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Vol. 8 • Issue 10
Friday, August 7, 2015
1 2 FOR OTWEAR
FO ON ALL OTHING & CL
Nelson trio teams up for Sinister 7 See Page 19
New Harrop ferry to be built See Page 5
the City of This Friday, August 7th, mm erce will Nelson and Chamber of Co Bu s siness be holding a Stores To Sh, ore 4:30 to 7 m Appreciation celebration fro in the Hall Street Plaza. e great eats, Come on by for som eet’s terrific drinks and wares from Hall Str venues! selection of dining and retail
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! In-store Specials! Kootenay Columbia candidates (from left): Bill Green of the Green Party, incumbent Conservative David Wilks, Liberal Don Johnston, and New Democrat Wayne Stetski. The South Okanagan-West Kootenay candidates are (from left) Liberal Connie Denesiuk, New Democrat Dick Cannings and Conservative Marshall Neufeld.
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Federal campaign kicks off Four-way race in Kootenay-Columbia riding, which now includes Nelson, Kaslo, Salmo
ALEX COOPER Revelstoke Review The longest election campaign in modern Canadian history is officially underway, but for candidates in Kootenay-Columbia, it started months ago. Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the 42nd federal election campaign Sunday morning. At 78 days, it’s the longest since the 1870s, when rolling votes took place around the country. MP David Wilks responded to the official launch of the campaign with a news release sent out by his predecessor Jim Abbott, who is listed as his senior campaign advisor and media spokesperson. It mostly repeated the words of Harper, who on Sunday said the campaign would be about the economy and security. “Canadians will be asked to judge who has the proven experience today to keep our economy strong and our country safe,” Harper said. Wilks, for his part, stated he was looking forward to the campaign and introducing himself to residents within the new riding boundaries. Kootenay-Columbia is bigger this
election, with the addition of Nelson, Salmo and Kaslo, adding about 20,000 people to the riding. The vote split in 2011 inside the new boundaries was 50 per cent Conservative, 38.9 per cent NDP, 6.4 per cent Green, 3.5 per cent Liberal, and 1.2 per cent independent. Four candidates are vying for election this year. Wilks is the incumbent, having sat in parliament since the spring of 2011. Wilks spent 20 years in the RCMP and was the mayor of Sparwood for six years prior to being elected federally. In Ottawa, he has sat on the committees for aboriginal affairs, official languages, statutory regulations, justice and health. He is also chair of the Conservative law enforcement caucus. His private member’s bill calling for mandatory minimum sentences in the kidnapping of young people was adopted. Wilks was unavailable for an interview, but Abbott said the Conservative’s campaign will be more relaxed in August, before ramping up in September and October. He said the long campaign will put Continued on page 24
Green Party still seeking candidate in South Okanagan-West Kootenay
STEVE KIDD Penticton Western News In the new riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay, one party is having trouble finding a candidate, while three others have long been unofficially on the hustings. “Eleven weeks is a long time for people to listen to the campaigning and to see the signage littering the countryside,” said Liberal candidate Connie Denesiuk. “I think it is going to be wearisome for the public, but at the same time, I am excited to be kicking off the campaign locally.” The new riding sees Castlegar, Greater Trail, the Slocan Valley and the Boundary join Oliver, Osoyoos, and Penticton in the new riding. With incumbent Conservative MP Dan Albas choosing to run in the new Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola riding, and Alex Atamanenko, NDP incumbent for the former BC Southern Interior riding retiring, the field was left open. The three current challengers for the riding are Denesiuk, Marshall Neufeld for the Conservatives, Richard Cannings for the NDP and Brian Gray as an independent. The Green Party have
yet to name a candidate, but say they are planning to field one. Cannings said he expects the riding will see a hard fought race between the Conservatives and the NDP. “It gives us a riding where we have a real chance of winning. We think we have a very good chance of defeating the Conservatives here,” said Cannings. Neufeld, who was selected as the Conservative candidate in 2014, has been campaigning for some time. “I have been door-knocking for a couple of months now,” said Neufeld, adding that he doesn’t expect the lengthy election period to affect his plans, though he admits it will be a hard battle for the Conservatives to take the new riding. “It is certainly going to be a tighter race. I believe it is going to be a tight race between the leadership being offered by Stephen Harper and the economic and foreign affairs policies of Thomas Mulcair.” Political pundits atthreehundredeight.com have South Okanagan West Kootenay heavily slanted to the NDP, projecting 47.5 per cent of the vote. Conservative is projected at 29.4 Continued on page 24
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