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Candidates field public questions at Port Hardy’s municipal elections forum

The Chamber of Commerce posed a variety of questions to each candidate.
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The Port Hardy Chamber of Commerce held an All Candidates Meeting for upcoming municipal elections. The chamber posed a variety of questions to each candidate, some submitted by members of the public. Candidates were given an opportunity to field those questions. Below are some of the answers each candidate gave to Port Hardy residents.

Please describe to us the role you are seeking (Mayor or Councilor) and how your skills, experience, and qualifications prepare you to take on this serious and complex role?

Hank Bood: I think the thing I have to offer Port Hardy is obviously experience. I have spent one term as a councillor starting in 1999 and going for three years. Those were the times that Port Hardy was in a desperate problem. We lost our main employer. My mayor tasked me with cutting the budget which was a rather unique experience. I ran for mayor in 2005 and we put in some facilities in our harbour at Keltic Seafoods that still made Port Hardy one of the best places to stop to get marine services looked after on the coast. Of course, I’ve been the mayor for the last four years, a term I’m really proud for how much we’ve achieved.

Dennis Dugas: My experience within the municipality’s operations has been extensive. My 40 years experience in the field with municipal operations is, I believe, a valuable asset. My role in operations varied over the years, but at the end of my career as a capital projects coordinator brought me to a higher level of responsibility. When you’re responsible from start to completion of numerous million dollar projects, that experience counts for something. In the past four years I’ve learned in being actively involved in municipal governments and I’m ready for the next step. I’m confident that this transition from council to mayor will be smooth because I know our district staff are very competent and experienced in guiding those that are elected. I look forward to the challenge. I would not be the first that went from council to a mayor’s position. It has been done in the past and I’m sure it will be in the future.

What actions do you think council should take to help foster a prosperous, vibrant, sustainable, and diverse Port Hardy economy and community?

Fred Robertson: I think it’s about achieving a balance. A balance of talking to everybody and working with groups like the wellness committee and trying to work on social issues in the community, but also working with employers like Western and Marine Harvest and how we as a municipal council can best work with them. Our work with Marine Harvest will be critical over the next few years. But it’s also I think about working on other initiatives as well in terms of working on projects like improving the ball fields, replacing a curling rink, or working with youth in minor soccer on what we can do to improve the soccer pitches in Port Hardy. It’s about achieving a balance and working with everyone.

Treena Smith: I think council should promote Port Hardy as open for business. We are fortunate enough to have the ferry bringing in visitors from around the world during the summer but we still have opportunity there. Our tourism-based businesses are suffering in the winter, they struggle. So we have vacant office and rental spaces, that’s something we need to realize how that impacts others and ourselves. We need to do what we can to attract bigger industry and build and support what we have in logging, fishing, aquaculture, tourism, and mining. It’s always best to build on what we have and support what we have.

What is your vision, approach and tactics for how you should engage the various partners, stakeholders and constituents?

Don Kattler: It’s about relationships. I believe one of my strengths is networking and building relationships. I’m also not afraid to ask questions. My key to engagement is listening and then listening more. I believe the job of a councillor is not to be heard but to listen when engaging with constituents. I’ll be listening to the people I work for, the people in this audience, and that includes the people that did not vote for me. If elected, I’ll be holding monthly evening cafes at Guidos as a way for the community to engage with me. Relationships are built on trust and transparency. I believe it’s important that the community has access to meet with me in person. It’s also my job to speak and represent the people I work for and be held accountable for what I say. I’m passionate about my work and I’ll advocate for this community. I’m not afraid to ask tough questions and hold others accountable.

I’ve been here for a long time and we had have a lot of tourism promotions, but there’s a proposal out there where we’re looking at whole sections of areas that are going to be closed to sports fishing and any kind of recreational fishing. That’s an awful lot of grandkids who won’t get to fish. At a recent meeting, council spoke about the issue in Whistler. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the issue.

Rick Marcotte: I was at Whistler, I met with the fisheries and agricultural minister and voiced our concerns. We did not even have any input as a local government. Special interest groups want to see this happen. I also wrote a letter to the department of fisheries explaining our concerns and looking for answers. It’s a very serious matter and it’s something we have to continue to fight for.

Leightan Wishart: I currently sit on a committee in Campbell River discussing fishing in the area and this committee is an advisory committee to the fishing commission. We have members from the provincial and federal government. We have members from sports fishing and commercial fishing. I’m the only person who represents a town or a district.

How will you address public intoxication? I know tourists have made complaints recently about it.

John Tidbury: If you all remember the method in the past, the RCMP would come along and grab that individual and lock them up for the night. Well, that was just a thing that was going around and around and around. It didn’t work. So we’ve worked with other organizations to try to alleviate that and have tried to work with Salvation Army and other groups in the community.

Pat Corbett-Labatt: For those of you that don’t know, a number of people came to the District of Port Hardy’s council meeting as a delegation about public intoxication. As a result, it was taken to the Wellness First Committee, and we’re working with various community members - the police. Trying to come up with different ways and means to deal with public intoxication that’s effective.

How will you address the empty storefronts along Market Street or in Thunderbird Mall?

Janet Dorward: The empty storefronts have been looked at in the past by council. In Port Hardy, we have the challenge of having had the mine here, and the boom and the subsequent bust of being overbuilt for what we have nowadays.

All we can do is try to invite economic development into Port Hardy and fill those stores and build more.

North Island Gazette apologizes for not including Pat Corbett-Labatt’s response to one of the questions. The story has been updated to include her answer to a public question.

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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Don Kattler
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Mayoral candidate Dennis Dugas
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Rick Marcotte
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate John Tidbury
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Pat Corbett-Labatt
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Leightan Wishart speaks at the All Candidates Meeting at the Civic Centre.
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Fred Robertson
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Treena Smith
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Councillor candidate Janet Dorward
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THOMAS KERVIN PHOTO Mayoral candidate Hank Bood