Calvin Beauchesne, BC Green Party MLA candidate meets with Revelstoke

Calvin Beauchesne, BC Green Party MLA candidate for the Columbia River-Revelstoke district met with Revelstoke community members at a June 20 event. It’s one of the first MLA candidate meet and greets for a district spot that will be entirely up for election, with current MLA Doug Clovechok from the BC United party announcing his retirement at the end of his term.

Beauchesne gave a 45 minute speech about the current BC Green platform before taking questions from the half dozen participants. A provincial issue top of mind in Revelstoke is the need to update current water treatment facilities. Updated guidelines from the province have pushed the projected costs of the update well past the initial $13.6 million budgeted. City staff and councilors are working to meet with the province to discuss funding options and potential changes in the timeline to help the city meet the additional $21 million needed for the project.

“I’m not super familiar with that case in particular, to be honest,” Beauchesne said when asked how his MLA office could assist Revelstoke in the matter if elected. “I think anything at a municipal level that a government is trying to get for the sake of better regulations of the environment, the BC Greens would help support them to get there.”

Other attendees voiced frustration that attempts to use renewable electricity resources instead of gas means taking a larger price hit come bill time, claiming the current provincial system creates two tiers of energy users. Coupled with that was concerns about BC Hydro purchasing power from Alberta and from the USA during peak seasons, negating the renewable component of hydro power for some users. 

“It’s not perfect for sure. It’s still, I would say a lot better than other places,” Beauchesne said. 

He encouraged attendees to continue looking into ways to reduce their own energy consumption, including installing heat pumps and taking advantage of current rebate programs.

“Heat pumps use a lot less electricity than baseboard heaters, depending on where you live,” Beauchesne said, citing a Canadian Climate Institute report on the topic. He also stressed easing access to rebates for energy efficient upgrades to homes including the replacing of windows.

When it comes to Beauchesne and the BC Green Party’s chances of winning the Columbia River-Revelstoke district, he pointed to a future of proportional representation being the fairest path forward for voters.

“It’s going to be a hard battle without it.”

The 2024 provincial election officially begins Sept. 21. Advanced voting will open Thursday, Oct. 10 and final voting will take place Saturday, Oct. 19. Beauchesne is currently the only candidate registered for the Columbia River-Revelstoke district.