The 100 Mile Free Press reached out to both candidates running for MLA of the Cariboo-Chilcotin and asked them the following six questions. Each candidate had a limit of 500 words in total. Michael Moses' responses are as follows:
1. Who you are, what party are you running for and why have you decided to run for MLA this election?
Weyt-k. Hunilht'ih. Dahooja. Hello. I’m Michael Moses, and I’ve lived in Cariboo-Chilcotin for over 30 years. As an elected city councillor, I’m dedicated to making the Cariboo-Chilcotin a better place for people to live and thrive. That’s why I am running for the BC NDP – people need a government looking out for them, not just those at the top. When John Rustad was in government, he cut taxes for the top two per cent and made regular people pay the price.
2. What, in your view, is the biggest issue facing the Cariboo-Chilcotin Riding? How would you address it?
Forestry is coming up repeatedly. Low lumber prices, punishing softwood lumber tariffs, and unprecedented wildfires—our forestry workers and communities are facing big challenges.
We’re taking action to tackle these challenges and build a strong forestry sector with good jobs for the long term. When Rustad was in government, nearly 30,000 jobs were lost, and dozens of mills were closed. He failed forestry communities before, and he’ll do it again.
3. There is a Canada-wide shortage of healthcare workers. With this in mind, how does your party propose to attract healthcare workers to come to this region, and then stay here, when they have their pick of jobs and locations?
Healthcare should always be there when you need it. But the shortage of doctors and nurses across Canada is straining healthcare everywhere, especially in rural communities like ours. We’re training and hiring more doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers than ever before.
We’re focusing especially on rural communities, with a rural retention incentive for healthcare workers who fill high-needs vacancies. There’s lots more to do – we can’t stop now. Rustad’s deep cuts would mean fewer doctors and nurses and worsen these problems.
4. Reconciliation with Indigenous communities has become a central focus of provincial and federal government in recent years. What would you do to help further this process as MLA?
Real reconciliation means working together and finding a path forward that works for everyone. B.C. is home to all of us. We all want to build a good life here, but for too long, court rulings about rights and titles have created uncertainty, and Indigenous Peoples have been denied basic rights and opportunities.
As Grand Chief Stewart Phillip recently told the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, David Eby has been a true partner in advancing reconciliation. The path of partnership is the path to a stronger BC.
5. Given the increasing climate-related disasters taking place around the world and in our region, what is your party’s plan to address the climate crisis and what role does the climate tax play in that, if any?
Cariboo-Chilcotin is a place where each of us has stories of wildfires, floods, or landslides. The climate crisis impacts our lives while costing our economy billions of dollars. That’s why we’re fighting pollution and building a clean economy with good-paying local jobs. If Ottawa removes its requirement for a carbon tax, we will remove that tax for regular people while ensuring big polluters pay their fair share.
We need to keep taking climate action, unlike Rustad, who denies the science of climate change and would leave our communities vulnerable to climate impacts.
6. How does your party propose to ensure that provincial legislation listens to, and takes into account, the very different needs of rural B.C. rather than being a ‘one size fits all’ template designed with urban voters in mind?
Cariboo-Chilcotin is a great place to live. But our challenges aren’t the same as those in urban areas. We’re taking action to strengthen services, speed up permitting, and support good, sustainable jobs for people close to home, so they can build a good life in the communities we love.
Let’s keep taking action to support people and businesses in rural communities, and not leave them to fend for themselves like Rustad did when he was in government.
