8 Election 2015

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Election 20 L5elnteniews

with the Canditates

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Grant Bachand
Contributor

ver the Edge with CFUR 88.7 has been interviewing

many of the candidates of both ridings in Prince George,
Cariboo - Prince George, and Prince George - Northern
Rockies — Peace River. All the interviews are being aired
on CFUR 88.7 and are available on Mixcloud channel called
Student Talks. You can also follow the election and listen to
other interviews that are yet to be released on the Facebook
page, Student Talks, CFUR 88.7.

Mr. Derrick is a 22-year resident of Prince George who owns
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Spa of the North.

He is running in the Cariboo - Prince George riding for

the New Democratic Party. The NDP are polling alongside
with the Liberals and the Conservatives, in a three-way tie.
Trent though has been favoured by many people to win the
Cariboo - Prince George riding, due to the historic trends

of voting for the NDP for this riding, and want for change.

We spoke about a variety of issues on the NDP platform from
a $15 minimum wage to conservation of the environment.
On the issue of the a $15 minimum wage Trent told us that

if the NDP were elected then this increase would apply to

all federally regulated businesses such as banks and parks.

It would not reach all Canadians, but he is hopeful that by
working with the provinces over time they would all reach

the same level as well. He believes that by bringing the
provinces to the table, it will help bring even the most fiscally
conservative government around on the $15 minimum wage.

I asked Derrick about the NDP’s plan to raise corporate
taxes to pre-Harper rates, a major part of the platform.
He is confident that a raise to these rates would not
make Canadian firms less competitive in a global market.
Which has been a concern of many people who live in
towns that are dependent on a major industry. With
companies like Canfor already being hurt by wood prices
and beetle kill wood, a tax hike has many votes worried.
With a large amount of the workforce in Canada working
in small business, the NDP hope that a cut to their tax
rates for them and this will help bolster the economy
and create jobs. This offset is a move away from major
corporations and to a more community based approach.

A big shift in manufacturing in North America has been

to relocate operations to lower labour markets such as
Mexico, it has made it hard to keep jobs in Canada. The

NDP, and Derrick believe, that a kick-start to this sector

is in order. They feel that a kick-start will help smaller

to medium sized firms become more competitive in the
global market. I asked him what prevents more firms from
relocating to other countries like Mexico; Derrick responded
by saying that Canadian firms treat their employees well

myprincegeorge.ca

with benefits and decent pay, and that the firms have a
strong community connection and this will help prevent a
loss of jobs because it means we make a better product.

The environment was a major focus in all of the interviews
and one of the main things we asked the candidates about
what resource development, pipelines and climate change.
The NDP is not opposed to resource development however
they would like to see it done in a responsible and safe
way. The same goes with their stance on pipeline they do
not oppose all pipelines only the ones that are dangerous
and the companies do not have a good safety record.

One of the final topics we talked about was education. I
asked Derrick about the federal involvement in education
and the reduction in student debt. The NDP wants to address
this issue, though their was no clear plan was spoken of by
Derrick but he does have a willingness to move forward if
elected. The NDP wants to work with stakeholder groups
such as student groups and universities in order to help fix
this problem. He wants us to be innovative on this issue and
find new ways to address this problem and possibly fund
education. It is hard to say after my interview with Derrick
too much about him personally but her certainly wants
to drive home the ideas laid out in the NDP platform.