The following statements are the original, unedited responses from Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Council candidates to questions posed by the Alaska Highway News. For convenience, we have also included introductory “elevator pitches” that we asked them to submit, so you can read all of their responses in a complete package.
Responses are listed alphabetically by last name.
Please note: These statements are generated entirely by the candidates and/or their campaigns, and have not been edited or altered in any way, including fact-checking. Therefore, the Alaska Highway News is not responsible for inaccuracies. Also, none of these statements necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff, management or ownership of the Alaska Highway News.
Finally, several council candidates either declined to respond, did not respond by extended deadlines, or only provided a partial response. Out of fairness to the candidates who did submit responses by deadline, there will be no further additions to this page.
KYLE ANDREWS
Mr. Andrews did not answer the candidate questionnaire.
Kyle DJ Andrews was born as second son to long time residents Dave and Saralee Andrews in Fort Nelson on October 20th, 1989. In his youth Kyle enjoyed playing hockey with his two brothers, Brent and Evan, as well as hunting and fishing with his family. To this day Kyle still enjoys hunting, fishing, camping with his family, sports and cooking. While attending Fort Nelson Secondary School, Kyle worked for his family business; Fort Nelson Esso. After graduating in 2007, Kyle moved from Fort Nelson to concentrate on his post-secondary education in Kelowna, BC. While there he decided he wanted to be back in Fort Nelson and moved home. Shortly after Kyle and his wife, Danika (Hedin) Andrews, started their family and purchased a house. They now have three children Sawyer, Hayden and Aryah. In March 2010, Kyle helped open a new family business, Metalic Safety Supply Ltd. Since then Kyle has worked his way to become Sales Manager and has assisted the growth of Metalic Safety Supply Ltd into a successful local business.
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NATHAN BAUDER
My name is Nathan Bauder and I am running for council for the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.
I am honoured and humbled to put my name forward. I feel I have much to offer if elected. By way of background I am a practicing lawyer in Fort Nelson, and have done so for the past decade. I also am the President and Chief Operating Officer for a local natural gas production company. I am married with a daughter. Through my work and family, I’ve established many roots in the community and come to understand what a unique and special place Fort Nelson and surrounding areas represent. Over the years I’ve dedicated a great deal of my time and experience to a number of provincial & local boards, and service organizations. My work allowed me to appreciate problems and find creative solutions. I’m a keen advocate and negotiator. I have an open mind. I respect all views and remain objective.
I feel the community would benefit from my participation on council given my experience as a problem solver and team player. My priorities are to ensure the economic and social well being of the community. A strong economy cannot exist without and healthy and happy workforce. I believe social development works hand-in-hand with economic development. I believe we must as a community not only care about those who can care for themselves, but also for those who cannot. We as a community are much more than a blue-collar “work town” – and I believe we must work hard to not stereotype and encourage diversity to truly make us successful. I want to work with Mayor and Council to show how unique we are, and why families should live and raise their children to exploit all the opportunities that exist in the NRRM.
1. Why did you decide to run for council?
Fort Nelson is at a critical crossroads with LNG on the horizon, and facing a potential downfall should the natural gas industry fail. We also face a number of challenges surrounding social development and attracting families to the Regional Municipality. I felt I could bring some fresh perspectives to the council table, and utilize my skills in a way to benefit the community.
2. What would be your top three priorities if elected? Why do you think your municipality should focus on each of those three issues now?
I would promote a strong, healthy economy. I would do this by working with Mayor and Council to ensure we are not a “one-industry” town. We need to focus on other industries including Forestry, Agriculture, Tourism, and possibly other non-traditional industries such as manufacturing and production.
I would promote improvements to our primary health care services. We do not have a maternity ward. This is unacceptable. We need to recruit physicians, and provide sufficient incentives. We need to work with current local physicians and involve them more in working towards solutions.
I would promote increased lobbying of provincial and federal governments to meet our infrastructure, health, and development concerns.
Our municipality should continue focus on each of these issues, because they are all inter-dependent, and go directly to the success or failure of the community.
3. Almost no one wants to raise taxes, but would you vote to raise taxes if you thought it would help accomplish your council’s goals? Or are you committed to not raising or even lowering taxes? Please explain why.
