Thread by @NDickinsonWilde

#BCPoli Time for #yyj's #Langford Juan de Fuca riding's #AllCandidatesMeeting #Sooke #EastSooke #Shirley #PortRenfrew. hosted by Westshore & Sooke chambers & Sooke Multi Belief.
Candidates:
@GordBaird_LJDF
@KellyInLangford
@MitziDeanBC standing for John Horgan
Tyson Strandlund

#BCPoli While Karen is introducing the candidates, my conflict of interest statement....
This election I'm @GordBaird_LJDF's Volunteer Coordinator. So obviously biased. However, for the first section I will be #livetweeting as accurately and fairly as possible.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q1 Homelessness/Mental Health/addiction
Gord: Deeply intertwined. Homelessness causes alienation from society. Housing has become unattainable. Green party supports a means tested rental support. GLI would provide security so no one is left behind.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q1 Homelessness/Mental Health/addiction
Kelly: These are seperate issues. Need to put those with mental health and brain issues into facilities with supports. Need to treat those with addiction that want to get better. Seperate from "enablers".

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q1 Homelessness/Mental Health/addiction
Mitzi for John: "His heart is here with his community"
Too many lives have been lost to this crisis. We're fortunate to have minister of Mental Health & Addictions. We were seeing a difference - 2019 OD down 30%

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q1 Homelessness/Mental Health/addiction
Mitzi: Working with Dr Henry will lead to success. Need to scale up response with full spectrum of care. Continue to increase care options including online.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q1 Homelessness/Mental Health/addiction
Tyson: Echo that these are seperate issues. Homelessness is not limited to those with mental health or addiction problems. Addiction has always been dangerous, but more true than ever due to toxic drug supply.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q1 Homelessness/Mental Health/addiction
Tyson: Call to end (finger quotes) War on Drugs. Police are doing the wrong tasks. Defund police and move funding to mental health and disability supports. Housing should be a human right not a commodity.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Kelly: A small business owner like a million other BCians. 25% of smb might not survive next year. We need to do something. Gov needs to allow business to stimulate economy. Gov hiring is a liability. Remove PST for next year.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Kelly: If we lose small businesses, we lose the economy. Feds have been providing phenomenal support, but not all have made it and a lot of our 1 gig/pay cheque away. Province needs to step in. Been fighting for this already

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Mitzi for John: This pandemic has been challenging for many. Our friends and family have lost jobs. We saw critical supplies cut off. Saw need to buy local and support local businesses. John continues to view approach as 2 fold

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Mitzi for John: BCians have said we can't rebuild the way we were. We plan to invest 8bn to kickstart our economy by building new infrastructure. Connecting SMB to mentors. Expanding local food chains. Tourism extra hard hit

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Tyson: Despite efforts of ruling classes, capitalism is in a rocky straights. Canada has 262 per million deaths versus China's 3.4. Would end O&G subsidies. China has brought 800mn out of poverty in last 20 years.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Tyson: Eliminate taxes on <40k incomes. minimum wage 20/hr. End public funding of private and religious schools. Need full labour standards for domestic, ag, migratory workers. 100k housing plan would create jobs.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Gord: Business person for 25 years. One voice with one set of solutions. Need to mix ideas. No one expected this pandemic, but it has shown us our vulnerabilities. BC has been fortunate to have a lot of collaboration initially

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Gord: Snap election has delayed supports rolling out. Green party supports immediate rent subsidy for small business. This has also highlighted the need to push quality broadband to all communities.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q2 Business/Econ Growth
Gord: These are short term. For climate emergency, we need to transition no later than '45. We can't leave people behind but we can't leave youth behind by not transitioning away from O&G. Need rapid electrification.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Mitzi for John: John has been passionate about this. years in the making. Remains an important issue, see progress but still see the problem. 700 affordable housing units in westshore. See progress, but struggle continues

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Mitzi for John: capping rents until '21. Rent or own, we are commited to our 10 year homes for BC Plan. Includes a range of housing, family sizes, supportive housing, modular housing, mixed development options.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Mitzi for John: Westshore didn't have a transition house, people had to go to Sooke or Victoria.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Tyson: pushing for 100k units of social housing. End homelessness and precarity. Ban "repugnant practices" such as renovictions and demovictions. Ban all evictions during pandemic. Another island - Cuba

