The NDP needs to go. The Liberals need to go. The Greens are the way to go.
Those were some of the messages put forward at the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce’s all-candidates meeting at the Justice Institute on April 25, where Green candidate Jonina Campbell, NDP candidate Judy Darcy and Liberal candidate Lorraine Brett fielded a variety of business-related questions.
Brett, who has previously ran for city council, said she’d like to be part of Christy Clark’s team in Victoria.
“The number one problem facing New Westminster business is the NDP. New Westminster has a history of being an NDP stronghold and as a result we have a reputation of being anti-business,” she said. “As we all know, as business people you would know, perception is reality. The NDP’s rhetoric is toxic to business. It’s that simple. We need to change the perception so we can be attractive to business, so we can stimulate our economy so we can build our tax base, so we can get people to work.”
Campbell, who has served as a school trustee since 2011, said she’s knocked on more than 5,500 doors in the lead-up to the election.
“If there’s one thing I keep hearing over and over again is that it’s time for change. People are tired in B.C. of the negative, polarized partisan politics that have taken grip of the legislature. People have told me they want positive leaders who will work across party lines, people who are issue based and are going to make decisions based on the evidence and what is the right thing to do,” Campbell said. “People have told me they want leaders who will put the community first and don’t have to vote on party line, but what is in the best interests of the people and the businesses in New West. Our positions are clear, our platform is principled and it is transparent. What you see is what you get. The only way that we can change politics in B.C. is to vote for change. Change that you can count on.”
Incumbent MLA Judy Darcy said she has worked day and night on behalf of local residents in Victoria and hopes to be part of an NDP government that will work for all British Columbians. Elected in 2013, Darcy served as the NDP’s health critic.
“I know how hard all of you work to pay the bills, to create new jobs, to meet your payroll and to realize your dreams, while the cost of everything is going through the roof,” Darcy said. “Under Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberals, Hydro rates, ICBC and MSP premiums just keep going up and up. We hve skyrocketing housing prices and an affordability crisis that Christy Clark refused to acknowledge for years, while the NDP and citizens were calling for action. I know this has a huge impact on you as business owners, on your families and on your employees who have to move further and further away from their work and have to spend a long time travelling to work. The NDP’s commitment to you is that we will make life more affordable for your business and for people so they can afford to buy the goods and services they can provide.”
Here are some of the candidates’ Reponses on some of the topics covered at the all-candidates meeting. Some of the responses have been edited for brevity.
On the Pattullo Bridge:
Lorraine Brett, Liberal: “The B.C. Liberal Party has been consistent in its support of the 10-year transit vision, which includes the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge. We remain committed to providing one-third of the costs, subject to a business case, and will work with the mayors to secure a federal contribution. John Horgan is misleading voters – the mayors have been clear their project cannot proceed without a federal contribution, which we are prepared to work with them on.”
Judy Darcy, NDP: “The bridge is unsafe. It needs to be replaced. It should have been replaced a while back and it might already be shovels in the ground if Christy Clark had not imposed a referendum on people in the Lower Mainland to vote on transit and transportation. This bridge is under the NDP’s commitment to support it, to fully fund at a rate of 40 per cent as the mayors requested in their 10-year transportation plan. This would be a top priority project to get shovels in the ground. It is absolutely critical, not just to citizens but to businesses in order that people can get to work, in order that people can come to visit our local businesses, shop in our stores and buy our products. It’s vital for local business to get their products to market. But the only way we are going to do that is if we have a comprehensive, regional, rational transportation plan including a Pattullo Bridge. It’s long overdue. We need to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible. That won’t happen with a B.C. liberal government.”
Jonina Campbell, Greens: “From a business point of view, it’s obviously about movement of goods and being able to have a reduction in congestion in order to be able to get goods to where they need to be and also people around to where they need to be. But that can only happen if we reduce congestion. If we have a million people coming to Metro by 2041, that’s only going to get worse. The replacement of the Pattullo Bridge is just part of a larger plan that needs to be implemented. The B.C. Greens support and will work with the mayors to implement that plan. Where I am getting confused, and I think a lot of people did last week, is when there was an announcement by both the NDP and the Liberals to influence the ability to generate revenue for the tolls to replace the Pattullo Bridge. The B.C. Liberals announced that they are capping tolls, and then as a kneejerk reaction from the BC NDP to have no tolls, it completely puts a degree of uncertainty on how we are going to fund and operate the Pattullo Bridge.”
On affordable housing
Lorraine Brett, Liberal: “Affordable housing is about more than just a roof over your head. I am the only candidate here that has professional real-estate experience. I’ve had the great privilege of helping people buy their first homes here in New Westminster, a dream come true. The Liberal Party will continue to be guided by six principles as we work to address housing affordability, and here they are: Ensuring the dream of home ownership remains within the reach of the middle class; increasing housing supplying; smart transit expansion; supporting first-time home buyers; ensuring consumer protection; and increasing rental supply.”
