With advance voting already underway and just over a week until election day, the Sea to Sky鈥檚 three provincial election candidates traded policy points and gentle barbs but kept things mostly genial during a Whistler virtual all-candidates meeting on Oct. 15.
This was the second all-candidates hosted in the Sea to Sky. The first was on Oct. 8, in Squamish.
The two-hour meeting, hosted by Pique, the Whistler Chamber and Arts Whistler, was a dense affair, with the candidates鈥攊ncumbent Liberal Jordan Sturdy, the NDP鈥檚 Keith Murdoch and Green candidate Jeremy Valeriote鈥攕tating their respective cases for more than 200 virtual attendees.
Each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves before fielding questions from moderator Mo Douglas and some of the evening鈥檚 hosts.
Topics of discussion covered everything from Whistler鈥檚 post-COVID economic recovery, regional transit and the opioid crisis to the realities of climate change, food insecurity, endangered species, childcare and more.
A full video of the event will be uploaded to the .
THE COVID CRISIS
In response to a question from Chamber CEO Melissa Pace about support for small businesses rebuilding in the wake of COVID-19, Murdoch, who lives in Vancouver, pointed to financial support and grants already provided by the current NDP government.
The Green platform, meanwhile, proposes a $300-million commercial rent subsidy for small businesses, a retooling of provincial grants and repayable loans for hospitality, said Valeriote, a Whistler resident.
鈥淭his is the time for government spending in this area,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he debt that we鈥檙e racking up is important but absolutely necessary. Cutting taxes is not going to help us repay that debt.鈥�
The BC Liberals have proposed to waive the PST for a year and eliminate the small business tax, among other measures, Sturdy said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got some loan guarantees for businesses in hospitality and tourism to help with cash-flow; we鈥檙e going to keep in place the wholesale pricing, and we鈥檙e working with the feds on a tenant relief package,鈥� he said, adding that the Liberals will also ensure Resort Municipality Initiative funding stays in place.
LABOUR
With more than two-thirds of Whistler businesses saying they won鈥檛 have enough staff this winter, how will the candidates and their parties help the resort rebuild in the wake of COVID?
The labour question must be discussed in broader terms, Valeriote said.
鈥淗ousing is connected to absolutely everything, including social wellbeing and labour,鈥� he said.
鈥淎s your MLA I would work with local governments and BC Housing to get the funding here to build the right kind of housing in the right places at the right time.鈥�
The labour shortage is an 鈥渁cute issue鈥� given the extended border closure, Sturdy said, and the provincial government must work with its federal counterpart to get working holiday visa and other temporary workers back in the province.
鈥淯ltimately I would agree with Jeremy that housing and transportation are key parts to ensure that we have access to the workforce wherever we can, but the workforce for Whistler in particular should be drawn from the region, and that means a quality transportation system is key,鈥� Sturdy said, adding that it will also be important to continue to engage the 鈥測oung and growing population鈥� in Mount Currie moving forward.
Many of the workers coming from Australia or other places are unfamiliar with local labour laws, noted Murdoch, who has been leading a charge to unionize Whistler workers for the last several years.
鈥淐ertainly the main thing that I would do to try to create a long-lasting fix to this challenge is get involved and do an assessment of the provincial nominee program,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think there is great opportunities here for us to offer citizenship to maintain and sustain a workforce within the region, within Whistler.鈥�
CLIMATE CHANGE and ENVIRONMENT
Judging by the submitted questions from the event鈥檚 200-some attendees, climate change and other environmental issues have not been overtaken by COVID concerns in 2020.
A sizable portion of the queries were related in some way to Whistler鈥檚 natural environment, whether it be curbing greenhouse gas emissions, stopping old growth logging, the future of Woodfibre LNG, enhancing parks funding or ending subsidies for oil and gas.
鈥淚f the environment and climate change are your top issues 鈥� then the Green Party is definitely the party for you, and I鈥檓 your candidate,鈥� Valeriote said, noting the influence the party鈥檚 three Green MLAs had on B.C.鈥檚 current climate plan.
鈥淣one of this would have happened without the Green Party鈥檚 influence in this minority government.鈥�
On subsidies for oil and gas, Sturdy said he believes subsidies should be used to help industries get started, 鈥渁nd then at the end of the day we should be weaning these companies off of all subsidies, be it film and television, be it oil and gas.
鈥淚 think that we need to have a level playing field, at the end of the day, for industries right across the province.鈥�
While both Sturdy and Murdoch talked about the various environmental and community processes attached to the Woodfibre LNG project in Squamish鈥檚 Howe Sound, Valeriote was the only candidate to outright oppose it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a good idea to reindustrialize Howe Sound,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the jewel of our region, it represents a whole host of potential for green economy and tourism jobs as well as just a beautiful natural asset, so Woodfibre LNG is a project that is not for the future. It doesn鈥檛 make sense; no thank you.鈥�
REGIONAL TRANSIT
If there was one topic all three candidates found complete agreement on, it was the importance of establishing regional transit in the Sea to Sky corridor.
It鈥檚 an issue near and dear to Sturdy鈥檚 heart, and one he鈥檚 been actively working on for years.
鈥淲e put forward a proposal to the province, we had almost got it there, but unfortunately we had a change in government in 2017, and since then we just haven鈥檛 been able to find that funding formula,鈥� he said.
The NDP wants a funding structure that will be sustainable over the long term, and the funding formula put forward by corridor communities last year included a fuel tax, Murdoch noted.
鈥淪o the NDP is committed to going after the gas companies who are gouging folks within the area [to] create room for a gas tax,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檝e already spoken to [Premier] John Horgan about this, he recognizes the importance, as do I, and if I鈥檓 elected, and the NDP forms government, it鈥檚 something we鈥檒l be able to get done no problem.鈥�
Advance voting is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Whistler Conference Centre every day until Wednesday, October 21.
Election day is Saturday, Oct. 24.
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