Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC

By Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: New legislative session, same old NDP with no jobs plan

Dec 11, 2020 | 11:23 AM

A SHORT SESSION of the Legislature got underway this week, but don’t count on getting any of the answers you’ve been seeking when it comes to economic recovery. If you’re a family worrying about how to pay your bills in the coming months or a small business owner struggling to stay afloat, this Legislative session will likely do little to ease your stress.

That’s because Premier John Horgan and his NDP government have not developed any long-term economic recovery plan, a massive lost opportunity to address a wide range of challenges faced by British Columbians during this pandemic. People are looking for answers and this Legislative session was the perfect opportunity for the government to present its Second Quarterly Update, which should have been delivered last week to give us a sense of the province’s financial situation. But it’s not on the agenda. Meanwhile, the only thing that’s on the table is legislation that delays the introduction of the provincial budget by two months to April 30^th, thus postponing the delivery of additional support for people and months by many months more.

This is on top of the NDP’s lackluster results in delivering a series of supports people and businesses were promised long ago. For example, last March the legislature unanimously approved $1.5 billion in economic recovery supports for businesses. The NDP then wasted six months of time before announcing that $300 million of these supports would be used to fund the Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant, a week before John Horgan called the snap provincial election – which delayed flowing these supports by another couple months.

Fast forward to today, and disappointingly this program is a red-tape disaster with a complicated application process. Among 18 eligibility requirements, businesses must be currently operating, have been in operation for at least three years, had a revenue loss of 70 per cent during March and April 2020, and revenue losses of at least 50 per cent every month since. With it taking so long to roll out the program and with such restrictive eligibility requirements, I suppose we should not be surprised that only 1,400 businesses are “in the process” of accessing this grant to date, according to Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.

Another example of NDP incompetence is unfolding with respect to the NDP’s promise to deliver a one-time, $500-per-person B.C. Recovery Benefit before Christmas – something that we fully support. However, inexplicably, it was confirmed by the Minister of Finance herself this week that the NDP is basing eligibility for this benefit on one’s income in 2019 – before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, meaning many people who have lost their job or suffered financial hardship in 2020 won’t qualify. How does this make any sense at all? Shouldn’t government be focused squarely on getting supports quickly and effectively to people who need the help the most? Oh, and by the way, with the online application process for this benefit not expected to be up and running until December 18^th, very few British Columbians are going to have these funds in their bank accounts before Christmas – assuming they qualify in the first place.

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These are some of the topics I’ll be covering and questions I’ll be asking early on in my new role as Official Opposition Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. The NDP’s lack of an economic plan to restore jobs lost in the pandemic has left families and small businesses struggling for months. In November, we still had 37,400 fewer British Columbians working compared to pre-pandemic levels in February. Don’t forget that these numbers haven’t captured business closures resulting from the most recent restrictions. And these jobs numbers also highlight the alarming trend that women are continuing to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, losing far more jobs than men and regaining those jobs at a much slower pace. Clearly the NDP has much work to do when it comes to jobs and economic recovery.

While holding the government to account, I will also bring forward ideas to revive the economy. For example, one of the many challenges faced by small businesses is massive property tax increases on the development potential of their unused airspace, which is why this week I introduced The Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) Amendment Act in the Legislature — for the third time — to help reduce massive property tax increases being faced by many small businesses.

John Horgan called an unnecessary election during a pandemic, and now he’s recalled the Legislature with no substantive agenda, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Ensuring the health and well-being of all British Columbians will continue to be our overriding collective focus. However, British Columbians also deserve to know what his plans are for getting people back into jobs, small businesses back up on their feet, and our province’s economy firing on all cylinders for the long-term.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.