A respected former member of the NDP party is throwing his support behind the Green Party candidate in Vernon-Monashee for the Oct. 24 provincial election.
Barry Dorval finished second to incumbent Liberal Eric Foster in the 2017 riding vote and ahead of third-place finisher Keli Westgate of the Greens, who is running again in Vernon-Monashee against Foster, Harwinder Sandhu of the NDP and Kyle Delfing of the Conservatives.
“I am the father of two young adults and a teacher of hundreds of local students. These young folks are going to grow up in a world that will be defined by the choices we make right now about the climate crisis,” said Dorval. “The BC NDP’s rosy rhetoric on climate change is being undone by my former party’s decisions to support the development of the LNG industry. They can’t have their cake and eat it too.”
During the 2017 election, Dorval said his respect and admiration grew for Westgate as he found her to be an extremely hardworking, intelligent, passionate, and knowledgeable candidate who is absolutely dedicated to the citizens of this region.
“As a person whose commitment to fighting the climate crisis is beyond question, Keli Westgate will be my choice at the ballot box on October 24,” said Dorval.
“I am running because none of the other parties are treating the climate emergency with the urgency it requires,” said Westgate. “We need an environmental lens on everything we do from this point forward if we wish to have a livable planet for future generations.”
Westgate and Dorval share in the sense of urgency needed and are urging British Columbian’s to stand up and share their voice and their concerns.
“In 2017, when I ran as the BC NDP candidate for Vernon-Monashee, one of my main objectives was to present a compelling local case for fighting climate change,” said Dorval. “I ran believing that my party was solidly committed to that same goal. Because of the BC NDP’s choice to support the development of Liquified Natural Gas – a decision that will lock in huge amounts of Green House Gas emissions for decades to come and will significantly undermine the NDP’s Clean BC Initiative – I can no longer support my former party.”
“We must move beyond business as usual into something truly regenerative and equitable,” Westgate said. “This provincial election it is vitally important that your voice is heard.”
READ MORE: NDP celebrate despite local loss
READ MORE: Vernon-Monashee: NDP Barry Dorval
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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