A green issues forum was held in Gibsons on Nov. 3 to help residents engage their local candidates on their stance regarding environmental issues on the Sunshine Coast.
Invited to the meeting by event sponsors, the Sunshine Coast Con-servation Association, were the Gibsons mayoral candidates as well as those running for Sunshine Coast Regional District director in areas D, E and F.
Participating in the forum were incumbents Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk, Area E director Lorne Lewis and Donna Shugar, the current director of Roberts Creek, as well as candidates Hans Penner, who is running in Roberts Creek, and Laura Wallace, who will contest Lewis in Elphinstone.
Opening the forum was Janyk, who focused on the topic he felt to be most important to the Coast, that of water.
"I believe there is a clear disconnect in our responsibilities and abilities if the legal purveyor of water does not have authority to manage its supply," Janyk said, expressing his support for the work of the SCRD and Sechelt Indian Band to seek joint custody of the watershed.
Lewis said his environmental track record is something that speaks for itself. He added his belief that everything thrown away should be justified and that the watershed should be given a generation's worth of time before any further use of it is considered.
Wallace countered by painting a picture of a world caught in environmental crisis and called upon the room to make sweeping changes to their lifestyles and policy.
"We can't shop our way to sustainability. Creating green jobs is not going to help the situation. As long as we're going to do that, we're just buying more stuff," she said, arguing that the mainstream economy creates over-consumption.
Penner said that more concrete action is required on the Coast to counteract environmental degradation, including fencing off logging pathways leading to the watershed.
He added his opinion that the current SCRD environmental plan lacks definitive strategies and argued that "reducing solid waste and protecting the remaining intact forests is the most productive action we can take to respond to climate change."
Defending her seat against Penner, Shugar called for positive change through consensus and sought to communicate some of the accomplishments of the current administration.
"Making enemies does not make progress," she said. "We must ensure a balance between all the economic, social and environmental goals that make up our lives together."
Gibsons mayoral candidates Wayne Rowe and Arthur Shaw did not attend the forum. Area D candidate Barbara Hague was also absent.
Acclaimed Area F director Lee Turnbull participated, but as an audience member.
