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Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Vol. 8 • Issue 25
This little piggy goes to market See Page 22
Big changes for Civic Arena See Page 3
Voters informed, candidates challenged Laura Salmon Cell 250-551-8877
E-mail Laura@LauraSalmon.com Website www.LauraSalmon.com
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FALL BULBS! Prepare your garden with tulips, crocus, daffodils and more!
Federal KootenayColumbia candidates get good-humoured grilling
BILL METCALFE Nelson Star The 200 people at Thursday’s all candidates meeting at the Prestige in Nelson gave the federal Kootenay Columbia candidates and moderator Glenn Hicks a standing ovation at the end of the two-hour session. That’s because all five of them — David Wilks (Conservative), Don Johnston (Liberal), Wayne Stetski (NDP), Bill Green (Green), and Hicks — provided a thought-provoking, informative, and sometimes funny evening. Hicks moved things along, not tolerating lengthy or empty answers, and posed often provocative questions. He looked for candid answers in which the candidates came out from behind their talking points to reveal themselves. Sometimes he got that, other times not. Hicks started by positing one challenge for each of the parties, and asking all members for their opinion. His first target was the Green Party.
The effectiveness of the Green Party
More than just a farmers store
524 Railway St Nelson (250) 352-5375
Hicks proposed that the Greens are a significant social movement but not an effective political movement. “Bill Green, how do you feel when you see that it is all about
The Kootenay-Columbia federal candidates, who attended a packed forum last Thursday, are from left: Don Johnston (Liberal), Bill Green (Green), Wayne Stetski (NDP), and David Wilks (Conservative). Bill Metcalfe photo the big shots talking about the economy? Don’t you feel marginalized, don’t you feel like the environment has been marginalized?” “Not at all,” Green said. “I have talked to 2,300 people, and it is true the economy and jobs are front and centre, and that is an issue for the Greens. Climate change is the key issue for us. Many people say Elizabeth May is the best leader. People are listening to us.” Hicks asked the other candidates about the Green Party as a political movement. Johnston and Stetski said with proportional representation the Greens would be an important political force. They shied away from commenting on the Greens in their present situation, as did Wilks, who said he has worked with
Elizabeth May and respects her. “Elizabeth May is a Canadian hero, in my opinion,” Johnston said.
The Liberals’ chances Hicks said the Liberals have not won in this riding “since Napoleon retreated from Moscow.” He asked Johnston “How on earth can a Liberal win in this riding? Isn’t this just about the NDP and the Conservatives?” Johnston replied “I was on CBC and the interviewer said ‘You must feel like a stranger in a strange land,’ and I said ‘I am not a stranger, I grew up in Nelson, but I will concede the strange land part.’ “Then he said ‘You have a huge mountain to climb, I said ‘I live in the mountains. That
does not scare me.’” Hicks asked Stetski “Isn’t this just about you and David Wilks?” “I have been to six debates with Bill and Don,” Stetski said, “and when you look at what we are offering the people, we have a lot of the same interests on many things, and we are just arguing how far and how much of a priority. “I am a fiscally responsible, liberal-minded, green NDPer. When you look at the polls, they show it is a two-way race. The three of us have a bad habit of splitting the vote, so 39 percent of Canadians put Harper in. We need to move to proportional representation.” Wilks said “It has gone back and forth between the Conservatives and the NDP, so it is an uphill battle for the Liberals
and the Greens. But anyone who wants to vote Green or vote Liberal should do that.”
Has the NDP lost its way? Hicks proposed that the NDP has strayed from its “social, left-leaning base.” “Wayne, do you know what you are getting into? Who is this party leader of yours? He does not seem like a natural NDPer in my books.” Stetski said he has met Thomas Mulcair twice and that the NDP leader’s resignation as environment minister in Quebec on a matter of principle means Mulcair is “a man of integrity and that is the kind of man I want to work for.” Continued on page 4
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