Last week, the NDP delivered their Speech from the Throne, laying out the agenda of what they hope to accomplish in the coming year.
Those expecting to hear some new ideas on how to move forward in light of the pandemic’s strain on people and businesses will certainly be disappointed in this Throne Speech. In fact, most of the speech was simply a restatement of broken NDP promises, rather than fresh concrete ideas to give us some hope and optimism for the future after two difficult years. Over and over, this government has promised to improve affordability, but over and over it has failed to deliver.
The price of housing is higher than ever after 5 years of the NDP, not just in big cities like Vancouver but in smaller communities like Williams Lake as well. We’ve also seen a massive number of private-sector, full-time jobs lost over the past several years. Too many families continue to sit on daycare waitlists for years and when they finally do get a spot, most of them are paying dramatically more than the $10 a day the NDP promised.
The NDP also continue to fall short when it comes to helping our most vulnerable. Tragically, record numbers of people are losing their lives to opioids, with very few additional beds and supports added to get them the help they need. And people across B.C. continue to wait far too long for the relief they need to rebuild following last year’s fires, floods, and heat dome. As a whole, I was disappointed to find the word “rural” was only uttered once in the entire speech.
The people of B.C. are tired of words that are not followed by actions. We need real plans, with measurable outcomes — and we need the NDP to be accountable to the people who entrusted them to make their lives better, not worse.
READ MORE: Skills development, spending promised in B.C.’s throne speech
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