Courtenay-Comox candidates debate healthcare, housing and public safety at forum
From left to right, candidates Jay Van Oostdam, Will Cole-Hamilton, Jason Cooke and Brennan Day debated their positions at a forum put on by the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce. (Photos Supplied)
Courtenay-Comox MLA candidates discussed healthcare, housing, public safety and the economy at an all-candidates forum hosted by the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce on October 15.
The forum brought together BC NDP candidate Will Cole-Hamilton, BC Conservative incumbent Brennan Day, Centre BC candidate Jason Cook and Green Party candidate Jay Van Oostdam.
Public safety was one of the key issues, with candidates addressing concerns about addiction and mental health in downtown areas.
Day called for more police officers and expanded treatment facilities.
“First, we need to make sure we have more police officers on the street and a justice system that actually deals with repeat and prolific offenders. The BC Conservatives have committed to two hundred and fifty additional police officers, five hundred more RCMP officers over five years, and fifty additional crown prosecutors,” said Day.
He also argued the province needs to take greater responsibility for addressing homelessness and addiction.
“We need the province to step up and take responsibility instead of continually downloading these problems onto our cities and municipalities. Compassion means getting people the help they need, and public safety means protecting everybody else in our communities. These two things are not mutually exclusive,” said Day.
Cole-Hamilton highlighted local services supporting people experiencing mental health challenges and addiction.
“There needs to be a variety of solutions because the problem isn't simple. It doesn't have one cause, and it doesn't have one solution. But it requires compassion, and it requires a community effort. And my concern is that the cuts that are likely to come from a coming Conservative government will make it difficult for us to provide the support that our communities need,” said Cole-Hamilton.
Healthcare was another issue highlighted. Centre BC candidate Jason Cook pointed to the need to reduce administrative work and strengthen primary care.
“Funding matters, but spending more without changing how care is delivered isn't enough. We need doctors spending more time with patients and less on administration. We need stronger team-based primary care and better home and community care. And yes, we do need to recruit healthcare professionals and make it possible for them to stay. For patients, the question is simple: How can I get care when I need it, when I need it, and close to home? That's where I want the focus to be,” said Cook.
Jay Van Oostdam proposed community health centres as priority.
“Community health centres are what the BC Greens are proposing. They increase access to providers. They reduce the strain on the emergency rooms and hospitals, and keep public dollars in the public system. We also need to increase funding for our local primary care network, which embeds social workers, dieticians, pharmacists, and mental health counselors in family doctors offices across the valley,” said Van Oostdam.
Housing affordability was a featured topic, with Cook describing it as an economic issue.
“A nurse, tradesperson, teacher, or young family who can find work in the Comox Valley but can't afford to live here, that's no longer a housing problem. That's an economic problem. We need more attainable housing and the infrastructure to support it, and an environment where businesses want to invest and create jobs. And when we ask the province for investment, I want us to make the strongest possible case,” said Cook.
Van Oostdam proposed to reinstate the Community Housing Fund.
“The BC Greens will reinstate the Community Housing Fund to build twenty-six thousand units of affordable housing a year. This fund was just shut down by the NDP just prior to this election. The BC Greens will also pass a vacancy control, so landlords can't hike rents between tenants. These are ideas that will make affordable places for people to live here in the Valley,” said Van Oostdam.
Day also said the province needs to reduce barriers to housing construction and invest in infrastructure to accommodate population growth. Cole-Hamilton highlighted efforts to coordinate local governments to secure funding for public housing and services.
Candidates also offered different approaches to climate change and water security. Van Oostdam called for greater investment in renewable energy and protecting forests.
“We do not believe that we can expand carbon emissions, natural gas, coal. If we want to see the entire forest of B.C. burn, let's put more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We'll have no forest left. You've seen how many hundreds of thousands of hectares are burning every year. There will be no forest. There will be no B.C. as we know it. B.C. is perfectly situated to be a green energy superpower. That is what we need to be doing in the 21st century, not using 19th century, 20th century technology,” said Van Oostdam.
Cole-Hamilton said protecting wild land is one way to address climate change issues.
“The other things that we'll work to address climate change issues in terms of water are maintaining as much wild land as we can. And the BC NDP is committed to 30 per cent of the landmass of British Columbia being retained as wild land by 2030. We're already at 20 per cent and commitments of that same morning,” said Cole-Hamilton.
Day argued that the region's water security challenge is largely one of storage and management.
“ What we have is a storage and management problem. On one reservoir in the Comox, we have some retention, and we have seen how low that can get now that the glacier is not consistently feeding that. But what is most important is that we're protecting the watershed around it, and right now, we have very little control over that watershed,” said Day.
The forum also included audience questions about Indigenous rights, support for community events such as Pride, and how elected representatives should best represent local issues to Victoria.
Election day is this Saturday October 24. Voters can cast their ballots from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For polling locations and more information, visit electionsbc.ca.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
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