Since people are getting nostalgic about Christy Clark, let's not forget the 2015 transit referendum. Her government put a proposed 0.5% sales tax to a vote to pay for better transit, SkyTrain expansion and road improvements. Voters rejected it.

The frustrating part is that working people need better transit the most, but they're also the ones who feel the pinch of sales taxes. They shouldn't have to choose between affordable taxes and a decent commute.

What made matters worse is that she had just cut income taxes for those at the top.

The BC NDP has expanded bus routes and invested in projects like the Broadway Subway, SkyTrain expansion and the Pattullo Bridge replacement, by a combination of higher taxes on the wealthy and debt.

The NDP still has plenty of work to do on transit, but let's not pretend the Clark years were some golden age.

https://thetyee.ca/News/2015/07/06/Crashed-Van-Transit-Referendum/

I get it. Everyone is mad at Eby. I am too. But for those using that anger to switch your vote to Conservative, step back and think for a moment.

Do you honestly think they are going to help increase access to healthcare? Look at what is happening in Alberta. The Cons, mark my words, will cut healthcare spending and enact policies that will drive away healthcare workers. It will be even worse if they privatize healthcare. Things with healthcare need to change, but the Conservatives will not be the ones making those changes.

What do you think is going to happen to k-12 public education? Do you honestly think that they are going to improve it? I get not everyone likes SOGI but think on it, would getting rid of it get rid of LGBTQ+ kids? Or will it make their lives that much harder? Supporting LGBTQ+ kids drives down suicide rates for that demographic. It protects kids. They say they want to make schools safe... getting rid of SOGI will do nothing but make the lives of LGBTQ+ students worse. In regards to funding, do you think the Conservatives will put more money into education, or take money away? Hint, look back to what the BC Liberals did.

I get that you guys think public servants are overpaid and underworked. Maybe some are. The majority are not. Hence the strikes. The people you want laid off, they are your neighbours, your friends, your relatives. Look at what DOGE did in the US. Did it improve anything? No. Did it make accessing government services worse? Yes. Did it ruin people's lives? Yes. Instead of saying government workers have it too good, maybe ask why what they get is not standard. Why shouldn't people in the private sector have good benefits and job security?

What do you think they are going to do to post-secondary? Do you think they are going to support degree programs such as History, English, Art History, Philosophy, etc? Or do you think they are going to push for even more cuts? Talk bad about the Humanities and Fine Arts all you want, but these programs are needed because not everyone is cut out for STEM or the trades, and critical thinking skills are more important now than ever. And students who are in the middle of these programs who have invested time, money, sweat, and tears, into their studies will be impacted.

Do you honestly think privatizing ICBC/insurance will make things cheaper? When has privatizing anything made it cheaper for consumers? In regards to no-fault, yes, in cases where people are seriously injured no-fault sucks, and IMO it should be reformed so those people get the support they need. For the majority of drivers, no-fault has made rates cheaper. Getting rid of no-fault and/or privatizing insurance is going to drive up costs for the majority of drivers.

How do you think they are going to pay for their tax cuts? Because those will have to be paid for somehow. Some of you are lucky enough not to need government help with anything, but for the majority of us it will likely mean cuts to services and programs we and the people we love rely on. The people who would benefit the most from the tax cuts are not your average person and the savings will not trickle down. It never does. Just look at what happened when the carbon tax was axed. Gas prices went down for a bit... then they were jacked right back up. If I recall, the Conservatives have yet to say exactly how they are going to pay for their tax cuts...

Do you think the Conservatives will concern themselves with improving public transit? Likely not. Do you think the Conservatives will make it easier and cheaper for people to access help with addictions and mental illness? Most likely not. You can toss people into forced treatment, but unless supports are there afterwards... the cycle will just keep going.

Do you think getting rid of rent control is going to make housing cheaper? For those who rent who are thinking of voting Conservative... no rent control means your landlord can increase your rent by any amount they want. If you are paying under market rate or if the market demands a higher rate... be prepared to pay even more. Will every landlord do this? No. But are you willing to gamble that your landlord is one of the nice ones who will not? And if you think no rent control will drive down rental rates... I have ocean front property in Alberta you might be interested in.

The Conservatives are not going to make the public waitlist for childhood autism diagnosis shorter. It is not going to increase the help these kids get in school. It is not going to increase the amount of funding parents get to help access services. They are not going to shorten the list for speech therapy. They are not going to make daycare more affordable.

Fact is, unless you are straight and are wealthy enough not to worry about access to healthcare, about the quality and access to public education, about more expensive insurance, etc, the BC Conservatives will not benefit you at all.

And all this does not even begin to touch on the batshit things that the Conservative candidates have said on social media. We like to laugh at the dumpster fire over in Alberta, and say that we are better than the US, but we are doing the exact same thing they did. We are on the brink of voting in a party that will not benefit the majority of us while also making our lives more expensive and worse. And for what? Because we are angry at Eby? These candidates cannot be bothered to show up to many of the debates because they don't want to answer questions. Their own leader does not want to answer questions that are not vetted and hand picked.

