So far in Powell River, the provincial election campaign has generated scant attention. While a few campaign signs have appeared, little else connected with the campaign has happened.
Hopefully, this trend will not continue as general voting day on Tuesday, May 14, approaches. Next week, Powell River Chamber of Commerce is hosting an all-candidates meeting. It’s the traditional forum for candidates to express their views and their platforms, while voters have an opportunity to see them perform and ask questions.
The issue of BC Ferries did arise in the province-wide campaign last week. New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Adrian Dix announced that his party, if elected to form government, would freeze fares for two years and conduct an audit. Dix says the high cost of using BC Ferries is hurting businesses and families on Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia.
The BC Liberals responded by noting the freeze would end up costing the corporation $40 million over the next three years. The Liberals have committed to putting one-third of the revenues from liquefied natural gas development toward eliminating BC Ferries’ debt, up to $1 billion.
However, neither the NDP’s promise nor the Liberals’ response will fix the problem with BC Ferries and the stranglehold it has on the fragile economies of ferry-dependent communities. Fares are already too high so freezing them won’t provide relief. The Liberals’ commitment is based on future revenues, years away if they actually do materialize.
What voters need to hear is what the parties will do to fix the problem if they are elected to form government. The premise and the structure of BC Ferries needs to be reworked before it is too late for coastal communities. Voters need to press candidates on the issue and elicit real responses instead of dodges and spin.
The non-responses could be one of the reason BC voters aren’t paying much attention to the 2013 election campaign. Only about half of the eligible voters cast ballots in the 2009 election and so far there’s no reason to assume that voting turnout will increase this time around.
Traditionally, BC politics are anything but bland, but the campaign’s lack of drama indicates a new trend in the province, with both major parties focusing on the middle ground.
Still, the election is three weeks away and politics can turn in an instant, especially in BC. The leaders’ debate on Monday, April 29, could be that turning point. And in Powell River, voters have their opportunity to see the candidates in the riding in action the following night, starting at 7 pm in Evergreen Theatre at Powell River Recreation Complex.
