LP_468x60
ontario news watch
on-the-record-468x60-white
and-another-thing-468x60

NDP Leader John Horgan arrives with local candidate Aman Singh prior to making a seniors announcement in Queensborough on Oct. 14, 2020.

A question on racism and personal privilege provided some of the most lasting impressions from Tuesday’s B.C. leaders’ debate, and it left at least one leader trying to backpedal on Wednesday to make good on their lacklustre answer.

The question appeared to differentiate the candidates in their degree of social consciousness, or at least that’s how it was viewed by many on social media on the night of the debate.

But was the question the right one, or even relevant? That is what some experts and local leaders were talking about after the debate.

The question, decided on by consensus of a large team of political reporters and debate producers, was delivered by Shachi Kurl, the debate moderator.

“This has been a time of time of tough conversations about the inclusion and treatment of those who are Black and Indigenous people of colour. How have you personally reckoned with your own privilege and unconscious bias as a white political leader?” Kurl asked.

Andrew Wilkinson, leader of the B.C. Liberals: “I came from Alberta as a young doctor, started to work at St. Paul’s hospital and met people from parts of the world I’d never come across before.

“I had to get used to the idea that it wasn’t all like Southern Alberta. That there’s a more complex world out there.

“I then worked in Indigenous communities — Dease Lake, Lillooet, Campbell River — dealing with a lot of Indigenous people as patients. Got to know them. Got to know their way of life. And I believe there’s a young, maybe not so young, man in Lillooet now who’s named after me when I delivered that baby from his mother. And so that’s the kind of experience that humanizes it for you and makes you realize we are all equal.

“We all have to feel like we belong here, that we’re citizens and will be respected in British Columbia. And to my mind that’s one of the highest duties of government, is to make sure that every single person in this province feels like they’re equally engaged and involved. … I believe that everybody in British Columbia needs to be treated equally, respectfully, and that’s our duty in government.”

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan: “I grew up in Southern Vancouver Island. I was a lacrosse player, I played with Indigenous friends, I played with South Asian friends. For me, I did not see colour. I felt that everyone around me was the same. And I brought that through my entire adult life and I’ve instilled that in my children. And this generation, the generation after, continues to see everyone equally, gays, lesbians, people of colour, regardless of who you are, people need to be included.

“What I’ve tried to focus on since I’ve had an opportunity to represent people in my community is to bring people together. To unite people. To recognize that we are all in this together regardless of our background, regardless of our orientation. We all need each other to help out. I believe that what we need to do is tell the stories of our diversity. … we need to tell the stories about who we are as British Columbians. That’s what I grew up learning and that’s what I want to do as the leader of the government. I think that’s critically important that you lead by example based on what you believe.”

Sonia Furstenau, B.C. Green leader: “I think the moment for me that really hit it home was imagining being a mother and saying to my child if you’re approached by a policeman, don’t do anything. Just put your hands up. I can’t imagine being a mother and imagining that my child, my son, might die because of the colour of his skin. We aren’t all equal. I wish we were, but we’re not.

“In this province, in this country, and around the world, people who are Black, people who are of colour, are still experiencing systemic and personal racism on a daily basis. The three of us cannot reckon what that’s like because we are white. But we have to, in our roles, work to end that systemic racism and work to ensure that all mothers can let their children go out and not be worried that they’re going to be killed.”

As the debate moved on to other topics, some on social media criticized the question, arguing it was unproductive. Among them was Khelsilem, a Squamish Nation councillor, who explained his perspective Wednesday.

“I’m less interested in how (leaders) feel about their white privilege than I am about understanding what they would do if they had the power to actually address racism that exists,” Khelsilem said. What voters really need to know is whether a leader is educated about how to address structural racism, and what their party is committed to do about it — if anything, he said.

Harsha Walia, the executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, tweeted that privilege was one way to interrogate and understand racism, but that it was grossly inadequate in the context of state power.

In contrast, Annette Henry, a professor at the University of B.C.’s Institute for Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice, said her ears perked up when she heard Kurl ask the question.

“I was very interested in how they responded to (it) and to me, that question is part of a deeper question — does this person understand systemic racism and how they are implicated in it?” Henry said.

Henry said she believed Furstenau did the best job of answering the question, while she thought Wilkinson and Horgan either did not understand it or evaded it.

