In the lead-up to the Oct. 19 provincial election, Black Press Media asked the candidates in Victoria-Beacon Hill a series of three questions.
What do you see as the most pressing issue for your riding, and what would you do to address it?
Sonia Furstenau – B.C. Green Party: I love Victoria-Beacon Hill. It’s the most wonderful place, and we are so fortunate to be able to live here. But I see too many people in this place without access to the services that they need to thrive – without health care, without housing, without quality education for their children. I see too many businesses struggling to get the skilled labour that they need, and an arts and culture sector struggling to survive. We need to approach the role of government and our measures of success differently; we need to focus on well-being, to make sure we’re prioritizing the things that really matter – people, communities, nature, and good governance. We need to look long-term, and focus on making a material difference to the people of Victoria-Beacon Hill.
Grace Lore – B.C. NDP: Global inflation has taken a major toll in jurisdictions around the world, including right here in B.C. Price gouging has amplified it.
Whether it's at the grocery store, the gas station or trying to buy a bike, people in every neighbourhood have said to me, over and over, that everyday costs are having a huge impact on them. Since the B.C. NDP formed government, we've lowered car insurance by $500, cut childcare fees in half, completely got rid of MSP fees and taken action on the things that are driving housing prices up, like speculators, short-term rentals and demoviction and renoviction loopholes.
People can't afford to go back to John Rustad and his long history of fee hikes and making people pay more while he gives the wealthiest 2% a break. People want more relief, and that's exactly what David Eby and the B.C. NDP are going to work on, starting with our newly announced middle-class tax cut that will deliver immediate relief with $1,000 for the average family – every year.
Tim Thielmann – B.C. Conservatives
Black Press Media made several attempts to contact B.C. Conservative candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill Tim Thielmann but did not receive a response to the questions by the deadline.
How do you balance the need for housing affordability with homeowners’ desire to not lose money on their investment?
Lore: We need homes for people to live in – our economy and community depend on it. That’s why homes for people are our priority. Our bold actions, like restricting short-term rentals like AirBnBs and taxing those who have second, third or fourth homes that they leave empty, have turned thousands of units into long-term homes.
We’ve made it easier to build homes like townhouses, multiplexes, basement suites, and carriage houses. Students at UVIC are benefiting from hundreds of new units and for the very first time, student housing will be coming to Camosun College. We're also protecting and building non-market housing of all types right here in Victoria-Beacon Hill, from supportive housing to housing for middle-income professionals.
John Rustad and the B.C. Conservatives have said they will undo this work – they’ll make it harder to build new homes and they’ll undo protections for renters. We cannot risk it. We have to move forward – there is more work to do, and David Eby and our B.C. NDP team are committed to continuing to work with the community on housing solutions.
Furstenau: The B.C. Greens are focused on making sure that there is non-market, deeply affordable housing available for people. We cannot ask the private sector to fix our housing crisis for us – that is not their role. We’re 40 years downstream of the government abdicating their responsibilities to provide non-market housing, and we can see where this approach has landed us. Instead, we need to create 26,000 new non-market units each year, while ensuring that we protect the affordable housing that already exists.
3) How would your party meet the public’s demand for spending on health care, housing, transportation, infrastructure, homelessness, etc., without raising taxes or ballooning the deficit?
Furstenau: We need to make sure we’re investing upstream. We know, for example, that eliminating deep poverty will cost us around $2 billion a year, but keeping people in poverty costs us between $13.4 billion and $18.6 billion. Likewise, our health-care costs are ballooning because of a lack of primary and preventive care. The B.C. Greens focus is on well-being, on solving the root causes of problems, of enabling people to thrive and power a clean, green, economy. Addressing problems at their root cause will not only create healthier communities but it will also reduce costs.
Lore: People need improved health care, education, childcare, and housing more than ever, and now is not the time to make deep cuts to those investments like John Rustad and the B.C. Conservatives are proposing.
People on the doorstep have repeatedly told me they need us to continue to show up for them and invest in services and supports, especially when times are tough. Our B.C. NDP team is going to keep working to build our economy – like expanding support for much-needed trades training – and making smart investments to build infrastructure and strengthen services that keep our community strong and support people. Meanwhile, John Rustad has a long record of supporting the wealthiest 2% while making you pay more, and he'll do it again.
