More than 100 residents from Langdale to Powell River packed Roberts Creek Hall Monday (Aug. 9) for a chance to talk federal politics with West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Liberal candidate Dan Veniez and Liberal heavyweight MP from Toronto-Centre, Bob Rae.
Veniez and local Liberals organized the event to help get Veniez' face out to the public in the riding, knowing another election is just one confidence vote away in the current minority Parliament.
In an opening speech, Rae listed a number of issues including the economy, the environment, social justice and running of Parliament that he feels the Conservative government is failing at and where the Liberals can do better.
"As Liberals we have an obligation to go beyond simply saying 'we're not Mr. Harper,' and saying very clearly what we stand for," he said.
Rae went on to emphasize that the current Conservatives politics are far more right wing and difficult to deal with than the Liberal's political foes of the past.
"We're not talking about the old Progressive Conservative Party. We're talking about a very different beast in place. This is the Tea Party North that's now in government," he said.
Rae responded to several questions about when the Liberals would move to bring down the Harper government.
"An election is closer today than it was yesterday. [Harper] is governing a minority government as if he has a majority. If he insists on governing that way, then there will be an election because there's no way Parliament can continue to function on a confrontational basis," he said
In a later interview, he said the likelihood of a fall election depends on what legislation the Tories bring forward when Parliament resumes in the fall.
"Nobody's rattling sabres. We'll wait and see what the government proposes. We'll take it on a case-by-case basis and deal with it as we come," he said.
Rae also spoke against the government's plans to make the long-form census optional and invest $9 billion in new prisons.
While Rae fielded questions on the current issues facing the government, Veniez was often asked for his own stance on issues.
On the environment, Veniez said the government has a role to play in providing incentive for private industry to step up to the task of adopting sustainable practices.
"I think it's a false dichotomy that if you are pro-environment, the economy will tank and if you're against, you won't be doing what you should to protect and sustain our environmental legacy," he said. "Unless the private sector becomes clean, be it energy technologies or the forest industry or the mineral extraction industry including the oil and gas and tar sands, we don't have a future."
He said he would not support a streamlining or merging of the provincial and federal environmental assessments for large projects like mines or independent power projects, especially in the light of the Gulf oil spill.
The audience applauded when Veniez was asked for his stance on marijuana. Veniez said he disagreed with treating pot users as criminals and would like to see another approach.
"My personal view is that we should at least decriminalize and maybe even legalize. First of all, it will allow the government to regulate it. Huge amounts of exploitation occur because of this underground economy. Secondly, it will jack up revenues, which we need," he said.
In a later interview, Rae praised the local Liberals' choice in Veniez as the candidate for this riding.
"I think Dan is a great candidate. He's got tremendous experience in the private sector and in community service. He's very interested in politics and public policy and I think he's going to be a very strong candidate. He comes at it from a fresh perspective. He tells people what he thinks, he lets people know where he's coming from," Rae said.
Veniez accepted the local Liberal candidacy in 2009. He is a former forestry executive who lives in Vancouver, but also owns a home in Davis Bay.
