INUVIK - With one week remaining in the campaign, the NDP candidate and current MP for the Western Arctic riding visited Inuvik to speak with the public at an open house.

Dennis Bevington, the current MP for the Western Arctic, visited Inuvik on April 23 to speak with the public at the Centennial Library to garner support for re-election. He also visited Aklavik and Fort McPherson. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

Dennis Bevington held the meet and greet at the Inuvik Centennial Library on April 23, after a few days of travelling around the Beaufort Delta to Fort McPherson and Aklavik. The casual event attended by close to 20 people, had conversations drifting from improving energy-efficiency in Northern homes through solar panels to more roads for the North and the increase in support for the NDP across Canada.

With the promise of funding for the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk all-weather road in the Conservative budget wooing voters in the region, Bevington asked voters to choose the best candidate - not party - for the North when they vote.

"We don't know what the next Parliament will look like yet," Bevington said. "I was the MP for the last five years. How does that work if you need a Conservative MP? Why is the road in the budget then?"

The NDP has seen a surge of support in recent days to overtake the Liberals in second place in polls. With the NDP releasing its platform for the North and a promise of $400 million of investments over four years for the territories, Bevington thinks his re-election would benefit this region.

"The NDP will be a stronger force, right across the country," Bevington said. "The whole North has to be on their agenda. It has to be the whole story. It's not just a road we're talking about."

Bevington was elected MP for Western Arctic in 2006 and has acted as the NDP critic for Northern development, transportation and Arctic sovereignty. In the past five years he said he has lobbied for and achieved an increase in the Northern Residents' Tax Deduction, an increase to the NWT's borrowing limit so it can invest in larger projects such as the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk all-weather road, and has emphasized the need for land-use planning and the importance of settling land claims.

He also raised in Parliament the issues of the boundary between the United States and Yukon, the increased number of ships travelling through Arctic waters, and worked to increase the number of aviation inspectors hired for small aircraft companies.

"As the MP for the Western Arctic you cover a very large area with a multitude of issues in every subject," Bevington said. "Arctic pollution from oil spills, protecting the rights of hunters and trappers and pushing hard for renewable energy. It's a great opportunity to reduce costs as the price of oil goes up."

Bevington faces competition from Liberal candidate Joe Handley and Conservative candidate Sandy Lee, both former territorial politicians. Green Party candidate Eli Purchase and Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada candidate Bonnie Dawson will also be on the ballot.

On May 2, voters can visit the polls at the Midnight Sun Complex in Inuvik from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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