All seven candidates in the Cariboo Prince George riding attended a meet-and-greet Wednesday, April 16 in Williams Lake.
Hosted by the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce, the event ran for two hours with half an hour dedicated to each candidate making a three-minute speech to the crowd and the rest of the evening for voters to mingle and ask questions.
Chamber president Paul French said he appreciated everyone committing to attend on short notice, as the event was finalized Monday, two days before.
“We didn’t have time to organize an all-candidates forum, but as the chamber we felt we need to do something for the candidates,” he told simplymastery.
Organizers drew names out of a hat to determine the speaking order. Their comments are shared here in the same order, plus only reflect what was said in the first three minutes of their given time to speak.
Some of the candidates also chose to speak for less than three minutes.
Jake Weins, Christian Heritage Party
Jake Weins lives in Prince George. He said he started his teaching career at Marie Sharpe Elementary School in Williams Lake.
His party does not deal with “superficial issues,” but with “deep issues,” he told the audience.
“I come from a family of refugees,” he said, adding his extended family escaped Europe when he was four-years-old and their country of choice was Canada. “Today we continue receiving many immigrants and many of them are still coming because they believe Canada to be the best country.”
He noted, however, that immigrants “find a country that is lurching from crisis to crisis.”
Weins said some of Canada’s leaders have “become a joke” around the world.
“Some of our immigrants find that decadence is in their kindergarten classrooms and they are concerned about the education of their kids,” he said. “For the last 30 years the needle on the moral compass of our nation has moved left and more left with every election and now we are dangerously in the red with moral issues - abortion, unregulated till the day of birth in Canada. Only three countries in the world have unregulated abortion until the day of birth. That’s just the tip of the sphere.”
He said he has spoken with members in the big “tent” parties and that he used to vote for them.
“Privately they say abortion is wrong, stopping of a human heart beat. But in public, they have promised, maybe we need to use a stronger word, allowed, they will remain silent.”
He described that as a “critical lack of integrity.”
“Good government requires men and women of integrity. Have we already so soon lost the lesson from the Holocaust 80 years ago. Silence in the presence of great evil is complacency.”
Clinton Emslie, Liberal
Clinton Emslie thanked the chamber for organizing the event and allowing the candidates to come and meet with the public, saying it was a “great privilege” to stand before everyone as the Liberal candidate.
“I’m a resident of Quesnel, recently moved there in December 23 from Ontario where I was heavily involved with communities, so much so, I was presented a leadership award in 2018.”
He said his campaign is a personal one because he is a resident of the riding and is affected by the same things as others in the riding.
“I am invested. I am committed and my policies and my campaign are about fighting for our communities side by side with you for the things that we need from the government party. I am a fighter. I seek solutions and I work with our communities to implement those solutions.”
He finished by saying, “I’m here for you and my goal is to be present in our community if you choose me to be your representative. That is my promise. That is my position.”
Rudy Sans, People’s Party of Canada (PPC)
Rudy Sans said his party is the only major party that stands for true conservative values and policies.
“The PPC is determined to build a limited federal government which will cut wasteful spending and eliminate our national debt, currently at $1.368 trillion.
Sans suggested Canada cannot continue to keep printing money and continue to fuel inflation.
“Our dollar is weak and it needs to regain its purchasing power.”
The PPC is committed to implementing a responsible monetary system backed by gold, which includes accumulating gold for the country’s reserves - currently at zero, he said, adding purchasing gold will allow Canada to cut taxes in the future,
“Canada has the most natural resources per capita in the world, but yet affordability affects every Canadian. We must get back on our feet financially.”
Sans said the country is “in real trouble” and needs to take a different path.
“The PPC says yes to our sovereignty, respecting our rights of freedom, freedom of speech, supporting our veterans, building pipelines and other developments.”
He said the PPC says no to tariff wars with the U.S., the Paris Accord and other globalist agendas, mass immigration, gender ideology and the E.I., the ban on firearms, supply management and funding foreign wars.
“We represent the people first and we are your best insurance policy for Ottawa,” Sans said, adding the PPC is the only real alternative for voters that decide to shake up the current political landscape. “We’re not career politicians and we do not engage in identity politics.”
Sans added they are of the people for the people and want to put people first and represent people in Ottawa.
“Our party is committed to addressing the root cause of our nation’s problems and fix them. We stress individual responsibilities, mutual respect and we will represent all Canadians equally. We want to Canada to preserves its identity, culture and history and Christian foundation.”
The PPC also wants to ensure Canada’s sovereignty, that it is free from foreign influence and interference and rejects un-elected bodies such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
“We want to encourage voters to read our platform to see if they align with our goals to get Canada back on its feet. We want to encourage voters to vote. It’s the only thing you have. Make it count.”
He said he hopes everyone votes with their values and their conscience, no matter who they decide to vote for.
“I love this country and may God keep our land glorious and free.”
Angie Bonazzo, NDP
NDP candidate Angie Bonazzo, presently lives in Prince George and is running the race for the NDP party, she said.
“The NDP brought universal health care and universal dental care,” she said, adding nine million Canadians have accessed the universal dental care program brought in by the NDP, even as a minority party.
Bonazzo works for Northern Health as a support worker with mental health and addictions and spent 20 years as a nursing assistant. She is a yoga instructor, volunteers to cuddles babies in the neonatal unit at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia in Prince George and is a world traveller.
“It is my pledge to you that as an NDP person, if I get in the house, I will maintain the values of what Canada has in place,” she said.
