Five takeaways from the B.C. leaders election debate

The past was as much a part of British Columbia’s televised election debate as any vision of the future as the leaders squared-off ahead of the Oct. 19 vote.

New Democrat Party Leader David Eby repeatedly attacked Conservative Leader John Rustad for his record when he was a part of the Liberal government and tried to draw attention to extreme comments made by Mr. Rustad and some of his candidates. In turn, Mr. Rustad declared that nothing the NDP government has done has left British Columbians better off. Green Party Leader Sonia Fursteneau, who is open about her hopes of providing the balance of power in what polls are suggesting will be a minority government, repeatedly interrupted both of them with disdain about their records.

Pollster and moderator Shachi Kurl questioned the leaders about the most vexing challenges facing the province – housing affordability, health care, the opioid crisis – and mostly got in response well-rehearsed lines from stump speeches. There was some crosstalk, but not too much, and some insults, but nothing too shocking.

Here are some of the takeaways.

1) Housing

Housing was arguably the topic that prompted the most fireworks and all three leaders have significantly different policy approaches.

Mr. Rustad accused Mr. Eby of wanting to keep the private sector out of building housing, noting “government is getting in the way” and pledging to clean up a backlog of permits which his party maintains is holding up construction of much-needed new units. He said the province needs up to 50,000 new housing starts, though his party has not committed to a target.

Mr. Eby denied ever suggesting the private sector has no role in housing and touted his party’s aggressive policies, which he said will deliver 300,000 middle-income homes.

Ms. Fursteneau attacked both parties for promises she said will not make housing more affordable, and will instead, continue to protect real estate investors.

2) Seniors

In asking the leaders about what they would do about the demographic shift to an aging population, Ms. Kurl hurled the biggest curveball of the evening. Seniors as a standalone issue has rarely come up: they are mentioned twice in the NDP platform document, though the Conservatives and Greens have more fleshed-out seniors policies.

Mr. Rustad promised to improve services for seniors, both with 5,000 new long-term care beds, and with additional supports for families to help at home. “Seniors deserve to be treated with respect,” he said.

Mr. Eby scoffed at the promise: “John Rustad was in government for 16 years and seniors who lived in long-term care homes didn’t get a bath once a week. The vast majority of long-term care homes didn’t meet provincial standards for care and dignity.”

Mr. Eby also couldn’t resist highlighting Mr. Rustad’s opposition to the COVID vaccine. “When we were all rolling up our sleeves to get vaccines to protect vulnerable seniors from COVID 19 … John Rustad and his candidates were providing donations to people who were protesting outside of hospitals (and) anti-vax convoy members.” The comment prompted Mr. Rustad to declare he was not against the COVID vaccine, noting he is triple-vaccinated. He said his objection was to vaccine mandates.

3) Health care

Mr. Rustad defended his party’s plan to expand the use of private health care under a single-payer model and criticized Mr. Eby’s NDP government for long ER wait times, and closures of emergency departments.

Asked if ideology was preventing the NDP from exploring alternative care models, Mr. Eby noted that the province is sending some patients to Bellingham for radiation treatment and said the problem lies in a shortage of health-care workers, which his government is actively working to turn around with recruitment, training and removing barriers to licensure.

Ms. Furstenau said her party would introduce integrated community health centres in every riding, and criticized the current system as a bloated bureaucracy.

“The NDP seem to have approached health care with the idea that there’s nothing that one more VP and seven more project managers can’t solve,” she said.

4) Style

The three leaders demonstrated distinct styles during the 90-minute debate. Mr. Rustad painted a portrait of a grim British Columbia under seven years of NDP rule, sharing anecdotes about passing a fatal overdose on his way into the debate, a woman who miscarried in a hospital washroom “waiting for hours for services in the emergency room,” and an angry mob burning a Canadian flag outside the Vancouver Art Gallery this week at an event to mark the Oct. 7 anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Mr. Eby was variously aggressive and subdued. He repeatedly attacked Mr. Rustad for his tenure with the previous Liberal government. He scoffed at some of Mr. Rustad’s claims while occasionally adopting a chastened tone when addressing the concerns of British Columbians struggling with affordability and other issues. He urged voters to be patient as his government’s solutions take full effect.

Ms. Furstenau frequently interrupted the other two, interjecting to point out the failures of both parties and touting the positive, inclusive vision of her platform. (The Greens would hike annual spending by $8 billion on top of the existing record deficit.)

5) Best zingers

“John, you haven’t released a costed platform. An economist at UBC says your platform is written in pixie dust.” – Mr. Eby, whose government is predicting a record $10 billion deficit, to Mr. Rustad. In Mr. Rustad’s response, he pivoted to the NDP’s environmental policies.

“John Rustad’s vision for this province is one that’s rooted somewhere around 1957.” – Ms. Fursteneau to Mr. Rustad, in reference to his pledge to rip up the provincial legislation that enables the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Mr. Rustad has said the legislation is divisive and he would instead pursue economic deals with individual First Nations.

“In seven years, can anyone say anything is better in British Columbia?” – Mr. Rustad in his closing statement.