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One of two declared candidates for leadership of the provincial Green Party has changed her plans to swing through the Okanagan this week, amidst coronavirus fears.
Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau was scheduled to kick off her interior leadership campaign tour in Peachland on Thursday, attending an event at the Gasthaus from 4:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
That won't be happening now, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While I was greatly looking forward to visiting Peachland, Kelowna, Nelson, Ymir, Vernon and Kamloops over the course of the next week, the situation with COVID-19 is rapidly changing and we have a responsibility as political leaders to exercise the best practices recommended by experts. Experts are increasingly calling for Canadians to take action to reduce and slow the transmission of COVID-19 through social distancing. The health and safety of British Columbians must be our first priority.
“My campaign staff is cancelling all our events and will continue to follow the advice of the Party and of experts. We are revising our campaign plan to hold online events, and are organizing an online townhall to be announced as soon as possible.
“I extend my sincere apologies to the communities that I have been unable to visit, and my thanks to community organizers and my campaign team, who have been working hard to prepare for this trip. If the advice from the Party and experts changes prior to the conclusion of the leadership campaign, we will do everything in our power to reschedule events.”
Before cancelling the events, Fustenau had said she was looking forward to her interior swing through the Okanagan and Kootenays.
“BC is just scratching the surface of our potential.
“In order to fully realize the dreams we have for our province, we need a change in political leadership. The BC Greens need to elect more MLAs so we can implement more of our good ideas.
"I’m running a grassroots campaign to build our organizing capacity, recruit outstanding candidates and develop an evidence-based platform that will appeal widely to British Columbians.”
Furstenau and Kim Darwin have both declared the candidacy. They are looking to replace interim leader Adam Olson.
Olson took over the reins of the party after former leader Andrew Weaver stepped down.
The BC Greens will vote on a new leader from June 15 to 26.
