Confident city Tory says he's 'already won'

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 21, 2006


Burnaby-Douglas Conservative candidate George Drazenovic is confidently predicting a Tory victory in Monday's federal election.

"I have been asked, am I going to win?" Drazenovic said at a Wednesday night all-candidates meeting held at Gilmore community school. "Honestly, I do believe that I've already won. Thank you, yes. I've already won this election."

The brazen prediction, which came at the end of a two-hour meeting, was much more confident than the private comments that Drazenovic offered to this reporter both before and after the meeting, when he simply said he was "cautiously optimistic" of his own chances.

Drazenovic later said that he was only trying to predict that the Tories will form the government after Monday's vote.

The unusual comment was just one highlight from a two-hour meeting that focused on immigration issues, health care, transportation and Canada's evolving relationship with the United States. With the exception of Drazenovic's bold prediction, there were few real surprises.

Incumbent NDP MP Bill Siksay spoke of his record in Parliament over the last 18 months and how he has helped about 1,200 residents with pension, employment insurance, student loan and other federal matters since he was first elected.

Liberal Bill Cunningham pointed to his youth - he is 35 years old - enthusiasm and volunteer work with local streamkeeper groups. He also cautioned voters against being fooled by people who only talk about the environment. "If you're not doing anything about it, it's just words," said Cunningham. "Streamkeepers rely exclusively on volunteers in Burnaby and I am one of those people."

Immigration was one of the top issues of the night, and the candidates all expressed a desire for changes to the approval process.

Drazenovic told the story of one of his cousins, a woman with two degrees who speaks "perfect English" but is unable to emigrate into Canada. "We need to make it easier for legitimate refugees to come to this coutnry," he said.

Siksay noted that there is a backlog of 700,000 immigration application, and Canada needs to open the doors or face the prospect of not having enough workers to care for our aging population. Siksay also said that he would prefer to see more family reunification than the entrepreneurial class of immigrant, because the latter are often not allowed to work in their trained professions.

Cunningham surprised many with his response to the immigration problem. "Typically, I'm not a believer in more money will solve your woes, but in this case it will," said the Liberal candidate. "With our declining birth rate, we will need more aggressive immigration."

Health care was also a main focus, and Drazenovic in particular was challenged several times to deny that his party would open the doors to more private clinics and two-tiered health care.

"That's a surprise to me," the Tory said, adding that his party believes in the principles of the Romanow Commission, the Canada Health Act and a guarantee on surgical waiting lists.

Siksay pointed to the NDP's history with the Canadian health care system. "The NDP is absolutely committed to public health care. We are the people who brought you that public health-care system," he said, adding that the party will push for a national home care program, a revised Pharmacare program and the creation of 70,000 new long-term care beds across the country.

Cunningham said the health-care issue is particularly difficult, because it is not something that Ottawa can impose on the provinces.

The three major candidates also surprised many when they all expressed opposition to the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge.

Pointing to the $600 million Gateway strategy funding that Ottawa has already committed to B.C., Cunningham said he would support spending that on the north and south perimeter roads. the Liberal candidate also said that the $450 million being spent on the Canada Line - the rapid transit line to the airport - is the largest single investment the federal government has ever made in the province.

Drazenovic said that he was in agreement with Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan on the gateway plan, and noted that the conservatives have promised to give all Canadians a $250 tax credit, which they could use as an incentive to take transit.

None of the candidates were able to confirm the existence of reputed North American Security and Prosperity Agreement, which one anonymous questioner claimed will lead to stronger ties between Canada and the United States.

"I don't know anything about what you're talking about, but interdependence and our interrelationship with the United States is a great concern," said Cunningham.

Drazenovic said Canada's foreign policy is "dependent on the fact that we don't have a strong military."

Siksay said the NDP is worried about reports that Ottawa is negotiating a 'deep integration' strategy with the United States. "We should be abiding by the agreements we already have with them (the U.S.)," said the NDP MP.

Some of the greatest applause of the night was reserved for Green party candidate Ray Power, who said Canada's health-care system will only work if we include the protection of our food sources and environment.

Communist party candidate George Gidora was booed by a small group of young men at the back of the hall as he gave his closing statements.