NDP Kelowna-Centre candidate says BC's political shake up doesn't change his campaign

good afternoon this is Kent mulat with Jim Czech and our guest loyal wridge the day after these crazy events now have the BC United party out of the race uh for upcoming provincial election here you are in Okanagan Center you had Colona Center sorry Colona Center thank you um now you just got uh you'll just have one opponent so what do you make of all this well I think this was a bizarre day in BC politics it was um none of us were expecting this including their candidates this late this late and you know I'm going to do this for you though just a second I'm just gonna move this and then I'm gonna move this because everybody wants to hear you um yeah bizarre day in BC politics probably going to be uh studied and written about in the future but um we didn't expect this but uh neither did the candidates which is interesting yeah yeah I imagine they had to do some like this late in the process it seems odd and obviously talked to a few of the candidates on both sides of the other side and there's a lot of you know nobody knows who's who right now right well I like to call it right when chaos really is what it is and they're you know playing with the lives yeah playing with the lives of British Colombians okay you yeah one of your responses what was that you're describing this as the right-wing playing games yeah or you could but if you wanted to like counter that you could say it's off The A Team I love it when a plan comes together amidst the chaos sure sure um but you know I think true leadership is really about collaboration and and had this been done earlier it could have been done in an organized and steady-handed way um we're six weeks out from an election and so now voters aren't going to know who their candidates are for a while yet candidates aren't going to know if they're the candidate for a while yet and um life's hard for people right now and we need to make sure that we're taking care of them question for you have you heard from David eie has he has he talked to the candidates like the NDP candidates right now and said like obviously this is for the NDP as well is there a message out that's been said to to candidates well it was definitely news I wouldn't say it's a surprise we've known that John rustad and the BC conservatives were our main opponent going into the election so it hasn't really changed much in our approach um because we know that we have to continue to deliver results for people and not lean into the right-wing bravado of um you know climate denying uh statements and and things like that so um we did get together as a team yesterday and Premier uh brought us together and um you know our our message is that we're here to support people for the things that really matter right you know one of the things that I was reading that was part of this discussion is that the BC United party had a um some opposition research about what some of the vulnerabilities are of some of the conservative candidates well wouldn't the NP like to get their hands on that well it's pretty easy because I don't think you need to have the research you could just scroll through social media feeds and see what what some of their candidates are saying and and that's what's really concerning is this is who we're electing to lead our Province our government and things are tough right now really complex files like housing and homelessness and health care we can't afford to be thrown into this uh political game of checkers so I guess the question would be from a lot of British Colombians though the NDP not you the NDP have had the wheel for nine years yeah how much of what's currently going on is their responsibility and then then saying they're going to fix it if they've had the wheel for now years right so what I would say is that we've been looking to adjust course from 15 years of disparity that was caused by the BC liberals and I think everyone needs to read this amazing book called Big promises small government by George Abbott who was a former cabinet minister working with Kevin Falcon and John rustad to to really see what they plan to do because it's exactly if you read the book exactly what they're putting in their election commitments so um we're writing the course of what had been done for 15 years and these are big files that take time you don't correct housing and Healthcare in 9 years you have to invest train and see those Services correct so there's a lot of work to do the systems definitely are not perfect I haven't read this book interesting title so are you saying that like promises can be done with big government is that what you're getting at or I'm not sure what I'm saying is we're hearing a lot of the same political bravado from the past saying we're going to cut down government we're going to cut $4 billion from Healthcare and we're going to just find some efficiencies here or there this book speaks about how the promises of Gordon Campbell was cutting 15% across all Ministries which contributed to the social issues that we see today so these have impacts people are going to say we're just going to find efficiencies fire some bureaucrats and we're going to balance the budget but at the end of the day it's going to mean cutting services because I work in a level of government right now where we can't run a deficit at the city of colog and we have to decide between do we increase service dial it back in order to have tax or increase the tax spase so just have to be realistic with what this what this actually means right you know these are probably the more important conversations we're into now but if you don't mind I want to go back to what what brought you in here what does this mean for you this this this shift so uh here you are an NDP candidate in a Colona writing sounds like a a you know an unlikely thing to to win at first glance but then you go you look at your writing it's more urban that tends to skew it more to the left and then you had the joy of two right-wing parties who were at each other's throats and there had to be some vote splitting that would happen now that's gone do you still have a chance