Judy Darcy, NDP: “An NDP government will work with federal and local governments and with developers and the not-for-profit sector to create 114,000 units of affordable, rental, non-profit, co-op and owner-purchase units in partnerships over the next 10 years. This would be a mix of housing for students, for singles, for seniors, for families, and would range from supportive social housing to full-on market rental housing. We would work with cities to ensure that we are building transit hubs, we’d also change the rules so colleges and universities can actually be investing in student housing because there is such scarce competition for the available housing and we would also, no one has mentioned this, I want to talk about renters’ rights. There is no shame in renting. Forty-four per cent of our population in New Westminster rents and we need to ensure there is affordable rental housing and we need to ensure that renters’ rights are protected. That means closing some loopholes in the Residential Tenancy Act.”
Jonina Campbell, Greens: “It’s a business issue in that people are moving away because they can’t afford to stay, not just in New West, but in the Lower Mainland. They are having to go farther away. So it’s not just a business issue, it’s an environmental issue because of the transportation costs of their commuting back. Our strategy has four areas. One is to cool the market for the residential real estate. We have measures to do that. A lot of them involve discouraging speculation. We will increase the supply of affordable housing, specifically, 4,000 new units of affordable housing each year. We will work with local governments to make land available for affordable housing and rezoning.”
On health
Jonina Campbell, Greens: “I am running because mental health and addictions directly impacted my family. It is what compelled me to step up and run for MLA. I think what we need to do as a community is make sure that we are taking care of people.”
Judy Darcy, NDP: “Health care. I believe that the top priority for the Ministry of Health needs to be investing in primary care. By that I mean on the frontline, first access to care. We have 700,000 people, including several thousand in New Westminster, who don’t have access to a family doctor. We believe that we need to create family care centres and urgent care centres … The goal is prevention, the goal is healthier living and the goal is to keep people out of emergency rooms who don’t need to be in emergency rooms. It’s also absolutely critical that we invest in home support and seniors care so that our seniors can live their last years with the dignity and respect that they deserve. It’s also cost effective to invest in seniors care, and in mental health and addictions.”
Lorraine Brett, Liberals: “When you think about your employees, remember this. The investments that the B.C. Liberal government has already made into British Columbia’s overall health such as we have the highest life expectancy in North America in 82 years, the lowest incidence of cancer in Canada, the highest cancer survival rate in Canada, the best survival rate for heart disease in Canada. I knew there was a reason that Judy moved to B.C.”
Soundbites:
Lorraine Brett, Liberal: “I feel it is very unhealthy for a close-knit community like the Royal City to be so completely dominated by a single political party. Frankly, there is a strong undercurrent of intolerance toward political diversity. Let’s face it, if you’re not part of the NDP you’re not very welcome here. … I have a large and growing base of enthusiastic support, but you wouldn’t know it from the signs because people are actually afraid to put B.C. Liberal signs on their lawns because of the potential backlash.
Jonina Campbell, Greens: “This election to me is about trust. When I look at it I think who do British Columbians trust to put people first and not special interest groups. The B.C. Greens are the only party of the three parties to ban union and corporate donations. B.C. has become known as the Wild West of campaign financing, and that’s not something we want to be known for. So the B.C. Greens took a stand because it’s the right thing to do. … So when campaigns are funded by people, for people, there is trust and confidence that government is working for people. Leaders lead; we don’t wait until it’s convenient.”
Judy Darcy, NDP: “We can’t afford four more years of a Christy Clark government. I ask for your support again as an MLA to be part of a John Horgan government that will be working for you.”
Lorraine Brett, Liberals: “Mental health is a challenging issue. One tht requires government, families and communities to work together to remove stigma and provide support. Mental health and substance abuse challenges can happen to anyone, including my own family. That’s why our government has built a comprehensive system of mental health and substance use services across B.C., one for which our family has become intimately familiar.”
Jonina Campbell, Greens: “It’s really important to put an MLA in the legislature that can represent the community first and not party positions. The B.C. Greens are not a whipped vote, which means that when it comes to a vote, for example on something like tolling or the local economy, we can put New West first. We do not have to vote party line. I think there’s an opportunity in this election to elect an MLA that can put the community first when it comes time to vote in the legislature, and not just vote party line.”
Judy Darcy, NDP: “I have worked day and night. I think the guards in the legislature are witness to this. They come to my office, they turn out all the lights in the building and then I go out in the hallway and say, no, no, no, I’m still here. They say, oh dear, you are working too late again. I say I’ll just be another half hour but they come back an hour later. I have given my heart and my soul on behalf of working for New Westminster. I love it. I work so closely with the business community. I appreciate your support and your encouragement.”
