It’s an election year in B.C., and you know what that means. We can expect funding announcements galore from the governing NDP between now and the provincial election in October.
Actually, things might not seem too different, since the NDP already dished out wads of cash throughout 2023. You’d think we were a rich province.
The problem is that the funds, for the most part, seem sadly misdirected. The important issues plaguing residents are still prevalent. Housing and rents cost way too much for the average person, food prices continue to skyrocket, and there’s no sign of a stable economy to make anyone feel secure.
Part of that, of course, is outside provincial jurisdiction and clearly rests with Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberals. However, there are more things that can be done in this province to make life more affordable. The first is the “affordable housing” label that really doesn’t mean anything concrete.
Housing set to go up on the border of Oak Bay and Victoria had previously been described as “affordable”, but units will be selling for somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.2 million. One sales person had the gall to say this is affordable in that neck of the woods.
So just because you see the label “affordable”, don’t think it’s going to be. The province is pumping out housing that’s supposedly affordable and helping to alleviate the critical shortage, but it’s really not at all.
Former premier John Horgan promised gas prices would come under heavy scrutiny with his government. Guess what? That never happened. Prices seem to stabilize for a while, then suddenly rise 12 cents a litre for seemingly no reason (and just wait for the summer). Those prices are not being regulated, or under control, at all.
The lead-up to the election will be quite interesting. It doesn’t appear any of the other parties are close enough yet to give the NDP a run, but the next seven months will surely see many hefty handouts to make sure the gap doesn’t narrow if the public buys in.