 | Monday, October 05, 2020
Reading this online? Sign up to get this delivered to your inbox every evening, Monday to Friday. | | The return of the Massey Tunnel debate | By Michelle Ghoussoub | Monday was the day campaigning really started to pick up as the Liberals dominated headlines with a series of major moves in key ridings. Let's dive in.
Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson kicked off the third week of the campaign with a promise that if elected, his government would once again change plans for replacing the aging Massey Tunnel and build a 10-lane bridge rather than the NDP's proposed eight-lane tunnel.
It’s now the third election in which the future of the tunnel, which links Richmond and Delta, has been a subject of debate. In 2013 the Liberals campaigned on a promised replacement tunnel, but eventually settled on a bridge. When the NDP came into office in 2017, they cancelled the $3.5-billion bridge project and ordered an independent review. And here we are again.
Wilkinson said the NDP approach "is a plan for delay" — prompting NDP Leader John Horgan to fire back, telling CBC News that his approach had more support from the municipalities. (A reminder that in October 2019, metro mayors voted for an eight-lane tunnel as the preferred option.)
Wilkinson also said his government would commit a total of $4.5 billion to transportation, but couldn't say how much of that would go to the Massey replacement.
He also made waves over the weekend by promising to put Surrey's transition to a municipal police force on hold and put the issue to a referendum if they are elected. (Much more from Justin McElroy on that lower down in this newsletter).
Horgan stayed out of the spotlight for most of Monday, but in the evening held a townhall where he announced that a re-elected NDP government would provide free COVID-19 vaccines to any British Columbian who wants one … once that vaccine exists, of course.
Meanwhile Green Leader Sonia Furstenau announced that her party would commit $1 billion over four years to create accessible mental health treatment options in the province. She said the province needs a “loneliness strategy” to combat the issue of isolation, which she says has only grown worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic. | | | Working the weekend is sweeter with ice cream | | |  | | | One more Monday story for you: as first reported by the Globe and Mail, the snap election call has likely delayed businesses struggling from the fallout of COVID-19 from receiving government funds promised in the province’s economic recovery plan. That means $2 billion will likely not be transferred until all ballots are counted — which could stretch beyond Oct. 24 because of the major increase in mail-in ballots this year. Furstenau quickly seized on the story to bolster her argument that the snap election call was self-serving for the NDP, and potentially harmful to British Columbians.
Weekend recap...
Our provincial leaders stayed busy over the weekend: Wilkinson announced a $1-billion plan to replace and upgrade care homes. It’s similar to the NDP’s $1.4-billion, 10-year capital plan, but Wilkinson said his approach would mean all seniors will have single-person rooms in long-term care facilities over five years, not 10.
The Greens promised a new rental support program that would ensure low- and moderate-income renters don't spend more than a third of their income on housing by earmarking $500 million for grants to renters over several months.
And finally, NDP candidate David Eby announced that his party would rebate profits ICBC made during the pandemic back to drivers. | | |  | | | Operation Election Shakeup: Surrey Edition | By Justin McElroy | A few days after the Liberals started Operation Election Shakeup by promising a year-long elimination of the PST, they created Operation Election Shakeup: Surrey Edition.
"A B.C. Liberal government will pause the transition process, provide accountability and transparency, and then hold a referendum," said Andrew Wilkinson on Sunday, promising the province's second largest city wouldn't go forward with their change to a local police force without a vote.
In response, Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum called the switch "a done deal." The NDP's Mike Farnworth, the minister responsible for the file throughout the transition, said "the law makes it clear that this is a municipal decision."
So who's in the right?
Like pretty much all fights between a city and province, the provincial government has the upper hand: if premier, Wilkinson could refuse to sign any number of approvals required for the transition to continue.
This would be a huge breach of typical democratic legitimacy in British Columbia — the NDP aren't huge fans of McCallum or the police transition either, but they respect the fact he handily won his 2018 election on a promise of moving to an independent police force, still retains a majority in city council and that the law clearly says it's a local decision.
(In addition, B.C. is the only place in Canada where municipalities with more than 100,000 people are still part of RCMP jurisdiction, but that's another story.)
Of course, there are lots of people in Surrey who have been upset about the policing switch from day one, and lots of other people who have grown dissatisfied with McCallum's leadership on the file.
The Liberals are down in the polls and need to create new contrasts with the NDP if they hope to take power. There were also three seats in Surrey decided by less than 2,000 votes last election, two of which were won by the NDP.
In other words, promising a policing referendum is 100 per cent within Andrew Wilkinson's rights, ethically a bit questionable — but a risk the party feels compelled to take.
| | | | |  | | | Other fast facts for Monday, Oct. 5 | - CBC has launched Vote Compass, a tool developed by political scientists that allows you to explore how your views align with those of B.C.’s main political parties. Take a few moments to answer some questions and get your results. (No personal identifying information is required to use the tool).
- Last week the B.C. NDP alleged Gary Thind had violated the Elections Act by trying to collect personal information to request mail-in ballots for voters. On Saturday, Elections BC said it had concluded its investigation into the allegations and found no evidence that corrupt voting has occurred.
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We want to help you make informed decisions come voting time, so if you have questions, send them in and we will work on getting you the answers. Drop us a line at metromatters@cbc.ca. | | | |