Shortly after the debate, Horgan tweeted a video where he took another crack at the topic. “I certainly mischaracterized the challenges that people of colour face every day … and it was inappropriate to say I don’t see colour,” he said in the video. Horgan also revisited the issue on the campaign trail Wednesday morning.

mrobinson@postmedia.com


This is your daily campaign trail update with everything you need for Oct. 14, 2020.

The B.C. provincial election will be held Oct. 24.

This is your daily campaign trail update with everything you need for Oct. 14, 2020.

This page will be updated throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.


WHERE THE LEADERS ARE TODAY

Sonia Furstenau, Green:  

The Green leader will be doing interviews remotely in Vancouver this morning before holding a news conference in New Westminster at the Anvil Centre. In the afternoon she will be in Surrey.

John Horgan, NDP

: The NDP leader will make an announcement at the Queensborough Community Centre about long-term care for seniors. Horgan will be joined by long-term care worker Maria Lugs, as well as his candidates from the BC NDP Richmond team.

Andrew Wilkinson, Liberal:

The Liberal leader will make an announcement at 1:30 p.m. at Hospital Beach in Kitimat.


TWEETS FROM THE TRAIL


GUIDES AND LINKS

• B.C. Election 2020: Stay informed with our daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox every day at noon. Sign up here.

Read the latest news on B.C. Election 2020

Here’s how, where and when to vote

Received a blank ballot? Here’s how to fill it out

What candidates are running in my riding?

Register to vote in the B.C. Election

Find your electoral district


CAMPAIGN TRAIL NEWS

5:30 p.m. – Question on racism tripped up B.C. leaders, but left some wanting

A question on racism and personal privilege provided some of the most lasting impressions from Tuesday’s B.C. leaders’ debate, and it left at least one leader trying to backpedal on Wednesday to make good on their lacklustre answer.

The question appeared to differentiate the candidates in their degree of social consciousness, or at least that’s how it was viewed by many on social media on the night of the debate.

But was the question the right one, or even relevant?

This is what some experts and local leaders were talking about after the debate

.

4:45 p.m. – Education in background of B.C. election as mostly a ‘stay the course’ issue

Education has remained a background issue in this election campaign with the NDP maintaining more of a stay-the-course platform in the issue.

School safety and improving online education options in light of the COVID-19 are common themes across the platforms of all three main parties, with varying commitments to build new schools in growing districts.

Here is a look at the three parties’ education platforms

, and some expert analysis.

4:30 p.m. – Surrey candidates Q & A with business community

Candidates from the Greens, Liberals and NDP in all nine Surrey ridings will respond to questions/themes from the business community.

Registration link:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pf_ByOzRQm-L3XgCYXTAdA

2 p.m. – B.C. Greens release platform highlighting basic income, support for teachers

B.C.’s Green party is promising income security as part of its new election platform with a move toward a basic income program.

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says the platform would target people who need help now by building a stronger, more equitable and sustainable province.

In addition to the income security, the platform proposes support for those who pay more than 30 per cent of their income toward rent, an accessible mental health-care system and a clean recovery plan that includes a $1-billion innovation fund.

10:30 a.m. – Final vote count could be delayed by significant increase in mail-in ballots

Final results in B.C.’s provincial election could be delayed even beyond the anticipated two weeks as the demand for mail-in ballots ­continues to climb.

Elections B.C. said Tuesday that an estimated 680,000 registered ­voters have requested a vote-by-mail package.

During the 2017 provincial ­election, 11,000 voters requested a mail-in ballot, although only 6,517 actually returned their packages on time, said Elections B.C. ­communications director Andrew Watson.

“It’s obviously a very significant increase. Many more voters are using it this time,” he said.

Votes cast on election day and votes cast in advance polls from ­people who voted in their district will be counted on Oct. 24, election night.

10 a.m. – NDP Leader John Horgan continues to push long-term care plans

NDP Leader John Horgan campaigned Wednesday in the Queensborough neighbourhood of New Westminster, where he continued to push long-term seniors care home promises.

He pledged that a re-elected NDP government would make permanent the pay increases for long-term care aides that were brought in during the pandemic.

12 a.m. – Furstenau scores points as Horgan, Wilkinson forced to defend past actions

NDP Leader John Horgan and Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson both found themselves on the hot seat during Tuesday night’s feisty B.C. election debate, with each forced to defend past actions by themselves, their parties or their candidates.

