As the dawn of a new decade approaches, B.C.’s political leaders took time to reflect on their plans for their respective parties and the future of their province.
Here’s what they said:
Premier John Horgan, NDP
While balancing the budget in February is B.C. Premier John Horgan’s top priority in the coming year, he also took time to address affordability in the province.
“We still lead the country in jobs, [we have the] lowest unemployment rates, triple-A credit rating, the only province in the country to have a balanced budget, a growth rate higher than anyone else, wages going up which is a good thing. So we’ve got a lot of positive foundational data but data doesn’t matter if you can’t put food on the table or your rent’s too high,” Horgan said.
“So we continue to try and find ways to reduce costs for people.”
Read the full interview with Premier John Horgan:
Andrew Weaver, B.C. Green Party
While the B.C. Green Party leader is stepping down in January, Weaver says the party is set up to continue on a good trajectory.
“We’ve got a very well organized standard. That wasn’t there when I started,” Weaver said. “And so I feel comfortable just moving on into the sunset and into more of an advisory role perhaps.”
Weaver says he foresees the party moving beyond its traditional environmental initiatives.
“The Greens are really focused on triple bottom line accounting that is social, environmental, and fiscal sustainability — not just one or the other,” he said.
“We tried to be that party that focuses on all three. And I think … our success will be judged by [that measure] as we move forward.”
Read the full interview with Andrew Weaver:
Andrew Wilkinson, B.C. Liberals
The B.C. Liberal leader doesn’t know if there will be a provincial election in 2020 — that will depend on Premier John Horgan and, to a lesser extent, whoever replaces Andrew Weaver as head of the B.C. Greens — but he knows what he’ll be running on.
“The NDP affordability agenda has been a failure,” he said.
“The cost of housing is no better than it was. Auto insurance is more expensive. Costs are rising. People are losing their jobs and this is not working out the way it is supposed to.”
Wilkinson is optimistic about a B.C. Liberal return to power.
“I’ve been all over the province in the last two weeks. Everywhere I go people are enthusiastic and say, ‘Let’s get out there and beat the NDP.'”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