or do you what do you think I truly believe so because I've dedicated this portion of my life life to Public Service as loyal waldridge the candidate and um I think people can look at my record just being on Council of what I've advocated for what we've attracted here to the city and having a new democrat representation in Colona with this balanced and steady leadership um will help us move forward and so this doesn't change the way I'm going to be campaigning I feel confident in my team and and what we've been doing and we're going to continue to work hard for people but at the end of the day the only poll that matters is on October 19th so I have a question though John rustad and Kevin Falcon have stated they're going to let their mlas talk which we haven't seen a lot especially at the federal level where they the MPS don't get to talk a lot has that promise been made to you where you're going to actually have a voice in this community where you can say what you want instead of like everything has to go through one person yeah that's why I'm here right now you know um we have the ear to the ground and that's the thing I like about Premier eie he very much values the ear to the ground of community needs and um that's why I'm doing media today otherwise um I would just be silent about it and so I don't feel like I'm I'm restricted at all um and that's why I'm proud to I think that's that's important for representation that the local community because we're connected to you right because you know I know you and you know like lots of people in community because the thing about being in community is that you know I see you at the grocery store and I can say what what's with that right and then you have to answer to that right because sometimes if we're you know dealing with somebody that's you know far Out Of Reach it's hard to get answers right totally and look Colona is unique and there are some policies that were blanket across the province that I wish I could have had a voice around the caucus table when some of that was was being created and that's why I threw my hat in the ring um and it's no you know slate on government it's just every Community is unique and if we want to have Maiden colonal Solutions we have to have someone here that's actually have that okay let's get to know you a little bit better politically um I don't think that uh it's it's it's difficult to for me to figure where you go on the left or right Spectrum I do believe you even gave some consideration to maybe running for BC United but then ultimately you decided that the NDP is more suitable so clearly you're not a far-left idealogue in terms of where you sit in the caucus look I've been a Centrist my entire political career and but my heart lies with helping people with also having a business brain and that's what I would bring to any um caucus I've seen the Great work the bcnp has done while I've sat on Council the last two terms and that's why I chose them um I you know I did support another party and I've been very open about that but when I saw what they contributed to the issues we see today and the values or lack thereof that they had it made the choice pretty easy for me because when you see a government that's working hard to support people that's where you can one of the one of the big messages out of the federal government for sure and it's been echoed by John rustad is ax the tax like ax the carbon tax right and then um Kevin had a kind of a different approach to where say he probably wouldn't raise it again but he would also follow whatever paau have did if he formed government right I did a recent interview with Sona first first to know and she also says that the current by the way leader of the green BC green party also says that the current uh carbon tax needs to be scrapped and it needs to be reworked and and it needs to be put on the well head not on the people and and the NDP position just to be clear it's it's to continue with the carbon tax as it is I believe it has to be re-evaluated there's not been a commitment that it's going to stay the same permanently I think any policy it evolves over time needs to be re-evaluated um but again it needs to be done in a way that's measured like just coming out with a blanket statement acts the taxs well what are we actually trying to accomplish what are the goals and I think that's the but what do you think of Sonia's kind of like statement like it seemed odd coming out of a BC the leader of BC green party right you know I could really comment Joe because I didn't see the interview so hey something to watch right so yeah and youve got some to read there you go I will read that so what's your you you've been going door too I've heard quite a bit in those beautiful shoes you tend to wear uh what are not really I wear New Balances what I'm on the door so what are you hearing on the on the doorstep does it does it give you confidence yeah um the three main issues that we are hearing about is housing health care and overall affordability and those are the three main issues that continue to come up and of course in Colona we hear a little bit about homelessness and safety and um those aren't surprises to me I hear about these issues every single day when I'm sitting around the council table and so um those are the issues that I'm most passionate about and looking to deliver results for but does is the response you're getting does it does it give you um you know a good feeling or are some people going NDP get off my doorstep what are you getting I've had two people tell me to get off the doorstep and we've knocked on heck of a lot of doors um but there's been a surprising amount of support and a lot of people are supporting me because of who I am and who I've stood for regardless of the party that I'm running with so I'm very grateful for that right so with regard to housing because obviously that's a big big issue for colon especially or the central okag the Okanogan in general the federal government is now I mean here po was pushing that you know they sell Federal lands and federal buildings and now I think the Trudeau government is now talking about putting Federal properties