B.C. Premier David Eby's first throne speech promises dollars for housing, skills training

David Eby's first throne speech as premier, read in the legislature Monday by Lt.-Gov Janet Austin, promised to expand access to addictions treatment, improve the province's flagging cancer care system and introduce new laws to ensure polluters pay the cost of environmental cleanup.

The B.C. NDP government is promising to brace for an expected economic downturn with spending on housing for the middle-class, a skills training strategy to address the labour shortage, and legislation to ensure pay equity.

David Eby’s first throne speech as premier, read in the legislature Monday by Lt.-Gov Janet Austin, also promised to expand access to addictions treatment, improve the province’s flagging cancer-care system and introduce new laws to ensure polluters pay the cost of environmental cleanup.

Opposition leaders, however, say the government’s announcements have so far failed to produce better outcomes in housing, health care or public safety.

The government has the financial cushion of a $5.7 billion surplus, which Eby has indicated will be used before the end of the fiscal year on March 31 to address the affordability crisis. More details will be released in the budget on Feb. 28, but the throne speech lays out the government’s agenda, including yet-to-be-announced measures to address the rising cost of living.

The government promised a refreshed housing strategy that will build more housing and services near public transit hubs in the province. It will be backed by legislation to be introduced in the fall session. Eby has promised a rethink of the province’s social housing program, promising to increase the stock of housing for middle-class families priced out of the market.

When asked why the legislation won’t be introduced until then, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the work is ongoing.

“We’ve been working hard to put together a lot of the pieces” like the $500 million rental protection fund, said Kahlon, who is also NDP house leader. 

“Some say we should respond to a downturn by pulling back, reducing services, or by making people pay out of pocket for private health care,” Eby said in a statement. “But that would only make many of our most serious challenges worse and pass down costs at a time when people can least afford it. There’s too much at stake right now to pull the rug out from under British Columbians.”

Eby was not in Victoria for the throne speech. He met with the other premiers Monday in Ottawa before their meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to negotiate a health-care funding deal.

The throne speech doubled down on the government’s opposition to private health care as a way to reduce surgical waiting times, calling privatization a “dangerous step towards a two-tiered system we know British Columbians do not want.”

People waiting for cancer treatment have been hit by potentially life-threatening waits and the speech promises to add workers at B.C. Cancer and improve access to screening and early detection, diagnostic imaging and treatments.

The speech acknowledged a need to improve access to substance-use care by expanding treatment and recovery services.

B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon unveiled last week his party’s $1.5 billion plan for expanding addiction treatment should he become premier in the next election.

Before the throne speech was unveiled, Falcon said he was pessimistic about the government’s ability to improve addictions care, saying the New Democrats have narrowly focused on harm reduction.

“The best we will get out of (the government) is more announcements,” Falcon said. “Implementing a system-wide massive change, like I proposed last week, to mental health and addiction is a lot of hard work.”

Falcon has also been critical of Eby’s “soft on crime” approach, accusing him of overseeing a “catch-and-release” system that lets violent repeat offenders out on the streets. The speech repeated Eby’s pledge that B.C. is working with the provinces and territories to press Ottawa for urgent reform to Criminal Code bail rules.

The government said it will introduce legislation to crack down on gangs and money laundering, and a new law to address the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, also speaking before the speech was read Monday afternoon, said the government has shown no real commitment to ending its reliance on fossil fuels, pointing to the expansion of liquefied natural gas and limited investments in wind, solar and geothermal power.

In an acknowledgment that B.C. is a long way from meeting its greenhouse-gas emissions targets, the speech pledged to “act with increased urgency” on climate change.

The government will introduce legislation this spring to ensure polluters foot the bill for environmental cleanup on abandoned sites. New legislation will also improve access to electric vehicle charging stations in condo buildings.

There was no mention of ending subsidies to fossil fuel companies, which Eby promised to do in an effort to win over the support of the disqualified B.C. NDP leadership hopeful and climate activist Anjali Appadurai.

With the province heading for an economic slow down, the government said it will roll out a program to address the labour shortage. The skills-training plan will make education and training more accessible, affordable and relevant to fill jobs where they are needed.

The B.C. NDP also said it would expand trading relationships through trade missions including to Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

The government will introduce pay-transparency legislation that would require some private companies to disclose their wages to ensure women are being paid the same as their male counterparts.

B.C., one of four provinces without pay transparency or pay equity legislation, has one of the largest gender pay gaps in Canada with women making, on average, 20 per cent less than men.

kderosa@postmedia.com