John Kwasnica is the Green Party candidate for the Green Party for the Boundary Similkameen riding in the upcoming provincial election. Photo supplied

 

 

 

 

 

John Kwasnica is hoping the B.C. Green Party makes an electoral breakthrough in the provincial election, but he admits he faces a difficult challenge in Boundary-Similkameen.
Kwasnica was chosen as the Green candidate earlier this year and it is expected he’ll file papers before the Friday deadline to run in the May 14 election.
“I think that in this particular election the Green Party is going to come up a little stronger,” said Kwasnica. “I think we’re going to gain a lot of ground. As for myself, being elected in this riding, I probably don’t have as good a chance as they would on the Island or on the coast.”
This is Kwasnica’s first election, although he unsuccessfully sought the Green nomination in the last election.
He chose the Greens because he believes strongly in their environmental philosophy and hopes voters choose his party for the same reason.
“I would prefer that people vote for me because they support the Green Party and our principles rather than as a protest vote for not wanting the NDP back in power or wanting to remove the Liberals,” said Kwasnica.
The 59-year-old resident of Oliver now works at a group home with clients who are developmentally delayed.
He moved to Oliver in 1985 from Vancouver, having worked previously with B.C. Ferries.
He grew up in a military family and travelled a lot as a youngster, he said.
Despite being a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) for the past 25 years, Kwasnica said he has never been active with the NDP, although he did support them in the past.
For the last three elections, however, he has supported the Green Party.
“I really feel that we’re at a crossroads right now that we definitely have to start thinking about the environment,” he said, adding that global warming is also a more serious threat to the world economy than economic imbalances.
Some of Kwasnica’s views on the problems posed by fossil fuels result from his time spent as a peacekeeper with the Canadian Forces in the Middle East in the 1970’s.
Instead of continuing to rely on fossil fuels and pipelines with the potential for catastrophic oil spills and environmental disaster, we need to look for another way to create sustainable energy in B.C., Kwasnica said.