NDP candidate goes door to door in Fort Simpson
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Nov 17/00) - Western Arctic candidate Dennis Bevington was out knocking on Fort Simpson doors to stir up support for the NDP.
With a limited budget, Bevington, who was in Simpson last Sunday and Monday, said he cannot afford to charter planes to visit all of the smaller communities in the region as Liberal candidate Ethel Blondin-Andrew had done last week.
| Bevington on the issues
Health care -- The NDP want to put more of the surplus into health care. That would allow the GNWT to offer more attractive packages in recruiting medical professionals, he said. He added that he endorses a nurse practitioner program in the North that would see mobile nurses offer diagnoses and minor treatments. Highway extension -- The federal government should support the GNWT in its long-term objective to extend its road systems, he said. More roads would encourage economic development in a stable and efficient fashion, offering opportunities to people in smaller communities. Although he said he would lobby for funding, Bevington said it's up to the GNWT and the communities to decide which routes are a priority. Fuel prices -- Hunters, trappers and fishermen should be eligible for non-taxed gasoline, he asserted. However, he said the NWT's long-term goal should be to focus on renewable sources of energy. The increasing oil and gas activity in the North doesn't guarantee cheaper prices, he added. |
One of the most prominent issues among the public has been Bill C-68 and gun control, according to Bevington, who suggested that the effects of the legislation are only being realized now. He said Northerners are feeling a sense of betrayal and lack of support on that front. He argued that Northern constituents were never properly consulted in the first place.
"Many people have told me they're going to act in civil disobedience," he said, describing the legislation as "intrusive and authoritarian," in addition to causing confusion.
Having to obtain a firearms licence and register weapons will have a long-term detrimental effect on hunting in the North, Bevington contended.
"It discourages traditional hunting practices... It puts doubt in people's minds about the worthiness of their activities," he said. "The importance of hunting and trapping in the North can't be understated."
He added that the benefits of Bill C-68 haven't been proven. While safety and the prevention of violence are paramount, the Liberal's legislation only serves to add another layer of bureaucracy, he said, adding that the NDP would take up the issue in the next Parliament.
With the New Democrats having no realistic chance of forming the next government, Bevington acknowledged that he's running to become a member of the opposition. But he framed that as a positive point. He said the North needs a forceful voice in Parliament, not an MP who doesn't dare to cross party lines.
When it comes to negotiating a long-term, resource-based funding arrangement for the NWT, Bevington suggested that he may be needed to blow the whistle if and when the federal government tries to shortchange the GNWT or aboriginal governments.
On the topic of the Deh Cho Process, Bevington said the NDP is supportive of aboriginal self-government.
He said aboriginal government and public government must move on a "parallel track."
Settling land claims and self-government processes must be done quickly and successfully because there is mounting pressure to develop natural resources in the North, he noted.
"I'll endeavour to do my best to support the legitimate aspirations of the Dene people in this area," he said.
