local jobs; strengthening LGBTQ rights, and general concerns about the high cost of living and suggested solutions such as legislating higher minimum wages/welfare rates/living wages and creating quality affordable day care.
Richard Hagensen,
Council of Canadians
Campbell River Chapter