The two men, along with Green leader Sonia Furstenau, at times raised their voices and talked over each other on key topics such as health care, housing affordability, daycare, homelessness and addiction, racism, the environment, Site C and LNG, reconciliation, and pandemic recovery.

One of the key moments of the 90-minute debate came when Furstenau asked Horgan why he broke the power-sharing agreement with her party, and thrust B.C. into an early election in the middle of a global pandemic.


WHAT THE LEADERS ARE SAYING:

Andrew Wilkinson, Liberal:

“B.C. desperately needs a plan to lay out our economic future…We can get back to a balanced budget within five years of a vaccine becoming available.”

John Horgan, NDP:

“This election is not about the next few months but about the next few years. And the question is quite clear: Who do you want to lead you, and where do you want to go?”

Sonia Furstenau, Green:

“You are willing to break your word, you are willing to break agreements, you are willing to break legislation that you yourself passed in the legislature in order to put the interests of your party — in order to seek that power and that majority that you so wanted.”


DAILY POLL


SOCIAL MEDIA STUMPING

View this post on Instagram

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m a bit superstitious. But this is a good one. I met Angelo on the day of the first Leaders’ Debate in 2017. It was E-13, and his Gr. 5 class was at an event. Angelo, an aspiring journalist, spontaneously interviewed me. Angelo and his family came to the Legislature in our first year of government. I got to show him around and he met my colleagues. He was given an honorary press gallery membership by Rob Shaw. Today, just like 2017, I’m a bit nervous going into this debate. I want to do right by people. Tonight, I will continue to stand up for British Columbians in every corner of this province. So I was lucky to sit down with Angelo on zoom today and he interviewed me — just like he did three years ago. Angelo, thanks for taking the time to ask me some questions and share some laughs. You were good luck in 2017 and I know you’ll give me the same good luck today. #bcelection #bcvotes #britishcolumbia #debatenight

A post shared by John Horgan (@johnhorgan4bc) on Oct 13, 2020 at 2:41pm PDT


B.C. Election 2020: Stay informed with our daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox every day at noon. Sign up here.


Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson, NDP Leader John Horgan and Green Leader Sonia Furstenau.  The countdown is on to Oct. 24 B.C. election.

Child care has emerged as a top concern for all three of B.C.’s major political parties in this provincial election. Affordability, availability of spaces, training and compensation for workers, and jurisdiction over the child-care file are addressed in the platforms that have been released.

Read on for details from each party’s plan and some expert analysis.

B.C. NDP

The

NDP plan

will continue with their 10-year ChildCare B.C. initiative by expanding the number of $10-a-day child-care spaces and bringing in more “affordability measures.” They would increase the overall number of child-care spaces available — the target is at least 22,000 — in more places, and work toward providing universal access to before- and after-school care on school grounds. Training more early childhood educators and increasing wages is on the table as well.

The NDP has also promised to introduce legislation to protect the principles of “affordable, accessible and inclusive quality child care” and make child care a responsibility of the Ministry of Education. Currently, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

In terms of funding, the plan is to add $750 million to the annual budget for child care.

B.C. LIBERALS

The

Liberals are promising

the biggest investment in child care of all the parties, adding $1.1-billion per year to the budget.

They would make $10-a-day child care available to households with an annual income of up to $65,000, and those earning up to $125,000 per year would qualify for $20 or $30 daily child care. Creating 10,000 new spaces, expanding access to before- and after-school care, and encouraging and supporting non-profit and for-profit child-care providers are also initiatives on the Liberal agenda.

There is no specific plan to expand training and support for child-care workers, although it is on the radar.

Instead of rolling child care into another ministry, the Liberals would replace the Minister of State for Child Care with a full ministry.

B.C. GREENS

The party’s

plan to support young families

includes monthly payments for stay-at home parents, exploring options for flexible work arrangements such as reduced work weeks or telecommuting, and creating a plan for early childhood education and care.

The plan would be funded to the tune of $897 million by 2024/2025, or an extra $220 million or so per year, and include more training and higher wages for child-care workers, expanding available spaces, up to 25 hours per week of free early childhood education for three- and four-year-olds, free child care for working parents with kids under the age of three and moving child care into the Ministry of Education.

ANALYSIS

Paul Kershaw, a University of B.C. policy professor, said he immediately noticed a disconnect between the dollars that some parties are willing to commit to child care and the promises they are making.

