A few words with Green Party candidate Rick McGowan

Photo courtesy of Rick McGowan

As Green Party candidate for Burnaby-Deer Lake, what do you think are the most important issues for your constituents?

This may sound hokey, but I think the most important issues will vary from person to person. For those who are seniors, I think healthcare and mobility will be important. For the baby-boomers, holding on to what they have seems to be important, whether it is keeping taxes down or ensuring their retirement is comfortable and worry free. For young parents like myself public education, daycare and housing affordability are concerns. For younger voters, post secondary affordability and the environment are important. For children, having a stable, cohesive family and opportunities to play and learn are important. For those in relative or absolute poverty the concerns are much more immediate. For those operating small businesses, economic viability is essential.  

The one commonality among all these issues is that people are concerned about their future, both short and long term. As I am wishing to represent all these groups fairly, my concern is ensuring a friendlier, healthier, sustainable  and more democratic future for my children and my great grandchildren. 

How are you different from the other candidates running in this election?

I am offering an alternative to business-as-usual politics. We need to think outside the box we've created. We all know we will need to transform our economy to meet the needs of our diverse population. We can either make those hard choices for ourselves starting now, or put them off till later and have others make those hard choices for us later. 

How are you going to vote Burnaby?  Let me know. I will continue to feature candidates for the upcoming provincial election right up until voting day May 14.