Prince George lawyer Ben Levine said Tuesday he would be letting his name stand for the federal Liberal nomination in the riding of Prince George-Peace River, long held by the Conservative Party of Canada.
"I look forward to our nomination meeting being held on Monday, and I welcome the opportunity, should I be selected as the Liberal candidate, for a spirited debate with Bob Zimmer [Conservative], Lois Boone [NDP], and whomever puts their name on the ballot in my riding."
Levine has done legal work both in the Prince George area but also in Peace-country and considered himself familiar with the geographically large riding.
"It is my hope to challenge the Conservatives on their record of bad government," he said. "I want to stop their undermining of good government. It is one of Canada's founding principals, and it is what protects us as citizens, but the Conservative government has gone out of its way to break the rules of Canadian democracy."
Levine's platform for the party nomination, which he said he would carry into a federal election, includes, in his words:
- Income security for Canadians, especially the growing elder population;
- Developing infrastructure projects like the Prince George Airport and Highway 97's industrial traffic capabilities between the Cariboo to the Peace, and Highway 16 improvements;
- Using public-private partnerships to streamline infrastructure costs and timelines;
- An unprecedented recommitment to the forest industry;
And his two biggest hopes would be to "get tough on crime but by getting smart on crime, which takes a nuanced approach the Conservatives seem unable to grasp" and expand trade with Asia "which was a Liberal initiative in the first place and the Conservatives have done too little to capitalize on it, leaving most of the hardest work to the provincial government and the private sector."
Levine is the only candidate so far for the Liberal nomination in Prince George-Peace River, and none yet announced in the neighbouring Cariboo-Prince George riding.
