A few heated comments broke through what was overall a civil exchange between two candidates in the Powell River - Sunshine Coast riding during an all candidates meeting leading up to the May 14 election.
Incumbent New Democrat (NDP) Nicholas Simons and B.C. Liberal Patrick Muncaster fielded a large number of questions from some of the approximately 100 people who attended the event on Tuesday, April 30, in the Evergreen Theatre at Powell River Recreation Complex. Scott Randolph moderated the meeting, which was hosted by the Powell River Chamber of Commerce. Green Party candidate Richard Till was not present.
Simons became passionate defending the NDP after Muncaster criticized the party's fiscal policies.
"I do not share Nicholas's view that we can just add taxes on business and on individuals and we can't just go out and borrow debt, because ultimately you're passing it on to the next generation," Muncaster said. "You have to grow the economy."
Simons pointed out that the provincial debt has doubled under the Liberal government since 2003.
"We have a fifth-in-a-row deficit budget," Simons said. "To suggest that somehow the management of this current government is better than any previous government is just a pure fiction."
On tax fairness, Muncaster said he understands the argument of social equity, but he's not sure it produces a lot of revenue. Simons responded that the NDP has no plan to increase taxes in the next four years beyond what it has already stated, which is increasing taxes on people who earn more than $150,000 and restoring the corporate tax rate to 2008 levels.
Muncaster often returned to his main theme during the evening, that the province needs a strong economy. He said he supports independent power projects because they have allowed economic development in small communities and created revenue for local governments and First Nations.
Simons, on the other hand, contended the economic benefits of the projects have not materialized and ultimately B.C.'s population has been the loser in the projects.
Simons drew the first applause of the evening in responding to a question about protecting wild salmon.
"With the salmon farm circumstances, we know that there is enough science to tell us that the migratory routes should be free of fish farms because of the danger they pose," he said.
Muncaster said he thinks more studies need to be done about the salmon population.
"I think there's a lot more science to understand," he said.
In responding to a question about forest practices and how recreation assets can be protected, Simons pointed out the Sunshine Coast Forest District is one of the few areas in the province that doesn't have a high-level land-use plan.
"The reason I think this is so essential, and I'm so pleased it's in our platform, is because it reduces the number of conflicts that exist in our community," he said. Conflicts create divisions in the community, Simons said, and a land-use plan would alleviate the tension and also deal with problems in a proactive way.
Muncaster said he favours land-use planning, but he wasn't sure it would accomplish what people hoped it would.
"There are really very different views in the community about any given piece of environmental legislation versus jobs in the community," he said. "We have a long tradition of forestry in this province and it's given a lot of us university education, it has fed families, it has helped to raise kids."
Other questions were about supporting tourism, raw log exports, education funding, funding and support for people with disabilities, support for renewable energy initiatives, restoring funding for legal aid and BC Ferries.
All three candidates attended a meeting on Texada earlier in the day. Till said he got a chill at the meeting because he was sitting in a cold draft and he became woozy, nauseous and tired on the ferry back to Powell River.
"I wasn't doing very well by the time we got back to Powell River," he said. "I don't think I could have done the event what it deserves."