“The party with the biggest budget actually, in many respects, has the narrowest vision for the plan, and the Greens, who have a very big vision about how much free care they would put out, have too modest a budget,” said Kershaw. “The NDP, in part because they’ve been in government … you can see a level of sophistication in their vision compared to the other two parties.”

Emily Gawlick, the executive director of Early Childhood Educators of B.C., has concerns about building a child-care system with for-profit operators, as outlined in the Liberal agenda. She said if public dollars are being invested, it should be a public asset.

A provincial wage grid for child-care workers that values and respects their contribution would also be welcome, she said.

“There’s talk about supporting early childhood educators, but I would love to see something really strong and succinct to what they’re going to do to ensure that,” Gawlick said.

Sharon Gregson, spokesperson for the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C., pointed specifically to the Liberal platform and said it seems foolish to commit to more child care spaces without addressing the wages for early childhood educators, because recruitment and retention remain major issues.

The experts were pleasantly surprised to see the three major parties emphasize the importance of child care in their platforms and struggled to remember a time that happened during a previous election.

“There’s an important culture shift in B.C. politics. All three parties are literally falling over themselves to promise more for child care,” Kershaw said.

B.C. Election 2020: Stay informed with our daily newsletter. Sign up here.

jensaltman@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jensaltman

Related


Way back in mid April, as the province confronted the Covid pandemic with such an ample supply of respirators it was able to donate supplies to other provinces, Premier Jason Kenney was effusive in his praise of Alberta Health's procurement professionals.

He held a news conference with a senior official, Jitendra Prasad, praising him and his team for their foresight in preparing for the health emergency.

Implicit in that praise was a recognition that the experience developed by a professional and stable public service saved the day.

Prasad stated it explicitly during the press conference.

"We are very, very fortunate that we have a single health care system in Alberta which has given us an enormous amount of experience in being able to do the things we are doing today."

This week Alberta's health minister announced a plan to cut up to 11,000 public sector health care jobs, outsourcing them to private contractors.

The cuts, at least during the continuing pandemic, won't include nurses or front line clinical staff.  Laundry, lab, food services and cleaning staff will be privatized over the next three years.  And at least 100 management jobs will be eliminated.

The initial protection of clinical staff is meant to assure the public that front-line health care  won't be endangered by these moves.  But it's pretty tough to know where a weak or destabilized link in the health care team can spell disaster.

The procurement team, for instance, made a difference at the beginning of the Covid crisis.  Who knows if a runaway superbug might make cleaning and laundry even more critical than it is now in some future emergency?

Shandro argues that the provincial plan isn't a matter of lost jobs, but rather just a changing of the employer.  But there's no guarantee the same people doing the lab tests and housekeeping  now will be the ones hired by private sector contractors.  The 100 management jobs will be eliminated, despite Alberta Health Services reputation as having the leanest management in the country.  The type of experience the government counted on in April could evaporate in the shift.

The government argues that there is a good deal of privatization in the job classifications about to be hit.  The big cities already outsource laundry and in northern Alberta, 70 per cent of lab work is done by a private contractor.

But the fact that not all services have been included until now hints that there may be issues with finding contractors and the complexity of the testing required.

Rural areas, for instance, could struggle to find a private service supplier who will take on small hospitals and clinics without the economies of scale to ensure profit margins.

The whole question of exactly what the cost benefits will be from this exercise is another issue.

The government predicts $600 million will be saved annually once all the cuts are implemented.  Shandro admits that's only an estimate.  The savings depend on the final contracts with private sector suppliers.

But the intangible cost of the announcement is already being felt, including its toll on labour peace.

Public service unions are already sabre rattling.  Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, is talking about potential strike action.

The unions and the NDP are particularly targeting the bizarre timing of the announcement.

Even though many of the cuts wouldn't be implemented for a year or more, the laying out of the plan in the middle of the Covid second wave is bewildering.  Critics all argue the UCP is sowing chaos in a health care system strained to the brink with burned out and overworked healthcare staff.

Back in April Prasad offered his thanks to the government for enabling his team to do such a sterling job preparing the healthcare system for the pandemic.

"A lot of credit goes to the leadership of AHS, to the support we have from the government, the premier personally and the minister."

Ultimately that support apparently pales in comparison to the UCP's ideological imperative to privatize and reduce the public sector.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.


