Over the past few days, I spoke with the MLA Candidates for the Skeena Region. By being in conversation with them, they all have one thing in common. They all want industry in the region. However, everyone supports different kinds of industry in the region.
Another key part in this election for constituents to remember is that you are not only voting for the party, but you are also voting the representative for the area.
BC Conservative: Claire Ratee – Incumbent
Pitch: I think that people should vote for me because I have a proven track record. As somebody that has advocated strongly for these communities and for this region. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I am passionate about it. I’ve proven that I care and that I won’t give up. This is going to be my fifth time running, and I’ve put a lot of effort into that. I’ve shown people that I’m consistent, honest, accessible, and I just really care about this region. I want to see some really serious changes made, and I feel like we’re in a very strong position to be able to form government at this point.
I think that it would be it would serve the electorate and Skeena very well to have a representative that’s in government. Particularly when I know that there are a lot of really big changes that need to be made. And I’m hopeful that I can do that, from the government side and be able to make more changes here.
NDP: Sarah Zimmerman
Pitch: For the last four years, I’ve been a city councilor in Terrace. But a lot of the projects that we worked on at the city council table had a huge impact across the riding. So, advocacy around the Resource Benefits Alliance was huge and resulted in $250 million for 21 communities across four ridings. That’s important for communities like Terrace, where we don’t have an industrial tax base. So, I was proud to join the legacy of people who had advocated for that. Council was really focused on making sure that we advocate for detox and recovery services. We’ve got new seniors housing in Terrace. There’s a second stage, a living facility for women fleeing abuse in Kitimat. So, you know, there’s still work to be done. But I’m really proud of the record that that I have in advocating for resources here and that the NDP has had in our riding.
BC Green Party: Nick Gottlieb
Pitch: Know that we’re at the center of both provincial and national economic development plans. And in spite of the fact that hundreds of billions of dollars of private profit and money are flowing through this region, through LNG industry, the mines, the port, all of it, the railway, we have some of the most severe versions of all the crises that we face provincially here locally in Terrace, Kitimat and the surrounding area. And neither party seems interested in actually standing up to these industries and negotiating a better deal. We believe that we can invest in public services.
We can protect healthcare from the slow privatization that it’s undergoing. We can invest in school infrastructure, and we can make life more affordable for people in Skeena if we actually hold these industries to account and make them pay a fair share. And if we also tax the ultra-wealthy in this province that hold many of these businesses and investors in a lot of this stuff.
OneBC: Larry Taylor
Pitch: The reason people should vote for me in the Skeena Region, I think, is because I was born here and raised here. I’ve worked here all my life. I’ve raised five kids, and now I’ve got seven grandkids. And that’s living in Terrace, Calgary and Montreal. So, I travel across Canada all the time. I’m well-traveled. I’ve been a heavy mechanic here since 1979. For 42 and a half years, I’ve traveled the entire northwest of British Columbia from Camel to Yukon border, from Haida Gwaii to Houston. And I’ve worked in every small place, small towns, logging camp, fishing camp, hunting camp in northwestern B.C. I’ve talked to regular people my whole life, and I know how we work.
And I’m not in a suit. I don’t have a degree, but the people with degrees and suits aren’t doing well in B.C., as far as I’m concerned. So as time goes, regular guys like me put their foot in and put their point across.