Canadians are preparing to vote in just over one month and candidates are rolling out their campaign plans after the writ was dropped on Sunday, August 15th.
Robin Goldsbury is once again in the running as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liberal party in Kootenay-Columbia.
Goldsbury is running against Rob Morrison from the Conservative Party, NDP Wayne Stetski and Rana Nelson for the Green party.
Goldsbury says she’s had her boots on the ground in the Kootenays for over two decades, and wants to accurately represent Kootenay-Columbia in Ottawa.
“Kootenay-Columbians deserve better, and they need a voice that will fight for them in Ottawa,” Goldsbury said at her campaign office in Cranbrook. “We’re coming to the end of COVID, with many Canadians vaccinated, and we need a new mandate. It’s time for Canadians to make that decision.”
She said that it’s a difficult time in B.C., with wildfires and smoky skies, but she believes she’s the right candidate at the right time.
“We need to focus on rural and small community vitality,” Goldsbury said. “As a business owner and entrepreneur I’ve had boots on the ground in the Kootenays for many, many years. I know what the people of Kootenay-Columbia need, and I want to be able to action that.”
READ MORE: Wayne Stetski gets campaign rolling as writ dropped
READ MORE: Rob Morrison running for Conservatives in Kootenay-Columbia
Goldsbury spoke of healthcare and mental health, transportation issues, gas prices, the Columbia River Treaty, childcare, the pandemic, the overdose crisis, softwood lumber tariffs, small businesses, gun control, climate change and more.
“There are so many issues unique to this area. What might be right for Toronto, isn’t going to be right for Canal Flats,” she said. “Let’s face it, we’re going to have a Liberal government. We now have the opportunity to put someone at that table who has experience in this riding. If you know me, you know I’ll speak up.
“The [Federal] government wants to hear from us. We need to do what’s right for all Kootenay-Columbians. My job is to listen. To take our concerns, be it about gun control, be it about climate change, be it about childcare - we need that Liberal caucus at the table.”
Goldsbury says that transportation is an issue across the riding, and although she doesn’t disagree with Rob Morrison’s plans for an electric passenger train, she says that there needs to be a solution sooner than later.
“That technology doesn’t even exist yet,” she said, adding that ride-shares and busses are more viable options, right now.
When speaking of the Columbia River Treaty, Goldsbury says it’s an issue that must be on the Federal Government’s radar.
“Americans don’t want to pay anymore. We need someone who’s going to fight to be heard. We need to be compensated. Our food security, our fish and water levels, our First Nations communities depend on that. If that was the St. Lawrence seaway, it’d be on the news every day.”
In terms of climate change, Goldsbury says that it can no longer be ignored. She wants the Federal government to be aware of what people in B.C. are dealing with especially here in Kootenay-Columbia.
“I was speaking to Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada) on the phone recently and I turned the camera around to show him the smoke in the air,” Goldsbury said. “I said to him - there should be mountains there.”
Goldsbury will soon have her entire platform available for viewing on her website, and she says she is happy to chat with the public.
“I’m always available to chat, and I love getting to know the communities here in Kootenay-Columbia,” she said. “We need to take care of each other, and I want to take care of these communities - in Ottawa. It’s the right time, the right place, and I’m the right candidate.”
Canadians will head to the polls on September 20th, 2021.
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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