Powell River Chamber of Commerce’s all candidates meeting drew four of the six candidates contesting the North Island-Powell River riding, with 16 questions being posed during the two-hour session on April 17.
Held in the Powell River Recreation Complex Evergreen Theatre with about 300 people present, the forum included the New Democratic Party’s Tanille Johnston, the Liberal Party of Canada’s Jennifer Lash, independent candidate Glen Staples, and Green Party of Canada’s Jessica Wegg. Conservative Party of Canada candidate Aaron Gunn and People’s Party of Canada candidate Paul Macknight were not in attendance for the meeting.
One of the questions from the audience was about transparency. The questioner said that lying and alternative facts have been introduced into politics as acceptable behaviour, and that Canadians want honesty and transparency. The questioner asked: what will you do to stand up to your party when there isn’t honesty being shared with the public? You are working for us, and you represent us, so being honest is critical. What will you be doing to ensure honesty and transparency in the government?
Wegg said there is a poem by Rudyard Kipling that she recites to herself daily, and there is a line in the poem that says: “or being lied about, don’t deal in lies.”
“I don’t tolerate lies at all,” said Wegg. “Transparency is absolutely important. We need to make sure we are all accountable to the people who put us in office, and that we make ourselves available.
“You can count on me to always be honest. If I make a mistake, I own up to it and I apologize when needed. That’s the only way to make this country work.”
Wegg said there needs to be an adjustment on social media, and that social media companies should have to qualify as publishers, so that the truth must be told.
Johnston said she acknowledges transparency as one of her core values.
“When we are putting stuff out on social media, when we are putting it out in a newsletter, I need to know where that statement is coming from,” added Johnston. “If someone wants me to make a statement, I need a link to the article. I want to know who wrote the article and what it was based on, because if it is not fact-based, I am not behind it. It’s something I have stood by strong and true, even through this campaign.
“You absolutely have my word that I will stick to the truth, and accessibility is huge for me. I have tried very hard to answer all your emails that are coming in, all your Facebook messages and Instagram messages. I want you to know that I will always strive to be as responsive as possible.”
Staples said that long ago in the past, leaders were selected by the people according to who was honest and who was wise.
“Our system has evolved into this top-down system where it is all about large-scale media campaigns,” he added. “In [former United States president Ronald] Reagan’s time, he discovered that it didn’t really matter if you told the truth, as long as you repeated it often enough. If we could get back to a bottom-up system where you choose people as leaders, who you trust, we can rebuild a system that is more honest.”
Lash said that honesty, transparency and kindness are core values of hers.
“It is important as the elected official to be accountable to all of you, so to listen to what you are saying to me and to communicate back to you very clearly what I’m doing in Ottawa,” added Lash. “There’s a real level of accountability that I would live up to.
“There’s also a responsibility for a member of parliament to keep their colleagues honest and transparent as well, and that is something I would be striving for very hard, because good government requires all elected officials to be very honest and transparent about what they are doing. Government works for the people, so we need to make sure that I, as your elected official, would be accountable back to you.”
Canadian unity
There was also a question about Canadian unity. The questioner said: what are you going to do about Canadian unity, with what is going on in Saskatchewan and Alberta, with statements coming out threatening our unity; threatening separatism?
Lash said US president Donald Trump is actually unifying Canada in a way that hasn’t been seen before. She said when Mark Carney became prime minister, he was able to get all the premiers together and get them to agree to breaking down interprovincial trade barriers.
“I have never seen a prime minister get all the premiers together in a room and come to an agreement,” said Lash. “We need to continue doing that. We need a leader who can bring all those premiers together and work on the problems that need to be addressed in each region, and build consensus.”
Wegg said Canada is a special place and there are things that keep Canadians connected.
“There is something in the people of this country that is very special and it holds us together,” said Wegg. “If I started singing the national anthem, every single one of us in here would stand up and put our hands on our hearts.”
Johnston said one of her greatest skill sets is working across differences, which she has done as a social worker.
“You meet very personal challenges head-on and you work with that challenge, coming to a place of understanding and moving forward together,” added Johnston. “That’s what we need to do with our colleagues around the government table. That’s the role, arguably, that the NDP plays, being the social conscience of government. I would love to take my skill set to Ottawa and to do the work of bringing us together and moving forward in a good way.”
Staples also said the best thing for Canadian unity was Trump.
“We’ll get through this one because the forces of unity right now are so strong that I think we are going to make it,” he added. “We are going to be okay. So, go, Canada, go.
The candidates also answered questions on how they plan to support local businesses and subsidies for large corporations, about government spending and how Canadian resources are harvested and sold, as well as crime and policing, the coast guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and missing and murdered Indigenous women inquiry recommendations.
General election day is Monday, April 28. For more coverage of the all candidates meeting and other election stories, go to prpeak.com/2025-canada-votes.
Join the Peak's email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday.