A write-in mail ballot sent out by Elections BC.

VICTORIA — Final results in B.C.’s provincial election could be delayed even beyond the anticipated two weeks as the demand for mail-in ballots ­continues to climb.

Elections B.C. said Tuesday that an estimated 680,000 registered ­voters have requested a vote-by-mail package.

During the 2017 provincial ­election, 11,000 voters requested a mail-in ballot, although only 6,517 actually returned their packages on time, said Elections B.C. ­communications director Andrew Watson.

“It’s obviously a very significant increase. Many more voters are using it this time,” he said.

Votes cast on election day and votes cast in advance polls from ­people who voted in their district will be counted on Oct. 24, election night.

“Usually, that’s 90 per cent of the ballots in the election,” said Watson. “But of course with this really dramatic increase in mail-in ballots that we have seen, it’s likely the proportion of ballots counted on election night will be less.”

B.C.’s Elections Act stipulates that the final count of absentee ballots must not take place until 13 days after the election.

Absentee ballots include mail-in ballots, people who vote at a district electoral office, people who vote at advance polls outside of their electoral district and a voter who is voting at a ­location which is not their assigned voting place on election day. The final count of the absentee ballots normally takes two days. In 2017, there were about 200,000 absentee ballots.

“Both those timelines may change during this election. Obviously, there are a lot more ballots which will go through that process than in 2017,” said Watson.

The past, Elections B.C. has been able to verify all the absentee ballots in the 13 days after the election.

“This time, it could be longer than the normal 13 days. Certainly, it will be a focus for us to complete that work as fast as we can and we’re adding a lot more resources than we have in the past, recognizing there’s a lot more ballots to count,” said Watson.

The absentee ballots are verified manually and counted manually.

In 2019, the provincial ­government passed legislation to allow greater use of technology and Elections B.C. was working to have it in place for 2021, said Watson.

“But of course with this being an unscheduled election, those changes to the process won’t be used this time,” he said.

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot by phone or online is Oct. 17 and Elections B.C. is encouraging voters to make the request as soon as possible.

“It takes time for us to process the request and then assemble the package to the voter and then ­actually mail it to them,” he said.

Elections B.C. is also ­recommending that mail-in ballots be returned through the mail by Oct. 17 at the latest. After Oct. 17, they should be returned in person at a district electoral office or at any voting place during voting hours on Oct. 24. Mail-in ballots must be received by 8 p.m on Oct. 24, said Watson.

“After the polls close, we can’t receive them any more.”

So far, Elections B.C. has received 138,500 completed mail-in ballots. There are 3,485,858 registered ­voters in B.C. In 2017, about two million people voted in the provincial ­election.


File photo of BC NDP leader John Horgan.

NDP Leader John Horgan campaigned Wednesday in the Queensborough neighbourhood of New Westminster, where he continued to push long-term seniors care home promises.

He pledged that a re-elected NDP government would make permanent the pay increases for long-term care aides that were brought in during the COVID-19 pandemic. Horgan said his plan to improve seniors care includes hiring 7,000 new health-care workers in long-term and assisted living care, and paying care workers fair wages so they can work in one facility.

He also said the NDP would eliminate multi-bed rooms in health-authority-owned care facilities, and build new public long-term care homes with new beds.

“The B.C. Liberals passed laws that devastated long-term care and led to the layoffs of 10,000 workers, most of whom were women,” said Horgan in a statement Wednesday. “This left care homes dangerously understaffed and put seniors at risk during the pandemic. The changes we’ve made, to care for seniors and prevent outbreaks, have saved lives. But we know there’s more to do.”

During Tuesday’s leaders debate

, Horgan held Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson responsible for a Liberal government decision to cut care-aide jobs. But Wilkinson fired back: “Calling names and talking about things that happened 17 years ago will not help us in the future.”

Wilkinson said the Liberals built hospitals during their time in power, and accused the NDP of failing to build one.

“You sold the land, man,” an outraged Horgan responded, in reference to a Liberal program that sold government land, including a plot that was meant for a Surrey hospital.

Wilkinson also accused Horgan of not acting quickly enough to help struggling businesses, such as tourism operators, facing bankruptcies during the pandemic, and of having an affordable housing plan that is “a complete fiasco.”

