WHAT'S MISSING FROM THE NDP PLATFORM?
· EDUCATION AS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE – The platform is silent about the NDP's plan to let teachers and support workers go on strike.
o Carole James, pre-platform: "I don’t support essential service legislation for teachers." – source: Vancouver Sun, 16 Jul 04
o Carole James, pre-platform: (Smyth): So you would remove education as an essential service, a designation it has now, and allow teachers to strike." (James): "I would." – source: Mike Smyth Show, CKNW, 7 Apr 05
· LABOUR CODE – The platform is silent about the NDP's plan to rip up the Labour Code.
o Carole James, pre-platform: “We'll put the balance back in the labour code. We'll make sure we do those things immediately and then take a look at the economic performance of the province." – source: NDP Leaders Debate, 12 Nov 03
o Carole James, pre-platform: “I was proud of the fact New Democrats, in fact, did bring back balance to the Labour Code and….I look forward to those days again in May 2005.” Source: Q&A at Pulp, Paper & Woodworkers of Canada Annual Convention, 11 Mar 04
“The NDP platform is not going to ease the anxiety of small and family-owned businesses around NDP labour policy. It is curious and disappointing that the NDP has chosen to put forward a policy platform that is silent on such a key area of public policy in B.C. It only fuels concern that the NDP has an agenda to roll back the clock on labour and employment law reforms that were not supported by organized labour.” – Kevin Evans, Coalition of BC Businesses, News Release, 13 April 2005
· NO PLAN FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH OR JOB CREATION:
o MINING, OIL AND GAS – No plan for boosting the mining sector or the oil and gas industry.
o FORESTRY REVITALIZATION – No plan for revitalizing our forest sector.
o TECHNOLOGY – No ideas for boosting the technology or bio-tech industry in any platform commitment.
o TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS – Will they cancel the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge? Will the NDP cancel the Okanagan Bridge? Will they do anything about the South Fraser Perimeter Road? They don't mention any of these projects.
o REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE – Does the NDP support the Port of Prince Rupert? Expansion of the Prince George Airport? Cranbrook Airport expansion? They don't mention any of these projects and in fact would cut funding for the South Okanagan Development Initiative, the North Island/Coast Development Initiative, and the Northern Development Initiative.
· SILENT ON SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING BC TODAY:
o CRIME – There is no plan for combating crime.
o SOFTWOOD LUMBER – They have no plan to address the biggest threat to BC's resource communities.
o NURSE TRAINING – They promise to hire more nurses but there is no plan for training or recruiting more nurses. In comparison, the BC Liberals have added over 2,500 nurse training spaces since 2001.
o DOCTOR TRAINING – The NDP caused our doctor shortage by not adding a single training space during the 1990s. And now their plan doesn't commit one penny to doctor training at BC medical schools. In comparison, we have nearly doubled the doctor training positions from 128 to 224.
o SCHOOL SAFETY AND HEALTHY SCHOOLS – No mention.
o PINE BEETLE – No ideas for combating the epidemic – the NDP's only platform commitment is on how to spend the money from logging pine beetle-infested trees.
o PHARMACARE – The word Pharmacare is not mentioned once in the platform.
NDP PLATFORM WILL HURT COMMUNITIES, TAXPAYERS, THE ECONOMY
· TOURISM BC – The NDP promise to cut $43 million from “Executive and support services” in the Ministry of Small Business." This is the budget for:
o $24 million increase in funding to Tourism BC
o $17 million for the budget of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre
o $1.5 million for the new turf at BC Place Stadium
· REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS – The NDP promises to cut in half the funding for the $238 million regional economic development fund – But the NDP won't say which of these projects they would cancel:
o South Okanagan Multi-purpose Event Centre (Penticton)
o Nanaimo Ice Centre
o SFU Athletic Centre and Stadium
o Camosun College Athletic and Academic Leadership Institute
o Expansion of the Smithers Arena
o Kelowna Aquatic Centre and Stadium
o Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre (Vernon)
o Kamloops Field House and Sports Centre
o UNBC Northern Sport Centre (Prince George)
o $50 million Southern Interior Development Initiative
o $50 million North Island/Coast Development Initiative
o $50 million increase to Northern Development Initiative
· HEALTH CARE – The NDP platform "targets" $304 million in health funding for "priority issues" – but there is no increase in health funding.
o What is the NDP going to cut from the health budget to pay for their "priority issues"?
· MORE DEBT FOR BC TAXPAYERS – By the NDP's own calculation, restoring BC Ferries as a Crown Corporation would add $510 million to the province's debt. (p.73)
o But the NDP platform doesn't account for the increase in taxpayer-supported debt. Page 73 of the NDP Platform only adds $95 million to taxpayer-supported debt.
· CONTAMINATED SITES – The NDP promises to eliminate half of the budget for "sound governance" in the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management. This budget funds the province's Crown Contaminated Sites Program. Which of the contaminated site remediation projects is the NDP against?
· Britannia Mine (Britannia Beach)
· Pacific Place (Vancouver)
· Meadow Ave (Burnaby)
· Oak Street (Vancouver)
· Yankee Girl Mine (Ymir)
· Candorado Mine (Hedley)
· Anyox Mine (near Stewart)
· Goose Bay Cannery (River’s Inlet)
· Sultana Mine (New Hazelton)
· Canex Mine (Salmo)
· SPECIAL EDUCATION – The NDP promises a $26 million increase in special education funding. The BC Liberal 05/06 budget increases special education funding by $28 million.
o So the NDP is going to cut 7% of the special education budget?
· LONG-TERM CARE BEDS – The NDP promises to open 1,000 long-term care beds "in the first year." There are 1,700 seniors' beds being built right now.
· THEY ARE ALREADY FUDGING THE NUMBERS – In typical NDP fudge-it budget fashion, the NDP platform includes only a one-year budget and sneaks in a warning that an NDP government could cancel dozens of programs and projects:
o “This list of possible cancellations and deferrals of budget increases is not exhaustive….Clearly these and other reallocations of funds to priority initiatives are possible.” (p. 63)
o 1996 NDP "Capital Spending Freeze" – Just 2 months after the 1996 election, the NDP froze $272 million worth of capital projects, ranging from hospital upgrades, new schools, and transportation projects. Notably, the fast ferries were specifically excluded from the freeze.