I am committed to not raising taxes. Our tax rates have remained steady, and I believe actually decreased in the last fiscal year. I believe we are able to move forward with priorities that are already well established without having to raise taxes. That said, finding ways to make government more efficient is always important, and should be reviewed. Every tax dollar must be spent wisely.
4. If you were required to cut or reduce one specific program or service from your city’s budget, what would that be? Why?
I would focus on those programs or services that have been labelled as discretionary, and not essential programs or services. Naturally capital works and infrastructure such as roads, sewers, and water must be given the highest priority. Next, I would focus on programs and services with the larger budgets, as they often can be “trimmed” if necessary.
5. What experience or skills, either on councils or boards in the past or in your overall life to this point, do you feel best qualifies you for council? Why should people vote for you?
I’ve served on numerous boards over the years. My professional life entails dealing with people and their problems on a daily basis. I’ve also served the community by volunteering with a number of organizations. I’m a keen advocate, negotiator, and bring an open mind. I believe everybody brings something to the table – and should be respected. My skills and experience as a facilitator and problem-solver best qualifies me for counsel, in my opinion.
6. This term will have an unusually large number of big resource development trends, such as Site C and LNG, which could affect the future of your town. How for or against this resource development are you? Can you give us an example of how your council can take advantage if the winds blow the way you prefer, and one example if they don’t?
I am very pro-industry and pro-business. Economic success arising from employment or association with industry brings self-dependence. Council has taken advantage of and I hope will encourage future resource development. Specifically, council can address industry concerns surrounding bureaucracy and regulations that may hamper development. Council can reap economic advantages through taxation of big business given successful projects, and can learn about challenges to bring improvement if the opposite occurs.
7. The government has extended terms to four years with the hope that councils can better meet long-term goals. What long-term projects or accomplishments would you like to be remembered for after this term?
Any one project or accomplishment is not attributable to any one Mayor or Council member. I believe success would be a team measure. That said, if elected, after working together I would like to be remembered as part of a team that secured necessary primary health care services, and established a multi-faceted economy that secured permanent, healthy, and notably, long term residents of the community.
8. Seven of Northeast B.C.’s eight local governments have joined together in a coalition of “resource municipalities.” Do you agree or disagree with this move? Why? Name one suggestion you would make to this coalition, and explain how it should implement that idea.
I agree with the move. I think it’s an innovative way to have a strong voice lobbying higher levels of government. Eight communities will have a stronger voice than one, and likely have common challenges to be addressed. One suggestion is that we define a common set of objectives and ensure we move forward on a truly united, and not fragmented front. This can be done through discourse and open debate.
9. Fort Nelson is likely to expand quickly if LNG moves in. What is the best strategy the municipality has for coping with rapid expansion and a largely transient work force?
I don’t think we are ready and that’s concerning. We need to have solid policy in place to address housing, social development, health care, land use, infrastructure, and workforce needs soon, and not later. As I stated, Fort Nelson is at a critical juncture. We need to have a unified direction in dealing with the challenges brought to a community that can very well double or triple in size within the next 10 to 20 years. Priorities need to be identified and targeted quickly, along with mechanisms to actually deal with them.
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LAURIE DOLAN
Ms. Dolan declined to answer the candidate questionnaire.
Laurie has called Fort Nelson home for over 40 years. She has been married for 30 years and has had two children born and raised in Fort Nelson. Laurie has been involved in an array of committees, Boards and organizations over the years and currently is the President of the Fort Nelson Hospital and Healthcare Foundation, Board Member of the Fort Nelson Community Literacy Society, a member of the Fort Nelson Chamber of Commerce and a past Board member of the Petroleum Human Resource Council of Canada representing NE BC.
She looks forward to continue working together with Council and the Community to ensure we ‘get it right’ and make this Community the best it can be. Laurie is seeking her second term and is excited to keep working on the challenges that face our Community and finding solutions that work for Fort Nelson.
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LORRAINE GERWING
Ms. Gerwing declined to answer the candidate questionnaire.
I have lived in Fort Nelson for 24 years, and raised my 2 children here. Presently I am working in the field of community development and I am a partner, with my husband, in a small business.
