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ELECTION NOTES:

Candidates to share their views in dialogue cafes

Compiled by Adam Daff

Executive Director of Whistler Forum William Roberts has organized for four of the West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast candidates to come to Whistler and be involved in dialogue cafes.

The talks will follow in the same kind of format that has been used with Whistler’s councillors in recent weeks.

Liberal candidate Blair Wilson will be a guest at the first dialogue café in Whistler on June 13 between 4-5.30pm.

Conservative MP John Reynolds will be talking to constituents over lunch on the 21 st between 12-1.30pm and NDP candidate Nicholas Simons will follow between 4.30-6pm on the same day.

Greens candidate Andrea Goldsmith will be in Whistler on Sunday June 20 between 4-5.30pm.

The locations had not been determined at press time but for further details check www.whistlerforum.com.

 

Strahl doubts Liberals

Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon Conservative MP Chuck Strahl damned the Liberal’s promise to give cities five cents per litre, or approximately $2 billion annually, from the federal gasoline tax.

Strahl said, "it was hard to believe that the Liberals would actually keep this promise" because when the "Opposition brought the idea forward two years ago the Liberals voted against it."

Strahl said a Conservative government would transfer gas taxes to cities "as long as it’s used to fund infrastructure needs such as roads."

He also reaffirmed his party’s desire to scrap the federal gun registry.

"A Conservative government will repeal the registry knowing that you can’t fix something that’s already broken," he said.

Besner backs Martin

Liberal candidate in Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, Bob Besner, released several press releases this week supporting Prime Minister Paul Martin’s initiatives.

"The type of long-term investment in health care Canadians desire is not possible with the American-style tax cuts offered by Stephen Harper, and requires a fiscal discipline that the NDP simply do not have," said Besner.

He added that the Liberal’s federal gas tax initiative would return money to the "level of government that needs it the most", our under-funded local councils.

Bombois decries court ruling

The Canadian Action Party’s candidate in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, Squamish resident Marc Bombois, has come out in support of Percy Schmeiser, the farmer who took on Monsanto over genetically modified crops.

Schmeiser lost when the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Monsanto’s claim.

Bombois said in a letter that "the Supreme Court decision confirms what I now see as obvious – our government no longer protects our rights."

"The Supreme Court has ruled that Monsanto owns its gmo…. In effect, Canada’s highest court has given Monsanto ownership of a species."

Dead or alive, they’ll get you

In response to the Liberal’s health care platform and the NDP’s announcement that they would introduce an inheritance tax to help pay for their health care package, Conservative leader Stephen Harper said in B.C. this week: "The Liberals have a proven record of overtaxing you while you are alive and the NDP wants to tax you when you are dead."

"What Canada needs is a Conservative government that respects your work, respects your savings and respects your descendants."

Dream Team on TV

A series of new advertisements have started to appear on television in B.C. featuring some members of the Martin-appointed B.C. "dream team", which is comprised of three former NDP heavyweights. Ujjal Dosanjh, Dave Haggard and Shirley Chan will all appear in the ads.

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NDP candidate in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast Nicholas Simons had to get creative with his campaign this week when his personal computer stopped working. Simons was forced to reply to e-mails at Internet terminals inside his local London Drugs store.

Dates

June 7: Nominations close.

June 18, 19, 21: Advance voting

June 21: The Squamish Chamber of Commerce will convene an all-candidates meeting for the West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast candidates at the Sea to Sky Hotel between 7 and 9 p.m.

Registered political parties:

Bloc Québécois

Canadian Action Party

Christian Heritage Party

Communist Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

Green Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

Marijuana Party

Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada

New Democratic Party

Progressive Canadian Party

De-registered political parties:

Natural Law Party of Canada 

Political parties eligible for registration:

Libertarian Party of Canada

Political Parties who lost their eligibility to become registered:

National Alternative Party of Canada (section 369(2))

The Ontario Party of Canada (section 369(2))

Absolutely Absurd Party (section 367, withdrawal of application)

Helpful Web sites

West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast (Whistler and Squamish):

http://www.johnreynolds.ca/index.html (Conservatives)

http://www.greenparty.ca/index.php?module=fatcat&fatcat%5Buser%5D=viewCategory&fatcat_id=367 (Greens)

http://www.nicholassimons.ca/ (NDP candidate)

http://www.teambc.ca/cgi-bin/home.pl (Liberals)

Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon (Pemberton and D’Arcy):

http://www.chuckstrahl.com/mp/photos/photos.html (Conservative)

http://www.bobbesner.ca/ (Liberal)

http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.ca/c_norm_siefken.htm (Marijuana Party)

http://www.rolliekeith.ca/ (NDP)

http://www.cpcml.ca/ (Marxist-Leninist Party)

Other sites:

www.ndp.ca

www.conservative.ca

www.liberal.ca

www.theglobeand mail.com (Globe and Mail)

www.nationalpost.com (National Post)

www.thestar.com (Toronto Star)

http://www.canada.com/national/features/decisioncanada/index.html

http://www.elections.ca/home.asp?textonly=false (Elections Canada)