As a staunch advocate of the Conservative Party of Canada, John Weston also says that his track record shows he’s willing to be his own man.
The Conservative MP, who has held the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding for the Conservatives since 2008, points to the times he’s been willing to go against his party when either local issues trumped national ones or he felt strongly on the issue.
One was his yea vote on an NDP bill on derelict vessels because he knew people in his riding wanted something done. With the input of Bowen Islanders, he then drafted his own bill which would see people who abandoned their boats fined or jailed. The Private Member’s Bill died when the election was called, and he wants to fine-tune it before presenting it to his fellow parliamentarians again.
Another split with his party was over the Sliammon Treaty between Canada, BC and the Sliammon people of Powell River. “I believe in equality for all,” says Weston, who studied international relations at Harvard University and law at Osgoode Hall School. He voted against it because he says it allows Sliammon law to prevail over Canadian law in some circumstances.
He notes that of the 46 Private Member’s Bills passed during his tenure, two came from him and three more of his got to first reading.
Weston says he’s a green Tory, as evidenced through his support of the Pacific Salmon Foundation and funding of Department of Fisheries and Oceans labs in Vancouver.
“We believe the environment is the economy and they’re not in conflict with each other.”
On the Woodfibre LNG plant proposed for Squamish, Weston says he doesn’t support any specific project. Instead, “I support projects that add value to the economy and are subject to a science-based, independent, objective and stringent process.”
He compares that to the NDP who says no to such projects outright and the Liberals who “say we should export our natural resources but don’t support infrastructure that helps deliver those exports.”
“We need these types of projects to generate revenue and jobs,” he says.
Able to speak Mandarin, he also is a founder of the Pan Pacific Law Corporation and Access Law Group as well as the Canadian Constitution Foundation “which fights for Canadians when governments threaten our constitution.”
He’s visited Iraq on a human rights mission and worked locally on funding on several fronts, including the turf field at BICS, the sewage plant and helping seniors.
“I love bringing people together and finding common ground and working with them to achieve great results in the most beautiful place in the world.”
In Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canadians have an experienced leader with a proven track record on a range of issues, including job creation and the economy, he says.
“What the people of Bowen Island will have to grapple with is, is it a popularity contest or do we want someone with recognized leadership experience internationally who can stand up to Vladimir Putin and make tough decisions,” he said in a telephone interview with the Undercurrent.
Compare Harper to NDP leader Tom Mulcair who, Weston says, would allow Canada to be split apart by a 50-plus-one referendum vote in Quebec.
