Bill Mackenzie - TNRD Area E candidate
1. How long have you lived in your community?
I bought property at Machete Lake in 1987. I semi-retired in 2006 and have spent the spring, summer and fall here since then.
It is a semi-remote area and too isolated during the winter. I live in Burnaby in the winter.
2. What is your occupation?
Professional engineer
3. Have you done any volunteer work here? Which group(s)?
I work with our local Machete Lake community association dealing with logging and fisheries issues. In Burnaby, I have been on my strata council since 2002.
4. Have you served before in municipal government or on a Board of School Trustees? If yes, where, when, and for how long?
I have not served in government.
5. Which issues are most important to you?
The most important local issue for me is the local economy. The most important social issue is the opioid crisis.”
6. How would you address them?
The local economy depends upon logging, ranching, tourism and housing to provide jobs for people in this area. Jobs for people means a population base, which supports even more jobs for the service sector.
I believe that over-regulation and high taxes are job killers, so my approach will be to try to get the minimum level of regulation and taxes that are necessary for good governance and cost-effective services.
The opioid crisis is a tragedy. My understanding is that most of the victims are young males. I think we need an emergency short-term response consisting of de-criminalizing all illegal drugs so the potential victims can be de-risked by providing prescription drugs to them.
The longer-term solution is much more difficult to achieve because it will involve understanding why the potential victims are resorting to these drugs and then treating them so that they can withdraw from them.
7. Additional comments?
Please vote.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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