2021 was a difficult year for people across British Columbia, facing unprecedented extreme weather events, including a heat dome that took the lives of almost 600 British Columbians, devastating floods and fires, that included the loss of an entire community, the continued pandemic, an ongoing overdose crisis and new financial pressures for people and small businesses.
Everyone has been affected in some way, but for me 2021 will forever be remembered for the strength and resilience that British Columbians demonstrated when faced with seemingly unending challenges. I’m so grateful for everyone that worked so tirelessly to keep people and communities safe and supported.
Despite the many struggles, it is critical that we use the lessons and experiences of 2021 to be better prepared to tackle the serious issues we face in the year ahead. John Horgan and the BC NDP have had a majority government for more than a year now, and it is long overdue for them to take action and deliver on the promises they’ve made. People deserve nothing less.
Every day in British Columbia, more than six people die as a result of an overdose, making 2021 the deadliest year on record. It is time for all of us to work together to ensure that there is a comprehensive, well-resourced plan to tackle this issue that includes both treatment and recovery. The leader of the BC Green Party and I have both called on the NDP to work across party lines on this and other critical issues, but our offers have been ignored. Premier Horgan claimed he would accept good ideas no matter where they came from. It is my hope that 2022 will provide the opportunity for us to do just that.
It is also imperative that this government tackle the affordability crisis that families in British Columbia are facing. In 2017, the NDP campaigned on making housing more affordable and building 114,000 housing units over 10 years. With only 4.6% of the promised units built after nearly five years, housing has also become less affordable each year under this government. It now takes 34 years to save for a down payment on a typical Vancouver home while renters are paying $2,376 more per year on average since 2017. In some B.C. suburbs, assessed values have increased by more than 40% in the last year alone.
This is not the affordability the NDP promised to deliver.
There is also still no sign of the NDP’s promised $400 annual renters’ rebate or the universal $10-a-day child-care plan that Horgan campaigned on. With inflation rising and the cost of living overwhelming people in every corner of our province, 2022 will mark a turning point as British Columbians look to their government to deliver on the promises it made.
I’m very proud of my colleagues for how they have worked hard to bring forward issues ranging from the NDP’s plan to cut funding that children with autism rely on, to the critical need to review government responses to 2021’s deadly heatwave, wildfires and flooding.
British Columbians need to have confidence in how their government will respond to future emergency situations and it is the official Opposition’s responsibility to hold the government to account for its lack of action on these and other significant issues.
As we look at a renewed BC Liberal Party and a new year ahead, we remain committed to engaging with British Columbians to listen and learn about the issues that matter most to them. In early February, a new leader will be chosen for our party. As my time as interim leader ends, I know that the new leader will have the benefit of a strong, skilled team of MLAs to support their vision for the future of our province.
While 2021 brought ongoing pandemic impacts, extreme weather events and financial challenges, through it all we have been reminded that we live in a very special place. Times like these motivate us to work harder on the behalf of the people we were elected to serve, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to do that in 2022. •
Shirley Bond is the interim leader of the official Opposition and the MLA for Prince George-Valemount.
