Catherine Bell gets North Island NDP nomination

Following the nomination meeting in Courtenay Wednesday evening Vancouver Island North NDP riding president Jerry West said "Jack Layton and the NDP caucus in Ottawa are working hard to keep Parliament focused on helping Canadians get through these hard economic times. Not everyone shares that philosophy so they have to be ready should the government fall. They are looking forward to re-electing Catherine Bell to be our MP when the time comes."

Former Vancouver Island North MP Catherine Bell has been nominated to represent the NDP again should an election be called.

Bell was not challenged in the nomination routine. In her speech to party members they commented: "I am proud to be your candidate again and I look forward to talking to everyone in Vancouver Island North about the record of the Conservative government beginning with the Harper Sales Tax."

"I call it the Harper Sales Tax because the Conservatives announced in their 2009 budget that they would be working to convince provinces like BC that still had retail sales tax systems to move to an HST system. Harper bribed BC with $1.6 billion to do it.

"The NDP continues to be the effective opposition to the Harper Conservatives. The NDP has consistently held the government to account while at the same time providing leadership in the House of Commons by passing motions to protect pensions, finish credit card gouging, and reform the EI system so all Canadians who have paid premiums for years can use the insurance if they need to.

"What Harper's tax calls for is the most profound shift of the tax burden from corporations to average Canadians ever known in our history.

"That's what insurance is for right? Wrong! Thanks to the Liberals and Conservatives the EI system is something they all pay in to but that only four in 10 workers, three in 10 women workers, are currently able to access."

Bell, who lives in Cumberland, represented the riding in Ottawa from January 2006 to October 2008.

While in office they held the NDP caucus critic portfolios for Natural Resources and Western Economic Diversification and was deputy critic for Fisheries, with responsibility for West Coast Fisheries.

Bell narrowly lost to incumbent John Duncan in 2004, and narrowly defeated him in 2006 before losing to him roughly a year ago.

Bell was vice-chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources also a member of the Canada Cuba Interparliamentary Association. In Parliament Bell introduced private members bills on: Electoral Reform, EI Reform, Oceans Day, Labour Code Amendments, the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, and amendments to the Canada Shipping Act to prohibit oil tankers in Dixon entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound.