Bevington hits campaign trail
Candidate, if elected, says he would start by
cleaning up mess left by previous government
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, September 24, 2015
INUVIK
New Democratic Party candidate Dennis Bevington was on the campaign trail in Inuvik last week, flipping burgers and hoping to garner votes.
Mary Beckett, left, helps Dennis Bevington flip burgers during a campaign event at Jim Koe Park in Inuvik Sept. 17. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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"It's a fun community to campaign in," he told the Drum. "People are communicative and friendly, and it's a central community for the area, so you get people from all over who come out for this sort of thing."
This sort of thing was a barbecue in Jim Koe Park Sept. 17. More than 50 people turned out to grab a burger, ask some questions, and possibly take home a lawn sign. The biggest difference, Bevington said, between doing the same sort of event in the capital was the price.
"The difference between putting a barbecue like this one here compared to Yellowknife is about double the cost," he said.
As such, he said one of his main priorities, if elected again, is to fix Nutrition North.
"First off, we need to expand it so it includes the 50 communities not in it now," he said. "Then the next step is to do a review of the nature of the program, and also to continue to build sustainable food production in the North."
Apart from food security, Bevington said his first priority would be to try to reverse some of the damage done by the Conservative government.
"I'd want to get rid of the super board and get the Peel under protection of the Navigable Waters Act again," he said. "We should also start directing more effort into renewable energy."
Bevington said that, according to a study done with figures provided by the current government, Canada spends about $7 per capita on renewable energy development. The world average is $44, while Germany spends close to $200 per capita.
In the last federal election, Bevington narrowly beat out Conservative candidate Sandy Lee 7,140 votes to 5,001. In Inuvik, however, Lee garnered 44 per cent of the vote and Bevington only 38 per cent. However, Bevington wasn't too worried about campaigning on the home turf of his Conservative rival, Floyd Roland, who, until last week, was the only candidate with highly visible signs in the community.
"We're all going to be coming from one community or another," Bevington said. "It's a big riding."
As it stands, the three mainstream parties are evenly tied in national polls. Bevington, as the incumbent, said he is excited at the opportunity to be a part of the government and not the opposition party.
"I've served people in the North for nine years in opposition," he said. "If you're going to have a minority government, you want someone who can hit the ground right away, someone who already knows the right people to talk to."
