Three of Richmond’s MLAs took part in a Richmond News roundtable discussion in anticipation of the Oct. 19 provincial election.
All three are planning to run again.
Teresa Wat, who is the MLA for Richmond North Centre, which will be renamed Richmond Bridgeport for this fall election, is serving her third term as a BC United (formerly BC Liberal) MLA.
Kelly Greene is the MLA for Richmond-Steveston and Henry Yao is the MLA for Richmond South Centre, which will be renamed Richmond Centre.
Both Greene and Yao are serving their first term.
(Aman Singh, who is serving his first term as the MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, was unable to attend the roundtable due to a family emergency.)
The News asked the three MLAs about some pressing issues that have reached crisis proportions in the province of B.C. and in Richmond, namely, housing, health care and the drug toxicity emergency.
The MLAs also weighed in on education with schools being increasingly crowded in Richmond and in many large cities in the province.
The News also gave the MLAs an opportunity to introduce themselves and talk about their work representing their constituents.
** Since this two-part video series was posted, MLA Teresa Wat has switched from BC United to the Conservative Party of BC.
Housing prices some of the highest in North America
The BC NDP government has introduced measures to combat high housing costs and high rents, such as the densification of single-family neighbourhoods, the empty-homes tax and the regulation of short-term rentals.
Housing prices, however, continue to climb with benchmark prices in Richmond in Q1 at just over $2 million, up 7.8 per cent from last year.
BC NDP MLA Kelly Greene said it’s going to take a lot of policy measures to “get the momentum in housing.”
“Complex issues don’t have simple solutions and that’s just the reality of life,” she said.
The BC NDP government has been partnering with municipalities and non-profits to bring more housing on board, Greene said.
She noted there are projects underway or being planned in Richmond, such as Pathways Clubhouse, which will have 80 units for people struggling with mental-health issues.
She also cited a plan by BC Housing to densify Rosewood Village which will bring 800 units of “more affordable housing” online.
“When we’re supporting people across the housing spectrum, we’re all going to be better for it,” she added.
But BC United MLA Teresa Wat said that, since BC NDP formed government in 2017, rental costs in B.C. have soared to be the highest in Canada.
“(It’s the) most unaffordable province in the whole of North America,” Wat said.
“The current policy and whatever measures they’ve introduced has not been working,” she added.
BC United leader Kevin Falcon has put forward a four-point housing platform, Wat explained, should they form government after the fall provincial election.
This includes a rent-to-own program, eliminating the first-time property transfer tax for first-time buyers under $1 million, removing PST on residential construction and leasing unused Crown land for those who will develop seniors and family housing.
'Everything, including health care, is going downhill': Wat
Health care is plagued with delays and lack of workers. Almost one-fifth of British Columbians are without a family doctor, ERs are backlogged and there are long waitlists for certain procedures and surgeries.
But Greene said, as just one measure to tackle the crisis, B.C. has hired 700 net new doctors under her government.
Furthermore, to encourage family doctors to stay in practice, the provincial government has changed doctor compensation, she added.
“It’s going to take time to recruit lots more family doctors, but we have seen a significant reduction in the number of people who are not attached to family doctors,” Greene said.
The provincial government is also working on foreign credentialing, hiring other health-care professionals such as nurse practitioners and technicians.
She also noted two Urgent and Primary Care Clinics have opened in Richmond and pharmacists have been given the ability to look after 21 ailments. The province has also made contraceptives free through pharmacists.
Greene also noted the Richmond Hospital is currently being rebuilt. (This is expected to be completed in 2029 and its budget has gone from $861 million to about $1.9 billion.)
But Wat said it’s “clear” that since the NDP took office in 2017 “everything, including health care, is going downhill.”
Wat claimed during the 16 years the BC Liberals, now called the BC United, were in power, B.C. had the best cancer care in Canada, but, now, due to the health-care crisis, cancer patients are being sent to the U.S. for treatment.
“This is what’s wrong with the government: it’s all talk and expanding the bureaucracy,” Wat said. “We have the most number of VPs in the ministry of health and they’re being paid over $300,000. By spending money without outcome is not the way to go.” (A cursory look at Vancouver Coastal Health salaries for its executive teams showed most were paid between $150,000 and $250,000; a few top executives received more than $300,000 including CEO Vivian Eliopolous who earned about $404,000 in 2022/23 and Dr. Patricia Daly who earned about $343,000 in 2022/23.)
Wat said more money is being put into health care, but the outcomes are getting worse, citing long wait lists for specialists and walk-in clinics.
BC NDP MLA Henry Yao countered Wat’s criticism, saying the population of B.C. is constantly growing, but, despite this, the number of people being connected to family doctors is increasing.
Part 2 will be published on Sunday, July 28 at 9 a.m. at Richmond-News.com.
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