I bring to Council training and experience in Project Management, Conflict Resolution, Community Consultation and Engagement, Strategic Planning, Management Skills, Small Business experience and Community Development.
If elected to Council the following will influence my behavior and decision-making:
1. INTEGRITY: I will conduct myself with integrity, which to me means acting with truth, honesty and trustworthiness.
2. COMMITMENT: If elected to Council I would be representing you. It is not just about how I see the world or what I think. Community consultation and engagement must be incorporated into decisions that will have long-term affects on our communities. Within our communities there is a collective wisdom that should not be wasted.
I will attend and actively participate in as many Council and associated meetings andactivities as possible.
I commit to doing the research necessary to make informed decisions on matters that appear before Council.
3. TRANSPARENCY: As Councilor I will ensure my actions take place in an open and transparent manner. By this I mean I will conduct myself in a way that is readily apparent for others to see what actions are taking place.
Accountability to me means that I will take responsibility for decisions made and actions taken. Communication to the community will be on a regular basis. If elected I will be but one voice on Council but I will ensure that this voice reflects the citizens of our communities and not any personal agenda.
I am proud to call Fort Nelson my home and would be honored to serve our communities as Councillor.
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SKIP HALL
Mr. Hall did not provide a separate candidate statement.
1. Why did you decide to run for Council?
My wife has worked for the School District for 32 years; my oldest daughter earned her Early Childhood Education (ECE) Diploma while raising her 3 children and is now the Executive Director of the Child Development Centre; my youngest daughter has taken a number of courses towards her ECE diploma and has worked as an Educational Assistant in both the School District and Chalo School; my oldest grandaughter has taken coursework towards her ECE and works at Dehzona Daycare; and another of my grandaughters just delivered our first great grandaughter to us.
This dedication by my family to the betterment of my community made me realize that I too have time to commit and an interest in making Fort Nelson the place that others would like to live. In the past my wife and myself fostered children from the Ministry of Children and Families and about 12 years ago I ran a alternate program for young people having social difficulties, funded by the Ministry of Children and Families, out at the airport.
I believe in democracy and an honest approach to government. I believe that as an elected official you ultimately must make the decisions but it should be done with consultation and understanding of the issues, afterall as an elected official you are elected to represent the people.
I have the time to research the issues and I believe that Fort Nelson needs to practice a consensus government style where all are heard at the table and the best decision, for the community, is made based on the sharing of information.
In essence, I believe that “there’s no place I’d rather live” than Fort Nelson and if I am successful in being elected to Council, I hope to participate in discussions and ultimate decisions that will influence others to reach the same conviction.
2. What would be your top three priorities if elected? Why do you think your municipality should focus on each of those three issues now?
My top three priorities would be:
1. Recruitment of Health Care Professionals
2. Diversification of Employment Opportunities/Establishment of Stable Jobs
3. Maintenance of Family Support Services
In order for our community to remain healthy and continue to attract people we must address these issues.
Those of us that have been in Fort Nelson long term have enjoyed the commitment of three doctors. It has only been the more recent years that we have had difficulties attracting and retaining doctors with the breadth of certification that provided a range of service. Consequently our pregnant mothers have been forced to travel long distances and incur considerable costs to travel and live elsewhere until the delivery of their babies. This factor does not encourage prospective parents to move to Fort Nelson.
Oil and gas resource based towns tend to be cyclic in nature, being affected by world markets. Fort Nelson has experienced the loss of forestry related jobs over the past several years and is now in the cyclic downturn of the oil and gas industry. Fort Nelson must continue to seek diversification in its employment opportunities - not only be willing to work with those that come our way on their own but also be actively seeking opportunities and encouraging alternative investment in Fort Nelson. Establishment of stable jobs such as those in government and small business is critical to Fort Nelson’s long term stability.
Maintenance of family support services is critical to the health and welfare of our community. We enjoy a wide variety of family support services in our community including mental health ; Child Development Centre , Women’s Resource Centre, and Aboriginal Support services to name a few. These services provide a network of services often needed by families in both distress and healthy times. Unfortunately often these centres of support are maintained through grants that are dependent on population, not necessarily on need. Therefore, when a community declines in population due to a variety of reasons that may create stress on families often these services have reduced ability to cope. We must fight hard to protect these services to have them readily available to assist families.
