BC Political Discussion: Election 2020 and Beyond

[jollyburger]

Horgan:

“You can’t solve that by a penny or two here, you can solve it by people finding different ways to move around which they are doing,” Horgan said.

Horgan: Refund $110

[jollyburger]

Who knows if a gas tax suspension makes sense or not but it does seem a little hypocritical from the NDP when you look at removing tolls from bridges like the Port Mann.

“Our first order of business was to eliminate those tolls when we formed a government, to make life a little more affordable for B.C.ers.”

If there was an election in a month who thinks they would suspend the tax? I predict rebate cheques by the summer.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Who knows if a gas tax suspension makes sense or not but it does seem a little hypocritical from the NDP when you look at removing tolls from bridges like the Port Mann.



If there was an election in a month who thinks they would suspend the tax? I predict rebate cheques by the summer.

This is so stupid.

Both the NDP and the Liberals have climate plans, but when gas prices increase to the point where people may be forced to choose alternative forms of transportation or to not make certain trips at all, those who voted for the government and presumably supported said climate plans want to avoid changing their behaviour at all costs.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

This is so stupid.

Both the NDP and the Liberals have climate plans, but when gas prices increase to the point where people may be forced to choose alternative forms of transportation or to not make certain trips at all, those who voted for the government and presumably supported said climate plans want to avoid changing their behaviour at all costs.

Again, that might be true but then reconcile people voting for the NDP to remove tolls on personal passenger cars driving on the Port Mann. Politicians just want to win the next election.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Don't forget flip-flopping over the old-growth forests (because they need the logging union votes) and kicking ridehailing down the road until late 2019 (because they needed the taxi cartel votes).

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

This is so stupid.

Both the NDP and the Liberals have climate plans, but when gas prices increase to the point where people may be forced to choose alternative forms of transportation or to not make certain trips at all, those who voted for the government and presumably supported said climate plans want to avoid changing their behaviour at all costs.

Then maybe newly graduated planners and the politicians who listen need to get their priorities straight. Is it the climate or is it trying to force people into transit and bikes. As long as they try to force people to give up something they want efforts to “save the planet” will fail. They’d be better off facilitating replacing every ICE vehicle with an EV to reduce emissions.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Again, that might be true but then reconcile people voting for the NDP to remove tolls on personal passenger cars driving on the Port Mann. Politicians just want to win the next election.

Yes, those toll removals were key to winning the South of Fraser ridings that put the NDP in a position to form government (with the Greens).

Now that they are comfortably in control, they could re-impose them. But that would be political suicide, just like the HST, another good idea that got killed.

[jollyburger]

This one will be interesting to watch.

BC Liberals promise to scrap Royal BC Museum project if elected in 2024

First day, first promise from the leader of the official opposition Kevin Falcon.

Hours after being sworn in as the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena, Falcon vowed to stop a nearly $800 million rebuild of the Royal BC Museum if elected premier in the next provincial election.

“At a time when British Columbians are struggling, the highest housing prices, the highest gas prices, the premier thinks this is the right time for a vanity museum project,” Falcon told reporters.

“Nowhere in the budget can I see any capital spending. Nowhere can I see a budget plan.”

The B.C. government is set to spend three-quarters of a billion dollars to build a brand new Royal BC Museum in Victoria.

The province is spending $789-million on the new project.
The current museum will close its doors for the rebuild in September.

The building is seismically unsafe and two floors of the museum are underground. The cost of addressing those two issues is adding to the high price tag.

READ MORE: Royal BC Museum to start process of decolonization with changes to galleries

“It is not seismically safe. It has been, in my opinion, ignored by governments for the past 20 years. I was briefed as an opposition member back in 2010 — the member was in cabinet at that time — and it was abundantly clear to the then CEO of the Royal BC Museum that something needed to be done to protect and preserve our collective history,” B.C. Premier John Horgan said.

The Royal BC Museum has presented a plan to the province for rebuilding the museum.

READ MORE: Royal BC Museum to close in September as province plans new inclusive building for 2030

The plan, nor a full business plan, has been presented to the public.

The BC Liberals are calling on the province to make a business plan available. The government has promised to make it available as soon as possible.

“The timing of this announcement is unbelievable,” Falcon said.

The NDP could renovate the museum to be seismically safe at a much lower cost, while still ensuring adequate resources for conservation and Indigenous repatriation efforts to ensure the museum reflects the full history of British Columbia.”

Horgan said the government has spent the past five years doing diligence on the project.

“We believe we’ve arrived at that point, listening to the board of directors, listening to the CEOs, putting in place a plan that we believe is achievable to protect our collective history. I think you should get behind that, not oppose it,” Horgan said.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8840451/b...ected-in-2024/

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

This one will be interesting to watch.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8840451/b...ected-in-2024/

I don’t really see this as something important enough to sway votes. It’s more just fodder for people who wouldn’t vote NDP in the first place.

