Our region's Green Party candidate for the 2019 federal election will be decided in Squamish.

On June 18, the party's two nomination contestants will be at The Ledge Community Coffee Shop in Squamish from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in their efforts to win Green members votes. One — either Dana Taylor or Lars Guignard — will become the official Green Party West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky candidate.

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The public can attend the meeting, but only Greem Party members can vote.

Ahead of the vote, The Chief interviewed Taylor and Guignard about the issues that compelled them to run for nomination.

Dana Taylor

Dana Taylor has been a resident of the West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky riding for more than 30 years. He has a background in the construction industry, as a former North Vancouver city councilor and a member of the Save Howe Sound Society who worked with the provincial government to change the environmental standards and put scrubbers on their stacks.

"I've been involved in environmental issues in the area for a long time," he said with a laugh.

In 2017, Taylor also ran in the provincial election for this riding and came in second. He said he decided to run upon reading the proposal for Woodfibre LNG.

"I was active in the original clean up of Howe Sound many years ago. I felt that, as I looked into the proposal for the LNG plant itself, this was something that seemed to be counter to the interests of the evolution of the sound, which has been more towards other types of industry, particularly around recreation, ecotourism possibly. Frankly, the proposal for the sound was not conducive to that," Taylor said.

The experience of running in a provincial election was a learning opportunity, Taylor added. He now feels that he knows his riding more thoroughly, having become familiar with the issues it faces in each community during his previous campaign.

"Issues have, to me, remained the same for the corridor: their transportation, access to transportation, both public and roadways. Housing continues to be a concern that's voiced universally everywhere, but specifically in areas like Squamish, further north too in the Whistler area. Those kind of linger as things the federal government may or may not be able to address depending on how those are approached," he said, adding fishery conservation is also an issue.

Lars Guignard. - Submitted

Lars Guignard

Lars Guignard, currently based on the Sunshine Coast, is new to politics. Originally from B.C., he graduated from McGill University before moving to Los Angeles for a career in film and T.V. But when he became a parent, Guignard moved his family back to the B.C. coast.

It's his kids who have also inspired his interest in politics. His daughter, Guignard said, is one of the many youth who has been striking against the climate crisis around the world.

"For the last three years, we haven't been able to go outside because we haven't been able to breathe. There's an element of hyperbole in that, but the truth is there have been people running around with dust masks because everything's on fire. I consider that a pretty big deal when you combine that with all these kids gathering from around the world to try and do something about this climate crisis," Guignard said.

"The kids are very upset and they're motivated and they want to change, but the issue is that a lot of them aren't old enough to run for office. Should we let them stand on their own?... Somebody needs to stand up for them."

As for his first foray into politics, Guignard said, "I'm not a politician. I'm a little rough around the edges. That's something that I'm not ashamed of and I think it's ultimately important that you don't need to be a politician to run. I think you just need to realize that it's time to stand up. And it's important that people run for political office, people who have no ties to any kind of special interest group or anything along those lines."

He chose the Green Party for a similar reason, citing reluctance among political parties to change their traditional ties. Guignard said he believes, out of all the political parties in Canada, it's the Green Party that is doing the most to address the climate crisis.

One of his main points is that the government can work with industry to improve the environmental issues the riding faces.

"Industry, left unchecked, has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders essentially. So we have a situation where a big oil company will extract a profit, but they're not paying the full price for that because they're polluting the airshed. So I think if we had a situation where they actually have to pay the full price, then they would pivot their business model in such a direction that it made economic sense," he said.

Other issues he said people are concerned about include plastic pollution, foreign policy, and affordable housing.

The candidate for the Green Party in the 2019 federal election is expected to be announced after the June 18 members meet in Squamish.

As of press deadline for this story, the only confirmed candidate for the West Vancouver — Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky riding is the Conservative Party's Gabrielle Loren.

Tune in to Episode 20 of The Squamish Sound podcast to hear from these two candidates.

*Please note, this story has been corrected since it was first posted to correct an editing error. The story originally said Dana Taylor was part of the Future of Howe Sound Society, he was not. He was a member of the Save Howe Sound Society.