3. Almost no one wants to raise taxes, but would you vote to raise taxes if you thought it would help accomplish your Council’s goals? Or are you committed to raising or even lowering taxes? Please explain why?
I am not on Council but have taken an active interest in various projects that have proceeded in Fort Nelson. Staff and Council members can attest to the fact that I have spent time in their offices asking questions and asking for documentation to explain decisions that the present Council has taken and the impact on taxation.
I have appreciated the calmness and respect with which explanations and information has been shared with me to understand the decisions taken.
I am aware that sometimes money has to be spent to be prepared for future development but in these economic times it would be my intention to encourage Council to proceed on the side of caution. I understand that municipalities have various funding sources that enable them to amortize their loans over a number of years but we must always be mindful of the entire municipal debt to ensure we have reasonable taxation.
4. If you were required to cut or reduce one specific program or service from city’s budget, what would that be? Why?
I have thought long and hard on this one. In reviewing Council’s minutes over the past years there are a great variety of programs and services within Fort Nelson. If it became necessary for Council to reduce overall costs I would rely on lengthy discussion and input from staff, the Mayor and Council and community to understand the impact to the community before I could endorse any direction. If any one program or service could not be reduced then my preference would normally be to shave services in a number of areas. I am sure that the reason the program or service was put in place initially was that there was an identified need.
5. What experience or skills, either on Council or boards in the past or in your overall life to this point, do you feel best qualifies you for Council? Why should people vote for you?
When I was employed by Westcoast Energy I was on their Safety Committee for 8 years. At that time there were about 130 regular employees and up to 100 or more contractors and workers on site through the turn around times. A gas plant can be a dangerous place to work. Management and workers must work hard to establish and maintain a safe working environment. As well, the company needs to make money. I learned to be well prepared for meetings, to use tact and discretion when needed, and when to push to have the right decision made, at any cost, for the safety of workers.
I continue to be an activist. I have the time to conduct research and I’m not afraid to ask questions and stand up for what I believe is right. I am a good listener and I reflect on information shared. I believe that the best decisions are reached when open discussion takes place in an open setting so people understand on what basis a decision has been made.
6. This term will have an unusually large number of big resource development trends, such as Site C and LNG, which could affect the future of your town. How for or against this resource development are you? Can you give us an example how your Council can take advantage if the winds blow the way you prefer, and an example if they don’t?
We are in the hub of gas and oil resource development. We are past the stage of deciding whether or not we are for or against. I believe that it is Council’s responsibility to ensure that the community is safe and protected against any abuse. Therefore, it is Council’s responsibility to ensure that agencies responsible for monitoring oil and gas companies comply with regulations. We must ensure that our water resources are protected and that there is a safety perimeter around our community. We must be sure we have an extensive safety and emergency plan as well as an evacuation plan outlined and ready for implementation.
If the winds blow in our favour we will see growth in our community and if they don’t then we will need to be prepared to weather out the down turn till something else comes along, as we always have done in the past.
7. The government has extended terms to four years with the hope that Councils can better meet long-term goals. What long-term projects or accomplishments would you like to be remembered for after this term?
I would like to be remembered for making decisions that impacted Fort Nelson for the long term in a positive way so that other people “take a chance” in coming to Fort Nelson and making Fort Nelson “the place that they too would would rather live”.
8. Seven of Northeast B.C.’s eight local governments have joined together in a coalition of “resource municipalities”. Do you agree or disagree with this move? Why? Name one suggestion you would make to this coalition and explain how they should implement that idea.
I have limited understanding of exactly what is represented by this coalition. In my research I understand the intention is to work together to identify key challenges as a result of resource growth expected into the future in the northeast and to work together to develop a solid regional plan to guide development of municipalities and regional infrastructure to support this growth. This idea seems very reasonable and responsible as it appears we will all be impacted by this growth and greater numbers of people working together should produce a better overall plan of action.
I would suggest to this coalition that a strategy needs to be developed and immediate action taken to ensure good quality health care with a wide range of services available in each community.
