Candidate Interviews: Peace River South Independent Mike Bernier

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Peace River South incumbent MLA Mike Bernier, an Independent candidate in the 2024 provincial general election, sat down with Enegeticcity.ca to answer questions submitted by residents of the Peace River region. 

How do you plan to reform the healthcare system, specifically so that all northeastern BC residents get equal access to care? What will you do to address the healthcare staffing shortages experienced specifically in our region?

When discussing continued hospital diversions and struggles with staffing throughout medical facilities in Northeast BC, Bernier highlighted opportunities for supporting local healthcare education. 

Supporting and offering education to youths in the North interested in the healthcare field is crucial for the long-term success of healthcare in the North, Bernier stated. 

“There’s so many things that need to be tackled because, to me, it’s a lot of waste to not be putting it in the front line where it needs to be, which is the services for our community when they need it,” Bernier said. 

Bernier also noted that changing the rules and restrictions surrounding foreign healthcare workers and the pay structure for doctors would offer significant benefits and be worth exploring in the future. 

“We need [a] rural advantage to not only recruit but retain healthcare professionals,” Bernier said. 

How will you continue investing in natural resources while respecting Indigenous rights and climate change?

Bernier highlighted the substantial opportunity for resource development in the region and the importance of unity and teamwork. 

“If we are going to be successful as a region, we need to all be working together, we need to be talking together, it should not be a divide, I think we can all win or lose together,” Bernier said. 

Bernier said collective conversations with everyone who ‘uses the land’ are imperative, and fast action is necessary as closures continue to impact the industry. 

Bernier also highlighted the strict environmental regulations the province currently maintains and stated that if regions maintain those standards, a positive impact can be made in the future of environmental management and natural resource management. 

What will you do to address housing affordability?

“We feel [housing affordability] here in a different way,” Bernier said. 

Bernier stated that there is no affordability at a high level as long as local industry offers enough employment opportunities, but also recognized that individuals in need of support should also not be ‘short-changed.’ 

The candidate emphasized the need for more housing to be built while recognizing the concern of industry experts not wishing to be left stranded if too many units are built. 

“If you have a strong economy in the region, you’ll have people investing in housing, you’ll have more housing units, the prices can stabilize, and it opens the door for a lot more people to get into rental housing or housing to purchase,” Bernier said. 

What is your stance on education and curriculum?

Bernier expressed frustration about the disparity between education in the North compared to that elsewhere in the province. 

He pulled on his experience as a former education minister to explain that there are stark differences in the quality and quantity of education opportunities in the region.

“If you’re in some of the urban centers, the different options they have for classes, training, and curriculum is immense, and we struggle up here just in the K to 12 to get enough teachers right now,” Bernier said. 

Bernier stated the region was lucky to have the rural education system it had but also recognized the struggles this system has come with, explaining that provincial funding per child cannot thrive in a rural region with a smaller population. 

What is your plan for investment in infrastructure for our region?

“There’s a list a mile long of deficiencies,” Bernier said. 

He highlighted the lack of recently approved projects in the region from the provincial level and expressed interest in advocating for increased investment in infrastructure in the north after the election. 

Focusing on the Taylor bridge as an example, Bernier explained that the project had been ‘limped along for a number of years’ and stated he would continue to advocate for it. 

Are you willing to work across party lines or with other independents to best represent your constituents?

“As an independent, it’s actually opened the door in a lot of ways to be louder, and to also represent the opinions, views of the people that I represent,” Bernier said. 

Bernier stated he has always done his best to advocate for his constituents but explained that there are some times when ‘you don’t get on the soap box’ for the betterment of the political party. 

“As an independent, working across party lines will be great,” Bernier said. 

No matter which political party is in power after the election, they would have to come to independent candidates to pass votes. As few as two independent candidates could form a party coalition, strengthening the voice of their constituents in the legislature, Bernier explained. 

This article is one of a series of articles featuring each candidate running in the 2024 provincial general election in the Peace River North and Peace River South ridings.