Opposition parties in British Columbia left parliament on Thursday, saying Prime Minister John Horgan’s new Democrats had lost touch with the realities facing the province and its people as they predicted the government’s electoral defeat over a plan to change the museum.
A four-month spring session, where health, accessibility and the provincial museum project were the dominant issues, ended with heated talks in the legislature.
Opposition Liberal leader Kevin Falcon said the NDP’s decision to continue the $ 789 million project for the Royal Museum of British Columbia would be a “death sentence” for the government.
“Note my words, Friday, May 13, is the day the NDP really signed its own death sentence as a political party,” Falcon told a news conference after a session at his legislature’s office.
May 13 is the day Horgan announced the government’s plan to demolish and restore the museum, which has since become a daily attack by liberals, who call the prime minister’s plan a “vanity legacy project.”
“If they continue to do this, it will be their fast ferries and it will bring down their government,” Falcon said, referring to the former NDP government’s shipbuilding program for fast ferries in the late 1990s, which had cost overruns and delays. and even when completed, the ships proved unsuitable for voyages between the mainland and Vancouver Island.
Falcon was elected leader last February and took a seat in the legislature this month after winning a by-election in Vancouver-Kilcena. The next provincial elections are scheduled for the autumn of 2024.
Green leader Sonia Furstenau said Horgan and the government had failed to see what the province’s residents were facing. She accused the prime minister and the government during the period in question of talking more than working on preventive measures after last year’s catastrophic fires, floods and landslides.
“We certainly hear a lot from this government about commitment to something in the future. But we don’t hear much about the results, “she said.
Lytton was mostly destroyed by fire, farms were flooded, crops were destroyed, many people could not afford housing and there is a shortage of family doctors in British Columbia, but the government is still congratulated for its efforts to help people, he said. Furstenau.
“They have nothing to do with the realities that British Colombians are experiencing,” she said. “This government has made gaslighting its principle of organizing communications. What people need in this government is to recognize the reality they are experiencing.”
Furstenau asked if Horgan could “be honest about the state of affairs in this province.”
NDP House leader Mike Farnworth accused Furstenau of attacking Horgan’s integrity.
Horgan was not in the legislature.
“I think it is offensive to question the integrity of any member of this chamber, especially the prime minister, through a mixed statement, with no question attached to it, to be honest,” Farnworth said.
He said on issues related to health, education, transport or whatever, “this government is working every day to improve the lives of British Colombians.”
The government has passed nearly two dozen new bills, including legislation that will lead to a cooling-off period for home buyers who are navigating the tense real estate environment in the province.
Farnworth said outside the legislature, the government has adopted a budget for people and families that offers support during difficult times.
“I am confident that our government is doing everything possible to address the issues that matter to most British Colombians,” he said.
At the session, the legislature also returned to its pre-COVID-19 operations on face-to-face interactions after two years of virtual press conferences and hybrid meetings.
Horgan was a regular member of the legislature after undergoing cancer treatment late last year, but he missed some time this spring after contracting COVID-19.
At the session, Horgan also used swear words in heated conversations with opposition liberals, although he later apologized for using the F-word.
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