9. Fort Nelson is likely to expand quickly if LNG moves in. What is the best strategy the municipality has for coping with rapid expansion and a largely transient work force?
Fort Nelson has made exceptions over the years for temporary camps to be set up on the outskirts of the community. The infrastructure for these camps is in place and could be activated quickly. As well, in speaking with property managers at the present time there are large vacancies in our apartment blocks.
Longer term development is taking place at the present time in the form of phase 2 of the Mountain View subdivision.
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DOUG McKEE
I have lived, worked and raised my family in Fort Nelson since 1988 and have seen many people and changes come and go from the community and area. I came to Fort Nelson as a journeyman mechanic and worked in the logging industry before buying my own service truck. I then worked for a local truck repair shop and eventually opened my own shop: B&S Truck Repair Ltd. 20 years ago.
I have raised 3 great children in our community. All of which were born right here at Fort Nelson General Hospital. My biggest concern and effort going forward is to bring maternity services and the ability to have babies at home back to our area. The cost and inconvenience of having to travel to have babies is unbelievable and unacceptable. As a young general population and with, I believe a median age of 32 years, Fort Nelson and area is losing great families due to this situation.
I have served the last 2 terms and 6 years as councilor as part of a great town council. I have learned a lot, participated in a lot and look forward to a lot more improvements to this area. Some of the biggest accomplishments I am proud to be a part of include: the infrastructure funding, becoming the first regional municipality, the building of our beautiful state of the art recreation center and swimming pool, our tennis/basketball courts, water fill station and the list goes on.
I am proud and strong with ideas and character to stand for the values and beliefs that I believe the voters elect me to reflect on their behalf. Please vote Doug McKee for town council on November 15th.
1. Why did you decide to run for council?
I decided to run for council a little more than 6 years ago because I was often complaining about things not getting done the way that I thought they should get done. So, rather than complaining, I got off my butt and ran for council.
2. What would be your top three priorities if elected to council? Why do you think your municipality should focus on each of those three issues now?
My top three priorities if elected would be:
1) To rally provincial government to level the playing field when it comes to local BC companies competing with Alberta registered companies. It is completely unfair that all of the "red" license plates we all see working in and around our area are vehicles that have not had to pay PST. Nor do they have to pay carbon tax on the fuel they bring into the province. It makes a huge difference when our local companies bid a job.
2) to continue to make priority bringing maternity services and the ability to have babies here in Fort Nelson. We are close to having a permanent surgeon, have a anesthesiologist and a great team of doctors and nurses here, but we need to bring it all together to give our young families the security of being able to have babies and grow families here in Fort Nelson
3) To discourage the fly-in-fly out model in our area. I understand that its not an easy task, but with big enough incentives such as housing allowances (like Specta Energy has done for years) or even higher wages, I believe that families would relocate to Fort Nelson, even as a stepping stone as many have done before but then, the wages would stay local and be spent at local businesses, (those of us who have committed to live and work in the north).
3. Almost no one wants to raise taxes, but would you vote to raise taxes if you thought it would help accomplish your council’s goals? Or are you committed to not raising or even lowering taxes? Please explain why.
I would, of course like to lower taxes for the local families as we all pay more to live and travel from Fort Nelson. One of the huge benefits to having become a regional municipality as well as our success as a community in being awarded the infrastructure funding is, that industry pays by far the majority of taxes to improve and run our communities. I am proud of this and confident that we, as any community in the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality have, and will continue to have the lowest tax mill rates in the area (such as Fort St. John and Grande Prairie).
4. If you were required to cut or reduce one specific program or service from your city’s budget, what would that be? Why?
If I were required to cut or reduce one specific program or service, I would split the cut between 2 services that our municipality currently subsidizes and they would be The Phoenix Theatre (we have the lowest movie prices I have found) and our Golf Course (and bring our user fees up to match similar courses, again we are by far lower than most).
5. What experience or skills, either on councils or boards in the past or in your overall life to this point, do you feel best qualifies you for council? Why should people vote for you?
My experience includes the last 6 years on council, more than 20 years in business and raising my family right here in the north. I have also been part of boards such as the Muskwa Kechika Advisory Board, the Boaters Association and the local Snowmobile Club.
