This week’s throne speech was designed to set out a vision for what the government intends to accomplish, according to Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons.
“Obviously, we are focused on improving health care, fighting climate change, and trying to help our communities and regions be more resilient to extreme weather,” said Simons. “We’re focusing on affordability, and skills training is a big thing, too.
“There was quite a bit in our throne speech. Much of it is improving the existing services, strengthening our child care support, and continuing to work on a stronger BC.”
In terms of some specific issues, Simons said the government is tying minimum wage to inflation. He said the government will also be working hard on reconciliation.
Simons said in another development, the government is moving the ministry of child care into the ministry of education.
“I can see the value in doing this,” said Simons. “It seems more of a natural fit, quite frankly. It will help children prepare for the transition into the kindergarten to Grade 12 system, it will help support work with school districts. I think it’s supposed to be this spring that it actually starts.”
Simons said within child care, increasing the number of spaces that are accessible and affordable to more families is one of the goals of the government.
“It’s a cornerstone of our government policy,” said Simons. “Making more spaces available at affordable rates is a key part of affordability. We are just going to double down and continue those investments.”
Good child care will be beneficial to parents and the workforce, according to Simons.
There is also the issue of affordable housing. Simons said the government has to continue the work it started, creating more homes and more rental opportunities in BC.
“That’s all part of ensuring we have a good workforce; it’s all part of the economy,” said Simons. “The number of registered new builds has beaten records and I’ve heard that a considerable amount of the new building in British Columbia is going to be rental housing.
“BC Housing has been working hard on trying to find people who want to develop housing that is affordable. We are going to try to work with local governments as part of our plan to speed up approvals to find new ways to curb speculation and to try to help move underused housing spaces into the market.”
Simons said the government is also planning a new ministry. He said this is a response to the repeated refrain that the ministry of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development is not just a long name for a ministry, but there is a considerable amount and breadth of responsibility.
“Creating a new ministry for lands and resources meets one of our main responsibilities as government, which is stewardship and management of lands,” said Simons. “That’s an interesting development.”
Delivering a throne speech and a subsequent budget during a pandemic is a challenge, but Simons is confident his government has taken measures to accommodate the difficulties being faced.
“It’s quite clear that we know there are major concerns,” said Simons. “The goal of government is to continue to provide the services people count on, and doing so in a responsible way.”