During a news conference Wednesday, Horgan addressed the issue of eliminating private for-profit long term care homes. He said he believes the system does need to transfer to a public system, but that plan will take time. He added that he will not close for profit-private care homes just to bring in a public system.

“The mixed system we have in place today is not meeting our needs. We need to expand public long-term care facilities. That’s our priority. But we have private long-term care in place and we need to ensure those beds are there for those people right now when they need them,” he said. “We need to make sure, as with child care, that the for-profit component that does exist is not pushed out because of ideological reasons.”

— With files from Lori Culbert

ticrawford@postmedia.com


NDP Leader John Horgan, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson. The countdown is on to Oct. 24 B.C. election.

NDP Leader John Horgan and Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson both found themselves on the hot seat during Tuesday night’s feisty B.C. election debate, with each forced to defend past actions by themselves, their parties or their candidates.

The two men, along with Green leader Sonia Furstenau, at times raised their voices and talked over each other on key topics such as health care, housing affordability, daycare, homelessness and addiction, racism, the environment, Site C and LNG, reconciliation, and pandemic recovery.

One of the key moments of the 90-minute debate came when Furstenau asked Horgan why he broke the

power-sharing agreement

with her party, and thrust B.C. into an early election in the middle of a global pandemic.

“We are here on the stage debating things when we should be in the legislature making sure that people get what they need,” said Furstenau.

“You are willing to break your word, you are willing to break agreements, you are willing to break legislation that you yourself passed in the legislature in order to put the interests of your party — in order to seek that power and that majority that you so wanted.”

 NDP Leader John Horgan, right to left, Green leader Sonia Furstenau and Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson prepare for a debate at the Chan Centre in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, October 13, 2020.

Horgan, who was frequently the target of both leaders’ questions since he is the premier and ahead in the polls, repeated his defence that he needed to call an election so British Columbians could elect a new government to see them through a pandemic with no end-date in sight yet.

“This election is not about the next few months but about the next few years. And the question is quite clear: Who do you want to lead you, and where do you want to go?” asked Horgan.

Wilkinson, who

desperately needed to win over undecided voters

, presented himself as the best person to shore up B.C.’s ailing economy, and defended a $10 billion hit to government revenue to fund his campaign pledge to cut the PST.

“B.C. desperately needs a plan to lay out our economic future,” he said. “We can get back to a balanced budget within five years of a vaccine becoming available.”

The stakes were high

in the debate because it finally gave voters some exposure to the leaders, who have been unable to hold rallies. Even door-knocking and mainstreeting has been vastly reduced during this pandemic election.

Horgan had the most to lose if he had a bad performance or flashed his temper, as he did in

the 2017 debate

. This time, he kept his cool, and on several occasions complimented the other leaders for working co-operatively together in the legislature.

Wilkinson had the most to gain because, largely due to the pandemic, he’s been unable to build a public profile, and needed a strong performance to convince undecided voters to go Liberal. He did a good job of explaining his party’s policies to reshape B.C.’s future, but at times came across as quite aggressive while attacking the Horgan government’s record.

Furstenau, who has only led the Greens for a month, was fighting to introduce herself to British Columbians and not let the two more-established politicians dominate the stage. She succeeded as a confident, well-informed, well-spoken debater on the stage.

During a testy exchange over health care, Horgan held Wilkinson accountable for a decision made by the former Liberal government to cut care aid jobs.

“You fired 10,000 people, largely women, to give a tax break to wealthy people in B.C.,” Horgan said.

Wilkinson fired back: “Calling names and talking about things that happened 17 years ago will not help us in the future.” He said the Liberals built hospitals during their time in power, and accused the NDP of failing to build one.

“You sold the land, man,” an outraged Horgan responded, in reference to a Liberal program that sold government land, including a plot that was meant for a Surrey hospital.

Wilkinson also accused Horgan of not acting quickly enough to help struggling businesses, such as tourism operators, facing bankruptcies during the pandemic, and of having an affordable housing plan that is “a complete fiasco.”

“That’s not leadership, John,” he said.

Wilkinson was asked by moderator Shachi Kurl about the controversy over one of his incumbent MLA candidates making sexist remarks towards a NDP MLA, and the leader repeated again that the incident should not have happened. The other two leaders didn’t make hay of the scandal, but Horgan referenced it after Wilkinson accused the NDP leader of dividing people, rather than pulling them together.