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Tyson: "Threw off their chains". We can do the same. Free quality post secondary education. Need to eliminate private for profit carehomes. A system in which seniors are treated as sources of profit causes negligence.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Gord: We can agree that BCians should not have to choose between food and housing. At todays rental rates I couldn't afford my place. Many will say growing the economy will lift all boats. But growth doesn't solve all ills.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Gord: Market driven housing is not enough. Need to expand access to diverse housing. expand non-market, supportive housing. Support co-op housing. Work with local govs to expand the missing middle - town houses & tri-plexes

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Ugh being unbaised includes fairly equal reporting time... sometimes challenging.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Kelly: Seniors deserve to be treated better. The longer seniors live at home, the longer they live with better quality of life. Grand mother suits are good for all parts of the family - enriches children's lives and seniors

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q3 Youth/Fam/Senior Housing
Kelly: will provide 7k tax credits for secondary suits. Suits will also add inventory to the rental market. Housing is insane in BC. CBC says housing has gone up 13% in the last year. That's a problem. Spec tax is failing.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Tyson: Personal automobile is not something that came naturally as the primary mode of transportation. O&G has long pushed and promoted it. Deliberately impaired public transport. Public transit is safer and less GHG.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Tyson: Huge supporter of restoring VI Rail Corridor. Fight to eliminate bus and rail fairs. This will reduce traffic thereby increasing speed for those that still drive, and reducing GHG.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Gord: 18 months ago switch from car to E-Bike. I ride to clients in sooke, shawnigan, gulf islands. It has made me keenly aware of transportation winners & loosers. This riding isn't a stellar model. Langford has done well

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Gord: Goose is great, but highway is 7k shorter. The funding model of transit is broken. Need to build multimodal routes. Mayor Young was working on bus issue. Need regional transit body to overcome fractured decisions

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Kelly: Westshore transportation is a major issue. We won't solve the issue out here with one swoop. The MacKenzie overpass was needed - 25 years too late. Developments are happening, need infrastructure for them.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Kelly: Royal Bay has nearly 3k living units. Bear Moutain, Westhills etc. add more. Passenger ferry and rail would help. Trolley in langford was great, teenagers loved it. Need to change approach. Props to Gord on biking.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Kelly: need to move jobs to westshore. We can do many jobs at home. Keep people at home, incetivize local business development. Hop on a trolley, rail etc. Need to make it *easy*

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Mitzi for John: Previously I lived in Shirley. There has been a big increase in traffic in the last decade. Childcare is often a commute as well as jobs. Families want and need more time together not gridlock.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q4 Transportation/livability
Mitzi for John: Gridlock is bad for env & business. Region is growing. Trans & Safety upgrades like Hwy 14 and priority bus lanes. MacKenzie interchange is saving up to 30 minutes each way. SI transportation strategy.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Gord: I started 15 years ago with my business. Gretzky said, you need to skate to where the puck will be. Successive governments haven't passed the puck. CRD has never had to filter our water. The increase risk of ash & warm

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Gord: water in reservoir, risks a 1bn investment requirement. We need to fund infra projects to adapt. Need to place a value on ecosystems. end O&G subsidies - invest in innovation. PST exemptions. PACE program for housing

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Kelly: I'm new to politics. I don't have climate expertise. I understand that LNG burns cleaner than coal. Need to make people want to do it. Need to show the differences. COVID has given opportunity to see the benefits.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Kelly: We're lucky to live here. West coast has tremendous waves and wind. Not as much sun, but opportunities for alt sources to wean us off. Need to fund science. Need to be world leaders.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Mitzi for John: We are in a climate crisis. We need to protect our land, sea and air. Next years are critical. Clean BC is the most ambitious strategy on the continent. Legal requirement exists for gov accountability.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Mitzi for John: People want to reduce their emissions. We will continue to provide rebates for e-vehicles, home efficiency upgrades. Face out single use plastics in the province. Implement Old Growth Strategic Review recs.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Tyson: Micheal Parenti: "Dead gold bricks for the few, toxic slag heaps for the many". Destruction of the environment is not an aspect of capitalism, it is inherent. Sexism and poverty are also inherent in capitalism.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q5: Climate Change to 2030
Tyson: Need socialism and the realization of democracy. Need not just legislature but in the streets to force bourgeois parties. Need to end hydrocarbon emissions now. End fracking, LNG, Site C, TMX. Need public transit.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Kelly: Learned through Westshore chamber how to deal with indigenous peoples. How we conduct our meetings What is the right way to do the acknowledgement. Don't worry about the wording, gestures. Approach it w open heart/mind, be genuine

