New Democrat Member of Parliament candidate Adele Boucher Rymhs of Peace River will be running in the Federal Election on Oct. 14. Boucher Rymhs ran in the 2008 Provincial election, winning 25 per cent of the vote to place second in the Peace River constituency. Boucher Rymhs says that there are a number of concerns that she has heard from the community about the current MP Chris Warkentin and his associated Progressive Conservative party in the Federal office. “One of the most common complaints that I’ve heard is that many people haven’t had an opportunity to meet our current MP over the past few years,” says Boucher Rymhs. “Although we have a large riding, I strongly feel that our politicians need to make an effort to be accessible to our citizens.” She has been an active part of society throughout the years, as a former teacher, businesswoman, and local historian. She explains that she understands that there is a challenge representing a riding like the Peace region, where issues are diverse. “We have ongoing concerns over the collapse of the forestry industry in the northernmost part of our riding, anxiety over a proposed nuclear power plant in the middle and housing and infrastructure crisis in the north,” Boucher Rymhs explains. “I feel that we need a government who is able to develop long term plans on all fronts in order to avoid simply dealing with matters as they become a crisis, which seems to be the tactic taken by our present government.” Boucher Rymhs of Peace River will carry the New Democrats’ banner into the election, along with the Nuclear Free banner, she says. She is the secretary of Citizens Against Nuclear Development, an activist group of over 250 local residents who are adamantly opposed to nuclear power in the region around Lac Cardinal near Grimshaw. One of Boucher Rymhs primary concerns about nuclear power stems from the Harper government’s decision to overrule the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in the Chalk River fiasco. She sees the inability to manage nuclear waste as a threat to future generations and feels that the nuclear industry is trying to “buy” its way into the Peace Country. Boucher Rymhs has been a partner in a farming business for over 30 years. She is also a Past President of the Peace Country Bison Association and treasurer of the Grimshaw and District Agricultural Society. She was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for her outstanding contributions to the community. Boucher Rymhs was the major fund-raiser for the Peace River Museum and Archives expansion project. She also edited the Grimshaw History book and often acts as tour guide for visitors to the Peace. The plan of the New Democrat party is to move Canada forward. Starting with protecting good jobs and fostering new ones in a new energy economy, tackling the growing gam between the rich and the rest. Their political platform is to protect and modernize public health care for a changing population. The New Democrat party is lead by Jack Layton, with a promise to make affordable housing, training, public transit, energy efficiency, development assistance and wage protection first. The focus will be on all aspects of public service. The NDP feel that Canada needs a Prime Minister who’ll protect and modernize public health care for a changing population. They think that faced with a global climate crisis, we need a strong Prime Minister who will make the big polluters pay and who will invest in environmental solutions that work. Some of the issues that the NDP have been working on include; Investing in Children’s early years; cleaner air, land and water; Education and Training your family can afford; improving public health care; keeping commitments to the world’s poor; and protecting the average consumer. Federal election will be held on Oct. 14. For more information on political parties, visit www.elections.ca.