Castanet has conducted a Q&A with candidates running to represent the Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay riding. Watch for the Q&A articles every morning this week. Conservative candidate Helena Konanz declined to participate. Interviews have been edited for clarity and brevity. Castanet: To start off, give us roughly a 15-second introduction on why you are running to become Member of Parliament in this riding? Barry Dewar: I'm running because of my grandchildren. I think the government of Canada and all the parties involved to date who have ruled us have lost goodness. I think goodness is the reason why I'm running — we need that back in our life. And I think from that stems a lot of problems. I have four grandchildren, two live in Osoyoos, and two in Ontario, and I think this is all about them. C: This is a huge riding that encompasses everything from cities like Penticton to small rural communities like Osoyoos, where you live. What makes you qualified to represent this whole riding? BD: That's a very good question. My background, I think it's been diverse enough. I've done land development, I've owned a hockey team, I've been a banker, a financial consultant. I think what this area needs is someone that can think outside the box sometimes, and be able to ask the right questions, I think, too often, what's done as politicians is they don't ask the right questions, and if you don't ask the right questions, you can't get the right answer. C: This riding has been NDP since 2015. What specific issues in this writing do you think your party could handle better? BD: I'm a little hesitant to answer the question as I want to answer. I think that they the [outgoing] MP [Richard Cannings] is probably a really good guy, but I don't understand how, if the ruling government were as corrupt as they were, how [the NDP] could continue to let [the Liberals] stay in power [through a minority government]. I was in a meeting in Hedley a few days ago, and one of the guys said, "I have PharmaCare and dental care, and it saved me $600 a year because of the NDP." And so, I said to him, what would you do if a guy came in here with a gun right now and said, "You can live, but I'm going to kill everybody else, as long as you go get me a cup of coffee." And what would you do? And I said, "Would you just go get the cup of coffee and watch everybody get massacred, or would you do something?" He said, "I'd do something." And I said, "Exactly. But why didn't the NDP do something if the Liberals were as corrupt as they say they were?" If you go on the internet, there's probably 20 different scandals that have been attributed to the current government. But the NDP and the Green Party chose to keep them in power, and I guess that's why I don't think they can afford to win. I think our system is corrupt, and I think we need to fix it, and I think the People's Party's platform moves in that direction. C: Impacts of climate change are a big issue in this riding. Outgoing MP. Richard Cannings was a vocal advocate for a national wildfire force that could be deployed where and when needed, is that something that you would support? BD: One, I don't really believe in climate change, I'll be honest with you. I think it's a hoax that has a green slush fund that now the Liberals are now dipping into, putting my pension at risk. But the bigger question is about wildfires. I'm 71 years of age. When I was younger, we used to do slash burning [to control the] fuel supply in the forest. Now we don't do that because of asthma and other things that are apparently bad things, but if you burn the fuel off, like the undergrowth during times when it's not 40 degrees out, you can control the fire better, and we don't do that. (Editor's note: Strategic clearing and burning of potential wildfire fuel are, in fact, a regular part of both BC Wildfire Service and Indigenous band forest management). Since 1970, I've heard about how the lakes, sorry, the oceans, are going to rise — everything is going to stop, and we're all going to die because of climate change. Well, we've had climate change since the dinosaurs. And I mean, if you listen to some of these people that believe in climate change, they say that cows farting in the forest creates climate change. Well, then I guess the dinosaurs really must have been farting bad because we had a whole ice age happen back then, and we've had climate change all the time and CO2 is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. C: This riding encompasses multiple Indian Bands. What specifically would you do to collaborate locally with those Indian bands for their needs and advancement? BD: I've worked with most of the bands in this area, in particular, the Osoyoos Indian Band. I did a development on their land. I've known Clarence Louie, the chief here, since before he was chief. He was, I think 19 or 20, I think the first time I met him. And he's a smart guy. He's very cooperative, and he likes to think outside the box. And so, I know I have a good relationship there. I know some of the Terbasket family in the Lower Similkameen [Indian Band]. I think the thing is, is for the Native people — I think we