into into the mix is that something that the NDP would also consider like you know there's a lot of lot of Crown Land here that is that is available um is that something the N talk because because a lot of the developers will say that there's not enough land yeah and that's um actually been part of the housing plan from the get-go especially um using land that's around um rapid Transportation corridors so in the qus yeah yeah exactly and so um I don't necessarily think selling it off is a good idea but I definitely think leasing it out uh to for a dollar um so that it's it's held in perpetuity for people is a good thing so the you you sit on both sides of this the the the BC government came out and kind of like really kind of dipped its hand into the municipal kind of like playground where as far as what developments weing and said hey everybody can have a carriage home wherever they want and and kind of I guess like really modified your ocp is that something that is just an emergency thing do you think or is that something that'll carry on so throughout government so government did not alter the ocp it respects what is outlined in the ocp what they did is They removed certain steps of the development resoning process so that certain land uses could be granted as written in the ocp which goes under a ton of public engagement and that the whole methodology is to get more housing approved quickly and sitting around the council table for six years I can tell you sitting through so many public hearings not many people show up to support new housing they usually show up against it right and so government had to take a bold move that's why it's the most ambitious plan in Canada to say look we need to build more housing in the province Colona is an exception we been very friendly at getting a lot of Colona has done an amazing job of getting rental units into the market and there's a lot coming online and infill um but there's a lot of communities that have not and so that's why but the fact of the matter was it it did take some power away from local decision- making but you think that is warranted it's a it's an urgent crisis it's a housing crisis we hear it every single day and so um when we see our vacancy rate at a healthy rate of 3% I think that conversation can change but when we have students sleeping their cars and people being evicted from homes living on the rail trail different story how familiar are you with all of the NDP policies are you kind of getting up to speed on everything or you you feel pretty comfortable with everything slowly but surely obviously there's nuanced um subjects I'm not in government um and so I can't necessarily represent everything that government has done um but obviously working local government I interact quite a bit with their policy because because again Poli have put out a policy there statement I think on on immigration and we need to slow it down right and David E also made comments to that effect just recently and say we have to stem or slow down it because we have the schools are full and all that kind of stuff do you have a a thought on that so there's no question about it we have um the equivalent of a small City moving to British Columbia every single year like 244,000 people where are they're going to get health care schools and and housing so it has to be part of the mix it has to be part of the plan in conjunction with the federal government but yeah this is a federal issue right that you can elect who you want it's the Federal but I mean he can make noise right like he make noise right back on that housing thing and I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole but the one thing that I find upsetting about it is it all sounds good this infill housing and and we're increasing Supply supply and demand it's that's science right but every time they go to do one of these infill things they're taking down an older home or even an older Condo building that had lower rent and there so it is um it is uh upsetting that as we go to try to lower the cost of housing we're taking away some of the most um inexpensive housing it is part of the challenge of of densification for sure you are a businessman you have that history as well um Sonia the BC again the leader of the BC green party put out a policy statement I think a couple days ago saying go to a 4-day work week a lot of small businesses are already struggling in British Columbia um again I think our standard of living dropped last year how do we how do we look look after the needs because obviously a 4-day work week sounds great to a lot of people but how does business bear that like how how does that get there how do we get there well first and foremost I think you need to have a task force of business advisers that can actually share with you the struggles and and the solutions to overcome I think we use um the Urban Development Institute as a a good example of advocacy of of development and the same should happen in the business Community um and that those are questions that I need to ask around the caucus table um because you're right um business needs to be a focus and it has gotten hard for people but also businesses to to turn a profit how are we going to attract people and and investors to Colona to open more businesses um it has to be part of that conversation to ask those questions one other big sticky one for me and I think I'm I've got all the sticky ones out of the way uh Airbnb policy uh Renee marfield came out just recently saying it's it's the reason that tourism is hurting and we know that tourism is hurting in Colona right now and she said that is one of the big reasons and also Capital talk quite a few people say capital investment will go away from cologne and we see a lot of developments aren't selling now how do you balance that like we do have a ton of rentals now coming online how do we balance people being able to have certainty when they make investments and then also balance our tourism versus our housing needs sure and I think it's a a great discussion Point around short-term rentals and that was a blanket policy we saw come out of Victoria um I would push back in that I don't