Nelson-Creston provincial election candidates Sjeng Derkx, Greg Garbula and Michelle Mungall answered questions from the public at an April 24 forum:
•Murray Oswald, general manager of Columbia Brewery, asked if parties planned changes to provincial beer taxes, an important issue for a community in which a brewery is a major employer.
Derkx said he hadn’t given the issue much thought, but that Canada in general already has very high alcohol taxes and duties.
Mungall said the NDP has no plans to increase taxes on beer and is also supportive of B.C. craft distilleries and vintners. The NDP, she said, fought a Liberal plan to privatize the liquor distribution system, which would have increased retail prices.
Garbula: “There is no plan to increase beer taxes. We’re trying to reduce all corporate taxes, and to keep taxes down in general.”
•Unidentified questioner: Is there a plan to return government to the control of human beings from corporations?
Mungall: In 2001, the Liberal government cut $2 billion in corporate taxes.
“You pay for this with reduced services,” she said. “We all pay for that decision. The point of taxes is for everyone to pay their fair share.”
She said an NDP government would increase corporate taxes to 2008 levels, putting B.C. in the middle of the pack nationally, but “still very competitive.”
Garbula: “A low tax base is why we have had a strong economy and the best job creation record in the country.”
Low tax rates have kept corporations in the province, he said, adding that there was “a sucking sound from corporations and people leaving the province” during the last NDP government regime.
“We lost jobs in the 1990s during an economic upturn nationally.”
Derkx: The question is really about democracy, he said. From 2005-2012 the Liberal party accepted $46 million in donations from corporations and the NDP accepts millions from unions. The practice puts both parties in conflict when decisions are made, he said.
•Linda Breault: Services to women have plummeted since 2001. “How will you move toward gender equality in meeting at least international standards for women?”
Garbula: When funds are available, governments can bring in more services. “It was wrong to cut back on social services,” he said, but when the economy is stronger and revenues are there, the government needs to get involved again.
Derkx: “It’s a little bit shameful that women’s incomes are calculated in fractions of men’s incomes.” Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and provincial Leader Jane Sterk are “two of the most hard-working and smartest women I know.”
Mungall: Since 2011 B.C. has lost 35,000 permanent jobs. An NDP government will bar corporate and union political donations. She is chair of the NDP women’s caucus and said the party will resurrect the women’s equality ministry if re-elected. The province needs to address violence against women and wage inequality issues.
•Tom Mann: Utilities pay the highest tax rates in the province, except for BC Hydro, which pays no taxes in rural areas. Will candidates support BC Hydro being forced to pay like other utility companies?
Derkx: The current system is unfair. One billion dollars of BC Hydro’s power is generated in our area.
Mungall: There are many questions about how much money BC Hydro actually has, and it is overpaying by as much as double the going rate to independent power producers. She will convene an advisory committee of people with expertise.
Garbula: “We need to fight for our region — our area needs that funding.” He will work with regional directors “to make sure we get the best deal.”
•Avril Oliver: “Why are we letting our children go hungry?” B.C. has had the country’s highest level of child poverty until it moved up one notch last year.
Mungall: She ran the Nelson Food Cupboard before becoming MLA. A family income program would help raise families out of poverty.
Garbula: The quality of life for all British Columbians has to be improved through opportunities such as liquefied natural gas production and a creation of a prosperity fund. Paying down the debt will allow for the creation of a long-term plan for child poverty.
Derkx: “It’s heart-breaking. Since 2007 things have only gotten worse.”
The Green Party supports a guaranteed minimum income for all citizens and would create regional social trusts to bring social service decision-making to the local level. But, “We don’t believe in throwing money around before elections. That just leads to cynicism.”
The entire tax system needs to be looked at, and loopholes available to corporations and wealthy individuals need to be closed.