Politics is often a place where opinions are left divided, but if there is one thing that came out of the Squamish all-candidates meeting last night, it’s that sometimes, even politicians can share the same goals.
On Wednesday, Oct. 2, each of the three candidates pining for the position of West Vancouver Sea to Sky Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) were passionately united on the need to improve regional transport, increase housing and fight climate change. High taxes, secure care and the privatization of healthcare saw the biggest divide within the panel.
The debate, hosted by the Squamish Chamber, Tourism Squamish, and Downtown Squamish BIA was held in front of a 150-person crowd at Don Ross Middle School.
The event was moderated by former Squamish mayor Patricia Heintzman.
Who is running?
There is the BC NDP’s Jen Ford, a 10-year Whistler councillor who chairs the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (currently on leave), has served as president of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), and also chairs the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA).
There is the BC Greens’ Jeremy Valeriote, a former District of Squamish staffer, former Gibsons councillor, and husband to the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s chief administrative officer (CAO), who came within 60 votes of earning the Greens their first ever seat on the mainland in 2020.
Then there’s the BC Conservatives’ Yuri Fulmer, who, like the party he represents, is a newcomer to the modern B.C. political scene. Originally hailing from Australia, Fulmer’s experience includes investing in 30 companies in various sectors, including Squamish-based natural food company, Chiwis. He is also the current chancellor of Capilano University, which has opened a Squamish-campus on Quest University’s former site.
On the issues: housing
Anyone who lives in Squamish or has tried to move here knows the housing market is tough to break into.
In response to a question on how each candidate will help solve the housing affordability crisis, Fulmer said the answer was simple: “We need to build more homes.”
“We can get projects, but that doesn't fix your problem today if you can't afford your rent this month,” Fulmer said.
“If you can't afford rent this month and we tell you that we're going to build affordable homes for you four years from now; that's nice to have, but that's really not helpful for today.”
He referenced the program announced by BC Conservative leader John Rustad last week dubbed the “Rustad Rebate.” The tax rebate offers a $1,500-a-month exemption on rent or mortgage interest costs from provincial income taxes, set to increase by $500 each year until doubling to its target amount by 2029 to $3,000 per month.
Valeriote responded by saying housing is a basic human right that everyone should have access to.
“The first piece of solving the housing problem is to acknowledge that housing is a key right, not commodity for investors,” Valeriote said.
“The BC Greens have committed $1.5 billion to build 26,000 units of non-market housing.”
Leaning on her six years of experience as the chair of the Whistler Housing Authority, Ford threw her support behind bills 44 and 47 to increase density in communities.
“I do [support the bills] because when you allow homeowners to choose to add gentle density on their single-family property, it allows seniors to age in place, it allows families to grow their housing on their property, without growing their footprint,” she said.
“They can add a suite, they can add a laneway house, and they can keep it affordable, or they can sell it, or they can rent it. That is a benefit to homeowners.”
On the issues: secure care and public health
While the candidates agreed on some topics, one issue which caused a divide was the expansion of secure care in B.C.
Valeriote opposed the expansion of secure care across the province, stating its success rate was “not acceptable.”
“There are horrible stories out there about what addiction can do, and those stories are tragic, but those kinds of things are not the reason to have a reactionary approach,” said Valeriote.
“We're already committing 20,000 British Columbians per year into involuntary care. BC Greens do not believe in expanding it, as both these parties have said they will do, because it has a 3% success rate. That is not acceptable. That is not something that we should continue to do. This involuntary care happens in correctional institutions, which is not the right place for it.
“I think our policies will be much more humane and much more sensible.”
Fulmer took an alternative view, endorsing secure care and passionately defending that people with addictions should be subjected to the same treatment wait times as people with a broken leg.
“I accept [the expansion] profoundly. We have to admit drug addiction is a disease, and it's a disease that, at its worst, needs the rest of us to show empathy, care and support and sometimes that care has to be tough love and it has to be helping people at the worst moment of their lives,” he said.
“If you're an addict and you're sick and you go for treatment, a recovery bed is eight and a half months away. Can you imagine if somebody showed up at a hospital with a broken leg and we said treatment is eight and a half months away?
“It's unacceptable and we need to do more.”
Ford took a personal approach to say that everyone knows someone who has been affected by toxic drug abuse—for her, it’s her uncle.
“This is a really difficult topic because I think that it's heartbreaking when you know someone who has been affected by toxic drug abuse. I have an uncle who we don't know where he is, but he's been living on the streets for about 10 years. We hope he's OK, and I really hope that someone is out there taking care of him,” she said.
“This government has proposed a compassionate, balanced approach for people who have been affected either by addictions or traumatic brain injury or a one-time recreational use of the toxic drug.
“Every one of us has been touched by this, and we need a balanced approach … involuntary care is an important piece of the spectrum of care, and this government has taken this very seriously.”
All candidates were strongly opinionated about the need to keep the public health system public, with Fulmer stating that some services are better off private, using Life Labs as an example of a public service offered by a private company—though Life Labs does not operate in Squamish.
