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Meet the Fraser-Nicola candidates: Jackie Tegart

Liberal Jackie Tegart, the incumbent, is looking to win a second term as the MLA for Fraser-Nicola.
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Liberal Party candidate Jackie Tegart.

For this year’s provincial election, The Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal and The Hope Standard asked all four candidates in the Fraser-Nicola riding several questions, and their answers follow. The questions were:

1) Your current occupation and place of residence.

2) Have you ever held elected office before? If so, what and when? If this is your first time running in provincial politics, what prompted you to run?

3) What do you see as the top two or three issues in Fraser-Nicola, and how would you address them?

4) What makes you the best candidate for Fraser-Nicola?

General voting day is May 9. Advance voting is taking place in Ashcroft (Community Hall) on May 5 and 6; Cache Creek (Community Hall) on May 6; and Clinton (Memorial Hall) on May 5 and 6. Voting hours on each day are 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

 

1) I was elected MLA for Fraser-Nicola on May 14, 2013, and held the position until the writ dropped on April 11, 2017. During that period, I also had the pleasure of serving as Government Caucus Chair and Liaison for the Community Poverty Reduction Initiative. I currently live in Ashcroft, where I have lived since I was six years old. Fraser-Nicola, and Ashcroft in particular, is home to me.

2) I have held elected office before. Prior to being elected as MLA, I served three terms on the village council in Ashcroft, and 17 years on the Gold Trail School Board. For 15 of those years on the school board I served as chair of the board, as well as president of the BC School Trustees Association for a period.

I ran provincially in the last election because I care about the riding I live in. I believed that I could make a positive difference by working hard for our rural communities, and have been able to do so. I ran for the BC Liberals because of their commitment to job creation, balanced budgets, and fiscal responsibility. I liked that they were supportive of small business, resource industries such as forestry and mining which are important in our riding, and getting to “yes” on responsible resource projects like the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion that will create jobs in our riding.

3) Jobs, rural health care, and transportation. Having a good, family-supporting job enables us to take care of the people we love. The BC Liberals are committed to providing prudent fiscal management, balanced budgets, and reducing the debt, red tape, and taxes to maintain our healthy economy. When we have a healthy economy, jobs are created.

Rural health care, including access to doctors and primary care, helps make our communities sustainable by attracting new residents and enabling seniors to stay in the community as they age. We are committed to training more doctors and nurses and investing in primary care facilities.

Reliable, safe, and efficient roads are required to connect communities and ensure the safe movement of goods and people to support our economy. As MLA for Fraser-Nicola, I’ve worked with the Ministry of Transportation to deliver much-needed investments in rural roads (Road 40), and highway improvement projects such as the Fountain Slide and Phase 3 of the Cariboo Connector, that will see the four-laning of the bridge at the north end of Cache Creek.

4) I am the best candidate for Fraser-Nicola because I care about people, life in rural communities, and Fraser-Nicola. This is not a job to me, but the best way that I can provide service to the people and communities I care about. I am committed to listen, understand, and look at the best way we can help. I believe in working together, building strong relationships, and achieving results for individuals, for communities, and for our province. I ask for your vote on May 9.