Chrystia Freeland defends election call as B.C. burns

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This article was published 16/08/2021 (1513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PORT MOODY, B.C.—Liberal party candidate Chrystia Freeland says she doesn’t see an issue with an election campaign being launched this week while thousands in British Columbia have been evacuated from their homes amid raging wildfires.

Freeland, federal finance minister and deputy prime minister, said Canadians have some “big choices” they must make.

“I think it is entirely appropriate for us to say to Canadians now, ‘this is a democracy, this is what we stand for, it’s up to you now to make your choice,” Freeland said. “That’s what we’re saying today.”

Freeland made her comments flanked by local candidates, including Jonathan Wilkinson and Hedy Fry, at the party’s introduction of its B.C. candidates at Rocky Point Park in the Vancouver suburb of Port Moody Monday.

Prior to Parliament’s dissolution, the province was represented by MPs from all parties. Freeland is running in the Toronto riding of University-Rosedale.

Freeland praised firefighters and emergency workers in the province, while calling for empathy for those who have been forced from their homes.

But people living in fire-ravaged parts of the province are angry at the election call when the province is in a state of emergency with nearly 270 fires burning, say community leaders.

A few hundred kilometres to the east of Monday’s oceanside venue, the fires have resulted in 6,500 properties being placed under an evacuation order with another 16,000 on evacuation alert.

Photos of skies turned dark and red by smoke and bright orange flames devouring forests have been shared over social media. The Coquihalla Highway, the main artery through the province, was closed off due to a wildfire burning on its edges Monday.

The mayor of Princeton, a small town a three-and-a-half-hour drive east of Vancouver, said the election call amid the chaos is disappointing.

Spencer Coyne said Princeton residents are on edge about a nearby wildfire and a spike in traffic. The town sits on one of the only routes from Vancouver to the interior and is now taking traffic diverted from other highways.

“This is not a good leadership move as far as I’m concerned,” Coyne told the Star. “I feel that the government of Canada is letting down British Columbia. If I was to do anything like this, I wouldn’t have a job anymore.”

Dan Albas is the Conservative candidate for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola, where Princeton is located.

Albas said the anger over the election being called right now is so palpable he has delayed putting up his election signs “out of respect” for residents.

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He added the evacuations have people wondering how they are supposed to register for mail-in ballots or how Elections Canada will be able to hire staff in rural areas.

Experts have said climate change is expected to create longer fire seasons for the province as a combination of drought, heat and dry fuel creates a dangerous mix. In 2017 another severe fire season was blamed on “human-induced” climate change.

At Monday’s event in Vancouver, Freeland touted the Liberals spending $100 billion on efforts to combat climate change as well as commitments to reduce emissions.

“I have actually found in talking to British Columbians and people across the country that people do understand our government takes climate change absolutely seriously,” Freeland said. “We understand this is quite literally a deadly threat to people in B.C., to people in Canada, to people around the world.”

Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @Nuttallreports