NDP plans positive, relentless campaign
Voters can expect to see a more aggressive campaign from the NDP in the upcoming provincial election.
“B.C. is full of New Democrats and they just don’t know it yet. Our challenge is to connect with them on the issues that are important to them,” NDP Leader John Horgan said in a town hall forum in Penticton.
Horgan was asked what strategy the NDP will use in the upcoming election.
“We’re going to take the high road on the issues we’re all passionate about. Our values are mainstream values, we’re not marginal. They (voters) are enthusiastic in not just ridding the worst government we’ve seen in a long time, but to let them (voters) know we’re on their side. We’re going to be positive about what it is that we want to do.”
Compared with 2013, when thenleader Adrian Dix blew what pollsters said was a double-digit lead, there will be criticism directed at the opponent.
“I’m absolutely relentless on what they have done,” Horgan said.
“I’m going to say Ms. (Christy) Clark spends more time fundraising than she does governing, because that is a fact. I am going to say she spends more time with the wealthy and well-connected than the rest of us because that is true. The private jets are more comfortable for her than a bus ride to Sooke, because that is the truth. Some may say this is negative, I say that it’s the truth.
“This is what you’ve done, Premier. You didn’t sit in the legislature when hundreds of people were dying (from fentanyl overdoses). You instead had private fund-raisers for tens of thousands of dollars.”
Horgan said it’s his responsibility as leader to “be in front of as many people as possible” between now and election day.
The event in Penticton attracted about 100 people, including area candidates Tarik Sayeed (Penticton) and Colleen Ross (Boundary Similkameen). Toni Boot, who ran unsuccessfully for the nomination in Penticton, was also present. Horgan said he has “bus town hall meetings” because he travels to and from his home in Sooke to the legislature in Victoria by bus, which allows him to hear the concerns of everyday constituents.
Of the questions from the floor, several dealt with drug treatment.
“The fentanyl crisis is not a downtown east-side (Vancouver) crisis, it’s a human crisis and it’s happening in every community in British Columbia. The solution is safe-injection facilities, where our first responders can have some hope that there’s a place to go in a crisis.
“More importantly, it’s the capacity. The premier promised 500 new beds before the last election — we haven’t got 500, we don’t have 250. Anyone who understands addiction knows that when someone says ‘I need help,’ they need help right now, not next week, and not: ‘Here’s a number, come back because we’re too busy right now.’”
Questions dealt with a variety of topics, and he made continued references to eliminating all corporate and union donations his first day on the job if elected premier.
Horgan was first elected in 2005 in the riding of Malahat-Juan de Fuca. He was subsequently re-elected in 2009 and 2013 and became party leader in May 2014. A graduate of Trent University (Peterborough, Ont.) and Sydney University (Australia), prior to entering politics he worked in a B.C. mill and joinery, with MPs in Ottawa, and started a consulting business.
Election day is Tuesday, May 9.