6. This term will have an unusually large number of big resource development trends, such as Site C and LNG, which could affect the future of your town. How for or against this resource development are you? Can you give us an example of how your council can take advantage if the winds blow the way you prefer, and one example if they don’t?
I am 100% for industry/resource development. We are an industry town and here to work hard and live the great lifestyle that comes with those things. Whether our council reaps the benefit of LNG going forward or not, I think its important to also work toward bringing forestry back to our community.
7. The government has extended terms to four years with the hope that councils can better meet long-term goals. What long-term projects or accomplishments would you like to be remembered for after this term?
I would like to see many project come to see completion during this upcoming term on council including the development of the next phase of Mountainview Subdivision and the complete sell out and consequent development of phase 2 of the Industrial Subdivision that we started a few years ago. We will all be delighted to see the swimming pool completed, thus cleaning up and presenting our very beautiful state of the art recreation facility.
8. Seven of Northeast B.C.’s eight local governments have joined together in a coalition of “resource municipalities.” Do you agree or disagree with this move? Why? Name one suggestion you would make to this coalition, and explain how it should implement that idea.
I fully agree with the joining of "forces" of our 7 resource communities. I believe that we have much in common, especially the fact that we subsidize the southern half of our province with the resources that are extracted from this are. I absolutely believe that we deserve more recognition for that input to the entire economy of our province. I would only suggest to the coalition to stand proud and together on all issues each community finds important and of course, back to the "level the playing field for BC companies" would be the one issue I would like to see that coalition rally for.
9. Fort Nelson is likely to expand quickly if LNG moves in. What is the best strategy the municipality has for coping with rapid expansion and a largely transient work force?
Having been on council these past 6 years, I have seen ongoing preparation for rapid expansion, which has come much slower than I think we had all hoped. Our community leaders have met with leaders from similar resource communities and brought many ideas to deal with the issue going forward. I believe we are well prepared.
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TODD OSBOURNE
Fort Nelson has been my home for the past 15 years.
I have been happily married to my wife Linda for the past 24 years. We have two children, Aaron who is 21 yrs old and Andrea, whom is 18.
I am currently and have been for the past two and a half years been the operations manager at Stuwalk Energy Inc, the Husky bulk plant.
I bring to this council various management roles, courses, leadership and ethics training, and a diploma in both business and accounting. I am also proud to say that I have completed two terms as regional councillor.
I am running for re election because I feel that there are still many challenges Fort Nelson people will be facing to be addressed in building a lasting future for Fort Nelson a time to proactively reevaluate health care, education, infrastructure, local resources, and recreation.
Family is what is important to me and families build communities. I enjoy Fort Nelson and will continue to support this community in any way possible and if elected, will endeavor to be continue to be your voice for families.
I will listen to you, the people of this great community and do all that I can to make a positive difference.
Play. Please show your support on voting day. Get out and vote.
Thank you.
1. Why did you decide to run for council?
I have decided to run for re-election for the 3rdterm, because as I said before, FTN has been good to my family since we moved here in 1999 and this is my chance to continue to give back to FTN as being Your Voice for Families.
2. What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Health Care, Education & Local Resources.
Why do you think your municipality should focus on each of those three issues now?
Our municipality should focus on these issues because Health Care has been an on-going concern for the last two terms in office for me and in my opinion is still an issue we need to address, Recruiting new doctors is becoming more and more of a challenge not only with Northern Health, but with many other BC Communities facing the same challenges. Maternity services back in our community. Mid Wife services, Surgeons and GP’s are what we badly need to continue to meet the needs of our current population and attract new families to our community.
Education, Our children are our future, education is the foundation for their future success, as the demand for skilled labor increases, we have to work collaborately with our high school, Northern Lights College, Provincial Gov’t, & Industry to kick start the training and skills needed to fill the labor shortage in the next few years.
Local resources, get away from being a one resource Municipality, Strategic plan to get forestry operations back in our community. Pressure Provincial Gov’t to take back the Forestry license and P14 License from Canfor. Attract outside Companies to look at our forest resource and open up our mills again.
