‘How can we expect them to get us through the coming months? The NDP aren’t very good at commitment and they’re even worse at management’ – BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson

BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson


Today marks three years since the NDP government took power in B.C. and John Horgan has a lot to answer for when it comes to his broken promises.

“John Horgan promised the world to British Columbians in 2017 and three years later, the one thing he’s done well at is to kick the can down the road on actually implementing any of his major promises,” said Official Opposition Leader Andrew Wilkinson.

“We understand COVID-19 has taken us into uncharted territories, but if the NDP hasn’t been able to keep any major promise they made to British Columbians, how can we expect them to get us through the coming months? The NDP aren’t very good at commitment and they’re even worse at management.”

 

Three years of NDP failures:

• No COVID-19 economic recovery plan: After months to prepare to save British Columbia’s post-pandemic economy, the NDP has failed to put forward an economic recovery plan, instead opting for a six-week online survey.
• Child care spaces: On top of retroactively deciding “$10-a-day child care” was just a slogan and not a concrete promise, the NDP has only created 2,400 new child care spaces in three years, far short of their promise of 24,000 new spaces.
• Housing fails: On top of massive spikes in insurance, which are making life less affordable for strata residents, the NDP has only delivered 3,000 of the 114,000 new affordable housing units they promised voters in 2017. At this rate, it will take the NDP over 100 years to keep their promise.
• Taxes, taxes, & more taxes: With no plans to grow the economy, the NDP have relied on taxpayers to make up the difference, introducing 23 new or increased taxes in just three years.
• Legal cannabis framework: Only the NDP could bungle selling pot in British Columbia. Cannabis legalization under the NDP has seen B.C. at the back-of-the-pack in provincial revenue intake while black market stores continue to thrive.
• Portable promise: John Horgan and the NDP promised to eliminate 50 per cent of portables in Surrey by 2019, but instead we’ve seen a 32 per cent increase in portables.
• Wasted tax dollars: The NDP has poured tax dollars into political posturing and pay-backs, wasting $100 million to scrap the BC Liberal plan to replace the Massey Tunnel, throwing money at token legal opposition to pipelines, and funnelling cash to top union donors through Community Benefits Agreements.
• Forestry crisis: After a catastrophic 2019 that saw ten permanent or indefinite mill closures and over 10,000 forestry jobs lost, the bad news for forestry-dependent communities abandoned by John Horgan continued as the NDP provided zero new dollars in funding for the sector in their 2020 budget.
• ICBC dumpster fire: ICBC rates have skyrocketed since John Horgan came to power and NDP changes have left drivers facing stiff increases in their premiums, even in the middle of a pandemic that saw drastic decreases in the number of drivers on the road and other provinces handing out rebates.

“British Columbians deserve a government that can help get them back on their feet and get our province back on track,” concluded Wilkinson. “One thing’s for sure, people deserve better than what they've had under three years of John Horgan and the NDP.”