Conservative whistle-stop brings Doerkson to Chilliwack

B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson visited Chilliwack on Monday, Oct. 19, for a brief campaign meet-and-greet at Serene Stay & Play Cafe. He discussed mills, health care and infrastructure. MLA candidates Á’a:líya Warbus, running in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, and Heather Maahs, running in Chilliwack North, attended but did not speak alongside him. Doerkson did not take questions from the media.

Doerkson called the damage done to British Columbia over the past decade “shocking.” He had just come from a press conference in Maple Ridge, where he said he saw frustration about forestry. He said he came from a city with six or seven milling operations within its boundaries, and that people were worried about the industry. He said it had to be fixed and that he was committed to doing so.

He said “this morning” his party announced a goal of reaching 45 million cubic metres in annual timber harvest, while the industry was not on track to achieve even half that amount. Doerkson said foresters had said that level could be sustained in the province, and blamed permitting policy and other rules for the shortfall and high costs. He pledged a better path forward.

Doerkson also discussed increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in B.C. He said industry representatives talked about trillions of dollars in income, while the province needed billions. He argued the industry was not capitalizing on a major opportunity, adding that three or four plants could have been operating five or 10 years ago. He said LNG would benefit British Columbians and allow other countries to use a cleaner resource than they currently use to generate power and for other purposes. He described the opportunity as worth billions of dollars and said it could happen almost immediately.

He said the issue was not only the possibility of doubling provincial LNG output by 2032, but also rebuilding GDP and jobs lost in the province. Doerkson said 42,000 people in B.C. had lost full-time jobs, calling that shocking and unacceptable. “We absolutely need to build British Columbia,” he said.

Doerkson said more than 40 new taxes had been introduced in B.C. He argued the province could not keep taxing residents at the current rate or build its economy through taxation alone; it needed to grow the economy and create a reason for tax revenue. He said his party had been announcing no increases and no new taxes throughout the campaign.

On seniors, Doerkson 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 a change made a few months ago and introduced in the government’s budget set the rate at prime plus two, making deferral more expensive. He said seniors such as his mother needed every dollar and received little, while the government still wanted to tax her more. He promised to 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 pledged support and said that, unlike his competitor David Eby, his party considered both sides of the ledger. He said the tax pause would cost the province between $280 million and $300 million but could help businesses grow.

He said craft producers had been asking for two years to get their products on B.C. shelves, but not all had succeeded. Doerkson said the province had a major opportunity to celebrate products made in B.C. and sell them around the world, elsewhere in Canada and within the province.

Doerkson called B.C.’s health-care system “shocking” and 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 felt unsafe, and described nurses being a block away from a closed hospital. He said the province needed to grow its health-care workforce, support front-line staff and provide nurses with a safe workplace. He added that nurses he had spoken with said they had not been served by the province.

He pledged to fully fund health care every year, saying it would be the first thing his party did if elected. On seniors and long-term care, he said his party would restart seven projects cancelled by the BC NDP: seven long-term-care facilities it was committed to building as soon as possible.

On infrastructure, Doerkson called the management of provincial capital projects staggering. He said the Massey Tunnel project had cost residents about $600 million after nine years and still lacked an environmental permit to proceed. He said David Eby was pushing back on the project, but that a bridge would be built for $6 billion in five years. Doerkson said British Columbians would build it, not him. He also said savings would go toward a hospital in Surrey for children and women, and urged people to be excited about the planned hospital.

Doerkson said he was committed to a better path for B.C. and to residents. He said he came from Williams Lake, had two daughters and a granddaughter whom he loved, and loved British Columbia, which he said could not stay on its current path. He then met attendees, shook hands and posed for photos. Provincial election day is Oct. 24.