Party leaders focus on different issues Saturday

With just a week left until the provincial election, the leaders of B.C.’s main political parties were focusing on different issues during their campaign stops Saturday.

BC Conservative Party Leader John Rustad spoke about food banks at an event in Surrey, saying demand for the service has gone up from about 7,300 to 18,000 people a day in the last two years, but says donations are not keeping up.

“They’re struggling to meet that demand, and they don’t,” he said.

“Everybody is stretched, trying to do the best they can. And one of the reasons why donations are down is because people are getting more and more stressed with just trying to meet their day-to-day needs. Food costs have gone up 21 per cent — wages have not kept up. Affordability has continued to be a problem.”

Rustad promised to address the issue if his party is elected, providing consistent annual funding to food banks and community kitchens.

He did not specify how much support they would commit.

“Our goal is to actually work with the food banks and community kitchens to do an assessment of the need that they have, so that we can come up with a number that makes sense for them, not just for what’s happening today, but what the projection is for the next number of years as well,” he said.

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau turned her focus Saturday to supporting small businesses and revitalizing downtown cores.

“We need a new vision and action plan for British Columbia’s economy,” Furstenau said.

“The world has changed, and we need to acknowledge that. As we move further into the 21st century, sectors like technology, hospitality, and retail are where we see the future – sectors that provide 20 per cent of jobs across B.C.,” she said.

Her party’s plan includes investing $2 million per year to support innovators and launch a new careers program for the hospitality sector.

Meanwhile, BC NDP Leader David Eby spoke in Surrey about transportation infrastructure, specifically discussing his party’s plan to extend the Skytrain from Langley to UBC.

“Traffic jams are the worst. We need to make sure you can get to work and back to loved ones quickly to a home you can afford,” he said.

“From the Highway 1 expansion to the Surrey-Langley Skytrain, John Rustad’s plan for cuts and cancellations would make your home more expensive and your commute worse.”

His latest announcement comes a day after his party received a bomb threat at its Campbell River campaign office. Eby was in Campbell River for a pair of events Friday afternoon; however, a BC NDP spokesperson said they can’t link the threat to Eby’s presence in the community.

British Columbia’s general election is scheduled for Oct. 19.

With files from David Nadalini.