1-on-1 with Donegal Wilson

Castanet has conducted interviews with all participating Boundary-Similkameen candidates ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election. Watch the interview above, or read the Q&A below, which has been edited and fact-checked for clarity. The candidates' opinions and claims do not necessarily reflect those of Castanet.

CASTANET: Hello, I'm Sarah Crookall with Castanet News and welcome to our "Meet the Candidate" series for the Boundary-Similkameen riding. I'm here virtually with Conservative Party candidate, Donegal Wilson. Thanks for joining me, Donegal.

DONEGAL WILSON: Thank you for having me, Sarah.

C: Give me about a 15-second introduction on who is Donegal Wilson?

D: Donegal is a small town girl that grew up in Tulameen on a cattle ranch there in the Otter Valley. I lived up in Smithers for about 15 years, and then was fortunate enough to be able to move back to the Similkameen Valley here in Keremeos. My husband and I have a small engine shop here in town.

C: In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing voters in the Boundary-Similkameen riding?

D: From [knocking on] doors I'm hearing lots, but I think the one that seems to be coming up to the top the most is definitely healthcare and the fact that our emergency rooms are not open consistently. Living in rural areas that are far from urban centres or regional hospitals, it's very concerning for the communities when their local emergency room is not open.

C: To follow that up, what would you do, if you were elected, to address that issue?

D: Definitely be a strong voice for rural healthcare. I believe that we've become a little city-centric in focusing on those regional hospitals. My emergency here in Keremeos is actually only open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday. It's more of a walk-in clinic rather than an emergency room. And so, I definitely just want to work with Conservative Party to enact the Patients First healthcare model.

C: The Boundary-Similkameen is a large riding with two distinct areas, if not more, as the name suggests. How will you address the needs of all [voters] here?

D: Definitely it is a huge riding. I've spent the last six to eight weeks driving from corner to corner to corner, knocking on doors and listening to residents. It is mandatory that whoever is selected maintains a mobile office to meet those people in their communities. That's something that I'm strongly committed to. I believe that we have everything from a world class ski resort, to recreational towns that are dependent on tourism, to an aging population. It's such a large riding with so many things within it, it's pretty exciting.

C: If elected, this would be your first foray into provincial politics. What would you do to be equipped to step into the role of a first time MLA?

D: I'm a chronic learner. I love to push boundaries and teach myself new things. It is my first foray into provincial politics, but in my role with the BC Snowmobile Federation, I have been working with high level provincial government and federal government employees, bureaucrats, ministers to advocate for motorized recreation in B.C. So, I've sat on ministerial committees. I've been involved in the development of the [Off-Road Vehicle Act] so I have worked with government as a stakeholder for the last 12 years.

C: One of the issues that is top of mind is healthcare, like you mentioned. Many current residents are feeling not taken care of by the current health care system, whether that's due to a nationwide doctor shortage or closing emergency rooms, which is really prevalent here in the South Okanagan. What would you do as a plan to address that issue?

D: I think the Conservatives' Patients First healthcare model is a very strong plan for rural B.C. Our commitment to maintain — contrary to what the current commercials say — we're actually planning to maintain the current healthcare investments, as well as increase into areas once we identify those gaps and find out how we recruit those doctors and nurses. We want to bring back the nurses and doctors that were pushed out for their personal health choices, but we know that we need to do more than that. We need to make B.C. attractive for those healthcare professionals, and especially rural B.C.

C: Farmers and the agricultural sector have been hit pretty hard. The closure of BC Tree Fruits is unprecedented in many ways. What is your plan to ensure the agricultural sector is taken care of as we face increasing climate instability?

D: Definitely, the [BC] Tree Fruits closure was a big impact to people in our riding, and the reality is that [BC] Tree Fruits has been in a declining position for many years, and this government chose to ignore the signs. I don't think that the Tree Fruits was quiet about what was happening and the challenges.

Now that the co-op has made that decision, we need to find a way to invest in those farmers to make sure that they're a able to get through this climate crisis that just happened this last year,* where they're they lost their vines, they lost their trees. We need replant programs that are responsive and timely. Finding out that you can get funding for replant a year later is not not adequate, and I definitely think that we need to invest in the technology and the other distribution centres that we do have here in our in the Okanagan so that we don't lose more business from the same neglect.

C: I understand that you've decided not to attend forums and instead meet people one-on-one, in person. Since the Keremeos forum last week, some voters have expressed a desire to see you handle such situations. Can you let the voters know what your response to that is, please?

D: I'm hearing clearly at the doors that people don't want the divisive politics that we're seeing within the media, within the campaigns, honestly, and they just really want solutions. I feel, as somebody who's still working full-time in my regular day job that I needed to really prioritize where I was spending my time. I felt that time was better spent at the doors, listening to people one-on-one. I had eight events so far, I'm not done — public events that people could attend and hear me speak. I definitely just want to continue to be available and meeting with people in their communities, at their doors, rather than being involved in divisive debates. Our policies are clearly very different. It's not like we're arguing minutia. They're very opposing.

C: And finally, we may or may not end up with a majority government after that this election. If you are elected, what is one local issue you'd be willing to support another party on?

D: Honestly, I would be willing to support another party on anything that my riding needs. The reason that I chose the Conservative Party of BC — it's a principle of the party that we vote for our riding first and our party second. So, I plan on listening and ensuring that I know what the people of the Similkameen want and need, and being that voice in Victoria.

C: What you would like voters to know about you?

D: I'm a really hard working person who has a lot of integrity, and I've chose to run my campaign that way so that I didn't have any regrets at the end. I really believe that we need to bring common sense back to BC, and that I'll be a strong voice for the Boundary-Similkameen.

For more Boundary-Similkameen candidate information, click here.

* Significant weather events have been negatively impacting Okanagan crops leading to delayed and lower yields over the last few years.