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Kelly: Trying to increase indig participation in chamber. Dont' need commitees. Need to just start by asking. And don't stop - might say no 20 times. Need to be respectful and approach people.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Mitzi for John: Shirley Alphonse is John's personal elder. Proud to have brought UNDRIP in. Shared tissues in the legislature. Need to bring more languages into the BC School system.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Mitzi for John: Guiding principal is lasting reconciliation. NDP would move for long term aggreements. Improve on internal work to ensure new leg is consistent with UNDRIP.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Tyson: Louis Riel is a relative. Fought for rights and was hung by Prime Minister JAM. Proud to be running for the communists who continue this fight. Many Canadians don't know that JAM was an aryan surpremacist.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Tyson: Not just history. Canada is stil denying rights to indigenous *nations*. Demand an immediate end to all resource projects on indigenous land without consulation and permission.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Gord: Thanks Kelly for those word. Respect intention and genuine are required. We also need meaningful and authentic actions. Collaboration is the only way forward within UNDRIP. The biggest road block is fearfulness.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Gord: BC Gov committed to UNDRIP. To date, we have changed *one* law to reflect that. Public service sector has few guidelines. Need to define pre-prior-informed consent. Need action plan to actually implement UNDRIP.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF Q6 Indigenous
Gord: Need to preserve salmon and rebuild fisheries. Need to reform the colonialist Min of Family & Children. Need indigenous doctors and cultural training for all medical care providers.

#BCPoli #AllCandidates #LDJF and that's a wrap for this evening. As usual, I'll be tagging what I consider good. I won't tag the negative, but any candidates, I'm happy to discuss if you want to/you're comfortable with responding.

So firstly... Sucks that John Horgan didn't feel it worth his time to be present in our riding. Yes, leader of the party so a lot of out-riding pulls. But with Zoom, he 100% could have if he made it a priority. So major negative there.

Met Tyson last fed elxn. knew of Gord pre-election & been working with him, Obviously familiar w Horgan. But didn't really know anything about @KellyInLangford

Kelly: good work, you made a good impression & I appreciated your candor. Especially liked your seniors answer.

Tyson... well. I feel he did quite a bit better in presentation versus federal debate. But in terms of substance, too much jargon and capitalism bad, communism good. Solution with no plan. I'm young and leftish, but I don't see Communism as a miracle panacea and he didn't sell it

I will note, I hate the non-confrontational debate format. Name calling and Trump style politics suck... however for a solid policy debate you do need to highlight the negatives too including of your opponents/standing government.
Tyson was the only one that crossed that today

I'm not going to give Tyson negative marks for that, because policies have real consequences and real sources and I think some degree of accountability and owning your choices is needed. "in the past" or "due to decisions" just doesn't adequtely portray things in a complex world

Others have pointed out the flaws with the BC NDP childcare dollars being cutoff below the median wage for southern vancouver island families with children already... so I won't repeat the math, but yeah those "saving up to $$"s are getting a lot of work there.

In some ways, Mitzi had the hardest position - standing in for the incumbent. Like ouch. You know lots of people are going to be judging you negatively out the door for that.

Nonetheless, considering the material she had to work with, I think @MitziDeanBC did a good job at presenting it, and I would say did the best at the performance aspect of politics today. Good job putting your experience to work for you.

#BCPoli Was there a winner? Given the format, it wasn't condusive to a single winner. Without back and forth hard to have a winner. That said, I think that @GordBaird_LJDF won it, but I am biased so take that with a grain of salt.

Despite Mitzi's hard work, I would say the loser was John Horgan. Not being present even with a quality stand-in... just says bad things about prioritization of riding and level of "this riding is mine and safe it therefor doesn't matter"

If we were just measuring sentiment change, then at my table anyways, @KellyInLangford was the winner. Went from a mostly blank to a significant preference over Horgan IMO.

One of the great things about the @BCGreens is that it is not a whipped party. So local candidates actually matter. Whereas has been painfully proven with the NDP, local candidates will 100% go back on their words because of party decisions and vote with the party - aka Site C.

There are no perfect candidates, nor are there perfect parties. Humans are flawed and all we build inherits those flaws. But I'm still confident of my choice this election and it's gonna be an interesting next 9 days for sure.