With the election writ dropped on Tuesday, April 16, the provincial election campaign has officially begun.
But the two confirmed candidates in the riding of Powell River - Sunshine Coast have already been hitting the campaign trail throughout the riding, including opening campaign offices in Sechelt and Powell River and hosting campaign fundraising events.
Incumbent NDP MLA Nicholas Simons said he thinks the most important issues for the Powell River - Sunshine Coast riding during the May 14 election are transportation, particularly the ferry system, and skills training.
The ferry system needs to reflect the needs of ferry-reliant communities, Simons said.
I'm sure that is going to be central here and in coastal and island communities, he said. Other issues obviously important to us here [are] skills training and making sure that we have the skills for the jobs of the future. We need to make sure we also do what we need to do to protect the environment.
For Liberal candidate Patrick Muncaster, the most important campaign issue for the riding is to ensure there is a prosperity agenda for the province. That would keep the economy strong so that we can provide the necessary transportation investments so that we can keep our health care and our education systems strong, he said. That's the core issue that faces the electorate over the next period of government.
Simons, who has worked with the Sechelt Nation as part of child and family youth services and has also been a child protection social worker, has held the riding since 2005. In the 2009 election, he won with 58 per cent of the vote.
Muncaster, a former federal civil servant with experience in the telecommunications industry, served as the president of Powell River - Sunshine Coast B.C. Liberal riding association before deciding to run as a candidate.
Muncaster referred to the federal NDP's constitution committee's proposal to rewrite the preamble of the party's constitution to remove references to socialism. Muncaster said he thinks that could be one of the items that may get attention during the provincial campaign, because of the NDP's commitment to socialism.
That's really a core article of faith in the NDP and it has an element there that is very anti-business and free enterprise, that is really the foundation of our economy, he said. It will be interesting to see what the B.C. party does in response to that, because while the British Labour Party has reformed its constitution, moved away from 1950s socialism to a more modern conception of the world, the federal NDP and the B.C. NDP still have those old socialist references embedded in their constitutions.
Muncaster said he thinks it's an important time for the NDP as well as for the country in terms of their party definition.
For the time being, the old constitution stands, he said.
Neither the Green Party of BC nor the BC Conservative Party has yet announced candidates for the Powell River - Sunshine Coast riding. Candidates have until April 26 to file nomination papers with Elections BC.
In order to vote on election day May 14, an individual must be: a Canadian citizen; 18 years of age or older on general voting day; a resident of the electoral district; a resident of British Columbia for at least six months immediately before general voting day; registered as a voter for the electoral district or registered as a voter in conjunction with voting; and not disqualified by the Election Act or any other enactment from voting in the election.
Voters must prove their identity and residential address in order to receive a ballot or register to vote. Voters may do this by either presenting identification or through a process known as vouching. Acceptable types of identification include: one document issued by the B.C. government or Canada that contains the voter's name, photograph and residential address, such as a B.C. driver's licence, B.C. identification card or B.C. Services card; a certificate of Indian Status; or two documents that contain the voter's name, at least one of which contains the voter's residential address.
With files from Ian Jacques
