Last week, MLAs from every corner of the province returned to Victoria for the spring Legislative session. I enjoyed spending the past few months at home in the Cariboo, meeting with constituents and different groups in our community, and now I am glad to be bringing your voice to the legislature once again.
On Feb. 22, the NDP government delivered its eighth and final budget before the 2024 election, and unfortunately, it’s more of the same from a government that has failed to deliver for British Columbians.
Budget 2024 racks up an $8 billion inflationary deficit— the largest in B.C.’s history. It took 150 years for B.C.’s debt to reach $50 billion, but the NDP has already doubled that debt in seven years to over $103 billion and it’s projected to grow to $165 billion by 2026/27.
What’s most troubling about this reckless spending is its failure to deliver results for British Columbians. Everywhere you look from affordability, to crime, to healthcare it’s the worse we’ve ever seen. The NDP’s status quo is not working.
British Columbia has the highest housing prices in North America and the most expensive rents in the country.
One in five British Columbians don’t have a family doctor and we are now — for the first time since the NDP government of the 1990s — sending cancer patients down to the United States.
Adults are now scared to walk down their own streets as violent crime has increased by 40 per cent across the province.
David Eby and the NDP expect British Columbians to accept this as the new normal. BC United rejects this status quo — we believe British Columbians deserve a government that has a practical plan to make a difference in people’s lives.
We believe the government should take less, not more, from people during a cost-of-living crisis and should ensure today’s services are paid for today, not by our children.
That’s why a BC United government will scrap the carbon tax on home heating and permanently eliminate the provincial fuel tax, saving drivers up to $30 per fill-up, leaving more money in your pocket.
While David Eby believes the solution to the housing crisis is to add more red tape and government bureaucracy, budget 2024 shows housing constriction will fall 8.7 per cent in 2024.
I believe in a different approach. If you want to make housing more affordable you have to make it less expensive. BC United will eliminate the PST on home constriction, making it cheaper to build homes and passing on those savings to buyers.
People are tired of the NDP new normal, with higher taxes, higher costs, and worse services. BC United has a real plan to fix the mess David Eby has created.