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Green candidate to walk her riding

A Green Party candidate is hoping to raise some eyebrows and interest over the next two days as she walks through her riding. Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies candidate Elizabeth Biggar is setting out on foot this morning between Fort St.
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A Green Party candidate is hoping to raise some eyebrows and interest over the next two days as she walks through her riding.

Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies candidate Elizabeth Biggar is setting out on foot this morning between Fort St. John and Dawson Creek - a two-day trek to cover the roughly 75 kilometres.

Biggar said she's walking to raise awareness about her party's platform and specifically the issue of climate refugees.

With a smaller campaign budget than the other high-profile national parties, Biggar said it's more difficult for Green candidates to get the word out about their platform.

"I just thought it would make a big impact if I'm walking with our Canadian flag and the Green Party sign with my name through the heart of oil and gas," Biggar said, hoping the sight would prompt onlookers to come speak with her, join her or at least research her name and party. "If 10 more people read our platform, that's a win."

Residents in the area are wary of the Green party, Biggar said, due to their perceived anti-oil and gas industry stance.

"People think that means they're out of jobs and there goes their livelihood," she said. The party platform puts an emphasis on creating sustainable jobs and retraining for those who switch to work in renewable resource industries.

"A transition to renewables - to build that infrastructure it's going to take years and we're going to need oil and gas to do it," Biggar said. "I think people aren't understanding that so I'm hoping that they'll talk to me and listen. It's not scary for anyone in the oil industry and the gas industry."

The further focus on climate refugees - those who have been displaced due to environmental shifts that make their homes unlivable - harkens back to what helped make Biggar an environmentalist in the first place.

"The way we live our lives over here in these rich countries, how we consume and how we are constantly fracking and drilling and doing all these things that are going to directly affect people on the other side of the world is not fair," Biggar said. "I hope people can put the two together: how important it is for our government to lead Canada through the transition and that it needs to happen now. We're way past due."

Office opening

Cariboo-Prince George Green candidate Richard Jaques will officially open his Prince George campaign office Saturday afternoon.

The festivities at the campaign headquarters, at 1385 Third Ave., begin at 1 p.m.