3. Almost no one wants to raise taxes, but would you vote to raise taxes if you thought it would help accomplish your council’s goals? Or are you committed to not raising or even lowering taxes? Please explain why.
In our case there is no reason to raise taxes in the short term. We were successful in reaching a 20 year infrastructure agreement with the Provincial Gov’t that will enable us to complete infrastructure projects without putting the tax burden on our local residents.
4. If you were required to cut or reduce one specific program or service from your city’s budget, what would that be?
Cardboard Recycling
Why?
We tried to ship out recycled cardboard a couple of years ago, but it did not work. It was costing that company money to deliver the cardboard to Prince George so it was not feasible to continue to do this and most of our cardboard went to the local landfill. Don’t get me wrong, I do support recycling, but again there is a mixed feeling among residents that some would support paying to ship out cardboard, rather than letting it go to our landfill site, but others won’t support it. NEAT has been doing monthly recycling roundups, which has been successful in preventing Cardboard and other recyclable items from going into our landfill, but the trucking has been donated, which cut down on the cost immensely. More research and dialogue has to take place to try and get recycling cardboard and other items recycled on a regular basis.
5. What experience or skills, either on councils or boards in the past or in your overall life to this point, do you feel best qualifies you for council? Why should people vote for you?
I have been employed for the last 2 ½ years with Stuwalk Energy Inc., The Husky Bulk Plant in FTN. My position there is Operations Manager. Prior to this role I spent 10 years with The Cat Rental Store, as the branch manager and regional manager. I have a certificate in Computerized Accounting and diploma in Business Administration. I have previously worked in Construction, Sales, Marketing, Management and the oil and gas service sector.
People should vote for me because I have a strong sense for business and as being on council look at approval and decision making of annual budgets for our Municipality. We are running a business for our constituents, we are making sure that we are managing annual tax payers’ dollars, so that it get spent in the appropriate departments and kept on budget.
6. This term will have an unusually large number of big resource development trends, such as Site C and LNG, which could affect the future of your town. How for or against this resource development are you? Can you give us an example of how your council can take advantage if the winds blow the way you prefer, and one example if they don’t?
I am in full support of Site C and LNG Development. If the wind blow the way we prefer, LNG will be good for our Municipality, we have one of the largest Shale Gas plays in our area, Horn River, Cordova and Liard Basin. This will be where Industry will be drawing much of the Shale Gas to supply Kitimat. In term will grow our community.
If they don’t, the Province need to have a revenue source coming in annually to help fund Health Care, Education, Infrastructure and other programs. Without the LNG component bringing in revenue, much of these programs will have less funding.
7. The government has extended terms to four years with the hope that councils can better meet long-term goals. What long-term projects or accomplishments would you like to be remembered for after this term?
To be the Supply hub of the North. Northern Rockies Regional Municipality being a Northern Community that supplies one of the largest amount of Shale Gas to Kitimat so that it can be turned into LNG and shipped overseas to the Asia Market. Grow our community. Building a lasting relationship with our First Nations.
8. Seven of Northeast B.C.’s eight local governments have joined together in a coalition of “resource municipalities.” Do you agree or disagree with this move? Why?
I agree with this move. Working in numbers help get the attention of Provincial Gov’t, Industry, Local Gov’t to get things done.
Name one suggestion you would make to this coalition, and explain how it should implement that idea.
Provincial gov’t on LNG export tax. Determine percentage and get Final Investment decision by Industry.
9. Fort Nelson is likely to expand quickly if LNG moves in. What is the best strategy the municipality has for coping with rapid expansion and a largely transient work force?
Working on our OCP (official Community plan) Subdivision planning, Residential Housing, Airport Infrastructure upgrade and expansion, Water and Sewer upgrade, commitment from Industry to determine workforce needed for FTN and how many employees they will need locally to support their projects.
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DANNY SOLES
Mr. Soles declined to either provide a candidate statement or respond to the candidate questionnaire when contacted.
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Alaska Highway News provided all candidates the above questionnaire by email, and followed up by phone in cases where a candidate either did not have an email address listed on election documents or did not otherwise respond. Any candidates whose responses do not appear here did not respond by deadline.
