Jennifer McIntosh/The Interior News Nathan Cullen looks on as Rod Taylor responds to a question at the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce All-Candidates forum on Friday
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Letter to Editor
ShareSmith makes pledge, Cullen takes shot
Published: October 08, 2008 8:00 AMUpdated: October 09, 2008 3:46 PM
“We have to be careful of development that has a boom and bust cycle and stop treating our natural resources as a treasure trove we can dip into.”
Brenda Wilson, whose sister Ramona was found murdered near Hwy 16, asked Smith if she would work to have an inquest look into the missing women in the region.
“I feel for the families and I know it’s hard driving on the highway and seeing the pictures,” Smith said. “I pledge to do what I can to bring this issue forward.
Cullen said the Prime Minister has a lot to answer for because he didn’t come out and accept the petition from the people that walked all the way from Prince Rupert to Ottawa to raise awareness of the missing and murdered women.
“I was really impressed with the Prime Ministers’ apology to First Nations residential school survivors,” Cullen said. “But his actions when these people walked all the way to Ottawa — he was given three months notice and he was in Ottawa that day — it makes me doubt the sincerity of that apology.”
The forum was exceedingly cordial with few fireworks. However, the public admission of potentially-futile campaigns did raise eyebrows.
“I know I won’t get elected,” Mary Etta Goodacre said. “But I wanted to have my two weeks to talk to you about the conspiracy of 9/11. There is a cabal in the United States that controls the media, the official story we were given is not true.”
Arendt said he sees the Green Party as the 21 Centurys’ answer to the NDP.
Despite consistently losing, the popularity of the party has increased over the years, with 600,000 votes in the last election and an expected 1.5 million votes this time around.
“In the 1940s the NDP promised a 40-hour work week and Health care and they delivered on those promises,” Arendt said. “Despite having never formed a government they influenced government because they were trying to appeal to the voting block they were losing.”
Taylor said that although, it is unlikely the Christian Heritage Party will form a government, he felt that the only wasted vote is one that doesn’t best represent a persons beliefs.
“The CHP is only party that works to defend the rights of the unborn child, the institution of marriage between a man and a woman and basic family values,” he said.
