Conservative Party candidate Joshua Dahling hopes to bring a new voice to the B.C. Legislature for Mid Island-Pacific Rim.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dahling moved to Canada at age four and experienced extreme poverty growing up. After getting clean and sober in 1997, he moved to Nanaimo to study human services and began working in alcohol and drug treatment facilities.
Now based in Port Alberni, Dahling and his wife founded LUMARA, a registered Canadian charity, in 2009. The organization supports children, families and communities affected by serious illness, grief and bereavement.
“We’ve supported tens of thousands individuals and families all across Canada,” said Dahling.
Dahling gave the current government a failing grade on issues facing the riding, including public safety and affordability.
“They’ve failed miserably on a lot of things,” said Dahling. “They’ve failed with the economy. One of the top issues in our riding is affordability. People are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Whether it be buying groceries, whether it be holding on to their homes or getting a home.”
Dahling said frontline workers in the riding do not feel supported by the province on public safety issues. He also pointed to high taxes as a factor in the rising cost of living.
If elected, Dahling said he would work to develop and pass policies to help vulnerable people while ensuring constituents are heard in Victoria. He is particularly concerned about the effects of B.C.’s toxic-drug crisis in the riding.
“The majority, if not all, of the overdose deaths that have occurred in the province the last ten years could have been prevented,” said Dahling. “That’s nearly 20,000 people who have died from overdose deaths, that’s a lot. There’s a lot of people who are quite vulnerable on our streets who are coping with serious mental health issues that don’t have access to the right supports or the care they need.”
Dahling said he is also motivated to advocate for positive changes for people in Mid Island-Pacific Rim.
General voting day for the provincial election is Oct. 24.
