As a newly elected Haisla Nation councillor in 2003, I realized quickly that the issues I faced as a young Aboriginal growing up on reserve is what many First Nations experienced across Canada.
My own periods of unemployment, drugs and alcoholism is what drove my style of leadership because I didn’t want anyone to go through what I went through. The tragic policies of the NDP-Liberals have increased the number of people using drugs across the entire country. I believe there is a better way – to get people help and recover from drug addiction.
We found that employment provided long-term positive results, especially when the fishing and forestry jobs declined. It’s why I believe fully in economic development.
In reviewing policies, legislation, or regulations, I try to find out how decisions affect the average person and work upwards, not from the top down. It’s been an effective approach when I see people becoming independent and councils being less reliant on government funding, which is mostly what the Indian Act enabled over the decades.
Representation can be layered but I’ve always tried to do what it is that people want and then proceed to advocate on their behalf whether it be at the council table or in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. It is this approach to representation that led me to run for the Conservative Party of Canada under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre.
Pierre Poilievre and I stand shoulder to shoulder with responsible hunters and sport shooters. The recent gun ban enacted by the Liberals and supported by NDP, punishes First Nations and non-First Nations gun owners alike. If elected, we will repeal the gun ban.
Currently in Canada, under a weak economy, we have been left vulnerable to government debt, which has $46 billion in interest payments alone. On top of this, Russia intends to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic and travel through Canadian waters when the sea ice melts. Ignoring the Russians is an even bigger concern when we all admit, our military is not fit to mount a defense against anyone, let alone assist our NATO allies due to underfunding. China has even declared themselves an Arctic State, despite being more than 1,500 km from the Arctic Circle. Only Conservatives have a plan to take back control of Canada’s North.
We have committed to:
Double the size of the 1st Patrol Group of the Canadian Rangers, from 2,000 to 4,000 Rangers.
Acquire two additional polar icebreakers for the Royal Canadian Navy. Poilievre also committed to delivering the two polar icebreakers the Seaspan and Davie shipyards are now building for the Coast Guard by 2029, while the Liberals refuse to provide a timeline.
Build at least one permanent Arctic military base within two years: CFB Iqaluit, Canada’s first permanent Arctic military base since the Cold War. Canada must invest more in our military to protect our sovereignty, and Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party has committed to do that.
I believe in transparency, no matter how difficult a topic is. I’ve gone through the divisiveness that can tear apart a community and it only gets worse with outside players making it worse.
There are ways to avoid conflict within our societies without the divide and conquer strategies.
Ultimately, I’ve always wanted to build and leave a future for all of us and especially for our descendants who don’t deserve a weak country because of decisions based on politics versus what is best for all of us as a collective