“I think it is a bit rich of Mr. Wilkinson to talk about inclusion to me and cast aspersions on my character,” Horgan said.

Furstenau was the first debater to mention the deadly overdose crisis, and used that epidemic as an example of why the leaders should rise above partisanship and work together in the future.

“The best thing in this election is not to hand power to any single party but to ensure that we have the kind of collaboration and co-operation that puts people and their needs first. And to achieve that, vote Green.”

With files from Rob Shaw and David Carrigg, Postmedia

lculbert@postmedia.com

Twitter:

@loriculbert

Related


Wondering where to watch the BC leaders debate online? We'll have the livestream available right here at 6:30 p.m.

Still undecided? Tonight’s leaders’ debate could help you cast your vote.

Voters will get a chance to see the leaders of B.C.’s major political parties square off in a televised debate on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

And stay tuned after the debate to hear Postmedia’s Rob Shaw discuss the event live on #BCPoli Live.

Election day is Saturday, Oct. 24 though advance voting and mail-in ballots are also available.

Read more: Rob Shaw: What B.C.’s political leaders stand to gain, and lose, in the election debate



Catch up on our B.C. Election 2020 coverage:

B.C. Election Fact Check: Here are all the candidates’ promises

Rob Shaw: What B.C.’s political leaders stand to gain, and lose, in the election debate

Here’s how, where and when to vote

Received a blank ballot? Here’s how to fill it out

What candidates are running in my riding?

Sign up for our B.C. Election 2020 daily newsletter

Read the latest news on B.C. Election 2020


11,000 jobs, cut, just like that.  The number is astounding.  Even more astounding when you realize that these jobs are government jobs.  Increase the astoundingness a couple of levels because these are 11,000 health services jobs.  Gone.  In the middle of the 2nd wave of a pandemic with no end in sight.  11,000 health care jobs.

That is the brilliantly tone-deaf move made by the Alberta government of Jason Kenney this week.  The announcement, made by Health Minister Tyler Shandro, comes following a review of Alberta Health Services conducted by Ernst and Young, which identified areas that could help the province save up to $1.9 billion annually.

The announcement made by the United Conservative Party does not implement every recommendation, but the job cuts will amount to $600 million annually.  There is no question such a major move will destabilize the entire public health-care system during very dangerous times.

At what point should common sense prevail over the privatization ideology favoured by Kenney's UCPs?  "For most cases this is a matter of workers just changing their employer from AHS to the independent provider," stated Shandro.  So the bulk of the 11,000 jobs lost will come from outsourcing jobs, which is code for privatizing.  Which means lower pay, little benefits for a workforce that will be less motivated, and eventually, less educated down the road.  With higher turnover rates.

We're talking about housekeeping and laundry, of course, always a low-hanging fruit for health care privatizers.  But also food services, because nothing says healthier meals than cheaper food services.  And, as delays remain unreasonable to get COVID-19 and other test results, laboratories will also be outsourced.  That ought to speed things up.

"There can be no job losses for nurses or front-line clinical staff during the pandemic," Minister Shandro said during the announcement.  That is not good enough.  Shandro is completely dismissing the importance of support staff in the health care system.  As if their departure won't change much for those who stay.  Make no mistake, as care staff and support staff are let go, this will have a direct impact on overworked, überstressed front-line clinical care workers and nurses.  And therefore, it will have a direct impact on patients' care.

It is hard to understand why the UCPs would want to throw health care into chaos at this time, putting patients at risk, putting workers at risk.  After six months of this pandemic, short-staffing hospitals seems like a short-sighted view of the world we now live in.

The UCPs have been dropping in voting intentions since the beginning of the pandemic, as Kenney's handling of the crisis has been judged as sub-par by Albertans.  Incidentally, Kenney has one of the highest dissatisfaction ratings amongst premiers of the country, with 24% saying they are very dissatisfied and 18% being somewhat dissatisfied with his performance, according to a Léger poll.

Considering all of this, I couldn't think of a worse political marketing move for the Conservatives than cutting 11,000 health care jobs in the midst of a pandemic.  This is a gift for Rachel Notley and the NDP, who will be able to campaign hard on health care.  Thanks to Kenney's ideological, tone-deaf approach to the pandemic, Notley will have the opportunity to show that 2015 was no accident and that the New Democrats are, and will remain, a contender for power in Alberta.

Photo Credit: Calgary Herald

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.