What skills, professional experience, and personal attributes make you an effective representative for your riding in the Legislature?
I have a deep desire to serve our community. Regardless of where I have sought to serve the community – as a city councillor, as a representative on non-profit boards, or volunteering with community groups – I have looked to where I could best support people and make positive changes. I am truly dedicated to our community and the people living here.

Over the past seven years, I have seen the BC NDP invest in this community and this province in a way the previous government never did. Whether it has been upgrading healthcare infrastructure, building much needed housing, creating one of the most ambitious climate plans in North America, or creating thousands of new, affordable childcare spaces across the province, this party has always put people first.

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Cost of living challenges continue to mount, with everyday items and activities becoming increasingly unaffordable. What specific examples of this have you seen in the riding, and what areas would you advocate for to bring relief to residents?
BC is a great place to live, but we know people are struggling right now. Global inflation and high interest rates are having an impact locally, and people have shared how frustrated they feel. That’s why I am running with the BC NDP, a party that is putting people first and finding ways to bring relief to people.

Whether it’s through reducing ICBC rates by $500 a year and then freezing rates, eliminating MSP premiums to save families $1,800 per year, or cutting childcare costs in half and saving parents up to $900 per month, the BC NDP is taking these affordability challenges seriously.

Rustad and his Conservative Party have been clear that if elected, he will be cancelling our Enhanced Care Model at ICBC, costing drivers $500 more a year on insurance.

And when he was a Minister with the former government, he doubled MSP premiums and hiked BC Hydro rates by 80%. It’s clear that when it comes to supporting people, Rustad is not looking out for our communities, and he’s a risk we can’t afford.

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The need for additional housing stock in the region is widely recognized, with various approaches proposed or underway to build more homes, faster, which in turn should reduce costs for renters and home buyers. What specific housing needs have you identified in the riding, and how would you address those needs as the riding’s MLA?
We know people are struggling to find affordable housing throughout the province, and that’s why the BC NDP developed our Housing Action Plan and Rental Protection Fund to create 300,000 additional middle-class homes and to protect rental spaces in our communities from rent hikes.

In the past seven years, we have built over 1,500 units of housing in Nanaimo, with over 500 of them dedicated to seniors’ housing. These units have allowed people to stay in the community they love.Our plan focuses on cutting through the red tape and investing in training for construction workers and other trades, so that this new housing can be built quickly.

Rustad and his party have no plan to address our housing needs in a substantive way. He said he will cancel the 300,000 affordable homes we plan to build if he is elected and go back to supporting the speculators and investors instead, just like when he was a part of the former government.

The BC NDP has a different strategy on actually addressing the housing demand, and we will continue to create affordable housing options throughout the province.

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Local advocacy groups are calling for immediate investment in primary healthcare services across the central and northern Island regions, including additional capital investments for Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. What steps will you take to improve access to healthcare in the riding, particularly with regard to primary care physicians and access to specialists?
Healthcare is one of the issues I hear about most often in our community and our party is committed to taking real action to improve our healthcare system.

In the past year, we have hired 800 new family doctors across the province, and are opening a new Urgent Primary Care Centre near the Country Club Mall.

Our BC NDP government has invested over $1.5 million to increase the number of direct care hours for seniors living in care homes in Nanaimo. We have invested in over 300 new long-term care beds for a facility in Lantzville, and made major investments into Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH), including building a new ICU, high-acuity unit, and cancer care centre.

We’ve committed to building a new patient tower at NRGH as well to ensure everyone in the central and north Island will have access to the high-quality healthcare they deserve, closer to home.

To hear how Rustad plans to cut $4.1 billion from our healthcare budget is devastating given how it will affect people across the province and decimate our healthcare system. We need to be supporting people and continuing with the investments we have made so everyone can access the care they (word limit reached)

Editor’s note: Candidate responses were limited to 200 words. Any responses exceeding this limit are trimmed as noted. Answers are published otherwise unedited by NanaimoNewsNOW, with the exception of paragraph spacing to aid readability.