Written by: Mahdi Dialden, News Writer
The BC New Democratic Party (NDP) is set to win a record amount of seats in the provincial legislature. With votes not fully counted, absentee ballots are set to be counted on November 6, with November 16 being the target date for the results to be released.
The BC legislature has 87 seats that represent ridings around the province. The BC NDP currently has 55 seats, either leading or declared, with the BC Liberals trailing with 29 seats, and the Green Party with 3.
According to CBC News, the NDP “completed 79 per cent of its promises from the 2017 campaign, from raising welfare and disability rates to putting in speculation and vacancy taxes.” Here their major promises for the 2020 election:
Affordability promises
If elected, families with an annual household income under $125,000 would get a one-time $1,000 COVID-19 recovery benefit. The NDP website states that “the BC Liberals’ answer is to provide tax cuts — but those are proven to help people at the top while making everyone else pay for them through cuts to public services. And those public services are needed now more than ever.” This benefit is aimed to give immediate financial relief to families who are struggling during the pandemic.
Another promise from Horgan is to freeze rent until the end of next year, followed by a permanent maximum on rent increases set at the rate of inflation. He has also mentioned a $400 renters’ rebate for households earning less than $80,000 per year.
NDP promises ICBC profits generated during the pandemic will be returned to drivers as a rebate.
Educational promises
Horgan promised to expand student access to up to $4,000 per year to help pay the cost of tuition, textbooks, and supplies, based on financial need.
The re-elected BC NDP government aims to launch BC’s second medical school at the Surrey SFU campus to train more doctors.
The NDP also pledged to integrate childcare into the provincial public school system and build a new elementary school in Vancouver’s Olympic Village.
Healthcare promises
If elected, the COVID-19 vaccine — once available and approved — would be free to everyone.
A 10-year plan would be launched under the NDP to improve cancer care, including in rural communities that would also see more money spent on new equipment, screening, diagnosis, and treatment services. Part of this plan includes building cancer centres in Nanaimo and Kamloops.
Horgan has also pledged to complete a new Surrey hospital in Cloverdale, along with 10 new urgent and primary care centres by the end of the year.
Transportation promises
“We want to make it easier and more affordable for families to move about,” the NDP intends to make public transportation a more realistic option by promising to make transit free for children under the age of 12. This is an extension of the previous pledge for $10-a-day childcare.
Horgan pledged an NDP government will complete a SkyTrain connection to Langley and to expand Highway 1 between Abbotsford and Surrey by 2026.
Environmental promises
John Horgan promised to ensure BC reaches net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and pledged to phase out and ban single-use plastics in the province.
John Horgan’s NDP called the snap election amidst a pandemic in hopes of taking advantage of the parties’ popularity, to upgrade on the minority government from the previous 2017 election. The calling of the election faced criticism for forcing an election with the current circumstances revolving around COVID-19.
The results of the election are subject to change and are awaiting the results of the absentee ballot count to be released on November 16, 2020.
