SOOKE EKOOS SPRING SING
Ekoos will be performing in two concerts in Sooke and in Victoria.
NEWS MIRROR
Editorial
Page 8
Election
Page 5
Sports/stats
Black Press
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
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Sooke All Candidates’ meeting well attended Pirjo Raits
Sooke News Mirror
Britt Santowski photos
Auction action
Maddox Danylchuk, above, admires a gift basket she would love to give to her mom. Below, the Trounce Alley Barbershop Quartet entertains the attendees at the Rotary Auction and Spring Fair on May 4 at SEAPARC.
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All three candidates running for MLA in the Juan de Fuca riding showed up in Sooke for an All Candidates’ Meeting. It wasn’t a debate as such, but rather a forum where each could express their opinions or policies on questions posed by the audience. About 160 people arrived at the Prestige convention centre on May 1 to listen to what incumbent NDP John Horgan, Liberal Kerrie Reay and Green Party candidate Carlos Serra had to say. Moderator David Stocks and emcee Michael Nyikes kept the candidates and the questions to a strict 45-second time frame. John Horgan was first to provide an opening statement and he discounted many of the Liberal party’s statements on jobs, the economy and budgets. He ended his introduction by stating that 2013 is the time to send the Liberals into the opposition. Green Party candidate Carlos Serra, a new face on the local/provincial political scene, said he had a desire to discover the extent that B.C. politics has moved away from sound reason. He said he supported a number of green initiatives including value-added industry, green housing as well as social, environmental and fiscal responsibility. He said his list of initiatives didn’t come from the Green Party
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but from the Sooke Official Community Plan. Liberal Kerrie Reay introduced herself and said she will bring leadership, a strong work ethic and that she believed in a strong economy, fiscal responsibility and a secure tomorrow. Questions put forth by the audience included such diverse topics as; sustainable resources, the export of raw logs; each party’s policy on alternative energy; jobs for youth; GMO foods; teachers’ contracts sand education; services for handicapped and integration of ministry departments; traffic on Hwy. 14; fracking; satellite government offices; salmon farming; preserving the Muir Creek watershed; health care; amalgamation and homelessness. Horgan said there was more involvement and good questions in Sooke than at any of the other all candidates’ meetings he had attended so far. When asked how serious each candidate was about fiscal responsibility Horgan said tax increases would include a one per cent increase in corporate income tax; a minimum tax on banks and increased income tax on individuals earning over $150,000 per year. Reay said the B.C. Liberals are committed to control spending and balancing the budget. She said that a tax on B.C. banks would also mean a tax on credit unions. The Liberals would
also freeze personal income taxes. Serra said the Greens have never had the pleasure of running a debt. To a question in regard to amalgamation, each of the candidates basically stated that it was up to local government, although Serra said the Green Party would not support amalgamation as regionalization or centralization of power is not in the best interests; Horgan said there is an anti-amalgamation sentiment in the community and it is up to council to talk face-to-face. Reay said it is up to local government to engage with the community on amalgamation. Asked how people could trust what the leaders are saying, Reay responded by saying the record for the B.C. Liberals stands. “I think we’ve done a good job growing B.C., we’ve met our platforms and we are planning for the future.” Serra said, “The Green Party would love the opportunity to break its promises.” He said he’s been a politician for less than two weeks and that clarity and truth in politics requires courage. Horgan said he is trying to address cynicism in politics. He was inspired by Tommy Douglas and said that voting for anyone was about who best reflected your values. Voting day is Tuesday, May 14. Advance voting May 8 through Tuesday, May 11, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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