Tuesday October 1, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC
BC ELECTION CAMPAIGN DAY 11 of 28
Political news & analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Your 28-day voter’s guide for BC Election 2024
BC NDP Victoria-Beacon Hill candidate Grace Lore called a media scrum this morning after campaign announcements by the BC Conservatives and BC Greens.
Lore was the Minister of Children and Family Development in the BC NDP government until the writ dropped on September 21 (and continues as a cabinet minister until the next government is formed).
The BC NDP (Leader Premier David Eby) and BC Conservatives (Leader John Rustad) each have 93 candidates across all electoral areas in the province; the BC Greens (Leader Sonia Furstenau) have 69 candidates. The election is on Saturday October 19. [See 28-day election calendar & itinerary for all parties]
Lore said she had two initial reflections today about the opposition. The BC Greens are strong on fighting climate change which is a “shared value”, she said in reflecting upon the BC Green platform that was released today.
Both Grace Lore and BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau are candidates in the Victoria-Beacon Hill riding in downtown Victoria.
Conspiracy theories:
Lore is deeply concerned and quite surprised a hearing more on conspiracy theories from the BC Conservative leader. “These are things that we wouldn’t be taking seriously if he wasn’t trying to be Premier,” she said today.
Earlier in the day, Rustad said he “will restore energy independence for BC with affordable, reliable power—and the freedom to drive what you want without worrying about being stranded kilometres from a charging station”.
- He wants to “stop radical electric vehicle mandates and natural gas bans” that he says are driving up costs.
- He wants to restore BC’s energy independence to eliminate “costly impacts” (BC Hydro had imported electricity this summer during droughts).
- He wants to expand hydroelectric (even though Site C has cost a fortune and is likely the last such large dam to be built in BC), develop natural gas (despite the global warming aspect of that and the higher delivery cost), and build cutting-edge energy infrastructure.
- He wants to lift the ban on nuclear power and explore Small Modular Reactors (not mentioning the safety risk with nuclear). Lore says nuclear is 10 times more expensive to set up compared to other forms of electricity generation.
“John Rustad’s plan to build nuclear reactors and gas-fired plants would drive up electricity costs for families. He’s a risk we can’t afford,” said the BC NDP in their news release today.
Lore points out that BC Hydro is already required by law to be energy independent and natural gas will continue to be used for home heating.
In a recent call for power, BC Hydro received massive interest for new low-cost renewable energy projects to meet future energy needs. Wind and solar projects by independent power producers are expected to be announced by year-end.
Energy literacy challenge:
“On the same day that his latest climate conspiracy came to light, John Rustad said he wants to lead a conversation on energy literacy,” says the BC NDP in a news release today.
The BC NDP says that BC Hydro rates shot up by 80% under the former government (BC Liberals) in which John Rustad was a cabinet minister.
Referring to the BC Liberal government (in power 2001 to 2017) signing deals that were lucrictive for private power producers, the BC NDP says: “They signed bad deals way above market prices that continue to cost BC customers $16 billion over 20 years,” the BC NDP reminded voters today.
The new upcoming wind and solar projects by independent power producers will not have a locked-in cost above market rates, as explained by BC Hydro president Chris O’Riley earlier this year.
Schools and hospitals:
“Our communities are growing and are facing significant changes,” said Lore today. Referring to the BC Green platform released today she said “there’s nothing in here for new schools and new hospitals, these are things we need to invest in”.
“Those investments are a people-centered focus that we wouldn’t see in a John Rustad government and didn’t see in the BC Green platform,” said Lore.
Carbon tax:
If the federal govt changes course “we’ll review the consumer portion of the carbon tax”. In BC, low-to-middle income British Columbians receive a quarterly rebate by way of the Canada Revenue Agency. “Climate action needs to continue to support people,” said Lore.
Last week Premier Eby said the support to low-income households would still happen, that a BC NDP government would essentially ‘find another way’.
Housing & renters:
Having represented Victoria-Beacon Hill for the last four years, Lore knows that 65% of residents in that downtown riding are renters.
“Building non-market mixed affordable housing, cracking down on speculators and Airbnb’s” is what the BC NDP has been doing, she itemized. “And making sure that tenants are protected,” she said. Staffing expansion at the Residential Tenancy Branch happened in recent years.
Lore notes that the BC Conservatives have said they would bring back speculation and short-term rentals.
The stakes are high:
With the BC Greens “there are shared values here, there are pieces we are already doing”, said Lore, but “a BC Conservative government puts all of that at risk”.
Unless people really see the struggles of low income households, they can’t really grasp the challenge. In that context: “We need to recognize that the stakes of this election are high,” said Lore. “We need to make sure we are doing everything going forward for people.”
Door-knocking:
She’s been knocking on thousands of doors in her riding. “There are shared values (with the BC Greens) but we need to remember what’s at stake (if left-leaning people vote Green instead of NDP),” said Lore in today’s media availability.
===== RELATED:
- BC Greens push for well-being framework in Election 2024 (October 1, 2024)
- BC Hydro 2024 call for power including wind and solar (April 3, 2024)
- BC Hydro aiming for 2030 energy demand target (June 16, 2023)
- NEWS SECTIONS: POLITICS | BC ELECTION 2024