YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Holiday wishes: More results, fewer announcements

It’s that time of the year again, a brief break from the tumultuous year as we take a minute to reflect on the past 12 months and spend as much time as we can with loved ones. It’s been an incredible privilege for me to serve as the MLA for Abbotsford South. Having the opportunity to represent local voices in Victoria has been instrumental in holding the government responsible for its lack of action on emergency management, health care, repeat offenders, and housing is not something I take lightly.

2022 was difficult for all British Columbians. In Abbotsford, we dealt with the cost of living crisis, rampant crime on the part of prolific offenders, and a lack of adequate healthcare and emergency services, all while still recovering from the devastating impact of last year’s flooding on the Sumas Prairie. The Official Opposition and I have been focused on bringing positive outcomes and results to people’s lives. At the same time, the NDP government continues to make announcement after announcement, with the reality on the ground only getting worse. Recent Angus Reid Institute polling shows that 70 per cent or more British Columbians say the NDP is doing a poor job in health care, crime, cost of living, addictions, and more.

Imagine if the government spent time on pragmatic, practical decision-making that created real change instead of focusing on lacklustre, empty promises. Over the past year, we successfully advocated for the government to repeal its troubling decisions to claw back autism funding and ban Salvation Army fundraisers at BC Liquor Stores. We continue to push the government to keep the promises made to people six years ago, such as Premier Eby’s promised $400 renters’ rebate that has yet to see the light of day.

The appalling truth, however, is that while families in Abbotsford can barely get by as the cost of gas, food and shelter skyrockets, NDP cabinet ministers are receiving a retroactive pay raise despite multiple calls from Kevin Falcon and the BC Liberals to scrap it. We know every penny saved during this holiday season can go a long way, which is we continue to advocate for measures like removing the provincial sales tax on used cars under $20,000; focusing less on announcements and more on results; and eliminating bureaucracy that inflates the cost of public and private projects.