Richmond-Bridgeport voters don't have to choose between 2,500 toxic-drug deaths and a wretched housing policy
Richmond-Bridgeport voters don't have to choose between 2,500 toxic-drug deaths and a wretched housing policy
Independent candidate Charlie Smith is promising common-sense solutions to the toxic-drug crisis and a housing shortage that inflict so much pain across B.C.
As I see it, here’s the sum total of B.C. NDP Leader David Eby’s re-election campaign.
1. Tell everyone how awful the B.C. Conservatives are.
2. Repeat how awful the B.C. Conservatives are on every single day of the campaign.
3. Periodically mention that the B.C. NDP is increasing housing supply
4. Announce a plan to finance 40 percent of the purchase price with a limited number of first-time homebuyers. Say that the government and the homebuyer will split the capital gain when the home is sold years later. Don’t make a big deal out of the fact that government financing would account for just 1.4 percent of the overall value of home sales in a slow year.
5. Give a free transit pass to seniors to use in off-peak hours, even though TransLink is facing a $580-million annual structural deficit starting in 2026. The farebox generates 25 percent of TransLink’s revenues. Don’t mention in the B.C. NDP news release if the province will offset TransLink’s revenue loss from this free transit program.
6. Say how awful the B.C. Conservatives are.
7. Promise a new school in Campbell River, a respite centre on the North Shore, an investment in a recreation centre in Coquitlam, a hospital tower in Langley, a hospital helipad at Prince George, and free transit for students in Queensborough to help B.C. NDP candidates in constituencies in danger of swinging to the B.C. Conservatives.
8. Promise families $1,000 and individuals $500 if they re-elect the B.C. NDP.
9. Say how awful the B.C. Conservatives are.
10. Promise to jack up the speculation and vacancy tax. Announce this even though the public has already been assured on countless occasions that this policy has already worked to turn 20,000 empty units into homes in Metro Vancouver.
Here’s what the B.C. NDP leader is not promising: deliver a safe supply of illicit drugs to put a dent in the number of deaths—about 2,500 last year across the province—from toxic street drugs.
On Sunday (October 13), Eby urged former B.C. Green voters to back his party. He purported that the B.C. NDP shares “a lot of values with the Greens, particularly on tackling climate change”.
Furstenau’s reply
This is B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau’s response, which I’m publishing in full:
“David Eby’s campaign has been a disappointment. He has aligned himself with John Rustad on expanding LNG and abandoning the carbon tax. He’s taken the same approach on involuntary care, ignoring the urgent need for mental health services to be covered under MSP. He even turns a blind eye to the role multinational investment companies play in our housing affordability crisis - just like Rustad.
“Eby and Rustad have also chosen to ignore the growing humanitarian crisis of homelessness and the failure of government systems to prevent it. His platform is nothing more than a collection of disjointed promises, with no plan to pay for them, and the tired old offer of tax credits - which do little to help those who need it most.
“Throughout his campaign, Eby has focused on telling people not to vote for the BC Conservatives, and now he’s telling people not to vote for the BC Greens. What he’s failed to demonstrate is why British Columbians should vote for the BC NDP, effectively squandering the multi-point lead he had for most of this year.
“Meanwhile, the BC Greens have campaigned on a clear vision of well-being and putting people first. We’ve presented a coherent, informed, thoughtful, and fully costed platform.
“Meaningful change comes from new ideas and forward thinking. Eby is offering more of the same tired status quo, while Rustad is stuck in the past, trying to drag us back to the 1950s. Real change for BC starts by putting Green solutions on the government’s agenda.
“And right now, we’ve got real momentum. We’re winning in Victoria-Beacon Hill and close to winning in ridings across the province. A vote for Green is a vote for meaningful, positive, progressive change - for our communities, our environment, and the future.”
What makes my candidacy different
I’m running as an independent candidate in Richmond-Bridgeport to offer voters a third alternative. I prefer the B.C. NDP’s housing policies over those of the B.C. Greens. I believe that Eby and the gutsy housing minister, Ravi Kahlon, are addressing the primary problem—a lack of supply—with many innovative measures, even if Eby’s subsidized financing plan is just a gimmick for votes.
The B.C. Greens love to talk about evidence-based solutions, but I believe that their housing policies fall far short of addressing a critical supply shortage. Moreover, I believe that the housing shortage leads to racial scapegoating, which contributes to anti-Asian hatred. That’s another reason for getting this policy right.
It’s easy for B.C. Greens to bandy about terms like curbing “financialization”. The reality is that every time someone takes a mortgage out from a credit union, that’s financialization. Financialization is rife within housing. Without financialization, there would be no homes.
To paraphrase federal Liberal activist Paul Nixey, I would have loved to purchase my apartment building when it went on the market for $130 million. But sadly, I was $130 million short of doing that.
As much as I fret about the B.C. Greens’ approach to housing—and I have for many years—I far prefer Furstenau’s evidence-based response to the toxic-drug crisis over the B.C. NDP’s head-in-the-sand policies.
I believe that if the B.C. NDP is re-elected, we’ll continue to see at least 2,000 people per year die from poisoned street drugs. The supply is unstoppable.
As a result, I can appreciate why some voters might feel that voting for the B.C. NDP goes against their deepest values. It will be more of the same if senior cabinet ministers Mike Farnworth and Adrian Dix remain in charge of public safety and health.
If Eby were to promise that Farnworth and Dix would be on the backbenches after the election, perhaps groups like Moms Against the Harm could get behind the B.C. NDP campaign. But that’s not going to happen.
So, what do you prefer? Fewer toxic drug deaths or real housing solutions? That’s the dilemma facing voters who are appalled by the B.C. Conservatives.
Fortunately, in Richmond-Bridgeport, you can have both if you vote for me, Charlie Smith. I’m the only candidate in the race who’s truly bridging this divide with a sensible housing policy and a sensible response to the toxic-drug crisis.
I’m also fiscally responsible, as demonstrated by my proposal to address TransLink’s pending $580-million structural deficit. In addition, unlike Eby and Dix, I support restoring common-sense measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Richmond Hospital. That will save money and lives over the long term by improving hospital utilization.
Plus, I understand why a five-fold increase to the B.C. Arts Council base budget will help Richmond make a transition to a more sustainable economy. This has eluded Eby and Furstenau because neither of them pays enough attention to arts and cultural policies.
One of Eby’s MLAs, Spencer Chandra Herbert, appreciates the links between arts, culture, tourism, employment, and economic development. But to date, Eby hasn’t appointed Chandra Herbert to cabinet.
Instead, Eby has frozen the B.C. Arts Council grant this year and next year while making room for a minuscule improvement in the following year.
I realize that independents almost never win at the ballot box. But at the very least, I hope that my candidacy contributes to a more informed electorate in Richmond-Bridgeport. To me, that would constitute a victory.
Thank you for reading this post.
I made a typo in the body of the first draft, mentioning 25,000 deaths. It’s 2,500,