The ballot question for the October 24 election is not only about what the NDP government has done, but also what it is bound to do. How would British Columbia look after four more years of this administration?
We do not believe it will bring prosperity and growth. We only see signs it will make British Columbia less competitive.
The John Horgan government has been cryptic about how we will pay for what it is spending in the pandemic and how it would govern. But there are clues in his party’s internal documents that boast of an us-versus-them mindset of class warfare, in which those generating economic activity have what’s coming to them. We only see signs of division, not inclusion.
Horgan has shifted from his affable 2017 cross-party co-operative persona to wanting all of the marbles now. He broke his governing agreement with the BC Greens and launched the province a year ahead of schedule, for no evident purpose but self-interest, into an election when politicians ought to be working, not campaigning. That speaks volumes, sadly, about character.
His government has not identified any strategy to build the province back or laid out a vision upon which an election might have been merited. Its economic record over three-plus years was largely determined by the stability it inherited. It appears to believe that anyone with money can hand it over.
On its own accord, housing has not been adequately supplied, comprehensive child care has not been instituted, teachers are disappointed, taxes have engorged, the opioid crisis has worsened, rents have increased, investor confidence has declined and business has been alienated. The public sector’s privileges have swelled, as have the private sector’s obligations. Day upon day, this feels more like the NDP of old, the party that couldn’t be trusted with our economy. What would four more years of this provide?
We cannot fathom, because Horgan has asked for a blank cheque and for voters not to wonder what is behind the curtain. The darker side has emerged of the complicated man we’ve called premier, and the apprehension about an NDP government has correctly rekindled.