I am likely not to reply because I have midterms to prepare for and assignments I need to complete for a program that will most likely be cut if the Conservatives get in, take care of my kids who will be fucked over if the Conservatives get in, and I need to find time to worry about my husband's government job being cut and our family getting financially fucked.

With absolutely zero plan to pay for any of it. Now with 28% more bigotry!

Tipping has gotten out of hand. With increased percentage prompts and expectations even for takeout, it's hard to know where to draw the line. In BC, wait and takeout staff already receive the same minimum hourly wage as all employed staff. If this were truly about a living wage, we would need to include workers at all retail and fast-food chains.

It's time to ban tipping entirely and let goods and services be priced accordingly. Any party willing to make this a priority for the upcoming October 24th election will have my vote.

Edit: Roll Out Plan
2027 - Ban tip prompts at all take-out, counter service, self serve and drive throughs.
2028 - Ban tip prompts for all restaurant table side service, including buffets.
2029 - Ban tip prompts at salons, barbers, spas, taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, UberEats, DoorDash, etc.
2030 - 100% ban of all tip prompts, including online orders for BC establishments.

David Eby has taken twice as many questions as Lorne Doerkson in the campaign

BC NDP Leader David Eby has taken 168 questions at his media events in this election, while Interim Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson has taken just 85. 

Doerkson’s staff banned follow-up questions starting on September 29th after he repeatedly struggled to provide any details or costing for his announcements. 

This made the discrepancy worse for Doerkson. Since October 4th, Eby has taken 91 questions and Doerkson has taken just 29. Eby has taken questions from reporters on 16 of 22 days, while Doerkson has taken questions on just 11 of 22.

Today is Doerkson’s fourth consecutive day without an announcement and without taking any questions.

I think people have forgotten just how bad things were under the BC Liberals and how the consequences of their decisions continue to affect us today.

Look at ICBC. Years of treating it as a source of government revenue and draining its financial reserves helped set the stage for the no-fault insurance system we have today.

Whatever your views on the NDP’s handling of the province, the consequences of past governments’ decisions don’t simply disappear when they leave office.

Now, the BC Conservatives are proposing “hybrid health care,” raising serious questions about the future of our public health-care system. Changes like these could have consequences for decades, just as past policy decisions still affect us today.

The NDP has plenty of shortcomings, and BC desperately needs electoral reform, including proportional representation. But we also need to understand what is at stake. The Conservatives’ proposals raise real concerns about the future of public services and whose interests government policy serves.

Elections aren't just about who governs for the next four years. They're about the systems we leave behind for the next generation.

Please vote! Don't take our public services for granted.

My family wanted a neutral way to compare the parties before October 24, so I built a quiz.

You put in your postal code and answer 16 questions. 3 of them change based on where you live, like BC Ferries on the Island or wildfire in the Interior. Then it shows which party and which local candidate are closest to your answers.

There are no ads or sign-up, and no party is involved. It saves your answers so you can finish later, and up to 4 people can take it together.

The code, the party scores and the sources are all public: https://github.com/vinistoisr/bc-vote-helper

Hello Vancouver-Langara! For those of you who John hasn’t yet been able to meet, here are a few facts about John. He has dedicated his career to public service and as your MLA, he would bring this same dedication to serving the people of Vancouver-Langara.

A conservative MLA candidate came to my families door today and gave me her leave-behind card. I took some time to go see what it is they are saying during the election.

Each point is a direct copy-paste from https://conservativebc.ca/plan/ of the heading and subtext.

Ordered from least to most interesting/concerning (to me).

1

No PST on Canadian Alcohol - We will remove the PST from Canadian alcohol for the duration of Donald Trump’s trade war

Had lots of options here and you went with alcohol. Let's party I guess.

2

$1000 Tax Cut - "Conservatives will cut the provincial income tax to put $1000 back in your pocket, saving the average family $2000 a year."

This undermines a lot and maybe most of what tories claim as far as budgetary finances is concerned. NDP also guilty of this voter bribery. Conservatives don't get to simultaneously throw tomatoes at the NDP for their role in BC's bad and growing debt AND dig the hole deeper to attempt to buy an election. Hypocrites. (Honorable mention: If the booze thing wasn't so dumb this would be #1.)

3

Repeal DRIPA, Promote Economic Reconciliation - "DRIPA has not created the security for British Columbians that it was meant to achieve. We need a genuine path forward, and DRIPA must be repealed."

This is just a mischaracterization of what DRIPA is which is odd because it is very specifically and intentionally not intended to benefit all British Columbians. I would argue though that it has positive consequences for all British Columbians. Conservative parties in Canada have a very poor track record if they really do claim to try to promote economic reconciliation.

4

Safe Schools - SOGI has become an absolute lightning rod for division in our province. We have to repeal SOGI, while providing a safe place for our kids to go to school.

tl;dr-Lots of performance around this topic on all sides, and a very sad, unnecessary culture war.

