The BC Liberal party isn’t forgetting about Delta.
That was the message from BC Liberal leader Christy Clark when she made a campaign stop with candidate Scott Hamilton at Tasty Indian Bistro on April 19.
Clark greeted Liberal supporters at the event and gave a quick speech congratulating Scott Hamilton on his past work as an MLA. Afterwards, she sat down with reporters to answer a few questions on some of the issues facing Delta voters.
In the BC Liberal platform, the party pledges to match the federal government contribution of $2.2 billion to Metro Vancouver transit. A portion of this money, Clark said, will go towards Delta.
The $2.2 billion includes two rapid transit lines: a Surrey light rail train and another rapid transit line in Vancouver. It would also include more buses for Delta.
“You’re going to see, out of that $2.2 billion, a fair chunk of that going into new buses, into more transit service in places like Delta,” she said.
The B.C. NDP and the BC Liberals both have sections in their platforms that address transit, and specifically point to the rapid transit projects and additional bus service. The B.C. Green Party has yet to announce its position on transportation and transit.
Social services were also on the agenda.
The recently released results of the Metro Vancouver Homeless Count show a significant increase in the number of homeless in Delta, particularly youth. Although a new women’s transition house is currently in the works, Delta lacks basic services such as homeless shelters.
B.C. Housing has “about a billion dollars in affordable and supportive housing,” Clark said, and some of that money would come to Delta.
“The only reason we have [the billion dollars for B.C. Housing] is because we have a strong economy,” she said.
“Communities like Delta are growing fast, and we’re determined to keep up.”
Clark didn’t offer any specifics on the kinds of social service investments Delta could see.
The George Massey Tunnel replacement bridge was the first thing Clark mentioned when asked about what the Liberals will do to improve the lives of South Deltans.
In response to the allegations from other political parties and stakeholders that the Liberal government hadn’t done its due diligence for this project, Clark said “the NDP would like to study things forever.”
“I promised [the George Massey Tunnel replacement bridge] in the last election. Scott [Hamilton] got elected partly because that was in the platform, and he has made sure we have delivered.”
Clark also said job creation, which takes a prominent role in the BC Liberal platform, was a key issue for all Deltans.
“I think people in South Delta share this with people in North Delta, share this with people in Fort St. John,” she said.
“We need to make sure that we are creating jobs, keeping governments small and lowering people’s taxes.”
