Canada Votes: Green Party MP Candidate Mary Forbes

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Federal Green Party candidate Mary Forbes lives in Williams Lake and currently works as an environmental educator and zero-waste educator for School District 27. Additionally, she has served as a trustee on the SD27 board for seven years.

Her background in environmental education and advocacy on the school board has given her experience in public speaking and communicating with residents, Forbes said.

“I’m not interested in a nice car or a fancy house,” she said of her campaign. “I’m interested in quality of life, not quantity. I want health.”

Running for: healthcare, education, environment

While Forbes lives in Williams Lake – outside of the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies riding – she says she has seen how communities throughout B.C. experience similar issues in accessing healthcare, equitable education, and affordable housing. Raising children has also motivated her to make the world a better place for future generations, she said.

Forbes added that caring for her late mother, who passed away just weeks ago, inspired her to be an advocate for people navigating healthcare and end-of-life care in rural B.C. 

“I feel like my mother in her dying days didn’t have a very good advocate. I was advocating for her, but just doing it by yourself is really hard,” Forbes said. “[End-of-life care] is really complex, and there’s so much humanity tied up in it. And I think that applies to a lot of issues, that there’s a barrier for people to access mentally or physically.”

Additionally, Forbes has seen firsthand how economic issues and isolating rural areas can create barriers in accessing post-secondary education. She hopes to advocate for affordable post-secondary education and for rural education which is on par with urban areas, she said.

Forbes said the Green Party encourages independent thinking and is a model for how MPs should advocate for their constituents. She pointed to Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May, who Forbes says speaks with every minister she can until her constituents’ concerns are addressed.

Additionally, Green representatives often have a background that includes a variety of experiences, not just working in electoral politics – something which Forbes believes contributes to a knack for finding out-of-the-box solutions to problems.

“I want to see things done with creativity and lots of consultations, and not being decided by people who’ve been politicians their entire life, but by people… that you would like to be your neighbour,” Forbes said.

Policy Priorities

Electoral reform is at the top of the agenda for Forbes, who was disappointed that former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not eliminate the first-past-the-post system after making it a signature Liberal campaign promise in 2015.

“The first-past-the-post system is ridiculous… there are some really great alternative voting systems,” Forbes said. “Everyone’s vote should matter, no matter who you are or where you live… I would work hard to make it happen within the first 100 days.”

What she’s heard in the Robson Valley

Absentee landowners buying property in Dunster is a concern Forbes says she has frequently heard from Robson Valley residents. 

“Speaking to folks in the Robson Valley, I was hearing about the billionaire buy-up of the properties… all of those houses that were livable aren’t being rented out, so now there isn’t enough places for folks to live,” Forbes said. “I’ve seen the loss to the community, and the community is really concerned about how that’s going to change the face of their community and the landscape that surrounds them in the future.”

Helping small communities navigate big issues

Finding ways to address small communities’ concerns at the federal level can be tricky, Forbes says, but she looks forward to seeing how these concerns can translate into federal policy changes. For example, when speaking with Dunster residents about their concerns regarding pesticide use in the Robson Valley, she realized pesticide use is regulated by Health Canada.

“Being able to follow that right to the source of the information is one of the things I really enjoy,” Forbes said. “Folks might be really excited about [a policy proposal], but sometimes there’s a focus that needs to be addressed. What is the thing that we can do well? That’s what I’m really excited about doing in federal politics.”

She added that every community has unique priorities and concerns, and she hopes to reflect a wide range of issues in her advocacy. Still, voters from Fort Nelson to Prince George to the Robson Valley share similar concerns about lack of access to healthcare and long wait times in emergency rooms, Forbes said.

She added that she will hold frequent in-person meetings throughout her riding, and make sure to do plenty of research and consultation before raising issues in Parliament.

“I want to hear everyone’s perspective. You’re not going to come to a great solution if you don’t hear for and against,” Forbes said. “Everyone’s voice needs to be heard so that you end up with something that’s going to work to the best of your ability.”

Closing remarks

While she cares about environmental issues, Forbes said she also wants to protect the jobs of people working in the natural resource sector. Keeping the local economy intact while making a transition away from oil is crucial, she said.

“Their jobs are very important to how this country runs. Denying that denies the reality of everyday people who wake up, go to work and leave their homes and drive their cars,” Forbes said. “We don’t all drive electric cars.”

While the Greens are unlikely to form government, Forbes encourages people who support the Greens’ platform to vote for her.

“Every vote for Green is going to tell whoever gets into power… that the concerns the Green Party is bringing forward matter to constituents in this area,” she said.