Investing in cultural institutions that also promote tourism isn’t a waste of money. It actually boosts the economy, from design, to construction, and beyond.

[s211]

“We believe we’ve arrived at that point, listening to the board of directors, listening to the CEOs, putting in place a plan that we believe is achievable to protect our collective history. I think you should get behind that, not oppose it,” Horgan said.

Yeah, when I heard that quote, my first thought was have you honestly consulted the broader populace? Of course the board and CEO are going to push hard to spend money for their vanity project.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

I don’t really see this as something important enough to sway votes. It’s more just fodder for people who wouldn’t vote NDP in the first place.

Investing in cultural institutions that also promote tourism isn’t a waste of money. It actually boosts the economy, from design, to construction, and beyond.

Maybe we need a new museum, but this massive budget and 8 year timeline with no plan sure brings up a lot of questions.

This is the NDP stepping in a pile of shit they could have managed much better. It may haunt them up to election day.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Maybe we need a new museum, but this massive budget and 8 year timeline with no plan sure brings up a lot of questions.

This is the NDP stepping in a pile of shit they could have managed much better. It may haunt them up to election day.

How is it any different than the BC Liberals and their massively overbudget (and underused) Vancouver convention centre? Or the vanity roof for BC Place. And worse yet, both those projects served commercial masters. Why didn't the organizations who benefitted from them pay the full cost?

By contrast, nobody else is going to build BC a new museum. The current one is old, outdated and reportedly seismically unsafe. It's funny how the Libs were all for building the convention centre for tourism, yet Victoria's one big attraction apparently doesn't hold any appeal for them. Maybe because they have no seats on the Island? What will they come after next, the provincial funding for Vancouver's new art gallery?

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

How is it any different than the BC Liberals and their massively overbudget (and underused) Vancouver convention centre? Or the vanity roof for BC Place. And worse yet, both those projects served commercial masters. Why didn't the organizations who benefitted from them pay the full cost?

By contrast, nobody else is going to build BC a new museum. The current one is old, outdated and reportedly seismically unsafe. It's funny how the Libs were all for building the convention centre for tourism, yet Victoria's one big attraction apparently doesn't hold any appeal for them. Maybe because they have no seats on the Island? What will they come after next, the provincial funding for Vancouver's new art gallery?

Who was going to fund BC Place or the Convention Centre anyway?

Going over budget is one thing. Starting with a massive budget, long timeline, and no published plan is another. Of course we should demand answers.

[mezzanine]

Yeah, IMO the NDP are using up a lot more political capital than they had to with the royal BC museum. I agree that we have to fund cultural institutions and they themselves are economic engines, but opponents are exploiting the lack of details. Nowadays, i worry that a lot of vitrol will be driven by ppl who want to fight a culture war

A safer bet would have been the VAG expansion as it's a more developed plan and had support from the campbell liberals but [shrugs]

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Who was going to fund BC Place or the Convention Centre anyway?

Going over budget is one thing. Starting with a massive budget, long timeline, and no published plan is another. Of course we should demand answers.

BC Place - the teams that use it? The Convention Centre - the hotels that benefit.

I'd rather they start with a realistic budget than have the constant creep of the convention centre.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

A safer bet would have been the VAG expansion as it's a more developed plan and had support from the campbell liberals but [shrugs]

Difference being that Royal BC showcases the collective natural and human history of the whole province, and the Art Gallery showcases... whatever the hell this is.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Starting with a massive budget, long timeline, and no published plan is another.

I would challenge that it is a massive budget. Sticker shock for public projects is real, but $800 million over 10 years is a drop in the bucket for the provincial budget.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

I would challenge that it is a massive budget. Sticker shock for public projects is real, but $800 million over 10 years is a drop in the bucket for the provincial budget.

It's $800M, on top of the $200M+ already spent for a new archive building.

The timeline is the other problem, it shouldn't take 8 years. If I build a project at $20M/year for 100 years, it's not something to be proud of.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

It's $800M, on top of the $200M+ already spent for a new archive building.

The timeline is the other problem, it shouldn't take 8 years. If I build a project at $20M/year for 100 years, it's not something to be proud of.

Provincial Archives are a separate thing. They may have housed them in the old museum building but its not part of the "museum" experience.

$800 million Euro is the approximate spent on Berlin's new Humboldt Forum, one the bigger museum projects of the past 20 years, so its a good spitball number.

[IMG]humboldt by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]
Image: Archdaily

[hollywoodnorth]

BC Liberals promise to bring back original bridge plan to replace Massey Tunnel

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/geor...on-bc-liberals

Go Falco Go!