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| North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice in the Legislature on Monday morning (Screenshot from Legislature video feed) |
The BC Legislature has returned from the week long BC Day break and the first day back in session found North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice in the provincial capital, a shift from much of her remote work this summer from her home riding in Prince Rupert.
In her Monday morning remarks Ms. Rice spoke as part of the debate over a Private Member's motion introduced by BC NDP MLA Rachna Signh, who has brought forward a motion towards a more equitable economy.
For her turn in the Chamber, the North Coast MLA once again took a familiar approach, making use of her time to compare the governing NDP's approach to that of the previous Liberal governments, recounting how she viewed the concerning nature of the various files handled by the Liberals during their time in office.
Earlier this summer a survey released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that three-quarters of British Columbians want governments to build a better, more equitable, sustainable economy after the pandemic is over.
Decades of negligence and patronage by the previous government led to increasing inequality and a rising cost of living for the average British Columbian.
When we took office, British Columbians were facing some of the highest housing prices in the world; increasing levels of homelessness; a money-laundering scandal of massive proportions; a ballooning ICBC debt that was adding costs to families across the province; rising child care costs that were, particularly, keeping women out of the workforce; a lacklustre climate change plan that ignored the realities of climate science; and a growing overdose crisis that was killing hundreds of our friends, our families and our neighbours.
Since we took office in 2017, we have worked to make British Columbia's economy more equitable and life more affordable for all. In our three years in government, we have funded over 16,000 new, affordable child care spaces across the province.
From those remarks, the MLA then for the most part recited a lists of what is the NDP's "has done list" making note of a range of initiatives and measures put in place by the government.
Though one imagines that the current opposition members within the Liberal party perhaps may take some issue with her tone of debate; as well as to have some counter points to make in the future over Ms. Rice's expansive points of note on the day.
Among her list of the key achievements to date were:
We have pushed back against the rising cost of housing by tackling speculation and investing millions into affordable housing.
We have supported renters by making needed changes to the Residential Tenancy Act and reducing annual rent increases.
We have brought ICBC Draft Segment 019 province.
We have pushed back against the rising cost of housing by tackling speculation and investing millions into affordable housing.
We have supported renters by making needed changes to the Residential Tenancy Act and reducing annual rent increases.
We have brought ICBC from the verge of bankruptcy and made changes to reduce premiums by an average of 20 percent.
We have put in place new prevention and harm reduction policies to tackle the overdose crisis.
We have eliminated health care premiums for households to ensure basic health care is not a burden on the incomes of our families.
We've added over $1 billion to public education funding.
We have made education and job training free for former youth and children in care.
We have banned big money in politics, so our government works for people not big donors.
We have raised income and disability assistance to support our most vulnerable neighbours, following a ten-year freeze under the previous government.
We have raised the minimum wage to $14.60 per hour to raise the standard of living for workers and are scheduled to raise it to over $15 per hour next year.
We have increased protections for workers and made it easier for them to join a union that will protect their labour rights.
We have made historic investments in public transit to ensure people in both urban and rural communities have affordable transportation options in their communities.
We have launched a public inquiry into money laundering to ensure our housing market is working for people and not criminals.
We have invested in on-reserve housing to support Indigenous communities forgotten by previous governments.
We have implemented the most ambitious climate action plans in North America to ensure our children have a thriving and sustainable economy that is not hobbled by catastrophic climate change impacts.
Our government has been working towards a more just and equitable economy since the day we took office.
We have made life more affordable, empowered workers and provided more support to the most vulnerable members of our society.
Ms. Rice also spoke to the issues of the pandemic and its impact on government, before looking towards the path ahead that the MLA sees the government side pursuing on their economic plans.
The pandemic has thrown a wrench into many of our plans. But this is not the time for our government or any government to stop striving to build a more equitable economy. The pandemic has put in sharp focus the fault lines in our society.
According to multiple studies, it has disproportionately affected those who can least afford it.
The economic fallout has hit those in low-wage industries, workers without union representation, women, young people, single parents, small business owners and recent immigrants.
In rebuilding our economy after the pandemic, we cannot go back to the old normal — when wealthy investors were allowed to avoid taxes by laundering money through our housing market, when corporations were allowed to pay poverty wages and disregard labour rights, when governments worked for their political donors and not for the people who voted them into government.
We need to create a new normal, where the economy works for everyone and not just the wealthy few at the top. This pandemic has given us an opportunity to reimagine what is possible for our society and our economy.
We must ensure that our new normal is based on equity and justice.
We are committed to building a new equitable economy that works for all. And I hope that all the members of this House make the same commitment.
Her comments can be reviewed from the Legislature archive page here starting just after the 11:25 AM mark, with a visual presentation of her remarks posted to the MLA's social media stream on Monday.
For more notes on the work of the North Coast MLA in Victoria see our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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