Two well-known local politicians clashed in a debate of some of the most contentious issues of the day, as the Ridge Meadows Chamber of Commerce hosted an all-candidates meeting on Sept. 25.
Seated behind a table at Pitt Meadows Plumbing were the two candidates for the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows riding in the Oct. 19 provincial election: BC NDP incumbent Lisa Beare and former Maple Ridge mayor and BC Conservative candidate Mike Morden.
Morden got cheers from the audience as he blasted the government over the Royal Crescent modular housing for the homeless population. He accused the NDP of burying an independent report into the deaths of 22 people at the supportive housing facility, and said there was no accountability by the government.
He said it's a model that doesn't work, and Premier David Eby "needs to be fired for that model."
He noted 10 of the fatalities at Royal Crescent were from medical complications, and not from drug overdoses.
"My kid is in that group, so don't tell me I don't know about this," said Morden.
He clarified his son had suffered from addiction and mental health problems, but is no longer living on the streets.
Beare got applause for her rebuttal, saying it's "absolutely unfortunate" that the Conservatives will "play politics with people who are at their most vulnerable."
Beare said she and fellow NDP MLA Bob D'Eith (Maple Ridge East) got supportive housing and other facilities built in the city without the help of Morden's city council.
"Bob and I did it without the support of council – we brought in supportive housing," she said. "We built Cornerstone. We brought in a new emergency shelter, because unfortunately for a number of years, we didn't have a council that wanted to do the work, wanted to make the tough decisions, help us choose the locations for these places."
Morden attacked the government record on health care, saying they had seven years to make good on a promise to fix the system.
"It's pretty clear it's not workable – ER closures for the first time ever in my lifetime," he said. "Why is it we have 165,0000 employees working in health care, and we can't keep our ER doors open? This is serious. People are dying because of this. People deserve better."
He said the people working in the system are not the problem – the health care model is. He said a Conservative government would not cut health care.
"We will spend considerably more, because it's a disaster, and it needs to be fixed."
Beare agreed ER closures are unacceptable, but said the government has a new payment model that has attracted 835 new doctors. The government will also use nurses to diagnose and prescribe medication for health care issues such as strep throat and other infections.
The candidates were asked how they would combat climate change.
"First of all, I would scrap the carbon tax, because that's got nothing to do with improving our environment," said Morden.
He also spoke about the need for more sources of electrical energy, noting the Site C dam will provide only six per cent of the province's power.
Beare said the extreme heat and weather events are evidence of global warming.
"There is absolutely no question climate change is real, and it's having an effect on our families, our communities, and our economy," she said, but added Rustad does not believe climate change is real and man-made.
Beare said B.C. has the most ambitious climate action plan in North America, with rebates for heat pumps and electric vehicles and stated greenhouse gas emissions targets.
Morden countered the NDP is "not even close" to hitting its emissions reduction targets.
On the issue of over-crowded schools, the former school board trustee Beare said her government is building new schools to replace Pitt Meadows Secondary and Eric Langton Elementary.
"[Conservative leader] John Rustad, when he was in government, closed 267 schools including schools right here in Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows, and we've been playing catch-up ever since," she said.
In his closing statements, Morden said he wants to represent the riding in Victoria "because our kids and our grandkids are not going to have the future that a lot of us got to enjoy," with a chance to own a home, have quality health care, a good education system, and good "frontline services" which he listed as police, firefighters, teachers, and others.
In her final comments, Beare argued that her government should be able to continue its work, as rents are falling for the first time in decades, more people are connecting with a family doctor, and B.C. is the fastest-growing economy of the large provinces.
"This election is all about choice, and really you couldn't have a starker contrast between two parties than you do this year, in this election," said Beare.
