As the federal Green Party prepares to choose a new leader, one candidate made a stop in Thunder Bay to hear local concerns.
David Merner is a lawyer and ran for the Greens in the Vancouver Island riding of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke in the 2019 election. He previously ran for the Liberals but left the party after the 2015 election.
Around a dozen people came out to the Unitarian Hall on Algoma Street to speak with him. The attendees voiced their thoughts on issues affecting Indigenous people like their relationship with the Crown, lack of clean drinking water in First Nations, and racism in Thunder Bay. Merner also put forward the topics of mining, the economy, and what they want to see from a Green leader.
Touching on issues affecting the northwest, he says Thunder Bay’s economy has a lot in common with his home riding.
“Thunder Bay, and similarly Victoria and South Vancouver Island, have really developed a fantastic service economy,” Merner says. “Education is a huge part of our economy. For us, tourism is another huge part of our economy, so how do we build those parts of our economy?”
Merner makes references to what he calls the future economy, looking at renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
“Forestry and mining are hurting now, just as they are in B.C., and so the question is what are we transitioning to? What is our economy of the future? How can we help to re-train and re-skill people?” Merner asks.
Merner says after leaving the Liberals over the purchase of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, he’s hoping to connect with voters who aren’t satisfied with the other political parties.
“The Liberals have really got off track. And I think there are a lot of Liberals, there are a lot of red Tories–you know, soft Conservatives–who are saying ‘Hmm, we don’t like where the Conservative Party is going either,’ and then NDP folks who are kind of disillusioned by where the NDP has gone,” he explains.
The BC resident is one of five candidates for the Green Party leadership. The results of the vote will be announced October 3rd.
