Ahead of the New Year, Richmond’s four B.C. Liberal MLAs have laid down their cards, revealing the issues they will be advocating for as members of the opposition in Victoria.
At a sit-down with the Richmond News, Jas Johal (Richmond-Queensborough), Linda Reid (Richmond South Centre), John Yap (Richmond-Steveston) and Teresa Wat (Richmond North Centre) cited matters such as affordability, infrastructure and proportional representation (PR) that they will be keying in on during 2018.
“The clear and present danger for myself...is proportional representation. That completely turns our democratic system upside down,” said Johal, of an NDP-Green plan to hold a referendum on changing the voting system from first-past-the-post in individual ridings to one where some representation of the overall provincial vote is recognized in the Legislature. Johal said the status quo suits the province just fine.
“You may not agree with the political system, but at the end of the day, we have a stable government. We’ve had centuries of solid, stable growth and we have perhaps the highest standard of living, or very close to it in the world. And we’re jeopardizing all of that. Not only just for our political system, but investment.
“To turn that upside down so one party, the Green Party, will have higher numbers, I find that very offensive,” said Johal.
Most Western countries have some form of proportionality, save for Britain, France, the United States and Canada. B.C. has had several PR referendums that have already failed.
The Liberals have taken issue with the referendum terms — that only 50 per cent is needed to approve a change.
Reid dismissed the notion that PR allows for votes to be more meaningful, claiming Richmond would likely see an MLA parachuted into the city to balance the seats. Johal said a racist party, or one defined by ethnicity, could garner seats.
Yap said his focus will be on infrastructure for the city. He said the Massey Tunnel and Richmond Hospital acute care tower need to be replaced and that the NDP is “kicking the can down the road” on both matters.
He said he will be ensuring Lions Manor continues from its present RFQ (request for quotation) stage.
Likewise, Wat said the February budget will prove if the NDP is serious about advancing the hospital tower to the next stage. She said Premier John Horgan “kind of, a little bit, went back” on his party’s commitment in a roundtable with Chinese media outlets.
“He’s not denying he was misquoted,” said Wat.
She said finding a suitable location for a City Centre school is also a priority and that she will be speaking to trustees frequently. Reid said the district so far has “lost out to bigger dollars from developers” and may have to sell and swap land (such as Mitchell elementary).
Reid said affordability is a concern of hers, citing new million-dollar townhouses under construction at The Gardens (Shellmont area) that appear to be the norm now.
She suggested infill housing (coach houses, secondary suites, subdividing lots for smaller homes) is a solution and municipal governments need better, faster permit processes.
“I recollect comments rolling back to 1986 when we invited the world to come to Richmond, come see us, come to British Columbia. Well, they came and they’re interest in being here and living here has lifted the value no question,” said Reid.
Yap said the NDP has watered down its commitments from the campaign and backed away from a $400 annual rental subsidy.
They also said they all committed to meeting with city council on a regular basis in 2018.