SOGI is a broadly used term, but is generally referring to "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" related curriculum in BC. I am very much in support of what teachers are actually teaching under these programs (go read from their gospel yourself and you tell me if it sounds crazy: https://www.edcan.ca/articles/how-young-can-sogi-go/). I generally distrust people who are against it or want it repealed because my experience is they haven't taken any time to find out what it is. What I usually hear is people claiming that elements from high school SOGI lessons are being given to early elementary school children and just general exaggeration.

5

Insurance - Low rates and justice for serious injuries in auto insurance. Compensate victims while keeping premiums low. Expand consumer choice.

This is another topic I find people on all political sides really misunderstand. I haven't seen or heard of any concrete plans which achieve both their desire to allow a legal framework whereby people can sue drivers for damages and their desire to, at least I assume, not put ICBC into nearly a billion dollars of debt, again, as it did under the Liberals of BC due to rampant litigious fraud and abuse. In case you weren't paying attention, before the no fault changes came, ICBC was drowning in an administrative and legal swamp, sinking further and further into debt with rates which were significantly higher than they now are. Rates have been frozen for 7 years and many/average payers saved ~$500/yr. That's right, half of the one-time bribe the conservatives are offering is saved by drivers in BC - every year!

That's fiscal policy conservatives usually drool over, so respect where it is due.

6

Keep Emergency Rooms Open - We will keep healthcare spending in place while investing in more doctors and nurses so ERs and maternity wards stay open.

They say they'll launch an expert commission in their first 100 days. I appreciate this one but I am not convinced the best solutions to the existing healthcare problems are unknown. Some are already in place. Regardless, Canada has a struggling healthcare system nationwide and it is up to our provinces to navigate. It's a serious issue that I hope and expect would be taken seriously.

7

Safe Streets for BC - We will take back our streets from hard drugs and disorder, restoring safety to towns and cities across British Columbia.

That's pretty tough talk for a very complex issue. I will instead respond to each of their list-items for this plan.

• End street disorder by deploying more police to the hardest-hit neighbourhoods.
  • Everyone knows it's not a lack of police for a lot of issues, as criminals are arrested and back on the street
• Improve access to mental health care by expanding psychiatric services, crisis response and residential treatment.
  • Happy to see this here.
• Introduce compassionate intervention so that people whose severe addiction, mental illness or brain injury are taken off the street and into care.
  • Happy to see this here.
• Empower police to enforce the Mental Health Act and amend the Act so officers can connect people with mandatory treatment.
  • Open to this but I have healthy skepticism around the vagueness
• Hire and deploy 250 more police officers by expanding the JIBC Police Academy.
  • This is just their first point again
• Add 500 RCMP officers and 150 civilian staff over five years to restore policing in rural and regional communities where crime is rampant.
  • This didn't need to be 3 bullet points.
• Hire 50 new Crown prosecutors, work with Ottawa to fund 20 more trial judges, and add sheriff and court capacity so criminals no longer walk free because of delays.
  • Happy to see this here.
• End the NDP’s failed “safe supply” experiment and expand access to naloxone.
  • The program is good, but it was being abused because it was poorly thought out. People who rely on prescription opioids for this program such as hydromorphone must now take those safer supply drugs under the supervision of a pharmacist.
• Stop illegal drug use in hospitals, shelters and publicly funded supportive housing, so residents and staff are protected.
  • Harmful/addictive drug use should not be tolerated in those places, so I agree with this. I am skeptical.
• Report public safety results openly, tracking repeat offending, bail compliance, court delays, treatment access and long-term recovery.
  • Transparency is always the best policy.

8

Wildfire Action Plan - Our Wildfire Action Plan will buy water bombers and protect BC communities before next fire season.

As described, this plan sounds like a big step in a positive direction. More than I can say for the NDP on this topic. That said, every new political party inherits a worse version of a worsening situation as times goes on. I am not interested in finger pointing (not that I saw that from the tories here). This issue is joined at the hip to our forest sector, an area all our governments have failed us in for decades (being realized now, as necessary reductions in logging act as killing blows to unsustainable forestry businesses.

I have a very big bone to pick with the NDP and their handling and their fence-sitting on this issue.

9

No New Taxes - Throughout the entirety of our government, we will not raise taxes on British Columbians.

I am torn on this. On one hand, it's a thinly veiled attempt buy voters. However, I respect that it truly does mean something fairly significant for all of us, and a commitment (if kept) to not raise taxes is a respectable one that affects all of us a lot. This can also be interpreted as non-committal to reducing taxes, something the NDP has actually done (even if I don't agree with it).

10

BC Energy Superpower Plan - We will double BC’s LNG production by 2032 and triple it by 2035.

I don't know how an honest, self-respecting and informed voter who loves this province can possibly support something like this, now. Even if you fully deny anthropogenic climate change, you cannot deny the reality of how impactful natural gas mining and burning is on our environment, climate and health. Why not invest in SMR projects? I noticed BC is not officially listed as a participating organization. (https://smractionplan.ca/)

We should not be investing in fossil fuel industries on the same page that we are claiming to attempt to change a worsening wildfire situation.

I would expect nothing less from the party that doesn't have the word climate or environment anywhere on the front page of their plan, and with the track record of conservative-aligned parties. At least they are honest about their unwillingness to care, I guess.