Why you? What unique traits do you bring?
I’m running for MLA because I care deeply about affordability, education, healthcare, and making life better for people in Peace River South and across the province. People are facing tough challenges right now – and I want to be part of David Eby’s team tackling those challenges head-on, by building homes, hiring doctors and nurses, supporting forestry and resource workers and communities, and putting money back in folks’ pockets.
Why is healthcare such a big issue in the Northeast? What needs to be done, here and provincially?
Health care should always be there when you need it, and any interruptions to services are stressful. We need our emergency rooms open. That’s why we’re taking action to train and hire more doctors, nurses, and health care workers than ever before—with a special focus on rural communities experiencing shortages.
Just the other day, David Eby announced that a BC NDP government would offer student loan forgiveness of up to $20,000 for health care workers who promise to live in rural communities that are struggling to staff emergency rooms and hospitals.
We’re also providing signing bonuses to health care workers who fill vacancies in rural and remote communities, we’re tripling our credentialing of internationally-trained doctors to get them off the sidelines and onto the front lines, and we’re adding 128 spaces to UBC Medical School across all campuses, including the north, to train more doctors close to home. We’re also ensuring that everyone in Peace River South who wants a family doctor or nurse practitioner will be connected to one by the end of next year.
There’s lots more work to do and we can’t stop now. The last thing we need is John Rustad’s plans for American-style healthcare and deep cuts. That would mean firing doctors and nurses and would make things far worse.
What role does metallurgical coal mining play in the economic mix for the province?
Over 95% of coal currently produced in BC is metallurgical coal. It’s a major industry, employing thousands of people and keeping food on the table for them and their families. As with all resources, it’s important to ensure that development projects provide lasting benefits to communities and to First Nations. We also need to require that industry – not taxpayers – pay for the costs of clean up.
Are regulations around industrial development and resource extraction (logging, mining, etc) getting too onerous? Where is the balance between conservation and extraction?
Conservation and extraction should go hand-in-hand. A great example is permitting times – they’re much too long for new forestry and mining projects. It’s one of the biggest barriers we’ve been hearing about from the industry. That’s why we’re committed to guaranteed permit review timelines for priority critical mineral projects, while maintaining our world-leading standards for environmental protection and worker safety, as well as our commitment to First Nations partnerships.
In addition, we’ll be providing dedicated support to advance projects to final investment through the new Critical Minerals Office, including coordination with the federal government to reduce duplication, and supporting First Nations engagement and capacity. And, on the forestry side, we’re committed to bringing efficiencies to the permitting process with a goal of fostering certainty for companies and workers.
Businesses are finding associated costs with doing business are going up and becoming unreasonable. What sort of relief do you see for small businesses?
Small businesses are the foundation of our communities and economy, and they’ve been through a lot – a slower global economy, high interest rates, inflation, labour shortages.
We want a BC where businesses don’t just succeed, but have the opportunity to thrive and prosper. That’s why we’re taking action to help small businesses with costs and support them – exempting 90% of businesses from the Employer Health Tax, keeping electricity rates low, and helping them get the workers they need. Under John Rustad, the economy worked for the top 2%, but not for everyone else. We can’t go back to those years.
There was talk a few years’ ago about needing to bring in miners to staff the new mine; while that hasn’t happened, there are a lot of businesses that are needing to bring in Temporary Foreign Workers. What is the balance between finding local workers vs allowing businesses to bring in people from outside the province or country, just to be able to survive?
We need to lobby Ottawa to reallocate immigration policy and funding to the provincial government similar to the agreement in place in Quebec. Returning to a program focused on recruiting and retaining skilled immigrants in areas of demand, and reducing the abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker program by some employers, is something that we’ll do a better job of than Ottawa has.
The car rules the north, but not everyone drives. What sort of solutions are there for seniors, people with medical issues or people who just never learned to drive to be mobile in the northeast?
There’s no doubt that Greyhound’s demise has left a big gap, especially in rural areas. That’s why we’re taking action to connect the province with an expanded express bus service, building on the success of BC Bus North, and including a new fleet of express buses between key hubs. We’re also taking action to support folks with medical issues – they’ll now be able to claim mileage under our Travel Assistance Program, and we’ll be making those payments upfront, so they’re not left out of pocket awaiting reimbursement.
In addition, people across Northern BC will benefit from the new helipad we’re building at the expanding Prince George Hospital, along with the new helicopter that’s coming into service very soon. Travel in a medical emergency is already stressful enough, we need to make it as smooth and fast as possible.
Why are we seeing bigger, more frequent forest fires and floods in this area? What can be done at a governmental level to help mitigate this?
We’re seeing firsthand the threat of climate change – the worst forest fire season on record, major floods, drought, and extreme weather events. It’s impacting people’s lives and costing our economy billions of dollars.
We’re taking action to fight pollution, while building a clean economy with good-paying, local jobs. And we’re ensuring our wildfire firefighters get the support they need to be better prepared to prevent and fight fires, including making the BC Wildfire Service year-round, increasing firefighter recruitment, and securing more equipment, planes and helicopters.
It’s clear that we need to keep doing more to fight the impacts of climate change and keep people and communities safe. But John Rustad denies the science of climate change and has promised to completely abandon our climate action plan – that’s a risk we can’t afford.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the people of Tumbler Ridge?
People in Tumbler Ridge face big challenges that just aren’t the same as those in the big urban centres. It’s hard to have to travel to access services like health care, and volatile global prices for resource products are hurting people and communities.
I believe that when rural communities thrive, it benefits all of BC. That’s why we’re taking action to strengthen services and support good, sustainable jobs for people close to home, so they can build a good life in the community they love.
When he was in government, John Rustad left rural communities to fend for themselves, exporting BC’s natural wealth while refusing to support rural workers or fund the infrastructure and services people need. The people of Tumbler Ridge can’t afford that risk.
What role does the northeast play on a provincial stage?
The northeast is a beautiful place to live and raise a family. And the region needs a fresh voice in Victoria. Time and again, ridings like Peace River South have elected MLAs whose record of costs and cuts speaks for itself.
This election gives the voters of Peace River South the chance to change that. If elected as your MLA, I will fight everyday to help people and communities across the riding get ahead and build a good life. I’m especially excited about the BC NDP’s commitment to ensuring every government decision gets assessed for its impact on rural and remote communities. Peoples’ voices should be heard no matter where they work or live.
Pick a group that probably wouldn’t vote for you (loggers, small business owners, trans people, etc) and explain how you would represent them in Victoria.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time in politics, it’s that voters can’t be placed neatly into stereotypical boxes. There’s lots more that unites us than divides us and, if you elect me as your MLA, I’ll work tirelessly for all the people of this riding, regardless of their background, occupation, or political affiliation.
You get elected, but are in the minority. How do you represent the people of the Northeast?
I have always believed in fostering strong relationships across the political spectrum and, if elected, I’ll leverage those relationships to ensure the people and communities of Peace River South get the action they need on the big challenges they face. Regardless of whether or not we form the government, I will be a strong advocate for the people of this riding.
Voters face such a stark choice this election – between David Eby who fights every day on the side of everyday people, and John Rustad who’d give tax breaks to the top 2% and make everyone else pay for it in higher fees, and cuts to the services they rely on.
I know things are challenging for many people right now, but the action David Eby is taking is starting to make a real difference in people’s lives. We can’t afford to stop now.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
