John Koury intends to be highly-visible on the campaign trail as the Conservative Party of BC candidate for Cowichan Valley in the lead-up to the next provincial election slated for Oct. 19 this year.
The former two-term North Cowichan councillor and mayoral candidate in 2022 was recently confirmed as a candidate by party leader and MLA John Rustad.
Related story: Candidates for North Cowichan mayor and councillors state their case
The Cowichan Valley Riding Association was re-established by Koury and a group of local Conservatives in April 2023, with the board of directors making it a priority to determine a candidate by the new year in preparation for the 2024 election.
“We adopted a series of goals to be election-ready in Cowichan Valley by 2024,” noted Koury in a statement. “Now that I am the candidate, I have stepped away as chair of the board to focus on the campaign and connect with the people in our riding from Lake Cowichan to Chemainus to Cowichan Bay and everywhere within that triangle to spread the word of hope for citizens fed up and worried about the way things are today.”
Koury feels strongly the Conservative movement is on the rise in B.C. and people are demanding change to improve the health and welfare of themselves, their families and their communities. He cited the cost of bare necessities as making it difficult for young working people to get ahead while seniors and families are struggling.
”High taxes and over-regulation have driven the cost of living through the roof and the political ideology of the NDP and Liberals of the last three decades is to blame for all of it.
“People have had it with the social and economic disorder they see every day: open drug use, sick and addicted people living on sidewalks, parks and ditches,” Koury added. “Storefront campfires and crime is making our towns unsafe and unattractive. Businesses are closing down and private sector investment has all but disappeared while property taxes skyrocket.
“Harm reduction and safe supply policies, put in place by successive BC NDP and United Liberals are complete failures. We will set a new mandate for the Health Authority to shift the emphasis away from enabling, warehousing and de-stigmatization to institutionalization, rehabilitation and recovery, and clean up the mess on the streets.”
He vows the Conservatives will also get rid of the carbon tax, restore confidence in public education and healthcare, and reduce regulation so industry can be competitive and flourish.
”We need to demand that the federal government clean up its act too and stop releasing prolific offenders back on the streets,” added Koury, who ran previously for the Conservatives in 2004 and 2011 within different electoral boundaries at the time.
Sonia Furstenau, the leader of the Green Party of B.C., is the current MLA for Cowichan Valley.
