British Columbia’s opposition parties left the legislature on Thursday, saying Prime Minister John Horgan’s new Democrats have lost touch with the realities facing the province and its people as they predict the election defeat. government by a museum replacement plan.
A four-month spring session, where health, accessibility and the provincial museum project were dominant themes, concluded with tense exchanges in the legislature.
Liberal opposition leader Kevin Falcon said the NPD’s decision to continue with the $ 789 million Royal BC Museum project would become the government’s “death warrant”.
“Keep my words in mind, Friday, May 13 is the day the NPD actually signed its own death warrant as a political party,” Falcon told a post-session press conference at his office. legislative.
May 13 is the day Horgan announced the government’s plan to demolish and rebuild the museum, which has since become a matter of daily attacks by the Liberals, who call the plan ” vanity legacy project “by the prime minister.
“If they continue with this, these will be their fast ferries and this will bring down their government,” Falcon said, referring to the former NDP government’s fast ferry shipbuilding program in the late 1990s. have extra costs and delays, and even. when completed, the ships proved unsuitable for voyage between the mainland and Vancouver Island.
Falcon was elected leader last February and took a seat in the legislature this month after winning a by-election in Vancouver-Quilchena.
The next provincial elections are scheduled for the fall of 2024.
Greens leader Sonia Furstenau said Horgan and the government could not see what residents in the province were up against.
He accused the Prime Minister and the government during question period of speaking out rather than working on preventative measures since last year’s disasters, fires, floods and slides.
“Sure we hear a lot from this government about the commitment to something in the future. But we don’t hear much about the results,” he said.
Lytton was destroyed primarily by fire, farms were flooded, crops destroyed, many people cannot afford housing, and there is a shortage of GPs in BC, but the government still welcomes its efforts to help people, Furstenau said.
“They are out of touch with the realities of British Colombians,” he said. “This government has made gas light its organizing principle of communications. What people need from this government is to recognize the reality they are living.”
Furstenau asked if Horgan could “be honest about the state of affairs in this province.”
NDP leader Mike Farnworth accused Furstenau of attacking Organ’s integrity.
Horgan was not in the legislature.
“I think questioning the integrity of any member of this House, particularly the Prime Minister, through a rambling statement, without an attached question, frankly, seems offensive to me,” Farnworth said.
He said on issues of health, education, transport or whatever, “this government is working every day to improve the lives of British Colombians.”
The government passed nearly two dozen new bills, including legislation that will lead to a cooling-off period for homebuyers navigating the province’s high-pressure real estate environment.
Farnworth said outside the legislature the government approved a budget focused on people and family providing support in difficult times.
“I am confident that our government is doing everything possible to address the issues that matter to most Britons,” he said.
The session also saw the legislature return to its pre-COVID-19 operations of face-to-face interactions after two years of virtual press conferences and hybrid sessions.
Horgan was a regular presence in the legislature after undergoing cancer treatment late last year, but wasted some time this spring after contracting COVID-19.
The session also saw Horgan use insults in a heated exchange with opposition Liberals, although he later apologized for his use of the word F.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 2, 2022.