A key goal in the SC Chamber’s Strategic Plan is to host an Invest in the Sunshine Coast Forum. We plan to offer investment opportunities in tourism, housing needs, office and technology jobs, light industry, public projects like water infrastructure, etc. What opportunities should the Federal Govt offer at this forum? What specific investments need to be made by the Federal Govt on the Coast?
Worker housing is a challenge for business owners. Employees turn down offers for well-paid jobs because they can’t find housing. Which of your proposed programs is designed to cater to smaller communities?
All parties want to invest billions to make housing more affordable, but you don’t say what type of housing you plan to support. In Canada, 82% of housing starts are 6-storey buildings. In Australia, 87% of housing starts are 6-storey. The industry is doing this because that’s the type of rental and condo housing young families can afford. How do you plan to encourage more of that type of housing to be built?
The Federal govt (taxpayers) bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline and built it. Since completion in 2024, 50% of Alberta oil from that pipeline is sold at a discount to US refineries and 50% at market rates to Asia - where it displaces coal energy. Would you be willing to export 100% of the oil coming out of that pipeline to Asia? Source: https://energynow.ca/2024/09/trans-mountain-pipeline-expansion-tilts-flows-to-asia-away-from-u-s-gulf/
(Follow-up to question above:) The Federal govt spent $4.5B to buy the Trans Mountain Pipeline. It’s now valued at $30B. Will your govt sell TMP? Will you allocate the proceeds of that sale to coastal priorities such as helping us deal with potential spills and with rising sea level on the Coast?
All parties point to municipalities being a bottleneck to get housing approved and built. Metro Vancouver’s 21 municipalities just started to work on a single set of rules for all multi-family buildings. Here, municipalities are going the other way: we had one Housing Needs report for the Sunshine Coast in 2023, but this year we have 3 separate reports, at triple the cost.
How far would you go to get municipalities to work together and cut the red tape? Would you support working with Provinces to amalgamate small municipalities?
There are many commercial space vacancies downtown Sechelt and in Upper Gibsons. A Bank of Montreal branch vacated a big corner building; the space is still vacant a year later. Except for mining and forestry, all big investments in BC go to Metro Vancouver… How do you plan to encourage investment in smaller communities?
Deficits – federal government spending has, for many years, exceeded the revenues from taxation resulting in the Government of Canada being heavily indebted. This obliges future governments to budget for interest payments on these loans to come from future revenues – meaning from future generations. Is this a fair approach?
Can we afford to keep spending at the present rate and increasing our debt load? It seems we are spending now to maintain a standard of living that is not sustainable. How is burdening our children and their children with these financial obligations fair? And if we cannot afford such spending, what is your plan to reduce costs?
If the Government of Canada was a business, our bankers would be demanding we provide a detailed plan for how to dig ourselves out from under this debt burden. What is your plan, if elected?
Government spending has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. In particular, the number of staff hired by the federal government and their agencies is at a record high. With the benefit of hindsight, has all this hiring delivered better results to Canadians?
Response times from various federal departments and agencies have grown longer and longer - it seems the more people working for government, the slower the response time. Two examples: (a) The lack of Service Canada facilities in Sechelt has caused severe burdens for residents. Why can there not be a full time office in Sechelt to provide such services – such could be staffed with minimal staff with technical experts available remotely. (b) We have a very important group on the Coast – immigrants. They provide much needed services that our aging population cannot provide and that we need (health care, retail services and more.) Yet the immigration department’s approach has been one of interminable delays, lack of accountability and even cruelty . This has placed terrible burdens on applicants who are trying to make a life here and provide services we badly need. I understand the attitude of the immigration departure has resulted in many MPs hiring additional staff in their constituency offices to try to support these residents in dealing with this awful bureaucracy. If elected, what will you do to turn around this deplorable situation?
If your party forms government and you were offered a cabinet position, what portfolio would interest you most, and why?
Do we need DOGE in Canada?
Last year, federal government spending on National Defence was about $33B while spending on Indigenous Relations was over $45B. (These are amounts spent on recurring operations, not capital or other one time projects.) Is this an appropriate allocation of our resources?
Is DEI serving Canada well?
