Kevin Falcon reads the convention and delivers speech focused on UBCM members concerns

An 8:30 slot at UBCM made for a few empty seats at the start
of the address to the convention by BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon
(photo from UBCM collection)

Delegates with an interest in hearing from BC Liberal Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon onThursday morning had to be early risers, making their way to the Whistler Convention Centre for an 8:30 session with the leader who hopes one day to push the current government out of office.

As it was, the early morning wake up call and perhaps a hospitality session hosted by CUPE the night before,  meant that the audience would build through course of the leaders address to the convention, with those who couldn't make the 8:30 call to session left to catching up with recaps later in the day.

Mr. Falcon's address to delegates opened with both remarks on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as a salute to the departing Premier for his service to the province. 

With those formalities out of the way, the BC Liberal leader then made a pivot that would then shift towards more partisan political themes and where the BC Liberals would do things differently than the current NDP government.

Towards those elements the Opposition leader focused on housing, social issues, the increasing level of violence in British Columbia communities as well as the health care situation in the province.

When it comes to the urgent discussion required on housing, the BC Liberal leader called for legislative change that would increase the pace of housing development in the province, noting how he would work with local governments to strike the right balance of incentives and disincentives.

Falcon noted of some of the lengthy delays found at the municipal lever towards the development approval process.

“It can take longer to zone a [apartment] tower than it took Canada to fight and win World War II. We need to flood the zone and approve multiple types of housing” and harness the power of the private sector to develop and build those homes."

He also spoke to the infrastructure challenges facing municipalities and highlighted how the province needs to do its part to make sure that the infrastructure needed for development is in place.

Thursday brought BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcom to the
UBCM Convention in Whistler, the opposition leader using his
time to speak to current NDP policies and how a BC Liberal
government may do things differently if elected in the next election

On the theme of public safety, the Opposition leader outlined his criticism of the current NDP government and the catch and release approach that he says the Horgan government has taken towards the issue.  

Noting how in a single year of Police interactions in Metro Vancouver, data revealed that 40 individuals were the source of 3,000 police engagements.

Falcon also recounted his stop over in Terrace recently and the concerns of the civic officials in that community.

"While I was up visiting Terrace, the Mayor and Council reminded me that there was one individual who has been arrested over 400 times last year alone. My friends British Columbians deserve better than this. And they certainly deserve better than a government whose only response \is to commission a study to spend 120 days to advise them what to do about a problem. That frankly is not good enough, what's needed is leadership and action"

The Liberal leader made reference to the past policy that closed the Riverview facility in the 1980s, observing how all governments over the decades can share the blame for failing to provide for the necessary supports for those  who struggle with mental illness. 

"We have done them a disservice by leaving them on the street to be exploited - we owe them a greater duty of care.” 

Falcon further added that a Liberal government "would provide “modernized compassionate facilities with 24/7 care. The investment will be big, but by doing so we will see significant saving in policing budgets.”

Looking ahead to the next Provincial election, he outlined that the Liberals would make fixing the BC Health care system a priority. The Opposition leader pointing to a 15 point plan that the party has compiled to tackle the challenges. 

Among his themes on how the NDP has directed health care was to note that too many of the hires in the health sector have been placed in administrative roles.

The key takeaways from the near thirty minute speech are expanded on in an item provided by the UBCM staff that recapped the Thursday session. 

The BC Liberals have provided a video of his remarks to the delegates through the Opposition Leader's Social media stream.

That for now leaves the narrative of how he fared to the media, some of those findings can be reviewed below: 

BC opposition leader Kevin Falcon takes the stage at UBCM Whistler
BC Liberal leader says more supply is answer to housing affordability crisis
Kevin Falcon zooms in on affordability, crime, health care in UBCM speech
BC Liberal leader promises increased housing supply, regional mental health centres

Premier John Horgan is the closing act for the 2022 UBCM
Convention in Whistler today, he will deliver his address
to the convention later this morning
(Photo from UBCM)

Premier John Horgan will have the final word for UBCM today, the Premier with the traditional closing address set for the closing at 11:00 AM. 

It will be a bit different than some of his past addresses, with Mr. Horgan set to take leave of the political stage as leader later this fall, his comments this morning thus could be more reflective of the past than charting any new government policy that he won't be around to deliver on.

The Premiers speech will be live streamed through the BC Government Social media stream.

More notes on the week of Convention from Whistler can be reviewed from our archive.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.