believe tourism down is down solely because of short-term rentals we just had one of our largest fires last last year that creates a lot of anxiety for people the cost of living has increased and cola isn't a cheap town to come and vacation to and then of course there's the short-term rental discussion I believe and as a representative for Colona we have a tourism commercial Zone that we created in 1997 I would be advocating for the properties that were built in that zoning to be grandfathered in um we saw like Aqua was built correct and it was people followed the zone you know they made their investment based on the zoning that you guys put into place and so they made that in good faith and and like there is a few I think there's six or seven Towers in Colona that are kind of like Sunset Drive yeah there's a few there's not there's not a lot there was a lot of I guess illegal or under the under the radar airbnbs wouldn't that be a better way to kind of do that policy like what you're just saying as opposed to just like a hammer well and um well I'll use predator Ridge as an example um they have a bcnp MLA and they were able to work with government to have Predator Ridge excluded from this legis W too well W col is a different story they're above 3% vacancy rate um but that's one of the things that I've brought forward to the premier is hey we need to have a maen Colona policy especially around short-term rentals when we took the initiative in 1997 to create those zonings people bought those properties with that even if you consider like we have one of the major hospitals in in the region and a lot of people want to come to a short-term rental because they want you know they want to stay close to that loved one when they're go through cancer and all you know what I mean like and it kind of like they have really no options now other than than than like a hotel which is can be very expensive and you can't cook and you can't do all those other things right yeah we we still have um 700 units of of um short-term rental throughout the city I I I support measures to preserve long long-term rental but I just want to stop one second though because there is 700 you say but they've been also squeezed into when they can operate like I I know somebody that has one they can only operate for three months of the year six months I believe three months Nick where's the fact checking dep where's the fact cheing but let me ask you this three months I mean that's he had he's only got three months so I'm sure that you will probably fine-tune what you would like to see also but do you have any sense in your communication with the party that they're open to you saying hey maybe there are some elements in Colona that need some special attention on how this uh ban on shortterm mentals is applied well I think policy in general that yes I um I just wrote a paper and sent it off to the premier recently around my position on shortterm rentals but also the Investments that we need to see into our transportation infrastructure um our health care System we need to have that ear to the ground locally to bring them forward to Victoria and and you feel that the party is is receptive to a Absolut conversation absolutely you drive an EV I just I just talked to a car dealer yesterday and the BC government modified the grant that was available okay to for EVS to it has to be under 50,000 which doesn't have a lot of EVS in that category anymore I think only like I I only know one or two um why do you think they Dro that EV like some of the dealers say that it's hurting their their sales on the EV Market which is getting tougher and tougher to sell yeah probably I would I would speculate I would have to read the actual policy I would speculate probably to ensure fairness in terms of of buyers if you're buying an $80,000 vehicle it's harder to um justify a you know a grant from the government um if you can afford that so I would assume that would probably be the M they put the number down to though which doesn't get you much of a car you know I mean like that's a very average car well the price of vehicles right I mean one thing for sure I mean you you've been in this community now how long since 1993 since 1993 and you've served in Council for six years now yeah for 16 two terms yeah yeah and been a businessman probably for 16 prior yeah so I guess um do you have anything you want to say today just to to the central L people Central log yeah I joined Council because of the social issues we were seeing downtown and I wanted to understand at a Grassroots level to understand our community from that level and how government works and that's really key and crucial to attract investment here and so I know what the city of Colona has prioritized in terms of our own priorities like a red fish Healing Center for people with complex care um a new Transit yard to increase Transit advocacy on short-term rentals um and also the the highway 33 connection connection point to alleviate some of the traffic on Highway 97 so I've deeply embedded myself in the Colona issues and understand the solutions to overcome that so that's really what I'm bringing to the table and really asking people to vote for the person not necessarily the party so if if someone supported the conservatives in the past or the greens I'm asking for that um asking for that support terrific I really appreciate you coming in and spending this time with us we do appreciate that as well thank you CL now definitely appreciates it and we appreciate you the viewer thanks for watching there you go and tun into my quickcast as well there you go um we do appreciate you um we ask that you subscribe and uh do all those things um we have a newsletter that goes out to 30,000 plus people in the morning too so and a ton of content online a ton of content online on Clon now.com and we're trying to do is probably more coverage of the BC election than most we're doing these long form interviews which I think you get to know the candidate more we're asking tougher questions um in a in a in a more respectful manner I think though too right and uh and I think that's good for the voter and uh thank you for watching now