On the one-year anniversary since the NDP formed government in British Columbia, I believe it’s time for a performance review.
As a member of the official Opposition, I have several areas of concern with regards to the direction the province is heading, but most alarming to me is the complete lack of progress on a replacement for the George Massey Tunnel.
Almost a year after construction was halted, there is no line item for a tunnel replacement in the NDP budget for the next three years, and we are still waiting to hear back from the results of their redundant review. In the meantime, the government has forged ahead with other projects while local and commercial motorists sit in major gridlock every day. My fear is that we have been completely forgotten by the NDP.
I’m also worried about how residents and businesses will cope with $8 billion in tax increases. Carbon tax, gas tax, health tax, family homes tax, corporate tax, cabin tax… our community is being taxed to death.
Local farmers, in particular, will feel the full brunt of increases to the carbon tax and minimum wage.
I recently spoke with local grower Trevor Harris. He told me that with all these extra fuel charges, his diesel bill has gone through the roof. Having raised the carbon tax as well as the regional gas tax, the NDP has put Harris’ business in a precarious position.
Matei Ghelesel, president and COO of Sonic Enclosures at Tilbury Industrial Park, is also feeling the effects of NDP tax hikes. Sonic is a great example of a local company that goes above and beyond for its employees. When it can, it tries and help out with purchasing work boots or covering the costs of extra training for staff. With the new employer health tax, Ghelesel has told me these types of initiatives will have to be cut.
Other disappointments include the loss of 43,500 private sector jobs over the past year,broken promises on the implementation of ride sharing,and the NDP government’s obstruction of the rule of law, resulting in the federal purchase of the Kinder Morgan pipeline and loss of business confidence in the province.
My job as the local MLA is to continue to shed light on these issues and hold this government to account for the disturbing direction it is taking our province. We’ve seen this movie before – job losses, tax hikes and perks for union buddies were common themes for the NDP government of the 1990s. Spoiler alert: the sequel is always worse.
