Between now and the BC provincial election on May 9, Powell River Peak is asking each of the three candidates in the Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding a question every week that addresses a particular topic that matters in this riding. This issue, candidates tackle how to find the middle ground between developing resources and protecting the environment.
How would you balance resource development with environmental protection?
Nicholas Simons, BC New Democratic Party
Together, we can defend our environment, fight carbon pollution and build a better BC. As BC NDP leader John Horgan says, “We can move towards a better, clean-growth economy while significantly reducing carbon pollution.”
New Democrats will invest in transportation infrastructure and clean energy projects that create good-paying jobs in communities across the province.
A BC NDP government will end the raw-log export free-for-all and ensure no raw logs will leave BC if they can possibly be used in BC mills and wood-product manufacturing. We will work with the forest sector to ensure British Columbians get the maximum value from our shared resource.
Our party also has a bold plan for the future of BC energy. The plan includes the biggest energy retrofit program in BC history, for public buildings, homes and businesses.
We will also upgrade existing hydro infrastructure and invest in renewable energy. A BC NDP government would require the Site C dam be thoroughly reviewed by the independent BC Utilities Commission.
Meanwhile, the current government decided to support the Kinder Morgan pipeline, putting our coast and economy at risk. A single oil spill in Burrard Inlet would kill thousands of jobs. We reject Kinder Morgan and its sevenfold increase in tanker traffic. It’s too risky for BC’s environment and economy.
The BC NDP has a plan to reduce emissions and build a sustainable economy that puts people to work in green industries. Together, we can defend BC’s environment, fight carbon pollution, and build a better BC.
Nicholas Simons was first elected MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast in 2005. Before entering politics, Simons spent more than 15 years working in health, justice, social services and child welfare, including 10 years as director of health and social services for Sechelt (shíshálh) First Nation. Simons, an accomplished cellist, is also a past president of the Sunshine Coast Arts Council.
Mathew Wilson, BC Liberal Party
In the Powell River region, our resource work is primarily focused on forestry and mining. It is generally conceded that both are conducted in a way that balances resource development, environmental protection and community engagement. As your MLA, I will advocate for all three.
My own background and family history is connected to achieving balance between the environment and resources. I grew up on a small, mixed-heritage farm in Pender Harbour, and now my children are connected to my parents’ small sheep farm, which also produces fruit and vegetables, and this agricultural experience teaches us the need to find balance with nature.
My father’s grandfather was a commercial fisherman, and my mother’s father worked in the forest sector. My father lectured in economic geography and resource management for 17 years. In my work for the federal government, I have assisted first nations resource-development projects within the framework of environmental protection.
BC has one of the most rigorous environmental review processes in the world for major project development. The women and men who work for BC Environmental Assessment Office are dedicated British Columbians whose independence and integrity is above reproach. They work with their federal counterparts and first nations, conducting reviews from their perspectives.
The established process must be done efficiently, must provide certainty to industry, communities, and environmental advocates, and outcomes must be transparent.
I applaud the many first nations that are embracing the process and engaging in project oversight and ongoing stewardship as a result of recommendations coming out of these reviews.
Raised on the Sunshine Coast, with family in Powell River, Mathew Wilson currently lives in Roberts Creek and is father to two daughters. He works for the federal government; 10 years in Ottawa, most recently five years commuting to work in Vancouver. Among his many experiences are five years negotiating agreements with first nations on resource economic development and residential school claims.
Kim Darwin, BC Green Party
Balance is the key objective. Ensuring individual well-being and financial security is essential to maintaining vibrant communities and creating an economic environment that is sustainable for businesses and industry.
Government’s responsibility is to support the development of both individual economic health and community environmental health. BC Green policy will set out a framework within which both industry and individuals can flourish.
It’s time that we moved on from the outdated thinking that every environmental law brought forward is somehow an attack on industry. Industry has been crying out for clear, consistent regulations.
The last thing industry wants is uncertainty. British Columbians want the security of knowing industry profits are not met at the expense of their future well-being.
BC Green policy outlines the following: the rights and responsibilities of the BC Government and its residents when it comes to environmental decision-making; creating a publicly accessible one-stop shop for environmental information; ensuring all ministries consider the environmental impacts their operations may be responsible for; creating an environmental commissioner responsible for investigating violations; providing the public an opportunity to participate in and access the decision-making process, providing regular reports about the state of the BC environment; and protecting whistleblowers who act to prevent or mitigate environmental damage.
If we lose our environment, we lose our economic prosperity. Learning to adapt and seek out better, cleaner ways of doing business is how we are going to ensure environmental protection and economic well-being for our children and future generations.
In addition to raising three wonderful children, Kim Darwin was a legal assistant for 16 years before opening her own mortgage broker business. She is president of the Sechelt Chamber of Commerce and was the elected provincial council secretary for the BC Green Party for two and a half years. She is an herbalist, having studied traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic and Western herbal medicine.
Next week’s question: What can be done to improve health care services in Powell River?
