George Anderson of the BC NDP, Gwen O’Mahony representing the Conservative Party of BC, and Lia Versaevel of the BC Green Party attended a candidates forum at Wellington Secondary School on the evening of Wednesday, Oct 2.

Up for grabs is an opportunity to be the first Member of the Legislative Assembly for the newly created Nanaimo-Lantzville riding following general election day on Oct. 19.

From the get-go, Anderson attacked O’Mahony and the BC Conservatives, telling an attentive audience of about 150 people “there’s too much at risk” during this election.

“If you look at the individuals that they’ve (BC Conservatives) chosen as their candidates, it’s clear—they are not serious and they are not individuals who should be anywhere close to governing,” Anderson said.

O’Mahony, who said she left the BC NDP earlier this year because she was unhappy with the party’s direction, said the province is “in complete crisis”, pointing to the state of the healthcare system, affordability, drug addiction and mental health services.

“My good friend George over here is going to tell you there isn’t a problem, but I’m here to tell you there is a problem, and what we need are bold solutions. We should be unafraid to talk about these issues,” O’Mahony countered during her opening remarks.

The BC Green Party’s Versaevel said she was keen to reach out to people hoping to learn more about their progressive message, pointing to strong gains the party has made on the Island in recent years.

“I think that the most interesting thing about the party platform in this election is that we are putting people first, not corporate interests…”

A standing room only crowd at Wellington Secondary heard from the three candidates running in Nanaimo-Lantzville in this month’s provincial election. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Healthcare and the ongoing drug toxicity crisis led to impassioned exchanges among the candidates as rebuttals were permitted as candidates answered a series of pre-submitted questions.

The NDP’s Anderson, a former Nanaimo city councillor, pointed to investments the party has made to increase the number of treatment beds across the province.

Anderson, a commercial lawyer born and raised in Nanaimo, then pivoted back to attack mode against the Conservatives.

“It’s the BC Conservatives and John Rustad who closed Riverview in 2012, it was John Rustad who cut services to young people who were then let onto the streets, they cut crime prevention, they cut services continually.”

The Conservatives’ O’Mahony questioned the NDP’s approach to addictions treatment, stating there is a clear disconnect between treatment, detox beds and successfully transitioning patients back into the community.

“…it’s not even worth giving yourself a pat on the back for,” the one-time Fraser Valley NDP MLA told Anderson.

O’Mahony refuted claims made by Anderson of planned cuts to healthcare, stating the opposite would occur should they form government.

“There’s no way in the world that we’re going to cut healthcare. If you take a look seriously at our healthcare plan it’s actually going to cost more to deliver, because we’re going to expand healthcare,” O’Mahony said.

The business owner added the Conservatives would also commit to building a new patient tower at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, following a promise to that effect made by NDP leader David Eby in Nanaimo last week.

The BC Green Party’s Versaevel, citing years of experience as a probation officer and in the social services sector, said the toxic drug crisis is a “complicated problem”.

She said our social fabric has eroded with the high cost of living contributing to people turning to the unregulated drug supply.

Versaevel closed out the meeting by stating she’s running on a message of hope, while she also expressed frustration.

“It’s quite frankly exhausting to listen to fear-mongering and sparring and attacks, I came with a positive vision,” as applause erupted from the standing-room only crowd.

The three candidates on stage at Wellington Secondary School’s multi-purpose room encompasses all of the choices on the ballot for Nanaimo-Lantzville for the upcoming election.

Candidates stuck around after the forum to have one-on-one discussions with those in attendance.

While the Nanaimo area typically leans NDP both federally and provincially, the heart of the Nanaimo-Lantzville riding encompasses historically more conservative leaning neighbourhoods.

Advance voting for the upcoming provincial election is coming up between Oct. 10 to Oct. 16 (with the exception of Thanksgiving on Oct. 14) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Eligible voters can also attend any District electoral office up until general election day on Saturday, Oct. 19 to cast their ballot.

Mail-in ballots are available through Elections BC until Oct. 13.

Wednesday night’s event was hosted by the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District, a function of the Regional District of Nanaimo, which staged a similar event last week profiling the Ladysmith-Oceanside riding.

Nanaimo-Gabriola candidates will be featured on Thursday, Oct 3 at 7 p.m. at the Nanaimo Curling Club.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes