Candidate Interviews: Peace River South BC Conservative Larry Neufeld

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

How does your party plan to reform the healthcare system, specifically so that all northeastern BC residents get equal access to care?

Neufeld spoke about his family’s interactions with the provincial healthcare system and how the system is in crisis. 

“My experience is that there are amazingly wonderful human beings in the healthcare system and that those caring human beings are being driven out by a broken system.” 

The candidate explained the patient-first solution, which introduces private care clinics as an option for British Columbians.

What will your party do to address the healthcare staffing shortages experienced specifically in our region?

Neufeld acknowledged the challenges of attracting any professional to the North long-term and described how part of the Conservative Party’s plan includes streamlining university requirements within the province, 

He also stated that if the government and universities were unable to find common ground, he, as an elected official, would advocate for local groups dedicated to supporting individuals transitioning to British Columbia from other provinces or countries. 

“I would advocate for having these groups incorporated into that government role of being the ones that streamline the doctors and nurses coming into the area,” Neufeld said. 

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

Neufeld expressed the Conservative Party’s interest in ‘streamlining regulatory hurdles’ to attract large-scale investment back to British Columbia. 

He spoke of natural gas’s clean nature, describing it as the ‘cleanest burning fuel we have in bulk,’ and stated that Canada should be shipping the fuel to countries using coal plants, such as India and China. 

Speaking on reconciliation and Indigenous rights, Neufeld explained that the Conservative Party has proposed dissolving the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and replacing it with a made-in-BC solution. 

“We’re not ignorant to the fact that we all need to get along, that everyone’s the same, everyone’s equal, and we’re very committed to going down that path,” Neufeld said. 

What will your party do to address housing affordability?

According to Neufeld, the party has prepared a two-pronged approach to improving housing affordability across the province, which he said is especially important in the lower mainland regions. 

Neufeld stated that getting the economy and inflation back under control would be a large component of addressing housing affordability throughout the province. 

Additionally, by decreasing and streamlining regulation, the party intends to decrease operating costs and repair the province’s forest industry. 

“We all realize and recognize we need regulation for a society to function in a smooth, efficient, responsible manner. However, that regulation needs to be a means by which we’re not chasing away industry, and we’re not chasing away investment.” 

Neufeld said streamlining regulation and making it easier for companies to operate in the province will reduce the cost of natural resources, including wood, which is necessary to help reduce housing costs. 

What is your stance on education and curriculum?

Neufeld spoke about his experience in the education system, compared to what he is seeing with his children, two of whom have just finished with post-secondary education, expressing how much change he has seen in those 30 years. 

“We need to get back to a situation where we remove political bias and indoctrination from the school system, and we need to be there to teach them how to think, not what to think,” Neufeld said. 

Neufeld explained his concerns at the competitiveness of recent grads from science-based programs in the country, compared to those from around the world. 

“We really need to go back and look at the basis of what is being taught to children, and we really need to have a fundamental change on what it is that we’re teaching them so that we are competitive on a world market.” 

What is your party’s plan for investment in infrastructure for our region?

Neufeld underscored the importance of infrastructure around the province, speaking about his experiences when visiting China in 2023 and describing their investments in infrastructure as ‘beyond stunning.’

When speaking about infrastructure in the northeast, Neufeld called on his experience as a consultant to explain the losses caused by situations such as ongoing repairs to the Taylor Bridge. 

“The cost to our local economy by not having appropriate infrastructure for the area is stunning, and to me, that’s a very high priority, not only the roads and bridges but also the pipeline situation,” Neufeld said. 

Neufeld discussed the nearly trillion-dollar ‘proven reserve’ calculated in Northeast BC by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and how a lack of consistent infrastructure hinders its successful utilization. 

“If it costs them X number of dollars to produce in Northeast B.C., but costs them X minus three to produce in Alberta, we have to be competitive,” Neufeld said. 

“It’s in our best interest as a government to provide a very strong level of infrastructure, to increase the level of competitiveness of our industries.”

Are you willing to work across party lines to best represent your constituents?

Neufeld stated that his first responsibility is to his constituents, and his second is to the Conservative Party.

“If I can do something for the betterment of the people of the South Peace, I am going to do absolutely everything that I can to do that,” Neufeld said. 

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. Candidates are being interviewed according to their availability. To view articles written on other candidates, click here.