Prior to the provincial election scheduled for Oct. 19, Coast Reporter spoke with nominees from the NDP and Green Party for the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast, as well as John Rustad, leader of the Conservative Party of BC. The questions asked of the candidates were largely based on topics discussed each week by residents in the “letters to the editor,” section of the paper.
Last week, Coast Reporter was invited to interview both Rustad and Chris Moore, the Conservative MLA nominee for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, but after a change in schedule, it turned out to be a solo sit down with the party leader. Despite an incredibly hectic schedule, Sept. 5, Rustad spent 45 minutes speaking with Coast Reporter, before being reminded he had to leave.
Crime/bail reform
“On the crime side, I am extremely disappointed in the fact that there doesn't seem to be consequences for people committing crimes, especially when you've got these violent offenders like the incident in Vancouver that just happened,” Rustad said of recent random attacks by one repeat offender, during which one man was killed and another had his hand cut off. “We’ve got a prolific offender with a history, let out on bail, back out in the community and then commit some heinous crime. So, we are going to be pushing for a bunch of changes within the justice system and more judges put in place so that we can get people pushed through. But most importantly, we need to bail reform federally and we need to look at guaranteed minimum sentences.”
Rustad says police are telling him it’s 20 percent of offenders doing 80 percent of the crimes, so there needs to be more consequences.
“They need to spend time behind bars for the crimes they’ve committed. And I don't think it's wrong to say that and it seems to be so tied to addiction. And there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of options for people who are ready to go to rehab.”
Drugs/decriminalization
Rustad says while crime is independent of addictions and mental health issues, in many cases there's an overlap.
“We need to be able to treat mental health and addiction accordingly, which we will be doing. We need to build out capacity for doctor-prescribed treatment to short-term treatment recovery to long-term recovery,” says Rustad.
Rustad adds, it’s vital to help people with addictions get the help they need, whether that’s voluntarily or involuntarily. "For some people, it takes longer to be able to help them develop the life skills that they need to break the cycle of friends that are around them that led them into drugs, and to give them that opportunity," he said.
"We're going to look at involuntary care, and it's not something I want to do a lot of,” says Rustad. “But for example, if you've got an individual who has overdosed and been brought back to life, clearly, from a mental-health perspective, they're at risk of harming themselves.”
Rustad says some people living with addictions don’t have the mental capacity to make the decision to seek treatment on their own. “So, we’re making a decision for them.”
Rustad says the party would also get rid of safe-injection sites, free access to drugs and decriminalization. Rustad would like to see safe-injection sites converted to recovery intake centres.
Under the NDP, in 2023, Health Canada granted the province of B.C. a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize small amounts of certain illicit drugs for personal use in specific locations and instead of arrest, offer them information and referrals to treatment and supports.
“We're going to get rid of safe supply. It's not safe, it’s dangerous drugs and they're finding their way into our schools and creating the next generation of addicts,” says Rustad. “So, we're going to stop that nonsense. However, we are going to carry forward, like I said, with doctor prescribed treatments, with short term treatment to recovery, with longer term treatment and recovery…”
Affordable housing/rent control
Rustad says after helping people living with addictions and mental health issues get healthy, connecting them with housing is key.
“We need to be able to make sure that people can be on that path to recovery and then have stages where they can go into housing and support and be able to get on with living,” says Rustad.
He adds, the Conservatives have no plans to end rent control — yet. Rustad says the plan is to create enough affordable rental stock that rental prices will eventually level off.
“That's when we’re going to start looking at removing rent control,” he says. “Because what rent control will do over the long term is, it will stop reinvestment in properties. It's the ghettoization of rentals, because the owners, if their costs are going up faster than the rents going up, they're squeezed in terms of money.”
He adds, if a landlord can’t afford to make any improvements to a property, it eventually falls into disrepair.
“And so rent control is part of that. However, when you have a .1 percent vacancy rate or less, you can't just let free market take care of it, because prices will go up,” he says. “So, you have to be able to get that balance on the supply side. Then you can look at taking off rent control over time and allow the market to be able to balance.”
Transportation/new highway
Rustad said despite not being a resident of the Sunshine Coast, he has spoken with enough residents and former and current politicians to understand the need for better transportation options, including a new highway. He notes, several years ago, he introduced a petition in the legislature advocating for a new highway on the Coast. Rustad was part of the (former) BC Liberals at the time.
“So, it's certainly something that's on my radar in terms of what's needed in the area,” says Rustad.
