B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon pitched his platform to northerners during a visit to Terrace in which he attacked B.C. NDP leadership candidate David Eby鈥檚 approach to solving the housing crisis, opioid epidemic, crime and healthcare access.
鈥淒avid Eby has been responsible for overseeing one of the greatest increases in social chaos, social disorder and criminal activity that I鈥檝e seen frankly in my lifetime,鈥� Falcon told Black Press Media during his visit to Terrace.
鈥淭he reason is that he is giving direction not to charge people for what are considered minor offenses. And the problem is that this has created, in the criminal community, a very clear understanding that there鈥檚 no consequences.鈥�
Eby was attorney general for the province, as well as overseeing housing, until July after announcing his bid for NDP leader.
Falcon pointed to the issue of repeat offenders being allowed to 鈥渟teal and just walk right out the door鈥� and when they do get arrested, he said, they are released often on the same day and are soon back doing the same thing without any consequence.
鈥淭here has to be consequences for that kind of behaviour otherwise we have chaos like we鈥檙e seeing in our communities.鈥�
The province has promised to release recommendations from an expert report into prolific offenders in mid-September.
READ MORE:
Falcon said northern communities such as Terrace are being 鈥渢otally left out鈥� by the current NDP government, which he described as an urban government.
鈥淭he majority of wealth is generated outside the Lower Mainland and we have to make sure as a government that we鈥檙e reinvesting back into rural communities,鈥� Falcon said.
鈥淭hey just pay lip service to the rest of the province鈥� The premier has visited Prince George twice during the second year of their mandate and that鈥檚 unacceptable. You鈥檝e got to be in communities like Terrace and Prince Rupert, Quesnel, Williams Lake and Prince George, otherwise you鈥檙e not going to understand the issues they鈥檙e dealing with.鈥�
Falcon said he鈥檇 be open to discussions with communities in northwest B.C. about keeping tax revenue generated in the north in the region. He said before designing a sharing agreement he would first want to speak with local leadership to better understand what the needs of the communities are.
READ MORE:
During his northwest tour, Falcon spoke with doctors amid the province-wide shortage in physicians and nurses. He said priorities include more training spaces for nurses and doctors, better pay and more supports to take leave when needed.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a government that is going and opening up these urgent primary care centres with all this hoopla and fanfare, and the day they鈥檙e opened there鈥檚 almost nobody in there staffing them because they didn鈥檛 think to figure out a human resources strategy to figure out how they鈥檙e going to get workers in these places.
鈥淪adly, when the new Terrace hospital opens I鈥檓 concerned that we鈥檒l have the same problem [as] in Kamloops when they opened up the new tower at Royal Inland Hospital鈥� There鈥檚 nobody in it because they haven鈥檛 got the staff.鈥�
READ MORE:
Falcon slammed Eby鈥檚 approach to the housing crisis and accused the NDP of getting housing 鈥渃ompletely wrong.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檝e focused on just layering a whole bunch of taxes onto housing and thinking that was going to solve the affordability issue,鈥� Falcon said.
鈥淗ere we are five years later, they鈥檙e in their second term, and we have the highest housing prices in North America, third highest on the planet. It has been one of the most disastrous policy initiatives I鈥檝e ever seen.鈥�
Falcon called the NDP鈥檚 鈥済overnment must do everything鈥� housing solutions 鈥渓aughable鈥� and proposed a 鈥渃arrot and stick approach鈥� that would incentivize the private sector and local government to 鈥渄o the right thing鈥� and create more supply.
鈥淚 would bring in legislation to ensure that the development approval process has clarity, consistency and timeliness.鈥�
That, he said, saves industry from a costly municipal approval process before breaking ground on projects, adding that such policies would lower rents and give young British Columbians a better chance at home ownership.
READ MORE:
Speaking on the opioid crisis, Falcon said the NDP鈥檚 focus on safe supply isn鈥檛 the answer, adding the NDP鈥檚 approach has 鈥渁voided and ignored law enforcement,鈥� and 鈥渢otally ignored the issues鈥� around treatment and recovery.
He added that carrying small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use is already de facto decriminalized. The BC Liberals under Christy Clark were criticized for not creating new beds at the start of the opioid crisis in 2016 at a pace that met demand.
鈥淲hat I want to do is make sure, again, that we鈥檙e making significant investments in recovery and treatment so that we鈥檙e helping people get off their addictions, not just trying to create an ecosystem that supports an addictions lifestyle.鈥�
READ MORE:
It鈥檚 been 42 years since the former Social Credit government closed the Riverview psychiatric hospital in Coquitlam.
Falcon said successive governments, including the former Social Credit Party, Liberals and NDP, made the wrong decision by de-institutionalizing people with mental health issues and he would do things differently.
鈥淎s people were coming out of mental institutions you saw that the rates of those that are incarcerated and homelessness have increased鈥� We have to acknowledge first of all that what we鈥檙e doing isn鈥檛 working.鈥�
Promising a 鈥渕assive upfront investment鈥� Falcon said his government would build 24/7 mental health facilities that would help 鈥渟top a lot of the chaos that we鈥檙e seeing on our streets鈥� adding the situation in Terrace is one example.
鈥淲e (would) compassionately, lovingly but firmly take them off of the street and put them into that 24/7 care so that they can be properly looked after by a team of psychiatrists that are trained to look after these folks.鈥�
READ MORE:
PODCAST:
Do you have a comment about this story? email:
michael.willcock@terracestandard.com
