MARIJUANA PARTY AND CANADIAN ACTION PARTY JOIN THE RACE

Two more candidates have entered the local federal election race and though
the Canadian Action Party's (CAP) Bev Collins and the Marijuana Party's
Reverend Damuzi admit they are long shots, both plan to spend the next
month tenaciously getting their message out.

"There are more of the alternative parties that are coming on board than
ever before and I think that's really good because you have a better
democracy when you have more of a choice at the ballot box," Collins told
the Daily News. "If you are only going to continuously re-ignite the five
mainstream parties then you are never going to see the productive and
radical change that is necessary. That's why people come forward with
different alternatives and different parties, to try and give people those
choices to make because they are dissatisfied by the mainstream parties."

Damuzi agrees that even though it's unlikely he will be packing his bags
for Ottawa on Nov. 27 as the Kootenay-Boundary-Okanagan MP, representing
ideas not usually found with the "Big-5" is vital in democracy.

"If you don't give attention to the smaller parties they will always remain
smaller parties and those issues will never be important to the Canadian
people," said Damuzi. "I think the Canadian people have the right to
consider all of these issues separately and each of these parties should
receive equal treatment for that reason."

Incumbent and Canadian Alliance candidate Jim Gouk reluctantly welcomed
Collins and Damuzi to the race.

"The Canadian Action Party certainly raises the issues that many people are
concerned about and some of their points are valid, so I understand their
side that they've got things they think are important and they want the
opportunity to address them," Gouk said from Osoyoos where he was
officially opening a campaign office. "The counter to that is that there
are people who are in the serious running to actually win it and it
detracts from the ability to really bring the issues out from the people
who most voters will decide to be their elected representative. It's a
trade-off you get and the price of democracy."

Though she has never held a seat in Parliament, Collins is a veteran on the
local political scene. In 1993 she ran under the National Party colours and
in 1997 represented CAP.

* See 'Bev And The Rev' On Page 3

As was the case in the last election, Collins plans to talk a lot about
issues like monetary reform, abolishing free trade and NAFTA, and "standing
up to corporate rule" in Canada.

"Our country is the verge of corporate takeover so it's either now or never
to let people know what's going on and how we can stop it," said Collins.

Damuzi is new to Nelson and to federal politics. The 33-year-old senior
writer for Cannabis Culture Magazine feels that the West Kootenay is an
ideal riding to run for a party which has as many as 65 candidates Canada-wide.

"Nelson seems to be an excellent area for a candidate precisely because the
marijuana economy is so strong here and so vital to business and putting
the food on tables for families," Damuzi said. "I'm hoping to create a
better understanding of the effects of the drug war on Canada. It's not a
single issue, marijuana spreads into the hearts and lives of everybody in
this country."

Both candidates agree that getting enough votes to win the riding is a
daunting task.

"Actually getting elected means that there is a lot that we can do in
Parliament," Collins said. "But, the reality is we don't have the same kind
of funding, we don't have the same kind of coverage, so to begin with we
are battling a much greater potential than the other mainstream parties
are. What I want to do is reach out and give the people a message and what
they do with that information will be entirely up to them."

Damuzi realizes that many people may perceive his party as a "joke," but
will welcome any kind of attention he can get in the next month.

"I think that may work in our favour sometimes," Damuzi said of some people
not taking his party seriously. "Kind of like the Rhino Party, it's seen as
something funny you would tell a friend, but if that happens then the
message gets out. But, encoded in that is a very serious message and when
people find out what marijuana legalization is about then maybe they will
come to an understanding of it that is better than they had before and it
will no longer be a joke."

Though he doesn't have a problem with Collins, Gouk does feel that Damuzi's
presence is a distraction.