have to get to the one land, one government — that we're all the same. Right now, we have too many disparaging things [...] When non-natives see some of the things that happen on Native land, they get angry. I don't see the colour of people's skin, I see the people's hearts, and I think that it's important that we work with them. And hey, they've been treated badly in a lot of cases, and so we have to fix it. And in this area, I think I can do that. C: Food insecurity is an issue that many Canadians are concerned with today. In this riding, what specifically do you believe the federal government's role is in ensuring people have access to affordable food? BD: That sort of leads you into the question of tariffs. Anytime we tax things, it doesn't matter if it's a tariff or what it is, it's definitely a problem. So, with the supply chain, you have to look at the whole issue. I was talking to a fellow in Keremeos the other day, and he's on the [BC] Chicken Marketing Board, and we have to protect the [BC] Chicken Marketing Board, because they'll all go broke without the government support. But then you look at the people that that say, well, "But if we give up chicken marketing?" I'm not saying we do that, but we have to look at the whole picture. Maybe if we give up dairy, chicken, and the other things, maybe the tariffs will be reduced on some of the things that we import. And so, it's a more complex issue than just saying, "How do we create that supply chain?" We have to listen to all the parties and be able to react. And of course, most of the marketing boards have huge lobbying groups that influence government decisions. And that's not right. I know a guy that used to run a turkey farm here, and he used to do very well. But is that because it was under a marketing board? I don't know. I look forward to meeting with him after the election and actually asking those questions. C: Similarly, many people in this riding are also struggling to afford housing. What, if anything, should the federal government's role be in assisting provincial or municipal goals of meeting housing needs? BD: Well, there's a lot of red tape and housing, and that's a big part of it. I was a land developer, so I know the red tape that was there, and they're not reducing that red tape, they're increasing it. Right now, with the requirements on some subdivisions, they have to put in enough electricity generating power to be able to have charging stations in their houses for cars. So, these are all complex issues. There's not one answer. Also, housing is affected by the softwood lumber tariffs. It's affected by the steel tariffs. You put steel into the rebar in your footings — it holds the house up. Why do we not have enough housing? When I bought my house, I figured the price of my house was five times my salary. Today, it's probably eight to 10 times your salary. Is that the cost of housing, or is that the cost of inflation that has been driven by governments doing the wrong things? C: Turning to international affairs, the ongoing trade war between us and our American neighbours seems to change frequently. In your role as MP of a border riding, what would you advocate for parliament to do to help local businesses who rely on cross-border business? BD: I believe we should not counter-tariff anything. I think all that does is raise costs on both sides of the border. We need tourists. Somebody told me the other day that we're the longest [border riding] neighbour to the United States, in kilometres. We go from Princeton all the way to Castlegar with basically every one of those communities in between, with every one of those communities relying heavily on tourism. So, if we counter-tariff, even the smallest things, all we're doing is hurting those businesses in the long term. We cannot counter-tariff. C: Parts of this riding are heavily agricultural and rely on temporary foreign workers. What should the federal government be doing to make it easier for those workers to find employment and the local businesses to employ them? BD: The agricultural community, in many cases, need to provide the housing and the support to bring the people in. In years past, in Osoyoos and all over we've had basically tent cities for the farmers and or the pickers, and that's wrong. If you're going to bring someone up here, you should treat them appropriately. In my opinion, we need to solve the housing crisis. We need to have temporary accommodation for these people, and we need to be able to find a way for them to find their employment. Now, I know that there are programs available. I know there's people that come from Jamaica to a friend of mine's farm, and he has housing for them. He has places for them to be, but he's been approached by the municipality about turning some of that farm workers cabins into permanent housing for the homeless, so it's not one problem. Immigration has caused us to have not enough housing, but I'm talking about illegal immigration, not legal immigration. When you allow temporary workers in, are we talking just about you're in and you're out, or they're temporarily here forever. I was talking to a guy at the Superstore, and he basically