Other than a new welcome greeting. this one from Elder Murray Smith and a new moderator in Mary Denton from CFNR, there wasn't much of a change in the tone of discussion on night two of the candidates debates, the Thursday night session tasked with exploring issues outside of the urban area of Prince Rupert/Port Edward.
The night which was streamed live and again broadcast on CityWest cable, featured the same format as Wednesday, with the candidates allowed an opening and a closing presentation. the candidates offering up some themes which mirrored much of what they stated on Wednesday,
And as the night previous did, theThursday evening event also offered the opportunity to challenge with either a question or statement.
All three of the candidates, the NDP's Jennifer Rice, BC Liberal Roy Jones Junior and Libertarian Jody Craven seemingly had strong marks in math during their studies, realizing that they would get more time to share their message through a two minute statement as opposed to the thirty second question opportunity.
With many candidates making use of the statement option offered by debate organizers and none asking any actual challenge questions.
Roy Jones Junior had the first speaking opportunity on the evening, noting of the difficult time for the campaign and the challenges that COVID presents for the candidates, observing as to how they would not be visiting a number of communities this time around.
Some of the same territory from night one made for much of the content on the second night for Jody Craven focusing on his belief of much corruption at all levels of government and sharing some of his thoughts on how the COVID-19 situation is being handled.
Mr. Craven making note as to how lockdowns and other COVID related measures from government are causing many issues for Society.
Ms. Rice once again relayed many of the NDP achievements over the last three years, putting some attention towards the work of the Horgan government and the 'unflappable' Doctor Bonnie Henry, noting of the many programs that the government has put in place so far.
Some of her other opening themes involved work on reconciliation, housing and transportation, frequently noting how the BC Liberals had handled similar files previous. Her main theme in her opening that of how the riding needs a strong voice for area residents and how she hopes to continue with her work of the last seven years.
Among the questions and themes which stimulated the most debate were those of economic development particularly those of the fishery and forestry.
Mr. Jones made note of some of his work towards options in handling the seal issue that the fishery faces, as well as the need to reduce the impact of government measures on logging particularly on Haida Gwaii, calling for more mills and more value added product, generating employment.
Mr Craven was given the opportunity to take on the question of the impact of COVID on rural economies and how they can recover.
He first relayed his desire that the population look for true facts and not what he referred to as fake facts, returning to this comments of concern with the Liberal government, observing how he believes the National Public health officer Dr. Tam works for the World Health Organization which works for Communist China. He suggested that by ignoring fake news designed to keep the Prime Minister in power that all levels of government could provide the financial resources that should be given to the communities in need.
Concerns over rural health care, particularly towards opioids and mental health in rural communities was the question for Ms. Rice and it proved to be one of the most controversial topics on the night.
For Ms. Rice's contribution she reviewed some of the recent work of the province towards those issues and the improved resources in transportation to health care that has been delivered, as well as the commitment to hiring more health professionals and provide more assistance to rural communities.
Mr. Craven challenged some of her comments, suggesting that the provincial government is handing out clean drugs like cocaine keeping people on drugs and not helping them, he also called for better assistance for nurses in hospitals and more resources for seniors.
Mr. Jones also took up the charge on how the NDP have handled health care, calling attention to nursing shortages, doctor shortages and highlighted some of the challenges that COVID has brought for health care in the region.
Ms. Rice was allowed one response to the two challengers and their comments, speaking to Mr. Craven's comments on drugs, she observed that having a drug addiction is not a crime and the opioid crisis has been running parallel to the COVID situation, something which has provided for challenges reviewing some of the measures that the NDP government has put in place over the last three years.
Jody Craven returned to the drug issue, noting that neither he nor Mr. Jones had stated previously that there was any mention or indication that those who may be addicted are criminals.
The candidates also explored the Housing issues and the challenges that they present both in the rural areas and in the urban area of Prince Rupert.
Mr. Jones made note of the need for additional funding for residents taking care of elders and seniors and how there is a need for a change to how the process works now.
Mr. Craven added to the housing theme by noting that Canada needs to stop giving funding to countries beyond our borders and to redirect that money towards the needs that are found across Canada, the province and locally.
Ms. Rice also addressed housing, putting forward some of the measures that the NDP government have taken on to address housing issues, such as rental caps, rental freezes and renter's rebates and initiatives for builders to build a range of affordable housing options. She also repeated her comments of Wednesday as to the NDP's initiative that has seen housing built for Indigenous communities,.
A question for Jody Craven on what professional supports he would like to see provided for LGBTQ residents and particularly for those of youth elicited a reply that there are laws in Canada and everyone should be treated equal , calling for an end to pandering to special groups, he then returned to his theme of eliminating foreign funding to redirect those monies to other issues.
Tourism in the era of COVID, the need for better internet connectivity gave all of the candidates an opportunity to relay how what they would like to see put in place to improve the conditions of today.
BC Ferries made for another key topic for the candidates, with Ms. Rice using the issue to make note of the efforts that the NDP government have taken to reverse many of the previous Liberal era measures, including fare reversals and frozen fares as well as to change the mandate fo the Ferry Corporation to serve BC communities.
Mr. Jones who lives on Haida Gwaii commented on how the changes had made for uncomfortable travel for area resident, he called for the Northern Routes to provide the same level of service and amenities that the southern routes currently host.
He also called attention to the state of the local terminal in Prince Rupert which he had concerns about when it comes to comfort for passengers. He also called for a rethink as to how freight is delivered to Haida Gwaii and coastal communities, suggesting an increase in th euse of barges for transportation of goods, to relieve some of the stress on the passenger service.
While the foucs for the night was on Haida Gwaii, the Heiltsuk Nation and other rural areas, two other Prince Rupert issues did make their way into the Thursday event.
The first concerns over the proposed new Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace and the impact it will have on services to Prince Rupert.
Addressed to candidate Craven, he called for upgrades to the Prince Rupert hospital improving the equipment in place and adding to the staffing of nurses and doctors.
The status of Prince Rupert's drinking water and the infrastructure to fix it made for another lively topic of discussion.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice noted how the water in the city was in poor condition and used the opportunity to respond to a submitted question to relay the list of funding grants totalling 24 million dollars that the province has delivered in recent years to the City of Prince Rupert, the provincial contribution towards the large number of water related infrastructure issues facing the city.
Jody Craven one of the two challengers for the MLA's North Coast seat also had some sharp words for the City Council and Mayor, noting that he travels the province regularly and his observation was that he finds the water in Prince Rupert is the worst and something that needs to be cleaned up.
A few of the other themes of the evening included:
Care for Indigenous youth and in particular the issues of Children in Ministry care also brought forward an expansive response from Ms. Rice who recounted some of the measures introduced by the NDP government that are working towards change from the practices of the past.
Climate Change and environmental issues also brought forward responses from all three candidates who approached the topic in somewhat different directions; the two challengers offering up some differing concepts towards the review of government measures that was outlined by Ms. Rice.
Thursday's forum can be reviewed here.
You can review some more notes of the 2020 North Coast campaign from our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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