AFTER returning to the Legislature in June, following a COVID-19 hiatus, Premier John Horgan and the NDP are wrapping up the sitting of parliament today still without any plan to remobilize the economy, says B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson.

“British Columbians assumed that for the past five months of the pandemic, John Horgan and the NDP government were working on a plan to remobilize the economy. But now with the Legislature wrapping up, the only action we saw from the NDP was the launching of an online survey,” said Wilkinson. “Every day I hear from people in all corners of B.C. about the hardships they’re facing as a result of this pandemic. Over the past 20 weeks, more than 14,000 B.C. businesses have closed and hundreds of thousands of British Columbians have lost their jobs. Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec have all announced economic recovery plans — it’s unthinkable that for the last five months, John Horgan has just sat by and done nothing to get people the support they desperately need.”

Wilkinson noted that on March 23, Horgan announced he was assembling an economic task force to create a provincial recovery plan but nearly five months later, he has still yet to introduce a plan. Last month, Greg D’Avignon, President and CEO of the Business Council of BC and member of the Premier’s task force, echoed the concerns felt by the thousands of British Columbians frustrated by the Premier’s lack of action, revealing “…the provincial government has not had an economic recovery strategy. We’ve had a health recovery strategy masking as an economic strategy.”

“People are out of work, small businesses are shutting down and facing bankruptcies, and COVID-19 cases are increasing. Instead of a recovery plan, John Horgan opted for an online survey then spent the rest of this sitting of the Legislature fumbling the back-to-school plan, ramming through his costly no-fault insurance scheme, and back-tracking on two separate bills after public outcry,” said Wilkinson. “All of this while putting his foot in his mouth, musing about a possible fall election, encouraging those without B.C. license plates to take the bus, and calling drug addiction a choice. In a time where British Columbians deserve leadership, all they’re getting from the NDP government is delays, inaction, and embarrassments.”