Craig Allan
Staff Writer

 

he 2020 BC provincial election is underway, with all parties

officially submitting their nominees. The Other Press is here
to cover the candidates in both ridings of the two main Douglas
College campuses. Coquitlam-Burke Mountain was one of the
closest ridings in the province back in 2017, with Liberal Joan
Isaacs winning with a mere 87 vote margin. Facing some furious
competition from a determined NDP who are looking to take
this seat with long time political stalwart NDP MP Fin Donnelly,
can Issacs gain the most votes again in this highly coveted
riding? Adam Bremner-Akins, an 18-year-old Green Party entry,
is also looking to make some noise in the riding, and possibly
become a spoiler in a close race for the seat.

Adam Bremner-Akins — Green Party

Right now, most post-secondary students are worried about
assignments and the difficulties of online learning. Green Party
candidate Adam Bremner-Akins understands these struggles,
as the 18-year-old is running his campaign in-between studying
for his political science degree at SFU. After organizing climate
marches at his high school which got the attention of local
MPs, Bremner-Akins is looking to jumpstart a career in politics
by winning a seat in the legislature. Unfortunately, his election
campaign will not count as extra credit towards his degree.

Bremner-Akins is running because he was tired of not
seeing people like him represented in government, a reason
Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau mentioned on why she is
championing youth candidates like him. “The youngest person
in the last legislature sitting was 35 [...] I'm fed up with not
seeing the issues | care about discussed,” said Bremner-Akins
in an interview with the Other Press. He is also fighting for his
future, which he sees in serious jeopardy. “| see my future being
taken away from me by people who don't have my interests
in mind,” he said. If elected, the first issue Bremner-Akins will
tackle is ending subsidies for fossil fuel companies. “We are in
the middle of a climate crisis and the fact that we are funding
companies that are leading to our extinction is insane to me,”
he said. He would also like to see a fracking ban and begin
establishing a plan for greener energy solutions.

Bremner-Akins, a university student himself, understands the
struggle of students. He has friends who go to Douglas College.
He stands for free college and university tuition because he
does not think that students should have to take out costly loans
to pay for schooling. “| believe that students should not have to
go and get educated and spend half their lives paying off debt,”
he said. He also feels that it's unfair that students are priced out
of the rental market due to lack of adequate paying jobs, and
if they do find a place, they have to include the cost along with
paying down their tuition.

Bremner-Akins is not naive about his chances in this
election. He knows that he is facing a steep grade going up
against candidates like Joan Isaacs and Fin Donnelly. With that
in mind, he still believes his campaign has something to say

and brings light to the issues that students face from a more
relatable perspective. “I’m still hoping we can influence them
[Joan Isaacs and Fin Donnelly] and have them view some of our
young people issues as issues that matter to them [...] If we can
get one issue into their heads and have them act on it, that will
be a win,” he said.

Fin Donnelly - NDP

When it comes to political careers, few have as much
experience as Fin Donnelly. Beginning in 2002 when he ran
successfully for Coquitlam city council, he would later switch

to federal politics, where he represented Coquitlam in three
different elections from 2009 to 2019. Donnelly, now running

in provincial politics, is looking to pull off the hat trick of
representing Coquitlam at three different levels of government.

Donnelly looked to be retired from political life back when
he announced that he would not be seeking another term
as a federal MP, but seeing the pandemic and the pain it has
caused to the people of Coquitlam emboldened him to get
back into politics. “I’ve seen first hand the devastating impact
COVID-19 has had on my neighbours and local businesses,
and with my extensive political and community experience,

I'm ready to help John Horgan and the BC NDP ensure a
stable economy and a stronger BC for everyone,” he said in an
interview with the Other Press.

Donnelly’s goals of helping Coquitlam doesn’t end with
COVID though, as he is passionate about improving the
lives of the people of Coquitlam through other initiatives like
transit and education. “We are focusing on better transit [...]
building two new schools on Burke Mountain. John Horgan has
announced 22 new urgent and primary care centres, including
one in the Tri-Cities. “We've announced that there will be more
affordable housing and childcare spaces in the Tri-Cities and
British Columbia,” he said.

Donnelly is a passionate defense of Canada’s water and
aquatic life. He has swum marathon distances in many of the
rivers in the province and advocated strongly in Parliament for
cleaner waterways. In terms of initiatives Donnelly would like to
enact in the Legislature, he would like to see sockeye salmon
return to the Coquitlam River. His want for the expansion of
salmon spawning grounds is not just limited to the Coquitlam
River though, as he wants to extend the salmon population to
many rivers in the province. “Salmon are in trouble and that
represents our west coast way of life. So, we need to focus
on—whether it's habitat destruction, climate change, pollution
issues—and we need to tackle those tough challenges and
give those salmon a fighting chance,” he said.

Donnelly’s love for Coquitlam can clearly be seen from his
dedication through service. “Coquitlam is my home. | have
lived in the Tri-Cities my entire life.” he said. Whether it's the
schools, Town Centre Park, or the Evergreen Cultural Centre,
Donnelly wears his Coquitlam residency proudly. Donnelly is
hoping to win the riding and continue to improve Coquitlam.