My Haida name is Laanas and Haida Gwaii is my home. My mother is Lois Rullin, my grandparents were Dan and Vesta Helmer and my great-grandparents were Chief Weah Willie and Emma Matthews.
It is through them I learned our Haida values — values I held throughout my work on Land Use Planning and the Haida Land Title Agreement negotiations, respecting all those who were involved.
We’re neighbours, and we’re stronger working together to build a brighter future for everyone. I’m running as your BC NDP candidate because I know the people of Haida Gwaii and the North Coast are facing big challenges right now.
I want to tackle those challenges head-on as part of David Eby’s team. We need to keep building a B.C. where you don’t just get by, you get ahead. Where you can afford a good home, whether you rent or own. Where you can get health care when and where you need it.
We’re taking action on all these challenges, and we’re starting to see real results. If you elect me as your MLA, we will build on these foundations, and keep up this momentum until the job is done.
We know all too well that it can take years to construct a building, yet it only takes a day to tear it down. Which is, from my perspective, exactly what John Rustad and his BC Conservatives are promising to do. Seeming to pay no mind to those who live here, and who will be left to cope with the mess afterwards. Quite frankly, we can’t afford that risk.
Reconciliation is a great example. The Supreme Court of Canada has called on governments to seek reconciliation through negotiated agreements rather than court cases. But John Rustad has promised to rip up the land title recognition that we’ve worked so hard for, and to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
A move of immense disrespect that will set us back to a time of conflict, when Indigenous peoples were denied basic human dignity and opportunities. Back to a time of decades-long court cases and economic uncertainty that cost us good jobs and investment. That is absolutely a risk none of us can afford.
While John Rustad focuses on dividing communities, the question most voters are asking is: Who will be on my side? And, let me tell you, the single best thing about being a candidate are the conversations with voters. I’ve been listening closely to people’s concerns across the riding, and discussing the action we’re taking to help.
Concerns like housing – this is a wonderful and unique place to live and raise a family, but housing is in short supply and too expensive. Homebuyers are being priced out by high interest rates and real-estate speculators looking to cash in on the housing boom.
There’s lots more to be done, but we’re already seeing positive impacts here in Haida Gwaii with 23 new homes completed in Daajing Giids, 24 new homes in Skidegate and more projects underway.
Everyone here should be able to afford a home. We need to keep cutting through the red tape and taking on the speculators. Experts say our Housing Action Plan will deliver 300,000 affordable homes across the province. But John Rustad is promising to cancel that plan and those homes. We can’t afford that either.
We need our ERs open. Health care should always be there when you need it, and I know how stressful ER closures can be, especially for anyone in an emergency situation needing immediate care.
That’s why we’re taking action to train and hire more doctors, nurses, and health care workers than ever before, with a focus on communities like ours that are experiencing shortages. We’ve launched a new Rural Retention Incentive for health care workers who fill vacancies here. And we’re tripling the credentialing of internationally-trained doctors to get them off the sidelines and onto the front lines.
This election presents voters with the starkest choice in a generation. On the one hand, there’s David Eby, a leader who’s on the side of our communities and who fights every day to help people build a good life here. On the other hand is John Rustad, a career politician with a 20-year track record of cutting the services people count on, and hiking costs on families so he can give tax breaks to the top 2 per cent.
I am running to be YOUR MLA so I can keep fighting hard for people in Haida Gwaii, the North and Central Coast. We deserve to have our voices heard and to have strong communities, with safe, affordable housing and reliable health care.
Whether it’s action on reconciliation, housing, or health care, people here need a government that’s in their corner. That is Tamara Davidson, David Eby, and the BC NDP.
Tamara Davidson (Laanas) is the BC NDP candidate for North Coast-Haida Gwaii in the Oct. 19 provincial election.