Healthcare and climate change were key themes at a Skeena鈥擝ulkley Valley all-candidates forum in 亚洲天堂 Lake on April 17.

There were three candidates present: incumbent New Democratic Party candidate Taylor Bachrach, Conservative Party candidate Ellis Ross, and Christian Heritage Party candidate Rod Taylor. Not present were Inderpal Dhillon of the Liberal Party and Adeana Young of the Green Party. 

Candidates were asked about their party's approach to healthcare, a question many in the audience were concerned about due to frequent emergency department closures at the Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre, as well as a shortage of general practitioners in the area.

Taylor said his party would prevent medical procedures that his party considers unnecessary.

"We're using government health care dollars on things that are not healthcare either, the surgery to try to turn a boy into a girl, that's not healthcare. That's cosmetic surgery, that money should be going to pay for hearts and hips and things that Canadians need," he said. "We're paying for abortion killing 100,000 babies every year."

Bachrach said that healthcare policy falls under provincial jurisdiction but his party would take measures to support the provinces such as increasing transfer payments. He added that he was inspired recently by an alternative approach to recruiting family doctors in Fort St. James.

"At one point, Fort, St James was down to a single doctor, and he was about to retire, and they knew something had to be done, and they decided to really reinvent the wheel. They created a primary care society, a non profit society that would employ the doctors," he said.

"Instead of doctors working on block time, where they get a certain amount of money for every five minute appointment, they would pay them a salary. They give them a good work life balance, and they support them properly with administrative support. And they got up to the point where I think they had eight doctors."

Ross said that doctors and nurses are being put into dangerous situations when they are asked to treat people with serious addictions issues,

"Alberta's got a great model. They took addictions out of the healthcare program, and they've set up treatment centres all over Alberta, and it's fully funded," he said. "Pierre Poilievre has said that he'll treat 50,000 of those people suffering addictions."

The candidates discussed a wide range of other issues including Indigenous policy, national debt and toxic drugs. Candidates were asked if their party has a plan to combat climate change.

Ross said his party opposes measures like the carbon tax that punish Canadians.

"We are not the biggest group in the world. We don't even criticize China, Russia, United States. We punish Canadians with a carbon tax," he said, adding that the House of Commons has yet to sit and remove carbon tax legislation. "Do you think the carbon tax is taken away? Wrong. It's separate. You can't take it away until the House sits and you get rid of legislation."

Taylor said his party does not believe in man-made climate change.

"The Christian Heritage Party takes a position that carbon dioxide is not pollution. Carbon dioxide is plant food. It's a part of our natural atmosphere, component, component that plants need. The more they have, the better they grow," he said. "The whole theory is an unproven theory. There are thousands of scientists who do not follow the theory of man caused climate change due to carbon dioxide."

Bachrach said his party intends to meet Canada's existing international commitments regarding greenhouse gas reduction under the Paris Accord.

"Canada's target under international law is 40 to 45% reduction based on 2000 2005 levels by 2030 so that's what we've committed to to our international peers, and our party believes that Canada should fulfill that commitment," he said.