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NDP Pledges to be A Government that will working for the people
7-28-2017
After the transfer of power and swearing in of a new premier and cabinet, “British Columbia has a new government led by Premier John Horgan that will work for working people for the first time in 16 years,” says BC Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger.
“For far too long we’ve had a government that works for people at the top,” Lanzinger says.
For 16 years B.C. had a B.C. Liberal government that was working for the wealthy and the well-connected, making it harder for ordinary people to get ahead.
"The B.C. Liberals left us with big problems to solve, but I can't wait to get started building a better B.C. for everyone," stated John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia.
The Premier further states, "New Democrats campaigned on making life more affordable, delivering the services people count on, and building a sustainable economy that benefits everyone. These three priorities are linked together. When we take care of each other and invest in our communities, we take care of our economy.
We're going to help businesses grow and families prosper by moving on all three priorities.
It all starts with affordability. Affordability is a key concern for everyone. If workers can't afford to live in our cities, businesses can't afford to grow.
The B.C. Liberals slammed families with increasing taxes and fees like rising medical services premiums, ballooning B.C. Hydro costs, and skyrocketing ICBC rates, while at the same time giving the richest 2 per cent of British Columbians a billion dollar tax break.
As if shifting taxes from the rich to the middle class wasn't enough, the B.C. Liberals also prioritized helping their speculator friends get rich over keeping housing affordable for ordinary people, leaving too many people unable to find a place to rent and unable to afford to buy.
When the B.C. Liberals let our housing market get out of control it didn't just hurt families, it hurt businesses. I've heard from countless business owners who told me that the lack of affordable housing was making it difficult to attract skilled workers to our cities.
Business owners also told me about the need to get people and goods moving with real investments in transit and transportation.
Right now traffic congestion costs our economy a billion dollars a year in lost productivity and environmental costs. Traffic hurts businesses, by making it harder to move their goods, and it hurts families, by forcing them to sit gridlock instead of spending time at home with those they love.
The B.C. Liberals didn't just fail to make life affordable for families and to deliver the services people need, they also failed to build a strong, sustainable economy that works for everybody.
More than 30,000 forestry jobs have been lost under the B.C. Liberals, and even more forest jobs are in danger because of Christy Clark's failure to fight for a fair softwood lumber agreement.
The B.C. Liberals had two years to take action on Softwood Lumber before the deal expired and became a crisis for B.C. communities. They stood by and did nothing.
One of my first acts as premier will be to travel to Washington DC to fight for a fair agreement that protects our forest industry.
We won't be able to fix 16 years of B.C. Liberal choices overnight, but help is on the way.
By delivering on the infrastructure and services people need, and making life more affordable for families we can and will build a more sustainable economy on a foundation of shared prosperity that will benefit everybody.
That's the kind of government I'm going to lead. A government that is working for you."
CABINET BACKGROUNDER
• Members of the Executive Council
• Premier – Hon. John Horgan
• Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training – Hon. Melanie Mark
• Minister of Agriculture – Hon. Lana Popham
• Attorney General – Hon. David Eby
• Minister of Children and Family Development – Hon. Katrine Conroy
• Minister of State for Child Care – Hon. Katrina Chen
• Minister of Citizens’ Services – Hon. Jinny Sims
• Minister of Education – Hon. Rob Fleming
• Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources – Hon. Michelle Mungall
• Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy – Hon. George Heyman
• Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier – Hon. Carole James
• Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development – Hon. Doug Donaldson
• Minister of Health – Hon. Adrian Dix
• Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation – Hon. Scott Fraser
• Minister of Jobs, Trade, and Technology – Hon. Bruce Ralston
• Minister of State for Trade – Hon. George Chow
• Minister of Labour – Hon. Harry Bains
• Minister of Mental Health and Addictions – Hon. Judy Darcy
• Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing – Hon. Selina Robinson
• Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General – Hon. Mike Farnworth
• Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction – Hon. Shane Simpson
• Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture – Hon. Lisa Beare
• Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure – Hon. Claire Trevena
• Parliamentary secretaries
• Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness – Jennifer Rice
• Parliamentary Secretary for Poverty Reduction – Mable Elmore
• Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors – Anne Kang
• Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Multiculturalism – Ravi Kahlon
• Parliamentary Secretary for Technology – Rick Glumac
• Parliamentary Secretary for Translink – Bowinn Ma
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