Image: B.C. Legislature / BC Govt. / Flickr
OPINION

YOUR PERSPECTIVE: NDP budget will maintain status quo

Feb 21, 2024 | 8:00 AM

From housing to healthcare to crime, no matter where you look, the past seven years have seen life get worse for everyday British Columbians. Unfortunately, it appears this NDP government has no plans to change direction anytime soon.

This week, David Eby and the NDP make their Speech from the Throne and announce their budget for the coming year — I fear they will bring little relief to British Columbians who are barely scraping by.

In 2017, the NDP promised to build 140,000 affordable homes in ten years, but seven years later they’ve built just 16,000. Despite their promises, British Columbia has ended up with the highest housing prices in North America and the most expensive rents in North America.

The skyrocketing costs aren’t limited to housing. B.C. has the highest gas prices in North America and over half of British Columbians are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills by the end of the month. Yet, David Eby still plans to move forward with his plan to triple the carbon tax.

I also don’t expect this budget to move the needle on crime. Having been B.C.’s Attorney General for five years, David Eby is the architect of the current catch-and-release justice system that continuously lets repeat violent offenders back onto our streets.

Our healthcare system is crumbling. The NDP’s “new normal” consists of crippling staff shortages, record-long wait times, and ER closures becoming the norm across the province.

The NDP has spent the last seven years making announcements and re-announcements that deliver record spending yet do nothing to improve the lives of British Columbians. The reality is that governments need to be held accountable for their results and after most of a decade and two terms of this NDP government, the results speak for themselves.

Budget 2024 will simply be more of the NDP’s status quo and their long track record of failing to deliver results for British Columbians.

BC United is rejecting the NDP’s new normal and has real plans to deliver results for British Columbians. Because United, we can fix our province.

We have a bold housing plan with measures like Rent-to-Own that will allow people to enter the housing market, we will eliminate the carbon tax from home heating and on-farm use to improve affordability, and our Better is Possible plan will build treatment and recover-oriented system of care that will help people rebuild their lives.

A Kevin Falcon-led BC United government will scrap David Eby’s carbon tax hikes and end the pain at the pump by permanently removing the provincial gas tax.

We will restore public safety by ending the NDP’s, failed reckless decriminalization experiment and putting the rights of the public ahead of the rights of violent criminals.

People are tired of NDP’s empty promises and constant re-announcements, they deserve a government that will deliver tangible results. United we can fix B.C.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of Fraser Valley Today or Pattison Media.