The election in British Columbia was officially called on Saturday, with party leaders visiting communities to spread their message and vie for support.Both the BC Conservatives and BC NDP wasted no time slamming one another over housing and drug policy, which have emerged as the top issues thus far.Conservative leader John Rustad kicked off his campaign in Vancouver with the slogan, "common sense change," holding a press conference near the harbour with the Crab Park homeless encampment in plain sight behind him.Motioning towards the port and tent city, he said it was "beautiful to be able to see the industrial activity as a contrast to what David Eby with Justin Trudeau have delivered for people in British Columbia." "Unlike David Eby, I am not interested in building drug dens in neighbourhoods," Rustad continued. "We do need to build out housing and support, that's needed, but the key there is you need to be able to address the addictions. You need to be able to have that recovery in place for people before you move them into neighbourhoods across this province."The NDP, running under the banner of "action for you," kicked things off in Richmond, with Premier David Eby claiming that Rustad would institute "deep cuts" to healthcare and other services..Rustad denied the NDP's claims, explaining that the only things he would be cutting were housing costs, the carbon tax, ER room wait times, "killer not-so 'safe' supply drugs, drug paraphernalia vending machines, and "NDP drug dens."The NDP also went after Rustad on housing, arguing that the Conservatives were putting new homes "at risk" by nixing Bill 44, which requires municipalities to update their zoning guidelines to allow for small-scale multi-unit developments."After decades of rampant speculation in the housing market, finding an affordable place to call home in a community you love is one of the biggest challenges facing people in BC," Eby said. "We're taking on speculation and cutting red tape to unlock the construction of hundreds of thousands of middle-class homes. We're just starting to see some signs we're turning the corner, and we can't let up now."
The election in British Columbia was officially called on Saturday, with party leaders visiting communities to spread their message and vie for support.Both the BC Conservatives and BC NDP wasted no time slamming one another over housing and drug policy, which have emerged as the top issues thus far.Conservative leader John Rustad kicked off his campaign in Vancouver with the slogan, "common sense change," holding a press conference near the harbour with the Crab Park homeless encampment in plain sight behind him.Motioning towards the port and tent city, he said it was "beautiful to be able to see the industrial activity as a contrast to what David Eby with Justin Trudeau have delivered for people in British Columbia." "Unlike David Eby, I am not interested in building drug dens in neighbourhoods," Rustad continued. "We do need to build out housing and support, that's needed, but the key there is you need to be able to address the addictions. You need to be able to have that recovery in place for people before you move them into neighbourhoods across this province."The NDP, running under the banner of "action for you," kicked things off in Richmond, with Premier David Eby claiming that Rustad would institute "deep cuts" to healthcare and other services..Rustad denied the NDP's claims, explaining that the only things he would be cutting were housing costs, the carbon tax, ER room wait times, "killer not-so 'safe' supply drugs, drug paraphernalia vending machines, and "NDP drug dens."The NDP also went after Rustad on housing, arguing that the Conservatives were putting new homes "at risk" by nixing Bill 44, which requires municipalities to update their zoning guidelines to allow for small-scale multi-unit developments."After decades of rampant speculation in the housing market, finding an affordable place to call home in a community you love is one of the biggest challenges facing people in BC," Eby said. "We're taking on speculation and cutting red tape to unlock the construction of hundreds of thousands of middle-class homes. We're just starting to see some signs we're turning the corner, and we can't let up now."
