Healthcare, housing and education were up for debate by Abbotsford-Mission candidates on Thursday (Oct. 3).
Incumbent NDP MLA Pam Alexis and Conservative candidate Reann Gasper took to the Clarke Theatre stage at an all-candidates meeting to answer questions ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election.
Alexis and Gasper each provided opening and closing remarks and answered questions from both the public and Mission Chamber of Commerce. Answers were limited to one-minute with a pair of rebuttals each.
In their introduction, both candidates mentioned the importance of the upcoming election.
Gasper, a pastor of 20 years, said prayer and faith are needed in looking at “what has happened in the landscape of our nation”.
“The state of what we are facing – we can't say it's somebody else's job to fix. And so that was part of the reason why I put my hand up and I thought, I've never done politics in my life. I am brand new, but I am not going to leave it to somebody else to get in the game. Even though I don't know the first thing about it, I'm going to get in the game. I'm going to learn, I'm going to represent the people,” Gasper said in her opening remarks.
Alexis said each position she has held during her political career has built working relationships with all levels of government and helped develop the skill set needed to be the MLA.
“Mission cannot afford to have services rolled back again. During [years under the BC Liberals], the Fraser Valley was neglected and quite frankly, ignored. Under David Eby's leadership and alongside my colleague Bob D’Eith, we have finally succeeded in achieving the much needed infrastructure that will begin to match the growth of the region. Investments have been made in transportation, schools, flood mitigation, water and sewer infrastructure, housing and healthcare,” Alexis said.
Among the topics of discussion, candidates were asked about short-term solutions to immediately address staffing challenges in the healthcare system.
The incumbent Alexis noted 853 new family doctors and 6,300 nurses hired province-wide. She says collaboration is needed with municipalities to make Fraser Valley communities more attractive for doctors.
“We have reduced the barriers for the form credentials. We have done a number of things to increase the professionals. The issue, of course, in Fraser East – which includes Abbotsford, Mission and Chilliwack – are really about trying to get all of those folks into the Fraser Valley,” Alexis said.
Gasper questioned why it has taken four years to incentivize doctors to move to Mission.
“The B.C. Conservative Party is prepared to hire back our doctors and nurses – is prepared to see Mission have a maternity ward again,” she said.
She went on to say: “These are basic services and it baffles me that government cannot get it together to actually commit to seeing health services in a growing community actually become first rate.”
Gasper advocated for a fully functional hospital and “not plans to close it”. Alexis told the Mission Record there are “absolutely no plans to close the hospital."
During the meeting, Alexis also used one of her rebuttals to address the claim. She mentioned the former BC Liberal government's plans for hospital closures in Mission in 2009 when Conservative leader John Rustad was a member of that party.
“It's not something that was created by my party,” Alexis said.
Moderator Manny Deol also asked the candidates about the provincial government’s role in tackling affordable housing.
“I believe that government has a part to play most definitely. But we need to get out of the way so that homes can be built. We need to cut the red tape so that we actually have affordable housing in our community. The tallest tower in Mission was delayed because of red tape – makes no sense to me,” Gasper said.
Alexis said the government must lead the way with respect to affordable housing.
“We lived through governments that cut red tape and paid the consequences. As a result, you must build to standard. You must build to code. The Second Avenue tower needed to come to a certain point that was habitable by people, and that's what the delays have been about. So we have a wonderful builder who has a big heart but just needed to actually comply to the regulations of the day,” she said.
Candidates were also asked what they would do to ensure TransLink continues to provide West Coast Express service to Mission.
Alexis said the NDP platform includes an expansion of the West Coast Express with services to Chilliwack.
“This community has changed exponentially as a result of the West Coast Express,” she said.
Gasper said it’s important to have West Coast Express service available.
“If we want to be able to keep our young people in our region and build our economy, we have to have means for them to get to work,” she said. "It makes sense to me. I'm not a politician yet but it makes sense to me. So it's important to have that service, not just be at a limited time of the day, but where we're actually seeing that thing running in a way that people will use it.”
Early in the meeting, a question was asked that mentioned the local high school turning away new students due to capacity. The Mission Public School District told the Mission Record no students have been turned away.
Other questions were asked about public safety, decriminalization of drugs, immigration, transportation, electricity, climate change, working with developers and more.
A full recording of the meeting is available at https://www.youtube.com/live/FafLIg_Kj7I?si=3RbHestY7hk7sWv_.
