Margeret Kunst, Liberal
Kunst is a small busines owner and director of the PuCKS Powerplay Foundation
BIO:
Margaret Kunst is a proud Langley resident with deep roots in the community.
In 2018, she entered into local politics and was elected to the Council of the Township of Langley. She enjoys sitting on the Heritage and Refugee & Immigrant Advisory Committees as well being a member of the Tourism of Langley Board.
Margaret and her husband owned a small business in the agriculture sector for over 20 years. She has served for 10 years as operations director for the PuCKS Powerplay Foundation, a registered charity that promotes community connection for youth through literacy and sport.As a volunteer she is passionate about helping new Canadians establish their lives in the community of Langley.
Margaret and her husband of 32 years have 4 children and 2 grandchildren.
She looks forward to using her experience in local government on community boards and committees to give voice to the citizens of Langley-East as their new Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MargKunst/
Website: www.bcliberals.com/team/margaret-kunst/
Email: margaret.kunst@bcliberals.com
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CANDIDATE Q&A:
To help voters make their choices on election day, the Langley Advance Times is asking local candidates a series of questions on issues of importance, asking each candidate to participate.
They were asked to a ‘yes’, a ‘no,’ or a ‘don’t know’ (Y,N,D) response to EACH of the numbered questions for the grid published in the Oct. 15 edition of The News. Candidates were also invited to expand on ANY OR ALL of the questions (to a maximum of 200 words each), with one of their choice to be included in our print edition on Oct. 22. Here’s all their replies.
1. Would you vote to fund additional supportive housing units in Langley to reduce homelessness?
Answer: Yes. Homelessness is a growing concern in Langley and needs a multifaceted approach. People experiencing homelessness need the proper mental health and addiction supports in place to properly address this issue.
2. Is lowering taxes the best route to economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession?
Answer: Yes. It is part of the BC Liberals economic recovery plan to help everyone keep more of their hard-earned money in BC, with an average family saving $1,700 a year from the PST holiday. As well, will provide support to small businesses who’ve been hit so hard during difficult this time.
3. Should the province provide B.C. residents with a universal basic income?
Answer: No. The BC government has many programs in place to address specific challenges such as poverty, mental health, old age and people with disabilities. A basic income would result in much higher taxes for everyone who pays income tax.
4. Should the B.C. government restrict large, industrial cannabis greenhouses from operating in the ALR?
Anser: No. A BC Liberal government would aggressively lobby the federal government to ensure that regulations in place that say cannabis greenhouses use the most up-to-date technology to mitigate odor are enforced. If they can’t meet those requirements, then the proper authorities should restrict their operation as this has had a great impact on the quality of life for residents here in the Township of Langley.
5. Should the B.C. government speed up the widening of Highway One into the eastern Fraser Valley?
Answer: Yes. This is an issue that impacts the daily lives of so many people who live in the Lower Mainland, not to mention the safety, environment and economic concerns.
6. Should cities and school districts be allowed to go into debt during the pandemic?
Answer: No. The province already funds school districts and should take care of any shortfall.
For cities, the senior level of governments must work with municipalities to deal with the impact of the pandemic.
7. Should the province stop prosecuting drug possession to help fight the overdose epidemic?
Answer: No. Addiction needs to be treated as a health issue as our leader Andrew Wilkinson has said – treat the problem, stop the harm. Only when we can get to the root of the problem such as mental health issues, trauma or abuse, can we end the cycle of addiction
For those who are large scale drug dealers for the purpose of drug trafficking they deserve to be prosecuted.
8. Should the province divert funding away from policing and towards social and mental health services?
Answer: No. The BC Liberals have introduced a plan that increases policing and mental health resources. We would add 200 more officers, establish more Integrated Mobile Crisis Response to respond to mental health-related emergency calls and 100 more psychiatric social workers/nurses.
9. In the era of Black Lives Matter, should B.C. increase the penalties for hate speech?
Answer: Yes. We must take a strong stand against racism and discrimination of all kinds.
10. Would you support more public schools moving to a year-round education model?
Answer: Yes. There are schools where this works really well for students and families who attend but recognizing that it should be a decision left for each individual schools to make.
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OTHER LOCAL CANDIDATE Q&As:
Langley Riding:
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Langley East Riding:
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