City Tory candidate comes out swinging

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 14, 2006


Buoyed by recent opinion polls that show his party surging into the lead, Burnaby-Douglas Conservative candidate George Drazenovic came out swinging during the all-candidates meeting at the Capitol Hill community hall on Wednesday night.

"I feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone," Drazenovic said in his opening remarks at the meeting that attracted about 200 interested political watchers.

While he took potshots at all of his opponents, Drazenovic directed his most vehement language against former Burnaby-Douglas MP Svend Robinson, whom he described as "The Lord of the Rings, part 4."

But after criticizing Robinson for moving to Vancouver Centre, Drazenovic then described himself as a "champion" who would stand up for the riding just like his nemesis.

"I am somebody who will will drive his own agenda, just like Svend Robinson did," Drazenovic said.

The comments were part of a two-hour meeting that touched on job creation, electoral reform, the environment, the Telus strike and the dredging of Burnaby Lake.

Bill Siksay, the first-term NDP MP, pointed to his record as the eighth most vocal new member of the House of Commons, and promised to do more work in the constituency if he is re-elected to Ottawa.

"I want to be held accountable for my record," said Siksay, who noted that the demands of the minority government have not allowed him to send as much time in the riding as he would have liked. "I haven't been a perfect member of Parliament, but I hope to get better and I hope to represent you again."

Bill Cunningham, the Liberal candidate who was chastised by Drazenovic for being appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin last year, was clearly flustered by the Tory's claim that the "only degree he's got is from the Liberal University of Canada."

Cunningham said he is proud to be a graduate of Simon Fraser University who was recently elected to the board of the SFU alumni association. If elected, the Liberal candidate promised to establish a political roundtable for Burnaby where politicians from city council, Victoria and Ottawa could come together to discuss issues of common concern.

Green Party candidate Ray Power, the former RCMP officer who ran for the Progressive Conservatives in 1997 and owns a flower shop, described himself as the "redneck Green" and urged people to vote with their conscience.

"Vote what you think. Don't vote to block somebody," Power said. "I'd encourage you to vote your convictions this time."

Communist party candidate Timothy George Gidora, who works full time as the party leader in B.C., said he supports the nationalization of the pharmaceutical industry and raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour.

On the topic of job creation, Siksay urged Ottawa to replace the 102-year-old rail bridge over the Fraser River, and to use other infrastructure funding to help the meet the guidelines of the Kyoto Accord.

Siksay got a quick reaction from his Liberal opponent when he suggested a get-tough approach on the softwood lumber accord and the North American free trade agreement with the U.S.

"George Bush and the Americans need to know that we take NAFTA seriously," the NDP MP said. "I propose a levy on all energy exports, just to let them know we're serious."

"I can't think of a better way to decrease jobs," countered Cunningham, who said that despite the trade disputes, Canada is still the only country in the Group of Seven to post a surplus.

Drazenovic cautioned against government-funded job creation programs and said private industry is the best engine of the economy. He then noted that his own company, EPod International, currently has 12 employees and is thinking of hiring 12 more in the near future.

The topic of electoral reform earned mixed reviews from the candidates.

The Green candidate criticized the NDP for failing to change the electoral system when they had majority governments in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C.

Cunningham said he supports some kind of electoral reform, but not pure proportional representation. "We can't have a system that guarantees minority governments," he said.

Siksay said he likes the mixed member pro-rep system that would allow parties to appoint more women and ethnic minorities to parliament. "We need more coalition politics, rather than this first- past the-post system," Siksay said.

Gidora also spoke against the first-past-the-post system, saying it sometimes forces voters to pick their second choice candidate, "just to keep somebody else from getting in."

Asked about the military, Drazenovic noted he was a proud former member of the Armed Forces reserves.

Siksay said he would prefer to see our military work on 'peacekeeping' rather than the formal military role they currently are undertaking in both Afghanistan and in smaller numbers in Iraq. "We have soldiers in Iraq, an they shouldn't be there given our concerns about that illegal war," he said.

Most of the candidates favoured some type of decriminalization of marijuana, with the exception of Drazenovic, who said the Tories would "crackdown on crime" and impose mandatory two-year minimum sentences for anyone caught dealing drugs. "It's the supply of drugs we need to choke off," he said.

When asked about last year's Telus strike, four of the candidates said a ban on using replacement workers would have resulted in a quicker end to the labour dispute. Drazenovic was again the only candidate with a differing opinion, and he spoke of one Telus worker who was reduced to tears when a majority of the union voted against ratification of the contract. "I support hardworking Canadians," said the Tory. "And I don't see why we can't have laws strengthening the rights of workers."

On the issue of two-tier medicine, Siksay said the NDP would ask doctors to choose between work in the private or public systems, offer "catastrophic" Pharmacare benefits for anyone who has to pay more than $1,500 annually for medication, and "extremely reduce" the current patent protection laws.

Cunningham said the system is not nearly as bad as some people claim, and called for the government to set new 'benchmark' times for surgical waiting lists.

Power said the Greens support a holistic health-care program that includes clean air, clean water and clean food. He also wants more federal money spend on front-line workers and less on administration.

Drazenovic joked that his wife had to see a psychiatrist because he was running for office again, before promising the Tories would bring in guaranteed wait times and have the provinces held responsible for how they spend federal health care dollars.

The candidates were also asked what they would do specifically for Burnaby.

Siksay called for increased funding for affordable housing, restoration of the summer career placement program, which helps staff the community school offices, fence-line monitoring of pollutants at the Chevron refinery and changes to the employment Insurance plan to ensure more than 40 per cent of out-of-work Canadians are eligible for the benefit.

Cunningham called for the creation of new mountain bike trails on Burnaby Mountain, increased funding for social housing, and federal support for the 2009 World Police and Fire Games.

"I would like when it gets dark that I could feel safe and that my grandchildren could walk across the park," said Power.

Drazenovic said he would like to see emissions from the Chevron refinery cut from their current rate of 1,600 tonnes annually to nothing.

And on the topic of dredging Burnaby Lake, Drazenovic said he would support a balance between recreation and habitat before criticizing Siksay for apparently "abdicating" his responsibility on the file to neighbouring NDP MP Peter Julian.

Siksay said he has taken a strong position on the lake and has expressed serious concerns about the city's proposal to build an international-standard, eight-lane rowing course on the water.

Power said he would support a four-lane rowing course and the creation of a wilderness area.

Cunningham said he supports rowing at Burnaby Lake, but probably not the eight-lane proposal that has been part of mayor Derek Corrigan's successful platform in the past two civic elections.