“We need a balanced voice in the house to make sure that what we value as Canadians continues. Thank you very much.”
Todd Doherty, Conservative
Todd Doherty has been the riding’s MP For 10 years, and said he has been a tireless advocate for mental health, suicide prevention and addictions in Canada.
“I’ve led the way for developing the suicide hotline here in Canada - 988, that was my initiative that I fought tirelessly for over a 1,000 days for the federal government to implement that.”
Doherty said he has tabled legislation - C211 - that made Canada the first country in the world to develop a national framework for first responders, veterans and military and their struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“I also tabled legislation to look after our nurses, our first responders, paramedics, police officers, those who are facing an epidemic tide of violence against them,” he said. “It is unacceptable how far we have fallen when our first responders, a nurse, a firefighter, paramedic are targeted for only doing the job they wish to do which is serve you and I to protect us, yet their lives are put in jeopardy.”
He referenced crime rate increases, drug addictions and the fentanyl crisis throughout Canada, which he said has resulted in over 50,000 Canadians losing their lives since 2016.
“My brother is still on the street. I lost my brother-in-law to an overdose, I lost my uncle to an overdose. If you are tired of that I hope you will vote for the Conservative Party.”
The Conservatives recently announced the biggest crack down on crime in Canadian history with an investment of 50,000 recovery beds across the country, he said.
“We will put an end to this wasteful spending. We will make life more affordable for Canadians.”
Doherty said more than two million Canadians access food banks every month, which is "unacceptable".
“Two-thirds of Canadians report they are almost $200 away from [dissolvement] at the end of every month and why is that? Due to inflationary spending by this government.”
He cited there have been many jobs lost due to mill closure and forestry downturns in the region.
“I grew up here in Williams Lake. I’m proud to be a Cariboo kid. Many of you know me. Your worship is here, Patti [Gerhardi] is here. This is my home. This is my wife’s home. Her great-great-grandfather William Pinchbeck and her family are right in the museum here. Our roots are here,” he said as he completed three minutes into his speech.
Kenneth Thomson, Independent
Kenneth Thomson is a Quesnel-based lawyer.
“Before coming to law I had a whole wide variety of experiences which have given me a broad perspective of life,” he said.
One of the reasons he is running is that over the last four years plus he said he has witnessed the degradation of the standard of living for the majority of Canadians, particularly those living in small rural communities.
“If we allow this trend to continue, the middle class will largely be eliminated,” Thomson said. “The gradual transformation from public interest being the measure of government policies to that of private interest becoming the decisive factor in deciding policy has been the primary cause of this degradation.”
Globalization and the consolidation of industries within a few corporate entities has allowed the private sector to control the world economy, Canada’s economy and dictate government policy, he added.
Another reason, he said, is there are persistent issues that are not being addressed, such as clean water for First Nation communities and the failure of government to address the drug crisis and homelessness.
“There are those who have already succumbed to drug addiction and there are those who could be the next generation of victims.”
He suggested two solutions - preventing the problem from becoming larger and removing the blanket of hopelessness that is smothering our youth.
“Those already on the street will require individual support but those who are not already on the street can be helped en masse.”
He said reasonable housing, as well as reasonable and diverse career opportunities need to be provided.
His choice to run as an independent, he explained, is a choice in democracy.
“National political parties compete to gain control of parliament which means that they have win the large metropolitan cities. Issues specific to constituencies such as Cariboo-Prince George are not what leads the parties’ seats and parliament allows them to form government or even to be the official opposition.”
He said as much as party representatives may desire to represent the voters in their constituencies they must focus on the issues the party dictates or they no longer will be able to sit in caucus or run in the next election as the party’s nominee.
“If I’m elected it’s my intention to be a voice for the voters of our constituency, at least have our interests heard.”
He said anyone wanting to learn more about what he thinks on the issues to check out his website, Enough.ca.
Jodie Capling -Green Party
Jodie Capling grew up in Alexis Creek and in Williams Lake, spending a lot of her early years camping and enjoying the region’s beautiful lakes, she said.
After completing a master’s degree in resource management she worked in energy efficiency for the private sector.
She and her partner made the decision to move back to Williams Lake to raise their children around their families.
“I decided to step forward and run for the Green Party in this election because I believe everyone in Canada should have the opportunity to vote for a party that represents their values and vision for Canada.”
The Green Party policies are based in the core values of sustainability, non-violence, social justice, respect for diversity, ecological wisdom and participatory democracy, she explained.
“Many of these core values span multiple aspects of our society. For example, sustainability doesn’t just apply for a natural environment, it also applies to our social systems and our climate.”
Capling said she believes most Canadians want similar things.
“We want safe, affordable housing. We want good jobs to provide for our families. We want to access to health care and education, and a way to protect to protect our environment and have a strong economy.”
The Green Party, she said, would address these concerns by building a sustainable, low carbon economy, including a green transition, fair taxation and responsible finances.
“We would emphasize environmental sustainability in addressing climate change and by building resilient communities through social justice, education, health care and affordable housing.”
Specific to the Prince George and Cariboo region and its natural resource based economy, Capling said the Green Party has several policies concerning natural resources, aiming for their sustainable management and promoting Canadian control of the resources and ensuring the benefits of using these natural resources flows to Canadian communities, not foreign investment.
“We need to shift away from exporting unprocessed or minimally processed natural resources and move to creating value-added products that create good jobs for Canadians.”
