Boundary-Similkameen Conservative Donegal Wilson is highlighting her advocacy for the local forest sector and her party’s commitment to rural health care as she seeks re-election.
Reached by phone on Thursday, Wilson said she expected to be back in the legislature this fall rather than on the campaign trail, so it has been a race to the finish as candidates try to get their messages out.
She said water-related issues have been key in the western part of her riding, including in Hedley, where her party has committed funding to address arsenic contamination in the drinking water supply. Other communities are looking for flood protection.
“I always say we have too much [water], too little, or can’t drink it,” she said. “That is the reality in our riding.”
She added that health care is another key priority, noting that Keremeos has gone nearly five years without round-the-clock emergency care. There have also been intermittent ER closures in Oliver, but not in Grand Forks, where the city and neighbouring rural areas agreed to subsidize the local clinic’s operation for 18 months. The move has been credited with helping attract more doctors.
The Conservative platform calls for a $50 million investment to help recruit rural health care workers.
“I’m thankful that it’s working in Grand Forks and it will work in other communities, but it’s not going to be the solution for every community,” Wilson said. “That’s why I think that $50 million is so key, because communities can be supported in whatever model works for them.”
Wilson, a Keremeos resident who was first elected in 2022, said the things she is proudest of and the things that she has spent the most time and energy on are not necessarily the same.
She said she has worked diligently to ensure residents of Okanagan Falls had a voice in the incorporation of their community, and she was thankful for the outcome, but the process was divisive.
As deputy chair of the legislature’s finance committee, she travelled the province and hear residents, businesses, and associations provide input into the provincial budget.
In the Boundary, she said she has been advocating for Interfor, whose Grand Forks mill was shuttered last year before reopening with a single shift.
“Unfortunately, when I met with the [forests] minister and advocated for what Interfor needed, the message I got back is ‘If they don’t reopen, we’re just going to send a transition team to Grand Forks.’ And so I had to spend a lot of time explaining that transitioning is not jobs. That’s not the future of the community.”
Wilson said she succeded in having a few hurdles removed, but she doesn’t feel the government has done everything it can to help the industry.
“The two years I’ve been there, the forest industry has been crystal clear on what they need. A lot of those things are within the power of the provincial government to get out of the way or help them by removing red tape, duplication, and regulation that is unnecessary,” she said.
She said the current annual allowable cut in BC is about 60 million cubic meters, but the actual harvest is much less than that. She said her party is committed to supporting mills so they have enough fibre to stay open.
Her final pitch: “I’ve made meaningful progress on some long-standing infrastructure files carried forward from the previous MLA. I’m proud to stand with Lorne Doerksen and the Conservative team. We have a plan to make life more affordable and I hope voters support it.”
Wilson is running against New Democrat Roly Russell, whom she defeated in 2024, as well as OneBC’s Keith Pomeroy.
Listen to Juice FM for updates every 15 minutes once the polls close on Saturday. Updates will also be posted at mygrandforksnow.com.
