Surely, one Chemainus stop could have been arranged.
On a tour of Island communities last week, federal New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh cruised right past Chemainus. Last time he toured the Island not that long ago, it was the same thing.
The smaller communities can’t be overlooked, but that seems to happen more frequently than not with politicians. They can’t be everywhere obviously, but a token brief appearance would have meant a lot.
It’s especially true since the bulk of the tour concentrated on issues like inflation and health care that are also of primary concern now to Chemainus residents.
The tour began in Campbell River Monday, Jan. 23 with a visit to the food bank and discussion of inflationary effects. We have a great food bank here, the Chemainus Harvest House run by Emily Holmes, that could have warranted a quick visit on the same topic.
From there, it was on to scheduled appointments in Qualicum Beach, Port Alberni and Nanaimo Jan. 24, Nanaimo and Duncan Jan. 25, Duncan, Langford and Victoria Jan. 26, and Jan. 27 in Victoria.
Qualicum Beach, Nanaimo, Duncan and Victoria all had round tables or sessions with reporters on Canada’s health care crisis. With reduced hours and limited doctor availability at the Chemainus Urgent Care Centre, there could have been something similar held here. Chemainus Health Care Foundation president Paul Edwards surely would have been receptive to making himself and others available for the federal leader to address that issue as it pertains to our community.
Singh’s visit also included a tour of the Harmac pulp mill. We also have a pulp mill in Crofton that just announced some innovative measures to put people back to work with federal and provincial government support so that might have been an ideal stop to make as well.
Ladysmith wasn’t included on the agenda, either, which is usually a stop Singh likes to make with Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron.
Alistair MacGregor, the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford MP whose riding includes Chemainus, always keeps his constituents top of mind so it’s too bad he couldn’t have swayed the powers that be for a stop in this community to at least let residents know we’re not being forgotten in the big picture.
