The B.C. Liberals91裸聊视频� leadership debate Sunday in Nanaimo underlined some of the different ways the party could be headed.

Six candidates 91裸聊视频� Dianne Watts, Mike de Jong, Sam Sullivan, Todd Stone, Michael Lee and Andrew Wilkinson 91裸聊视频� attended the forum at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre to talk about transportation, education and other topics.

As the party chooses a new leader, Wilkinson said the Liberals can be proud of their record of economic prosperity and balanced budgets in B.C.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e going to see the NDP on a spending marathon in the years to come and we have to be a party to stand up for balanced budgets, stand up for fiscal responsibility and make sure we don91裸聊视频檛 spend money we don91裸聊视频檛 have,91裸聊视频� he said.

Lee noted that the Liberals won only one seat on Vancouver Island and suggested the party underperformed in urban ridings, as well.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not because we don91裸聊视频檛 care. We just didn91裸聊视频檛 demonstrate it,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淪o issues around affordability, issues around transportation, we need to plan better and we need to articulate that better. That91裸聊视频檚 the reason we need a different approach. We91裸聊视频檙e not going to regain seats on this Island or in urban ridings just by talking about balanced budgets and a triple-A credit rating.91裸聊视频�

Sullivan talked about privatization of liquor sales, some privatization of health care and even of education with talk of charter schools.

De Jong expanded on previously pitched notions of government decentralization.

91裸聊视频淲here is it written in this age of technology that government must all be located in Victoria?91裸聊视频� he asked. 91裸聊视频淚s it revolutionary to at least consider the possibility that the B.C. Ferries corporation could be headquartered in Nanaimo? We can do it with various departments of government.91裸聊视频�

Ferries were an area of focus at Sunday91裸聊视频檚 debate and Watts said the fares are making the crossings unaffordable.

91裸聊视频淲hen you look at the system and you look at how it functions and how it moves, we need to be making sure that we have affordability built into that entire system,91裸聊视频� she said.

Stone, former transportation minister, said the ferry system wasn91裸聊视频檛 sustainable four and a half years ago.

91裸聊视频淏ecause of tough decisions, because of sacrifices in coastal British Columbia, it is sustainable and fares can now start to come down,91裸聊视频� he said.

Stone said he wishes to continue to reduce fares and said sports teams and school groups should get free ferry service, a concept Wilkinson questioned.

91裸聊视频淢y core principle as a B.C. Liberal is you don91裸聊视频檛 spend your kids91裸聊视频� money on operating costs today. You pay your own way,91裸聊视频� he said.

Sullivan suggested B.C. could take the example of the Washington state ferries and look to reduce staffing on vessels to provide more service in other ways.

91裸聊视频淚 believe that a lot of the regulations are too tough91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檇 like to be able to challenge the federal regulators and see if we could get a much more effective, cost-efficient ferry service.91裸聊视频�

Candidates were allowed two opportunities to directly question one another and Stone directed both his queries at Watts. First he said, 91裸聊视频淵ou talk about a new vision for British Columbia 91裸聊视频� but the details of that vision have been pretty limited,91裸聊视频� and then suggested that she could have done more, as a Conservative MP, to help the B.C. Liberals in last spring91裸聊视频檚 election.

91裸聊视频淚 have to be honest. I didn91裸聊视频檛 really see that contribution from you and it could have made a difference. We might not be having this discussion today,91裸聊视频� Stone said.

Watts replied that she 91裸聊视频渄idn91裸聊视频檛 realize I carried that much power that if I had done more that we would have won, but thank you for that,91裸聊视频� and said she did try to support provincial Liberal candidates in her federal riding.

De Jong left the debate early to fly back to his Abbotsford riding to attend a celebration of life for a police officer killed in the line of duty, Const. John Davidson, but as he left, de Jong said all of the candidates are good people and 91裸聊视频渋t speaks well of who our party is.91裸聊视频�

He said the B.C. Liberals91裸聊视频� path back to government will involve visiting every corner of the province and listening to people.

91裸聊视频淎nd generate the ideas from within our communities and within our party and take that vision to British Columbia rooted in the free-enterprise principles that have made this party great and have made British Columbia the envy of Canada,91裸聊视频� he said.

The party will choose its next leader the first week of February.

editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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