Wednesday October 2, 2024 | VANCOUVER, BC
BC ELECTION CAMPAIGN DAY 12 of 28
Political news & analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Click here for: Your 28-day voter’s guide for BC Election 2024
BC’s provincial party leaders went head to head in an election debate live on radio this morning out of Vancouver.
All sitting in the same room at the CKNW 980 station with host and moderator Mike Smyth were BC NDP Leader David Eby, Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad, and BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau.
The debate was moderated by Mike Smyth who read out some basic questions about key issues that have been raised during the campaign that officially launched on September 21. Election day is coming up on Saturday October 19.
Topics included the cost of living, climate change, health-care system challenges, crime, substance use and related deaths, public safety and Indigenous issues.
While all participants were courteous there was the usual range of interruption, talking over one another, calling comments by the other untrue, and so on.
But overall, for listeners there was some availability of information on party positions and leadership temperament. That’s the whole point of a debate, so in that respect it was a success.
Cost of living:
On affordability Eby indicated that the BC NDP as government would continue to support people with direct rebates starting 2025, not dependent on being a homeowner or renter with name on the lease as the BC Conservative rebate would require (starting 2029).
Health-care:
On health-care Eby said “now is not the time to cut health-care”, referring to what the BC NDP claims Rustad would do if he were to lead a BC Conservative government.
Rustad challenged the premier on ER closures (most of those have been in the northern regions where staffing is a challenge), while Eby rebutted with saying the key solution is to train and provide more health-care workers to the system. The shortage of health-care workers “is a stubborn problem”, said Eby.
BC Green Leader interjected that BC has a high number of doctors but many are unwilling to work because of the bureaucratic administrative burden.
“People need to know that they have longitudinal care,” said Furstenau (refering to the need for every person to have access to a primary health-are provider such as a doctor or nurse). She brought forward part of the BC Green platform that fees for psychologists should be covered under the medical services plan.
Crime & drug-related deaths:
“Addictions and overdose deaths are completely out of control,” said Rustad. Eby said there needs to be access to treament “as a way out of addiction” in response to Rustad saying that “safe supply and decriminalization don’t work”.
Fursteanu pointed out that people who get to overdose prevention sites get attached to the health-care and social supports that they need; that’s more effective than ‘a war on drugs’ which Furstenau says only fuels the criminal drug trade.
While the BC Conservatives says they would bring in involuntary care, Furstenau said there’s only a three percent success rate with that approach. The other two parties are ignoring that the drug use crisis is part of a continuum of socioeconomic challenges. The BC Greens are in favour of regulated pharmaceutical alternatives.
Voting on October 19:
“Don’t give all the power to either of them,” said Furstenau, referring to the possibility that the BC NDP or the BC Conservatives might end up forming a majority government after the election on October 19.
Radio is the live experience:
People still like radio in the Internet social media age. It’s about listening live in the moment; voices get right into your head without visual distraction.
The debate was broadcasted live on CKNW 980, AM980, AM730, 101.1 FM HD channel 2 and streamed on the iHeartRadio app.
CKNW is part of the GlobalTV network, to which BC legislative reporters Richard Zussman and Keith Baldrey contribute.
===== RELATED:
- BC Greens push for well-being framework in Election 2024 (October 1, 2024)
- Eby’s sunny Friday pit-stop in Oak Bay (September 27, 2024)
- BC election ‘already in the history books’, says Rustad (June 19, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: POLITICS | BC ELECTION 2024