B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson brings campaign stop to Chilliwack

B.C. Conservative Party leader Lorne Doerkson visited Chilliwack on Monday, Oct. 19, for a brief campaign meet-and-greet at Serene Stay & Play Cafe. He discussed forestry, health care and infrastructure. Á’a:lía Warbus, the party’s candidate in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, and Heather Maahs, its candidate in Chilliwack North, attended but did not speak alongside him. Doerkson did not take questions from the media. He had just come from a press conference in Maple Ridge, where he said he could see frustration about the forestry industry. He called the damage done to British Columbia over the past decade “shocking.”

Doerkson said he comes from a city with six or seven milling operations within its boundaries and said people in the industry are afraid about what is happening. He said the province has to fix the situation and that he is committed to doing so. Referring to an announcement made that morning, he said the industry’s annual timber-harvest goal is 45 million cubic metres, but that the industry is not on track to reach half that amount. He said this was not because foresters considered the level unsustainable; they had said it could be achieved sustainably in B.C. He blamed what he called disastrous policies around permitting and other matters, saying they were costing everyone a great deal, and promised a better path forward.

On LNG, Doerkson called for increased production in the province. He said industry representatives talk about trillions of dollars in income, while B.C. needs billions. He said the industry is not capitalizing on a major opportunity and that the province could have had three or four plants running five or 10 years ago. He argued that expanded LNG production could benefit British Columbians and the rest of the world by giving other countries a cleaner resource for power generation and other uses. He said the opportunity was worth billions of dollars and could happen almost immediately. He said the issue was not only the possibility of doubling B.C.’s LNG output by 2032, but also building, creating GDP and restoring jobs lost in the province. Doerkson said 42,000 people in B.C. had lost full-time jobs, calling that shocking and unacceptable, and said the province needed to build.

Doerkson said more than 40 new taxes had been introduced in B.C. He argued that the province could not keep taxing residents at the current rate or build an economy through taxation alone. In his view, the economy must create jobs and activity: people who work spend money on cars, homes and other purchases that generate tax revenue. He said his party had announced no increases and no new taxes during the campaign. On seniors, he discussed changes to the Province of British Columbia Property Tax Deferment Program. He said seniors had been able to defer property taxes while borrowing at prime minus two, but that the government changed the rate to prime plus two in its budget a few months ago, making deferral much more expensive. He said seniors such as his mother need every dime they receive, that she does not have much income and that the government still wants more tax from her. He said his party would reverse the change immediately if elected.

Doerkson said he would temporarily reduce taxes on alcohol made in B.C. if elected. He put the industry’s value at $3.6 billion and said 20,000 people work in it. He said his party was committed to supporting the industry and, unlike his competitor David Eby, would consider both sides of the ledger. He estimated the tax pause would cost the province between $280 million and $300 million, but said it would give businesses an opportunity to grow. He said craft producers had been asking for two years to get their products on B.C. shelves, but not all had succeeded. He said he intended to promote “Made in British Columbia” products and sell them around the world, elsewhere in Canada and in B.C.

Calling B.C.’s health-care system “shocking,” Doerkson said he would provide $50 million to bolster front-line support and provide security. He said some nurses were not working in the system or would not return because they did not feel safe. He described nurses sitting a block away from a closed hospital and said the province needed to grow its front-line workforce, support staff and create a safe workplace for nurses. He said he had spoken with nurses who felt they had not been served by the province. He promised to fully fund health care every year, calling it the first thing his party would do if elected. He also said the party would restart seven projects the BC NDP had cancelled: seven long-term-care facilities he said would be built as soon as possible.

On infrastructure, Doerkson called the management of B.C.’s capital projects staggering. He said the Massey Tunnel project had cost residents about $600 million, had been in the works for nine years and still lacked an environmental permit to proceed. He said he appreciated that David Eby was pushing back on the project, but said a bridge would be built for $6 billion in five years. He said British Columbians would build it and that savings left over would fund a hospital in Surrey for children and women. He said B.C. should be excited about the planned hospital.

Doerkson said his party was committed to a better path for B.C. He said he came from Williams Lake, had two daughters and a granddaughter, and loved them and British Columbia. He said the province could not stay on its current path. After speaking, he met audience members, shook hands and posed for photos. Provincial election day is Oct. 24.