Do you support comprehensive third party audits of all federal government-funded programmes?
Canada’s productivity has fallen to among the lowest in the G20 over the last 20 years. Does this concern you and if so what would you do to change this?
The Sunshine Coast gets a fraction of the funding that has gone to the Atlantic provinces for transportation projects. What is most noticeable is our costly and aging ferry system – while mostly a provincial responsibility, what will you do to help us modernize and improve our deplorable “marine highway”?
Would you support providing funding for a bridge from the lower mainland to the upper mainland?
Safety for residents is of deep concern – what are your plans to address the federal aspects of solutions to this issue? [Catch and release, bail reform, sentencing directions, etc.]
Aging Infrastructure: Capilano University, like many other organizations on the Sunshine Coast, is serving the local population in 2025 from facilities that were designed and built in the 1960s or older. We have aging infrastructure and constrained financial resources renovate and retrofit our facilities for current and future operations.
How would your government support CapU and other community institutions with funding to upgrade aging infrastructure in a way that also addresses accessibility issues and serves the community in the future?
Transit: The Sunshine Coast needs better transit. At Capilano University, some of our students on the Sunshine Coast rely on transit to get to and from classes where they gain skills and earn credentials to support their familes and contribute to the Canadian economy.
As our MP, how would you champion the need for better transit funding to support students?
There are more than 7,000 Coast residents without doctors — and they’re just the ones who’ve registered on the provincial list for assistance. Is it not time the federal government stepped in to make it easier for internationally trained doctors to get qualified in Canada?
The Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre used to be the one spot on the Coast where federally protected animals could be taken for veterinary care before being released or transferred to another approved facility. Its closure due to a lack of funding is having a devastating effect on injured and/or ill wildlife on the Coast. Is this on your radar and what can you do to help?
There are very few, if any, second-stage supports on the Coast for people living with addiction or mental health issues, which is causing havoc in our small towns. These types of resources are vital for people in recovery. How can you work with the provincial and local governments to fast-track support funding for second-stage resources?
With increasing tariffs looming, what changes to the EI program or assistance programs for workers or industry are the federal government exploring?
Derelict boats are becoming more and more of not only a navigational hazard off the Coast, but are also having a negative impact on the aquatic environment as they break up and leach oil and chemicals into the ocean. What steps can the federal government take to get a handle on this issue before it gets even more out of control?
What is your plan for supporting and enhancing the economic development of the Sunshine Coast?
Do you believe the coastal BC ferry system should receive federal financial support at a level commensurate with similar systems elsewhere in the country and how would you work to ensure that is achieved?
How would your party help address the need for affordable housing on the Sunshine Coast?
What is your view on the sentencing for repeat offenders?
Many residents express concerns about tourism's impacts, including overcrowding, and raising the cost of living. Do you have any plans for preserving the heritage of the Sunshine Coast while supporting tourism and growth?
Last year Sechelt hired a private security team to patrol its streets as residents raised concerns that there was enough RCMP officers to effectively cover the Sunshine Coast, especially during the warmer seasons and do you think municipalities should have to hire private security teams?
Homelessness and the homeless encampment near Sechelt continues to raise concerns for Coastal residents, and many people move to Sechelt not knowing the encampment exists. Do you have any plans for how to address the rising homeless/unhoused issue on the Coast and do you think that Sechelt should be more forthcoming about the issue to people moving into the community?
Please tell us everything you know about the economic implications of building more pipelines to move fossil fuel products across the country.
Please follow up with an explanation of where the product, perhaps diluted bitumen, will end up being refined. Are there refineries in Eastern Canada that can handle bitumen? What is your party's stance on expanding fossil fuels and pipelines?
The fracking process to obtain liquid natural gas, and what is the end product of using LNG ?
The transportation of liquid natural gas.
I recently read an article in the Israel Times, that quoted an interview with Mr. Polievre where he confirmed that, if elected, he would withdraw Canadian participation in the International Criminal Court (like the US has done) and would also invite B. Netanyahu to Canada. Can you clarify if this accurately reflects policy for the Conservatives?
