FORT ST. JOHN -- In the riding of Peace River North, the political landscape is heating up as incumbent Dan Davies campaigns for re-election in a race on the right.

Promising a ‘modern conservative’ approach and experienced leadership, Davies, who assumed office in 2017, aims to hold the government accountable on issues affecting the region.

On being an Independent, “I can say what I want,” said Davies in an interview with CJDC-TV, “I can represent the needs and wants of this region directly in the legislature without having to put a filter on.”

One of Davies’ key focuses is healthcare. For the past five years, the former BC United MLA has been advocating for an audit of Northern Health amid ongoing hospital diversions in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson.

“Not to play gotcha, but literally to look at how we can do things better,” he explains.

Davies proposes bringing back localized boards and cutting what he calls red tape and bureaucracy within the health system. He points out that Alberta, with a similar-sized healthcare system, has 16 vice presidents on their board, while British Columbia has nearly 70.

Empowering doctors to have a seat at the table and investing in healthcare staff are also high on his agenda.

“The government needs to play a role in expanding more seats in universities, more residencies to get our doctors trained up, and looking at foreign-trained doctors,” said Davies.

On the issue of crime, Davies calls for increasing the number of frontline officers, particularly in Fort Nelson. “They need more members. They need 24-hour on-the-road members up there, and I think that’s really important,” said Davies.

He is also advocating for holding criminals more accountable. “We need to start giving some actual consequences to these criminals. We need to start changing how our justice system is working and providing the RCMP and other police agencies with the tools they need to deal with crime.”

Having worked on pipeline construction, Davies hopes to revive a struggling resource sector. “A healthy resource sector provides great-paying jobs, which gives vibrant communities that backbone. We need to get back to that,” he says.

He aims to bolster LNG production for both domestic and international markets while maintaining climate goals, and fostering community relationships. “Partnerships with our First Nations communities and environmental considerations are absolutely essential moving forward,” he adds.

On the topic of SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity), Davies believes it has evolved from its original intent.

He is calling for age-appropriate learning materials and greater parental involvement in the education system.

“We need to get back to basics, promoting math, reading, writing, science, and technology,” he suggests.

Supporting seniors is another key issue for Davies. “We need to ensure that we are building more units available to seniors,” he says, advocating for an addition to Peace Villa to keep seniors in the community while praising VRS Communities currently under construction in Fort St. John.

“They don’t want to have to be moved. We need to support the people who built this country, this region, our pioneers.”

Leading up to the October 19th election, CJDC-TV will have on-going coverage of the candidates running for office in Northeast B.C.