Lots of Site C questions for Green leader at W. Kelowna town hall
Green party leader disagrees with NDP government’s decision to move forward with dam, but he won’t trigger an election over it
Many of the 100 or so citizens who attended Thursday’s Green party town hall meeting in West Kelowna wanted to talk about the Site C dam.
Green leader Andrew Weaver and Kelowna West byelection candidate Robert Stupka co-hosted the two-hour event.
“Climate change is a poor argument,” Weaver said of Site C. “It is clean power and it’s minute compared to emission fuels. There’s more of an economic argument because the ratepayers are going to pay for it. The cost would be $2.1 billion if it was cancelled. This would be fast ferries on steroids. The big thing is that it kills innovation.”
With a hung Legislature and the three Green party MLAs holding the balance of power, Weaver said his party was not willing to trigger an election. B.C. residents don’t want another election and it’s unlikely that it would change the outcome on Site C, the leader said.
NDP MLAs who campaigned on shutting down the Site C project need to be held accountable for their election promises, Weaver said.
“We are killing innovation to spend your money on building a white elephant. This is so Àscally irresponsible.”
Weaver praised former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell who he said was recognized internationally for his role in developing the “new economy.” All of Campbell’s good work was dismantled by his successor, Christy Clark, Weaver said.
Weaver takes credit for the 50 per cent reduction in MSP premiums. He prefers the system in Ontario where the fee is based on one’s ability to pay.
He said it’s unfair for individuals from Alberta to contribute to that province’s healthcare system their working lives, then retire to B.C. and utilize healthcare here in their senior years.
He said removing tolls in the Lower Mainland is something “that never should have happened.”
Due to detailed answers from both Weaver and Stupka, questions were limited during the forum. Other issues that were brought up dealt with indigenous rights, logging, proportional representation, and a possible second bridge in Kelowna, which the Green party opposes.
Among those in attendance were Summerland Coun. Toni Boot, who ran unsuccessfully for the NDP nomination in Penticton and Connie Sahlmark, the Green candidate in Penticton during the last election.
Weaver praised Sahlmark, who entered the political arena for the first time when she ran in 2017 collecting 18.4 per cent of the vote.
“Connie was an excellent candidate for the Green party and she ran a remarkable campaign,” he said.