The byelection race for North Cowichan council is heating up, with five candidates vying for the position.

To help residents sort through the various policy positions, sixmountains.ca asked the candidates eight questions on topics ranging from homelessness and land development to climate change and the Municipal Forest Reserve.

Four of the candidates provided answers to the questions: Joanna Lord, Johanne Kemmler, David Bellis and Raymon Farmere.

Only Becky Hogg did not respond to the request — or explain why. She earlier told sixmountains.ca she is a hair salon co-owner whose political views on municipal politics align most closely with (pro-development) councillor Tek Manhas.

The Maple Bay Community Association is hosting the first all-candidates’ meeting on Tuesday at 7 pm at the Maple Bay Fire Hall.

The April 12 byelection stems from the election of Debra Toporowski as MLA for Cowichan Valley last October.

Here are the questions sixmountains.ca posed to the candidates:

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(1) Council last Nov. 20 voted 4-2 to amend the Official Community Plan and allow a major new development north of Herd Road in the Bell McKinnon area. In doing so, council went against the advice of staff, who said the existing Bell McKinnon Growth Centre can accommodate about 85 percent of North Cowichan’s housing needs for the next 20 years.

Do you support the OCP adopted in 2022? How would you have voted on Nov. 20?

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(2) At the council meeting on March 5 this year, staff warned that municipal infrastructure is not keeping pace with the “unprecedented” number of development applications. Modelling suggests infrastructure capacity can handle 4,200 units, but current applications exceed 10,000 units.

How would you respond to this issue?

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(3) What steps should council take now to address the drug and homeless issue in our community?

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(4) Do you believe that climate change is the result of human actions (ie, the burning of fossil fuels)? What steps, if any, should North Cowichan take on this issue?

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Questions regarding the Municipal Forest Reserve:

(5) Will you respect the public’s wishes as expressed through a lengthy consultation process showing 76-per-cent support for conservation management of the Municipal Forest Reserve?

(6) If the results of the ongoing consultation with Quw’utsun Nation on co-management of the forest reserve conflict with the results of the public consultation, how will you deal with that?

(7) Since North Cowichan and Quw’utsun Nation signed a memorandum of understanding related to the forest reserve in 2021, the public has received only one significant update on the status of talks. Do you believe the public should be provided with regular updates on this consultation?

(8) Do you believe North Cowichan citizens should have a say in whatever co-management agreement is reached between council and Quw’utsun Nation?

Here are links to the four candidates’ answers:

David Bellis: https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/9999aea4-af05-4bad-8d71-ec31f713fe03

Raymon Farmere: https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/5b8fc91f-6b55-45b8-9e9d-00ab924a434f

Johanne Kemmler: https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/1d9be0be-6760-43cd-82ff-9dc96e4a5d40

Joanna Lord: https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/1eb41497-b6ee-41c5-8af0-eccbe1bdf6ca

For contact information on the candidates, read “Latest” articles at sixmountains.ca and visit: https://www.northcowichan.ca/election/meet-candidates .

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— Larry Pynn, Mar. 17, 2025