is an illegal alien, but here on a student visa. He's been here for seven years. He takes one course per year in order for him to be able to remain in Canada, because he doesn't want to go back to where he's from, which is India, so in his case, he's using the system, but he's not a permanent resident. He can't vote. He does pay taxes because he does work, but he's using the system. If I know one, then there's probably thousands [like him]. We need to address that situation. We're not talking about the guy picking apples in the orchard. We're talking about people that are here illegally. We have to find a way to make the people here legal and for them to go back to where they belong in the long term, or make them permanent residents. Do not leave them on the fence. C: The U.S. government has made recent policy changes that have caused concern for 2SLGBTQIA communities, and some fear it could spread north. The PPC platform states, "Most boys and girls suffering from gender dysphoria simply grow out of it." Do you agree with that statement, and do you believe that the Canadian government has a role in policing gender affirmation? BD: I have a Christian belief. To answer the first part of your question, do I believe there's more than two sexes? It tells us in Genesis that there's only two sexes: male and female. There is a dysphoria. I think there's a reason for that dysphoria, I think that's where we have to start correcting things that if people need help, they need to be helped. As a Christian, I believe that you love everybody, and it doesn't matter the colour of your skin, your sexual orientation, or anything, I don't have to like what they do, but I do love the people. I have several people that are involved in that lifestyle, not so much to the transgender part, but I do have friends that are gay and lesbian and I love them. One girl, I actually asked to come to a comedy show that was at my church, and she said no, because they might make out during the performance. And I went, "Why would you make out? Why would you do that? Why would you even think that?' When I go to a show, I don't go to there and make out with somebody in the comedy show. It doesn't matter if it's in a church or anywhere". But, her thought process was just strange. And then afterwards, she thought about it and said, "Yeah, why would I make out?" But, the thing is, we need to have love and understanding for all people, C: To conclude, what is something you wish voters knew about you? BD: I think that I can be the voice for this area. Like I said before, I believe in goodness, but I also believe in asking the right questions. You could get into a myriad of topics on that question with the way we've proceeded in the last nine years. We're not asking those questions. No one's standing in the House of Commons and saying, "Hey, what about this?" I suppose that most of your listeners know what Bill C-293 [Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act] is, and that's what I call "the cricket legislation". Basically, the Liberals, the NDP and the Green Party passed the legislation that said that in the next pandemic, we will eat crickets as our source of protein, and we spent [nearly] $9 million to build the largest cricket manufacturing plant in the world, and that plant is in London, Ontario, in Canada. We spent all this money to build it. Who wants to eat crickets? I think that would have been a very easy question for someone to stand up in the House of Commons and say, "There's 337 people here, and I'll buy dinner for every one of you. How do you want your crickets, boiled or fried?" I think most of those people probably didn't read the legislation. The bill has a great title, but the thing is they throw things in there that are ridiculous. I don't want to eat crickets. I know I do get them in my Doritos and stuff like that, but I don't want to be eating crickets. I want to have a steak. I want to have a steak grown by that farmer in Hedley or Princeton, or Oliver. I'd want to eat beef and chicken and pork. And you can already tell that the government, as we have it right now, are trying to curtail that. If I was a farmer right now, I wouldn't be voting for any of the main parties. You have to think outside the box. And what I can bring is thinking outside of the box. I also think that this election will be close. I think when people say, "I'm going to vote for this party because I don't want that party to to win." All that means is that you're voting for the lesser of two evils. What you should be voting for is for what you want and for who will give you that. People that say that they can influence the party's policy, they can't. I don't have any control over what the PPC or the Liberals, or whoever are going to do, but I do have a say where I can make other people think correctly and be able to respond accordingly. I think if you're a critical thinker, you'll vote for me, because my party never voted for eating crickets. They're the only one that can say that — even some of the Conservatives voted for it and they didn't speak up against it. That's the problem — they need to think the great question. Election day is April 28