The Liberals placed third in North Island- Powell River during the 2015 election. In 2019: they sank to fourth – just behind the Green party. While this is challenging, Michael Ballard, the new Chair of this riding’s Liberal Electoral District Association, has a larger vision. He says the keys to moving forward as a society, is bringing everyone to the table. 

I could make change

“ I originally got involved in politics because I could see that I could make change,”explained Ballard, an Operations Field Supervisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

He has worked with the NDP in the past, knocking on doors for both Claire Trevana and Rachel Blaney. He has also stood beside Elizabeth May, fighting for clean water. 

“It’s not about parties. For me it’s about the kinds of policies that create enabling – more inclusive, more diverse – where people are more engaged, said Ballard.

Joining the Liberal Party

He joined the Liberal party because they can bring about the kind of political policies that would be in our best interests. 

“I was not a fan of Conservative philosophy in many areas. Not entirely, because I think we all have value to bring … but I didn’t like the fact that 39% – 41% of  the popular vote could direct the nation without the level of scrutiny I believe we need to have, and without the conversations we need to have,” said Ballard.

“I care about the Liberal promise of proportional representation, in some form. I believe we should all be there talking and not pointing at each other, blaming each other and making everyone afraid. I think those days are gone. COVID has shown us that we need to come together as a community. We are all important and our point of view is important.”

The big challenge that the Liberals have in rural ridings like North island-Powell River, is “people just do not understand the connection between federal support and provincial operations.”

Discovery Islands fish farms

They do not realize that the resources that can be brought to bear in controversial situations like the upheaval over fish farms in the Discovery Islands. 

“Those are challenging areas for me to speak on right now because I am still a federal government employee, a supervisor in the aquaculture sector. So it’s challenging for me to talk about that in specifics. I can say generally, and with some confidence, that we have excellent, dedicated, concerned people join the aquaculture sector to provide overview of the industry and determine what the risks are in every aspect of how they operate,” Ballard explained. 

He knows the government has put considerable time and money into this sector because he was there, building or helping to build that capacity.   

“That’s going to be a challenging discussion, going forward, because there are competing interests. In my view, there’s arguments to be made by everybody about the very same common issue we all care about – and that’s salmon,” said Ballard.

“There are not many animals, or anything from the animal world, that bring a source of protein from way out in the ocean and they bring them upland and inland to provide a whole host of ecosystem opportunities for our coastline.”

Ironically, Ballard joined the DFO to save salmon “and I spent most of my career chasing dead ones – after people killed them, to try and hold them accountable.” 

Indigenous Possibilities.

“I think my biggest aspirations have been realized working within an organization that had very little knowledge or understanding of Indigenous issues within public service. So my background, working with very large public service unions, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and my formation of a small group of people that were brought together to try and champion issues within that organization, ultimately saw their way to bring all kinds of information together in a way that made a movement happen,” said Ballard.   

He sees a lot of possibilities for Indigenous people within the larger society.

“The world is enamoured with Indigenous culture. There should be beautiful totem poles. Communities that have all kinds of opportunities for story telling and for people to immerse themselves in the culture – if that is what people want. And I know there are lots of people who would like to see that, because I have heard those stories.” 

Developing the economy

A proper ocean plan, describing the interrelationship between salmon and the opportunities they have for communities, is needed. 

“We are a supernatural, very beautiful, area and people want to see this. They want to experience it. They’ve never felt anything like it before,” said Ballard. 

“I’ve been doing it for years and I still get that magic feeling when … a pod of white side [dolphins] come along beside us, or we see orcas, or we see grey whales, or humpbacks breaching. I’ve flown over 1,500 whales, as part of my job in fisheries and oceans.” 

 “The supernatural environment we have here is amazing, but it is not mutually exclusive to other needs. Forestry, fishing, mining, aggregate (We need aggregate for our roads). 

Ballard is amazed by the thousands of vessels transiting the Inside passage, all the way from the port of Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Prince Rupert and north to Alaska.

Bringing Everyone to the table

“People are talking about not expanding those things, but what are the alternatives?” he asks.“How are we going to manage growth going forward, unless we design some areas that we can manage properly?” 

“I think it goes back to those old days of not having a community vision for how we developed our communities. We just started building over here, started building over there because it was convenient. We need a plan,” Ballard pointed out. 

“That’s why I joined the Liberals, because they have the most likely organization to bring about the kinds of changes, kinds of planning and kinds of certainty that we need to go forward in BC. To both protect ourselves, protect it for future generations and bring about the kinds of prosperity that we can plan for and look forward to in a positive way – without all the conflict and all the ongoing battles.”

Links of Interest:

• (Liberal) Your Riding: North Island-Powell River
• (Our Times) Justice for Aboriginal People
• (Fair Vote Canada) Liberal
• (Cortes Currents) articles about North Island-Powell River
• (Cortes Currents) articles about, or mentioning, Peter Schwarzhoff, LIberal candidate in the 2015 and 2019 Federal elections
• (Cortes Currents) articles about, or mentioning, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
• (Cortes Currents) articles about, or mentioning, the Discovery Islands fish farms

Top photo credit: Pacific White Sided Dolphin by A Davey via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

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