Over the past three weeks I have spent considerable time pondering both the upcoming federal election and the stand of the four political parties when it comes to the environment – an issue that is of concern to many voters. In the process, I spoke with the four local candidates and asked them for their environmental concerns.
Conservative Party candidate and former president of the BC Wildlife Federation Mel Arnold says “With my background in conservation I can understand the value that Canadians place on our environment; how important it is that we live in a sustainable balance of progress and conservation. A good example of this is the Farm Adaption Innovation Program, which the Conservative government has been supporting for a number of years. The program encourages farmers in the Salmon Valley to conserve water through computerized water monitors, which has also allowed the rehabilitation of the Salmon River. I am proud to say, after several years of this program, fish stocks are now at historic highs.”
Liberal Party of Canada candidate Cindy Derkaz states that “Canada must return to science based decision making: federal scientists must be unmuzzled; they must be free to discuss their findings in public without fear of reprisal. We must restore independent decision-making authority to those public bodies responsible for protecting the environment and repair the damage that has been done to the environmental regulatory framework through amendments buried within voluminous omnibus bills.
Derkaz also says that she is “passionate about protecting the environment and for decades has been involved in environmental causes in the Shuswap, most recently working with a committed group of volunteers to stop unregulated and illegal development at the mouth of the Adams River.”
Green Party candidate Dave Smith says that “the party’s focus is clearly on building a thriving economy based on renewable energy and environmental protection. We believe that the upcoming election needs to be fought on the issues of climate change, species extinction, and air and water pollution. Economic success – long-term – will depend on solid renewable jobs that keep our youth here.
“Our policies will support the three key industries in the riding; tourism, forestry and agriculture. Tourism depends on keeping the riding beautiful, which will also encourage high tech jobs to relocate here. Forestry depends on keeping jobs given a diminishing log supply. We will ban raw log exports and offer tax incentives to investment in value-added product facilities. Agriculture depends on obtaining the best value for product. We believe there will be a growing margin for organic and GMO-free products, and will bring in licensing and labelling laws to enhance the value of these products.”
New Democratic Party candidate Jacqui Gingras says “only one party has the experience and principled plan to sustainably protect the environment. In addition to the Climate Change Accountability Act, originally presented by Jack Layton, the NDP has also proposed the Environmental Bill of Rights which would enshrine the right to a clean environment and empower Canadians to take the federal government to court in the event that right is denied. In our area, of particular concern is, of course, the crucial Shuswap watershed and the Salmon River delta.”
It is interesting to see why and how the environment is important to the four local candidates – perhaps most notably, how each candidate approaches the same issue from a different perspective.
