Queens-Shelburne Rare open seat up for grabs on South Shore

Even if the main candidates are familiar figures, voters inQueens-Shelburne are guaranteed one thing onMay 30:a new face representing them in the Nova Scotia legislature.

The SouthShore riding is the only seat outside metro Halifax without an incumbent on the ballot.

Longtime MPassistant Kim Masland is runningfor the Progressive Conservatives, veteran newspaper reporter Vernon Oickle is the Liberal candidate, and John Davis, a fisheries advocate, is running for the NDP.

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All three major parties have a claim on the riding, which was created in a 2012 redistribution that mergedtraditionally Liberal Shelburne with traditionally Tory Queens and elected a New Democrat MLA in 2013.

"That makes it a big-time,three-way race," saidDavis.

He hopes to succeed lobster fisherman-turned-politician Stirling Belliveau, who won Shelburne in 2006 and again in the 2009 NDP wave that made Darrell Dexter premier of and saw the orange team sweep the province's South Shore.

In the merged Queens-Shelburneriding, Belliveau was elected with 37 per centof the vote in 2013 in a region where the NDP average vote fell to 24 per cent.

'No doubt this is a targeted seat'

Davis saidthe NDP hasproven itssupport for the riding's traditional industries of forestry and inshore fishing.

He pointedto the Dexter government buying the Bowater forest lands for $117 millionwhen the owner shut down the local pulp mill. Parcels are being harvested by sawmills.

The NDP is proposing a no-drilling buffer zone around the fishing grounds of Georges and Browns banks.

It would require oil companies to place offshore well-sealing equipment known as a capping stack close enough to reach a blowout site within hoursrather than the current 21 days.

"One of the reasons that I am running for the NDP is they have some real, real supports for the inshore fishery," said Davis.

In addition to local workers on the campaign, the NDP hassent in two workers from outside the province to help Davis.

"There is no doubt this is a targeted seat and we want to keep it," he said.

'I was the one in the trenches'

Masland is emerging from nearly two decades working behind the scenes to run for the Progressive Conservatives.

She served as Conservative MP Gerald Keddy's constituency assistant for 18 years. When Keddy retired in 2015,Masland worked with the RCMP as senior safety co-ordinator in Queens County.

"During those 18 years, I was the one in the trenches, helping people navigate that multi-level government bureaucracy and making sure people could access the government services they needed," said Masland.

"I think that gives me a leg up in this campaign."

Masland, like Davis,saidhealth care is a big issue on the doorstep.

"We have a gem of a hospital here," she saidduring an interview in downtown Liverpool.

"We need to be able to recruit [physicians] to make sure that we can keep those doors open in Shelburne and Queens both."

Ready to 'step up and make a contribution'

Liberal candidate Vernon Oickle agreedhealth care is "the big issue" in the ridingbut when asked about specifics, the former local newsman wasvague.

"It's a variety of things. Every story is different, every individual has a story to tellnot all bad. People are telling you about the positive experiences they have in the health-care system. I think, altogether, we need to find a way to sift through what's factual and find solutions if there are problems. We do that by talking and listening and working together."

Asked what they want fixed, Oickle said, "It depends on who you ask."

Oickle saidhe's running becauseit was time to "step up and make a contribution at the next level."

He said Stephen McNeilhas been taking Nova Scotia in the right direction as premier.

"He's a strong leader. He's made some tough decisions and he's prepared to move the province forward," said Oickle."He's come up with a plan that I think is positive and progressive.It gives us a program to build a future on. So that's sign of a good leadership."

Green candidate running

The fourth candidate running is Kathaleen Milan of the Green party.

"I value the need for clean land, air and water, the harmonious relationship we must maintain with the rest of the species we share this planet with and the way the connections we have with one another are vital to our survival," she saidon her candidate Facebook page.