“What we have proposed is that some health care services may be better done by private doctors. Let me give you an example; if you go and get blood taken today at Life Labs, that's a private company and they turn around the results on the same day,” Fulmer said.
“The reason we do that is because there are areas where the private sector can do it more affordable and more efficiently ... and blood blood testing is one great example of that.”
Ford also mentioned that there are “very small cases” where some private healthcare centres work with the system.
“That is part of a wholesome health care system,” she said.
On the issues: Gas prices and regional transport
Despite each supporting the need for reduced gas prices and increased regional transport, this was the first issue of the night where subtle jabs were thrown among candidates.
Fulmer was quick in his response to say that they needed an “inquiry to sort out what’s going on” and that they “need to do it quick, stop talking, let's just get on with this.”
Valeriote shared his frustrations over paying the same price for fuel in Squamish as in Vancouver, despite having no regional transit as a bonus—something that he wants to change immediately.
But it was Ford who threw the first jab after she explained her plans to level out the gas and regional transit playing field by implementing “a fuel surcharge which will pay for regional transit.”
“[This is] so that local communities don't have to pay for the regional transit; it will come out of the surcharge out of fuel sold in the corridor,” she said.
“Unfortunately, you have to have a member in government to deliver that regional implemented system and the BC Greens cannot implement a regional transit system if they are not in government; it just doesn't work that way.”
On the issues: taxes
Candidates were asked by a member of the audience if it was fair for the government to take over half of a person’s income for taxes.
Fulmer, who was the most vocal about what he sees as high taxes in B.C., said that reducing taxes was necessary to keep people in the province.
“I don't think it's fair [for the government] to take 52.5% because they actually took 53.5%. It makes people not want to live here,” he said.
“One-third of British Columbians of working age are 'seriously considering moving province'”, he said. “Not ‘vaguely considering,’ they're not ‘thinking about it,’ they're seriously considering moving provinces.
“They're not doing that because this isn't the most spectacular place on earth; they're doing it because they can't afford to live here, and the tax is overwhelming.
“We have the fourth highest tax jurisdiction in Northern America, that's after 50 states, all the provinces and territories. We need a lower tax break.”
Valeriote said his frustrations were around wealthy corporations paying “very little tax” and the provincial budget being $89 million and “not seeing any value for it.”
Meanwhile, Ford opposed the negative views around taxes by encouraging people to remember taxes pay for services.
“Nobody wants to pay more taxes, that's for sure. But what I do enjoy from knowing that I'm paying my taxes is that not only will I have the services that I need, my family and my friends will have the services that they need,” she said.
“What we're seeing from the taxes that we do pay, is a government that has supported people in every different way that we have heard that this province has said we need support in.”
On the issues: climate and humanitarianism
Wrapping up the evening was a question from the audience on how each candidate and party would act boldly to address climate and humanitarianism issues
Valeriote said he understood the need to do more for the community and its residents.
“I think it's really important to recognize that when we don't act, that when we say well act later, what we're doing is endangering the health of all our residents and the future of our children. This is an existential crisis,” he said.
Being a relatively new party, Fulmer said the BC Conservatives are “indebted to no-one."
“We can do things that haven't been done before. We can try things that haven't been tried before. We don't have the baggage that other political parties have. We are in a humanitarian crisis. We are in a climate crisis. We lost 400,000 acres of British Columbian forest last year due to forest fires,” Fulmer said.
“We've got a crisis, and we need actual leadership.”
Despite agreeing with Fulmer's message, Ford went on the attack to question a comment made by BC Conservatives’ party leader John Rustad.
“I would say it's great that you're not beholden to the BC Liberals, but your leader, John Rustad, has said that climate change is not human-caused. How do you follow a leader who says that climate change isn't something you need to worry about?” she asked Fulmer.
In rebuttal, he defended his leader saying Rustad “never said there isn’t a crisis.”
“He's never said that it's made up. John comes from a community in the north and believes that climate change is real, we all believe that climate change is real. Come on now, there is not a person In British Columbia wouldn't recognize that climate change is real, and John is among them.
“What John said is it is not the 'only' crisis in British Columbia, and with that Jen, I do agree.”
Takeaways
While many audience members might have come to the all-candidates meeting in support of one particular person, it was clear when they left that the debate gave them much to think about.
Throughout the night, there were spatterings of applause from the audience after candidates spoke, including for Ford when she talked of getting regional transit done, for Fulmer when he spoke about cutting taxes, and for all three when they said what reconciliation meant to them.
Audience members The Squamish Chief spoke with after the event said they were surprised with how many issues the candidates agreed upon, expecting there to be more of a split between each party.
Vote
Residents can currently vote at their nearest district electoral office; the Squamish office is located at 38144 Second Ave. It is open from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Advance voting is available at:
•Squamish Valley Golf Club—Sunday, Oct 13, Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct 15 and 16.
•Totem Hall—Saturday, Oct. 12.
