Knocking on doors has left Dan Hines, the Green Party candidate for the Kamloops-North Thompson, feeling quite optimistic about the upcoming provincial election.
“I’ve been getting a good reception while out canvassing,” he said. “People are not happy with the Liberals.”
Evidence of the support he’s been getting is the $30,000 the local constituency association has raised.
“That’s unheard of for a Green campaign,” Hines said.
Speaking at an informal gathering at a Clearwater residence last Sunday evening attended by about 20 people, Hines compared the situation in the province to removing junk from a river.
After a while you realize that the problem is upstream, he said – the rules are being broken upstream.
Further upstream than that are power and money. The gatekeepers allow only certain people through the gate.
Also upstream are assumptions, such as that the system can’t be changed.
“We still have a democracy for a few hours every four years,” he said. “Even electing a handful of Greens isn’t going to change things overnight, but it would be a start.”
Political donations from corporations and unions aren’t anything new, Hines said.
“B.C. is the last place in Canada without any real rules,” he said. “You can take money from anyone and as much as you want.”
He especially objected to the cash for access dinners being done by the Liberals and New Democrats.
Jean Nelson asked what the Green candidate thought about carbon fee-and-dividend – charging a fee on fossil fuels, similar to a carbon tax, but returning the money raised to the people as dividends.
Hines said a carbon tax is very regressive in that it affects lower income earners more. He felt the way to address that would be by returning the money to those who need it most.
He said during his canvassing in Clearwater he talked with a person who works in silviculture.
“He said they are trying to guess which species of tree to plant to deal with climate change. He said they’ll know in 80 years if they guessed right,” Hines said.