What, if elected, would be your party's position regarding the Israeli - Palestinian conflict generally, the War on Gaza particularly, and various UN resolutions calling for a formal cease-fire?
Would your party suspend Canada's provision of military materials (via the US) to Israel given the various resolutions for a cease-fire and subsequent negotiations?
Will the party support more oil & gas pipelines & LNG projects in Canada ?
Will the party move to UK-style suppression of free speech on the internet ?
Will the party vastly increase debt and thus create massive inflation and expenses for our kids and grandkids ?
Will the party enter into a free trade & free people movement agreement with the US .. similar to agreements among EU nations ?
Will the party encourage Canadian oil to be used in E-Canada vs dictator oil ?
Will the party drop the EV mandate currently in place for 2035 ?
Federal governments, in the past have dribbled away billions of dollars in local projects ( what Jean Chrétien called “church halls and hockey rinks”) Isn’t it time for the feds to leave those to provinces and locals, and instead focus on being really good at stuff the Canadian government is truly responsible for under the constitution, such as defence, foreign affairs, transport, telecommunication, passports, etc?
We’ve heard calls for a civil defence corps from either side of the political spectrum to varying degrees for climate change or for military invasion. What are your thoughts on what such civil organization needs to be happening for the increasingly frequent emergencies –– whether they be natural, health, economic or military?
Amid the tariff war and climate change, food security is an ever-growing issue. How can the federal government support small-scale food producers on the Sunshine Coast?
Today is the ninth anniversary of the toxic-drug public health emergency in B.C. More than 16,000 people have died from toxic drugs since the crisis was declared. In Sechelt alone last year, there were 152 calls to Emergency Health Services for drug poisonings. Understanding that health is primarily provincial jurisdiction but the impact is national, how has the toxic drug crisis affected you and how has that informed your commitment to helping end it?
Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Society recently posted a one-bedroom apartment in its long-fought for Shaw Road complex at a monthly rent of $1,730. No shade on the housing society, which is working with a difficult market –– what does “affordable” and “accessible” housing mean to you? What hope do you see from a government formed by your party for those who cannot afford to pay $1,730 a month for a one-bedroom “affordable” apartment?
What lessons from the pandemic –– on a federal level –– can we apply to dealing with Trump’s economic and other threats toward Canada?
What’s the best policy and/or idea you’ve seen from one of the other campaigns?
The Trudeau Government & Guilbeault have deliberately curtailed the development of oil & LNG & its export saying “ there is no case for it”. A decision of “ignorance” & “arrogance” beyond comprehension.
What is the Conservative response to reawakening Canadian independence as an energy driven country that powers today’s global economy?
If we can’t use our own oil due to “climate change”, then what about the “climate” where the imported oil comes from?
About 400,000 BC residents are waiting to be matched with a family doctor through the province’s Health Connect Registry, including many thousands of Sunshine Coast residents. The family doctor crisis has spawned many ideas for major reform, such as former Health Minister Jane Philpott’s advocacy for rebuilding the health system to provide primary care access for everyone, similar to our education system. What specific steps will you take to solve this critical problem?
The federal government announced in January an investment of $117 million in partnership with the Shishalth Nation, SCRD and Heidelberg Materials, to upgrade the existing water treatment plant and construction of two large-scale storage reservoirs to manage water within the Chapman Creek watershed. Since the announcement, many residents have expressed concern about the lack of details and secrecy surrounding the project. What are your views on this important development?
We hear much about the dire situation Canada finds itself in with respect to the federal debt and deficit, how that affects our standing in the G7, and the long term impacts on our well-being. Could each of you give us your assessment of where we currently stand and the approach your party intends to take to address this critical problem. How will your party’s plans be adjusted to address the dynamic nature of the current tariff situation?
Studies have shown that Atlantic Canada’s ferry passengers get over 300 times the federal subsidies that ferry passengers in BC receive ($500 per passenger versus $1.50 for BC). In the past, this discrepancy has been defended with the argument that that BC Ferries is under provincial jurisdiction and the Federal Government shouldn’t interfere. Will you advocate for increased federal funding for our underfunded ferry system?
What will be done by each candidate to put a stop to the rising crime we have seen over the past 10 years?