Green Party Leadership Debate

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 08:26 PM

4 of the five Green Party Leadership candidates, l- r Ben West Jane Sterk, Sylvaine Zimmerman and Damian Kettlewell visit Prince George (photo Opinion250 staff)

Four of the five people vying for the job as Leader of the B.C. Green Party were in Prince George this evening for a leadership debate.

The event was initially set for the Art Space on Third avenue, but was moved to a private residence. The candidates each took a couple of minutes to explain their background to the audience of 13 (that does not include the three members of the media who were in attendance). How many in the audience were campaign managers or staff of the candidates is not known. There were four people who are known to be Prince George residents, Hillary Crowley a Green Party Candidate in the last Provincial election; Denis Gendron, a Director with the Regional District of Fraser Fort George, and the two people who own the home where the debate was held.

Although the Green Party is hoping to make some inroads in the "Central Interior" it would appear the party has a long way to go to gain the ear of the local voters.

Here is a snap shot of each Candidate, and their answer to the question, "What are your thoughts on the Site "C" Dam?"

Ben West: "I am impressed with the Site "C" project, I mean this is the only project that has the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Suzuki Foundation on the same side." He says it is time we stop visiting projects that we talked about 30 years ago and move forward to make B.C. the Laboratory for the world because the province has tidal, solar and wind energy potential. West has been the Education Critis in the Green Party's shadow cabinet, Campaign manager for Adriane Carr, and ran as a federal candidate in Vancouver Quadra.

Jane Sterk: "I think the message should be about conservation and energy use reduction rather than mega projects which encourage added use." Jane is an elected municipal councillor in Esquimalt and has run in the 2004 Federal Election and 2005 Provincial election for the Green Party

Silvaine Zimmerman: "I think we should be considering the sociologically accepted projects which the peple in the area support. We should shift our taxes and put money into projects that are clean." Silvaine is an oceanographer and ecologist, and owns a small organic B & B on Bowen Island. She is a Director at large of the Provincial COuncil of the Green Party of BC.

Damian Kettlewell: "I am 100% against Site "C" we need to promote energy efficiency first." Kettlewell is the CEO Vancouver-Point Grey CA Green Party of B.C.

Jack Etkin: was not present, but was sending e-mails to a representative on site. He says he is against the project, and supports energy efficiency first. A long time activist, Jack was a Provnicial Candiate in the 1996 election for the Green Party.

There are four more leadership debates set for locations in B.C. The Leadership convention takes place on October 21st .

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Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 08:26 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lunarguy on August 29 2007 9:00 PM

Well Ben West is the only one out of that group I would entertain listening to. The rest of them are not in touch with the reality of electrical supply in our province.

Posted by: Chadermando on August 30 2007 12:36 AM

I agree with Lunarguy. Problem is Gordon Campbell�s liberals have a policy in place that does not allow BC Hydro to build new generation capacity, so that only private offshore companies can build generation in BC.

Under the BC Energy plan backed up by the likes of TILMA and NAFTA the BC liberals have handed out 530 water license agreements on a first come first serve basis. Most private deals see BC Hydro paying twice what it would have cost them to build their own generation and 18 times as much as the cost of their current generation.

The rate payer in BC pays the profit/cost difference in the name of privatization. It gets even better with the deregulation (privatization) of BC Hydro Transmission allowing urban-rural rate differentials due to the difference between servicing a rural house and an apartment. This is a Vancouver MLA majority thing for the cold winters in that city.

There is no doubt that site C should be built as a crown project by BC Hydro, but there is also no doubt the BC liberals will privatize that as well and then charge us in the North more then the south for transmission to our homes.

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PS Did anyone else notice Pat Bell is busy approving a bunch of coastal fish farms as the Agriculture Minister on the coast? Apparently he is busy with due diligence and has not noticed the decline in the natural fisheries in this region as a result. I wonder how he finds the time to follow up on his 2001 Pine Beetle Task Force recommendations with all his focus on the costal fish farms?

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on August 30 2007 7:51 AM

(Yawn!)

Posted by: Andyfreeze on August 30 2007 8:07 AM

Green always makes me yawn too......

Posted by: dgdiggler on August 30 2007 10:36 AM

Wasn't it people of the green party, or treehuggers that were against the cutting down of MPB infected trees just as the infestation was in its infancy?

If so, yeah right! you got my vote! (note of sarcasm there)

Posted by: lunarguy on August 30 2007 4:48 PM

I thought it was just the government who didn't want the trees in the Provincial Park harvested for why the initial outbreak was not dealt with.

Posted by: dgdiggler on August 31 2007 10:38 AM

Yes, and weren't they being influenced by "Green" folks?