Horgan pitches plan to board of trade

NDP leader John Horgan took to the stage at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Friday and pledged to campaign on issues dear to the organization’s priorities, such as improved transit and affordable housing and child care.

Horgan also said he remains committed to B.C.’s resource industries, including the potential for liquefied natural gas exports, in a speech aimed at seizing the zeitgeist for political change that has swept other jurisdictions.

“There is no divine right to rule in British Columbia,” Horgan said in his remarks during the event’s question and answer session.

Horgan was speaking as part of a series of pre-election events arranged by the board of trade, aimed at engaging party leaders on issues its members have identified as priorities for the business community.

The board of trade issued its own platform document ahead of Horgan’s appearance, calling for government action on improving transit in the Lower Mainland, housing affordability, affordable child care and business competitiveness.

The NDP leader hit many of those priorities in his remarks.

On housing, Horgan promised to work with municipalities on making land available to increase housing supply and help alleviate the issue of skyrocketing home prices that have squeezed out many younger buyers, whom he described as critical to B.C.’s future economy.

Horgan said housing unaffordability, particularly in the Lower Mainland, has reached crisis proportions, “yet the government ignored it until they couldn’t ignore it any longer,” referring to the Liberal government’s introduction of a foreign buyers tax on real estate.

Horgan’s platform is not yet spelled out in detail or fully costed. He said the NDP will wait to see revenue projections in the next provincial budget on Feb. 21.

Premier Christy Clark plans to run the election on the strength of the economy. Figures released Friday by Statistics Canada showed B.C. had created 11,000 new jobs in January, giving it the fastestgrowing workforce in the country.

Horgan said the NDP will focus on how the economy “isn’t working for everyone.”

“I’m going to stand up for what I believe in, and I believe in a robust economy that keeps everyone engaged, not just the wealthy and well connected,” he said.