The race to represent Alberni-Pacific Rim in British Columbia’s legislative assembly is on, with three candidates vying for the hearts and minds of voters.
On May 6, incumbent Scott Fraser of the NDP squared off with challengers Darren DeLuca (BC Liberal) and Enid Mary Sangster-Kelly (BC Conservative) in a forum hosted by Tseshaht in the community’s Great Room at the administrative building on the Somass River. The event was also live streamed to those wishing to watch from home.
While the forum was specific to Nuu-chah-nulth concerns, many non-Aboriginal people were in attendance. Cliff Atleo, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, and Debra Foxcroft, Tseshaht First Nation councillor, facilitated. Ken Watts, vice-president of the tribal council, credited with organizing the forum, was timekeeper.
Each of the candidates was given five minutes to introduce themselves and their party platforms. Then there was a set of questions asked by the facilitators with each candidate allowed two minutes for response. Then members of the audience were given their opportunity to ask the questions on their minds that would help them make a decision for election night May 14.
Fraser was first to speak and oddly enough decided to give credit to former Liberal leader Gordon Campbell for his changing attitude on First Nations issues. Fraser harkened back to an ugly time in provincial history when Campbell fought aggressively against treaty, even holding a referendum on treaty negotiations in 2002, which critics described as"stupid," "immoral," "amateurish," and "racist."
But Fraser said Campbell then did a complete U-turn and brought in the New Relationship, a government-to-government relationship based on respect, recognition and accommodation of aboriginal title and rights. Shared decision-making was Campbell’s vision, revenue and benefit sharing was at the foundation.
But that New Relationship is now a “distant memory,” said Fraser of the current BC Liberal Party.
“We need to change that. We need to make it work.”
Fraser was first elected as MLA in 2005, and re-elected in 2009. He said the Nuu-chah-nulth teaching of hishuk ish tsawalk—everything is one—and other such wisdom has informed not only Fraser’s own personal philosophy but the NDP perspective as well.
Sangster-Kelly was next to speak and her comments centred primarily on her background—she’s from England—and the fact that she was considered a bit different by others. But she said people were always pouring their heart out to her and she was happy to listen to their troubles. She treats everyone as human, she told the gathering. And while she said she doesn’t know everything, she’s willing to learn.
DeLuca described himself as a long-time resident of the area. His grandfather was a contract logger who he said hired many Nuu-chah-nulth workers in his time. He also mentioned that his mother was known in the Nuu-chah-nulth community. Her name is Gail DeLuca.
Darren DeLuca has been involved since 1991 in fisheries and tourism issues, and with regional aquatic management. He read from a statement he made in the early 2000’s to a standing committee in which he supported First Nations sovereignty. He is a director of the Port Alberni Port Authority.
The questions during the evening ranged widely from those very specific to the Tseshaht community to others that were regional in scope. There was even a question on marijuana legalization, a federal responsibility, but brought to the candidates at the local level.
All three were against making criminals of people for possession. Sangster-Kelly said it was a waste of police resources, while Fraser said the current laws actually empower organized crime, which used marijuana as a currency, paying with it for guns and crack cocaine.
“Regulate it. Control it. Pull the rug out from under organized crime,” Fraser said.
Two questions were asked on the clean-up of debris from the Japanese Tsunami of March 2011 in which tonnes upon tonnes of materials was carried out to sea. It’s expected on West Coast shores at some time in the near future.
Fraser wondered where the $1 million that Japan had given to B.C. for the clean-up had gone and why those funds had yet to be designated.
“No one knows where that money is and when it’s going to flow,” Fraser said.
DeLuca was quick to point out that officials have yet to determine the scope of the debris heading this way. Would it be a few bits of things washing up, or a deluge, he said. Later in the evening he would say the Liberals “Don’t want to blow the money before the debris gets here.”
Sangster-Kelly, for her part, would like to see the debris dealt with out at sea before it comes to shore, she said.
A second question was about whether the debris would be radioactive, and how politicians knew whether it is or it isn’t. The province has said no, the materials had washed out to sea before the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan suffered a catastrophic failure in the Tsunami incident.
Sangster-Kelly was suspicious, saying she didn’t want to eat fish that had come anywhere close to Japan.
Fraser too said he was skeptical. The answer from the minister on the matter was quick, he said. “I haven’t seen the science.”
DeLuca too said he hadn’t seen the science on radioactive materials, and he reiterated he didn’t know the scope of what would arrive on West Coast shores.
Foxcroft asked a question about the province sharing proceeds from gaming in B.C. The province lags behind others that have First Nations gaming, like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Fraser said the NDP had, in fact, already been engaged in talks on this matter with First Nations; that leader Adrian Dix has said that “everything is on the table, including gaming” with regards to revenue sharing.
DeLuca said First Nations had the same access to gaming dollars currently as everyone else. A portion of gaming monies are divvied up to charitable organizations throughout the province. He said, however, gaming dollars are now fully subscribed.
“Who is Scott going to take that funding from,” he wondered. Fraser was not given the opportunity to respond, though he quickly interjected that the NDP had a plan.
Sangster-Kelly believed the province should not be in the business of gaming.
“We don’t think it’s a good way to raise money. We hurt a lot of people. We are concerned with the damage that gambling is doing to society.” She was told later that she hadn’t answered the question, and was asked to clarify her position on sharing gaming revenues with First Nations.”
Sangster-Kelly said government should not be in the business of gaming. Whatever business ventures that government is involved in always end up being badly run and costing more money than they should, she said. The questioner again asked her to answer the money on revenue sharing, but moderator Atleo interjected, saying Sangster-Kelly seemed to have answered as best she could.
A concern in Alberni is the current practice of exporting raw logs overseas for manufacture, and the question came up at the forum.
DeLuca said it was a necessity of the business.
“If they didn’t have the benefit of log exports they wouldn’t be able to log,” he said of local logging companies.
Sangster-Kelly described the issue as a “real can of worms”. She said people were “literally feeling raped” by the issue of raw log exports, admitting those were very strong words to describe the situation. She said the province hasn’t been honest on the issue, especially with the removal of lands from tree farm licenses and putting the trees in private hands.
“We’ve got money going down the drain,” she said.
Fraser said that there had always been log exports, but it was supposed to be the logs surplus to the local needs.
“We are getting very little value,” Fraser said, adding that the province had to reduce log exports.
A local issue was raised about Highway 4, the Pacific Rim Highway that runs through Tseshaht First Nation. The lands on which the highway was built through the reserve were never expropriated. The province now wants to purchase those lands.
A question was asked of the candidates if they supported Tseshaht negotiations to keep the land but collect a residual in way of a toll or other payment like a rent or lease arrangement.
“It needs to be looked at,” said Sangster-Kelly. “We are going to have to make a deal with you. There is no choice.”
Fraser too was for discussions, describing Tseshaht’s negotiation position as good.
DeLuca said if government gets the certainty it needs for a fair price, then he would be in favor of the residual.
Other topics at the forum included treaty, treaty implementation, jobs, the First Nations Health Authority, and language funding.
The evening ended with a brief closing statement from each candidate and a thank you from organizers for the candidates’ time.
