B.C. Refed candidate Dallas Hills answers our questions
Alberni Valley Times

Weighing in on the issues

1. How would you propose that the unfair balance of the responsibilities that municipalities have between infrastructure they maintain and the portion of taxes they receive be addressed? Would you support more of the gas tax going to cities and towns?

Our party represents one major concern. We need to take back our federal income tax money, that's unlawfully taken from us every year. It exceeds about 12 billion dollars. What we're going to do is this. This burden will be gone when we retrieve our income tax. Provincial income tax that was set by our forefathers to fund regional and city governments.

This money is being taken from us and then we gotta beg to get it back. No. What we're going to do is we're gonna take back this money that belongs to the B.C. residents. That fund the programs. We're gonna help our areas, etc. etc. we're gonna fund regional and city governments with that money. "Cause the money's ours.


2. Do you support a poverty reduction strategy and if so, what would it look like?

One hundred per cent. If individuals are making eight or nine bucks an hour we all know they can't rent a house on that money. We all know they're struggling. We've got families our there working two or three jobs just to make ends meet.
Living from pay cheque to pay cheque.

Relieving federal income tax will put more money in the pockets of those families right away. Right now they're stuck with $9,800 for income tax deductions, Increasing that to $15,000 would put about $24 billion into the local economy to the people that are struggling.

3. What will you do differently, as a successful candidate, if British Columbians choose in favour of the single transferable vote?

For one, the first and primary thing the B.C. Refederation Party stance is direct democracy, without democracy, the current system we have now is not workable. When we can allow politicians to be elected, doesn't matter if it's through a transferable vote or the way we have now, we have no control.

With the B.C. Refed plan, we have control. We can actually fire somebody that's not doing the job.

We've never been able to fire a politician. It's accountability to the politicians. They'll have to do what they say they're going to do. If they don't, guess what? they'll be out of a job.

We're tired of it. Everybody's tired of it.

These guys get elected and they do the opposite. The Liberal government did so many things that we're all shaking our heads. It goes on and on and on. And it's just not the Liberal government, it's the past government.

There's been no accountability. If I get elected, and I'm not doing my job, I want the people to fire me, 'cause I'm supposed to represent them.

4. Should British Columbia have a moratorium on drilling for offshore oil and gas?

That's a tough one, because guess what? We are dependent on oil. What we should be doing is becoming less dependent on oil. Using the money we have right now to own our oil and our gas in our own province, 100%, controlling it, utilizing that money and building electric cars.

I hear about the hybrids, they're fine but we're still going back to oil and gas. We need to move away from oil and gas. They are polluting, even the bottled water containers, we need to get away from those. Go back to glass.

Bottled water is a contamination that's going to cause us nightmares for the next 1,000 years.


5. What is your position on provincial funding for low-barrier housing/treatment facilities?
We need to look at the problem with drug abuse and addiction in our province. This is not a criminal offense. We are throwing people in jail because of an addiction. It's got to stop.

These people have a sickness, it's a disease. It affects some people some people don't get affected. We need to get these people help. Some people aren't caring enough. Each person's body is different. It could have been just a harmless one day thing and all of the sudden they become an addict, or whatever. But in return, these are mothers, these are children, some of these children are 10, 14 years old. We just can't throw them on the street.

We need to grab them, bring them in, help them as best we can. Right now in the current administration, they're frowned on, they're thrown out to the streets. We have homeless people everywhere and it has become a real problem. I believe we have to do something, drastically. There are proven methods all over the world that are working. The drug problem is a major issue and it's going to be an issue for years to come until we actually face it one on one.

6. What is your position on the state of the treaty process in the Nuu-chah-nulth territory, in light of Maa-nulth?


That's a federal matter. Do I support the natives and their rights? One hundred per cent. The faster we can renegotiate a fair settlement with the natives, the faster the rest of Canada can get on with their business and the rest of the province of British Columbia can get on with their business.

It has been a stalemate since I was a little boy and probably before that. We need to settle it once and for all. Give them what they deserve and if they feel that they're fairly treated, then it's over and done with. The faster we can get this behind us and move on, the better.

Editor's Note: Tomorrow we will run the answers to six questions posed of the final candidate. The order in which they run was chosen randomly and no candidates saw the questions prior to answering.