NDP have different policies to different audiences....again!

Why can't the NDP just be honest for once?  Don't they know that we are no longer living in the days of the newspaper guilds when information could be geographicaly restricted?

Why then did Carol James state on The Bill Good Show on CKNW this morning that her party was in favour of the Port Mann Bridge expansion only hours after her candidate for Abbotsford-Mission stated on the air that they were against it? 

Are you in favour of the 10-lane Port Mann Bridge project?
Hawes yes, Perrin and Walsh no

This is either the most dishonest or most incompetent NDP campaign ever (OK, it is probably both).

Abbotsford-Mission candidates for MLA faced more shots than a typical night for the Canucks' goalie, as they squared off in debate on Wednesday night at Matsqui Community Hall.

Each was put on the spot with questions from the host Chamber of Commerce and its panel, and from members of the audience of about 70.

Liberal incumbent Randy Hawes was asked about the worldwide economic downturn.

"The biggest issue facing us today is the economy and jobs," he said, adding that his government has already started to address the matter, embarking on a "massive building program.

"We've got to keep people on the job site."

Hawes said the Liberals have also cut $1.9 million from the administrative operation of government.

He conceded there will be a blow to the B.C. ecomomy, saying "we believe the blow here will be softer, even though it will be a hard blow, it will be softer than in other jurisdictions."

"We want to be, and believe we will be, the first ones out [of the recession]."

NDP candidate Lynn Perrin was asked how the NDP could create the same "level of success" as the Liberals in the construction of the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre.

Perrin responded that the NDP was planning a hospital that did not involve a private partnership.

"That hospital was about to be built, and it was to be built in the public tendering process," she said. "That P3 is failing the people of Abbotsford and Mission."

Green Party candidate Bill Walsh said that during a recent surgery he asked the nurses how it's going at the new hospital, and heard complaints about housekeeping.

"I couldn't believe what she was saying, it was a disgrace," he said.

Hawes' retorted that the former NDP government announced and promised a new hospital for a decade, but it never manifested.

"We built it, and we built it as fast as we could put it up."

Bill Walsh was asked to explain his Green Party's stance on marijuana legalization, and how it will impact the illegal grow-op industry in Abbotsford-Mission.

Walsh said as he goes door-to-door, people say crime is their number one issue.

"Is the answer more police and more jails? The evidence is clear – prohibition has not worked."

Hawes' rebuttal was that grow-ops produce marijuana for export to the U.S., and that would only increase with legalization in Canada.

"I happen to think smoking marijuana is not good for your brain, or your mind, or your thinking process," said Hawes. "I say no to legalization."

There were several simple yes or no questions:

Are you in favour of scrapping the carbon tax?

Perrin yes, Hawes and Walsh no.

Are you in favour of the 10-lane Port Mann Bridge project?

Hawes yes, Perrin and Walsh no