Green Party candidate Catharine Kendall has spent decades working in community development, and says she would take a similar approach if elected.
Kendall is the Green candidate for the Prince George-Mackenzie riding. She is the owner of Magenta Mare Consulting, a community develop consulting firm, and is executive director and co-founder of the Connaught Youth Centre Society in Prince George.
"I've been doing community development work for the last 20 years," Kendall said. "I think it's important for people to recognize the top-down approach is not working."
If elected, she said she would start by listening to what people on the ground are saying and acting on that, rather than driving the agenda from Victoria. As a Green MLA, she would be free to vote for what is best for the region, rather than what her party dictates, she added.
Kendall's work with the Connaught Youth Centre has been focused on providing supports for vulnerable children and families. In addition, she's been a director of We Can BC, a provincial campaign to end violence, for 10 years.
As a mother and foster parent, she said she is also passionate about pursing sustainable development.
"I'm a mother of six children, and I really do have a dire concern for their future," she said.
Kendall is an advocate for local agriculture and food security. She's been vice-president of the Eaglet Lake Farmers' Institute for the past 12 years, serves as a director of Local Food Prince George, and helped create the West Help Co-op with other local help growers.
Kendall, who ran for the federal Green Party in the 2019 election in the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies riding, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has made campaigning a challenge.
The provincial government should be focusing on managing the crisis, rather than calling an unnecessary early election, Kendall added.
There are "too many gaps" in the province's COVID-19 programs and supports available for individuals and families, and vulnerable people are not getting the help they need, she said.
"That's my forte," Kendall said. "I see the gaps, and I work to fill them."
Kendall will be hosting a pop-up event to meet with voters at the Masich Place Stadium parking lot on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
