Liberal hopefuls take shots at NDP
B.C. Liberal leadership hopefuls touted their ideas for bolstering the resource sector and tackling the province’s opioid crisis in an appeal to northern voters during a debate here Saturday.
Mike de Jong, Dianne Watts, Michael Lee and Andrew Wilkinson were critical of the NDP government for considering whether to cancel the controversial Site C dam project that is already under construction.
A recent utilities commission report found the project will likely be behind schedule and over budget, but candidates said cancelling it would result in job losses in rural communities and discourage the development of future infrastructure projects.
Watts said Premier John Horgan “is sending a message globally that we do not want business in British Columbia and even if you have a project that is approved, you’re not going to get it through anyway, so why would anyone come here and want to invest.”
Todd Stone, a former transportation minister, said rural communities are worried about the effects of new U.S. tariffs on the softwood lumber industry and encouraging the tech sector to set up in rural areas would bring jobs that support resource industries.
Stone and former Liberal cabinet ministers Wilkinson and de Jong said they would invest in an engineering program at the University of Northern B.C. and expand other education and health services in rural communities — promises made ahead of the last election.
“We have to acknowledge that a tremendous amount of the wealth that is generated in this province is generated up here in the north and so we need to make sure some of that wealth is coming back in the form of services people need,” Stone said.
De Jong said he’d move the forest ministry to Prince George from Victoria where officials can be closer to the people they directly affect.
Sam Sullivan, a former Vancouver mayor, said the opioid overdose crisis is no longer only an urban issue and health-care services need to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of rural and remote communities.