Wilkinson pitches more police, Horgan promises 2 new cancer centers

By Michelle Ghoussoub

After yesterday’s big news dump from the NDP, Wednesday was more of a subdued day on the campaign trail for our provincial leaders. But we still saw a mixed bag of announcements on crime, health care and support for businesses.

Let’s get caught up.

NDP Leader John Horgan provided further details for his party’s B.C. Cancer Action Plan, one of the many points from Tuesday’s platform announcement. The major promise is that a re-elected NDP government would build two new cancer care centers, in Kamloops and Nanaimo, so that patients and their families would not have to travel as far to receive treatment. (People needing cancer treatment currently need to travel to Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver or Victoria.)

The plan includes hiring new clinicians to meet demand and improving existing facilities. It would also allow patients to have one point of contact throughout their treatment and for families to undergo genome testing for early detection.

Also — an important clarification from the NDP. We reported yesterday that the NDP promised to ease congestion by widening the Fraser Highway. The party clarified on Wednesday that there was an error in their platform, and that they actually planned on widening Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley. (Sorry, Abbotsford!)

Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson spent Wednesday announcing details of his party’s plan to tackle crime. Wilkinson spent many early days in the campaign blasting the NDP’s record on the issue, saying that crime has increased steadily in the past three years and that neighborhoods have become unsafe.

He promised that a Liberal government would spend $58 million to improve policing and mental health services in the province. Those funds would be used to hire 200 more police officers, 100 psychiatric nurses and social workers and 40 more prosecutors to get cases through the courts.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... John Horgan

The future of policing has been a contentious issue since the summer, with calls to defund the police more widespread than ever before. Wilkinson said on Wednesday he believes it's important for police to be present from the outset on calls that could be violent.

But his pledge to hire more officers garnered less attention on the campaign trail than his continued support for Liberal candidates who have failed to voice support for the LGBTQ community. 

Wilkinson responded to two separate reporter questions by saying that he has family members who are gay, whom he loves. But he didn't address whether candidates who don't support the LGBTQ community would face any kind of consequences from the Liberal party. It's not the first time it's become an issue on the campaign trail, and likely won't be the last.

Meanwhile, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau provided details of how her party would support small businesses and the tourism industry as they continue to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic. She said her government would spend $300 million to create an immediate six-month rent subsidy for small businesses that pay less than $50,000 dollars in rent. The program would cover up to 25 per cent of rent with the goal of keeping businesses afloat.

She also slammed the NDP’s support for the tourism industry throughout the pandemic, calling it a “patchwork” of supports that have been slowly deployed. She said her government would retool existing programs to help tourism operators, and would extend help to not-for-profit cultural institutions and attractions (for example, Science World), that are struggling to survive.

That's it for us today. For the latest headlines, check cbc.ca/bc.