With the Oct. 19 federal election date less than a month away, the Herald spoke with the three local candidates whose parties all sit neck and neck in the polls at the federal level to find out what they’re hearing from voters.


Biosolids, the economy and health care are just a taste of the issues the local candidates for the Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola riding have been hearing about along the campaign trail.

Incumbent Conservative candidate Dan Albas said he’s been hearing concerns in Merritt from ranchers and the forestry sector of an anti-trade government being elected.

Liberal hopeful Karley Scott said a lot of what she’s heard in Merritt surrounds the issue of biosolids.

“It’s not the only issue, but I think that the group who are advocating on behalf of being heard are very effective at being heard, and so I hear a lot from them,” she said, noting the Friends of the Nicola Valley anti-biosolids group wants the federal government to get involved in the issue.

New Democrat Angelique Wood also said the biosolids issue dominates the conversations she’s had with Merritt voters.

Although biosolids are regulated at the provincial level, both Scott and Wood have ideas about how the federal government could get involved.

Scott said the government could get involved in the conversation, and after hearing about the issue believes there is a lack of impartial science regarding biosolids.

“One of the Liberal Party’s platform pieces that is very clear is that policies will be evidence-based and they will be driven by science,” she said.

In order to help deal with the biosolids issue at the federal level, Wood said the NDP plans to reinstate protections taken out of the Fisheries Act by the Conservative government.

JOBS

Currently Canada sits in the midst of a recession, with the dollar in the mid-seventies compared to the U.S. and oil dropping to about $40 a barrel.

When it comes to the economy, Scott said she’s hearing a lot of concerns about jobs around the riding.

“People are feeling the pinch because our economy is stagnant, it’s just not growing, so that’s also something that people talk about — needing good jobs in their communities and an economy that’s growing and robust,” Scott said.

She pointed to Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau’s election promise to invest $125 billion — up from the current $65 billion — over the next decade in federal infrastructure as an area of growing the economy.

“We’re in a recession, and when you have record low interest rates and you’re in a recession economists agree that investing in infrastructure is going to be the best injection and is going to provide the best return on growing an economy quickly,” she said.

In the area of jobs, Albas said the government needs to focus on supporting the ones people have at the moment, noting mining is a critical industry in Logan Lake.

“A Conservative government is the only one that openly supports resource communities like Merritt, Princeton and Logan Lake,” Albas said.

Albas said that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair’s talk of raising corporate taxes will make it difficult for companies to be profitable and avoid making layoffs.

The NDP is calling for an increase in Canada’s corporate tax rate from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent. The federal corporate tax rate fell from 21 per cent in 2006 to 15 per cent in 2012, under Harper’s Conservatives.

Wood said the NDP wants to see more diversification in the economy from the oil and gas sector.

“We’re always told in our own banking and our own lives don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and the Harper government has been determined to put all its money in the oil sands, all our money in the oil sands,” she said noting the NDP wants more attention paid to infrastructure and manufacturing.

FORESTRY

In the forestry industry, prices have fallen and the allowable annual cut is likely coming down, further putting stress on the industry.

When it comes to the forestry industry, Albas said that every industry has a different need depending on the global and local economy, so Canada needs to continue making targeted investments.

Scott said the lumber industry in Merritt is one she’s been trying to learn more about and would like to hear more on forestry issues.

Wood said the NDP is a strong supporter of finding ways to keep dollars circulating within the economy, and the party is proposing innovation subsidies, which could help initiatives that deal with processing wood waste.

“Those are the kinds of things that we can do to not only make our logging and our forestry industry more sustainable, but we can also use it as a way to dig money out of stuff that’s just slash piles,” Wood said.

HEALTH

Health care is an issue that Wood says she’s heard a lot about in this riding.

The NDP say they want to negotiate a new health accord with the provinces to replace the one that ended last year.

Albas said the Liberals’ intentions to raise taxes for Canadians making more than $200,000 a year will put a challenge on recruiting international doctors.

Doctor recruitment has been a challenge in rural communities such as Merritt and Logan Lake.

Scott said there needs to be a co-ordinated effort where the federal government is playing a leadership role on attracting doctors to communities.

“Medical human resources is an area where the federal government does have jurisdiction and this federal government has not been exercising that jurisdiction, and we need to,” Scott said.

WHAT ELSE?

When asked what local issue on the candidates’ radars that isn’t getting enough attention Albas said he feels the other parties aren’t paying attention to supporting private sector, which help supports public programs.

Wood said Canada needs to invest more in its youth in order to retain them and foster job growth in rural communities.

Scott replied that finding solutions to growing the economy is the election issue that underlies all others for voters she’s talked with in the riding.