Skip to content

Election 2017: Parksville-Qualicum riding profile

Four candidates are competing for the seat in Parksville-Qualicum in the 2017 provincial election
web1_170427-NBU-PQRidingProfile2
Parksville-Qualicum candidates in the 2017 provincial election. From left: Glenn Sollitt, Green Party; Michelle Stilwell, B.C. Liberals; Sue Powell, NDP; and Terry Hand, B.C. Refederation. (Photos contributed)

Parksville-Qualicum riding includes Nanoose, Lantzville and north Nanaimo, from a line that runs along Brickyard, Rutherford and Mostar roads. In 2013, B.C. Liberal candidate Michelle Stilwell won the riding with slightly more than 50 per cent of votes cast. More than 42,000 were eligible to vote in 2013, with voter turnout just shy of 66 per cent.

In 2017 provincial election, four candidates are vying for the seat in Parksville-Qualicum.

B.C. Green Party: Glenn Sollitt, 52.

Fisherman/mechanical engineer/business owner

My priorities for Nanaimo are to increase funding for education, including early childhood education, which includes free daycare for children under three and 25 hours per week free for three to four-year-olds as well as a $500 a month subsidy for stay-at-home parents. We believe in supporting all choices and making sure that those who chose to stay home to raise their children are not penalized by the system. The $8.5-billion investment in education will ensure that our children and adults have the education needed to advance our emerging economy.

Health care is another high-priority issue, including facing the fentanyl crisis head-on and investigating out-of-the-box solutions, such as prescription heroin to ensure that those addicted are treated with a solution that is controlled and not the current death sentence attributed to the lethal addition of fentanyl by the elicit drug trade . The $100-million investment in health care includes an integrated primary care system using teams of health care professionals, such as nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, and mental health care professionals to support family doctors.

In the last legislative session, Andrew Weaver alone introduced more legislation than the entire NDP caucus. Green MLAs can be extremely effective because they bring forward the needs of their community and are not forced to vote the party line, like the other parties. As the Green MLA for this riding, I will hold frequent town halls to hear the needs of the constituents and take those needs to our legislature. Since I have no donations from unions or corporations, I am beholden only to the people of this riding and will push our agenda in the legislature ensuring that our voices are heard and that proper legislation is enacted.

B.C. Liberals: Michelle Stilwell, 41

Olympian, motivational speaker, incumbent MLA

If re-elected on May 9, I will continue to work to ensure that Parksville, Qualicum Beach and other communities in my constituency receive the support they need so families can enjoy the best this area has to offer.

By working together, we have accomplished a lot. I am proud I have been able to champion several causes on behalf of the residents in Parksville-Qualicum as both an MLA and cabinet minister.

Those include safe and secure housing for seniors and people with disabilities at Kingsley Housing Society; hospice beds at Trillium; Phase III of the sewage collection system for Lantzville; drinking water updgrades for the City of Parksville; and upgrades to community parks including Rathtrevor Beach, Little Qualicum Falls and Englishman River Falls Provincial Parks.

We’ve been able to make these investments that improve our communities because the work we have done has made British Columbia Canada’s strongest and most diverse economy.

I’m proud that we have balanced five consecutive budgets because that has allowed us to make unparalleled investments in new hospitals, seniors care and health care across Vancouver Island and British Columbia.

On Vancouver Island, we have committed to important investments in universities and colleges, transportation, our parks and in sectors like forestry, technology and tourism that open up economic opportunities for Vancouver Island residents.

That is why it is so vital for the residents of Parksville-Qualicum and all British Columbians to stay the course.

That is the only way we will continue to create family supporting jobs—allowing our young people, in Parksville-Qualicum and all Island communities, the opportunity to stay, work and raise a family here at home.

NDP: Sue Powell, 63

Retired.

My name is Sue Powell and I am proud to be on the John Horgan team as the NDP candidate in Parksville-Qualicum riding. I am a four-term City of Parksville councillor and have worked hard to improve the quality of life for families.

My own personal experience and why I am running in this election comes from raising two children and needing income assistance from time to time when I had trouble making ends meet. I worked three jobs to help with my household expenses and the cost of raising my children. I accessed subsidized daycare for my children through our low-income assistance. Ten years later, in 1990, I enrolled in our local Adult Basic Education program for upgrading so that I could attend university and provide for my family. Following upgrading, I completed my bachelor of social work degree and got a job with the Ministry for Children and Families as a child protection worker and I worked at that job for 19 years.

I am a productive member of society, I pay taxes, and shop locally to support our local economy. But I, like many others in this province, needed help along the way. This is how British Columbia’s social safety net was meant to work. For the last 16 years, people of B.C. have not been afforded the same social supports that I had. Too many people can’t get a stable job and wages aren’t keeping up. I saw that for a fact in my work as a social worker. I believe our platform works for people of British Columbia in areas of health, education, seniors, technology, sustainable jobs, and affordable housing. My priorities are making life more affordable, for better services and good jobs with a government that works for you.

B.C. Refederation Party: Terry Hand

Terry Hand is a Nanaimo resident since 1990 where he and his wife built their home. He has been married 48 years and has two sons and daughters-in-law and two grandchildren, with whom he is actively involved by giving care and helping with their education.

Hand has been with BC Refed for eight years. Throughout that time, he has served on the executive and volunteered in the position of communications director for the party. In 2010, Hand volunteered his time, energy and skills as regional director for the four mid-Vancouver Island electoral districts in the successful Fight HST campaign, British Columbia’s first provincial referendum. Nanaimo was the first electoral district to reach its 10 per cent required signatures.

Hand researches and is a proliferous writer of articles, posts, and comments for BC Refed. There can be no doubt as to his political knowledge and leanings. Hand has life experience on both sides of the Atlantic. He was born and raised to adulthood in England. He has witnessed the actions and results of many political administrations on both sides of the ocean.

Currently, Hand is semi-retired, operating a home-based import/export product distribution business, and during the summer months he travels to many B.C. communities with rides and activities for all to enjoy. He began his amusement ride company in 1993. Prior, Hand spent 10 years in the financial services industry providing and implementing group benefit plans and pension plans to large, medium, and small businesses, as well as providing segregated funds and other registered and non-registered savings vehicles to his many clients.

Hand established himself in Canada as a self-employed building contractor in Victoria, using the training, skills, and experience acquired in England where he had completed a six-year apprenticeship program in carpentry and cabinetmaking. Also, he had worked in heavy construction, concrete column and beam high-rise buildings for both union and non-union companies before he came to Canada.