Kelowna-Mission candidate says 'weird' BC NDP 'really only cares about urban British Columbia'
The Conservative Party of BC’s candidate in Kelowna–Mission has lashed out at the “weird” BC NDP, claiming the party “really only cares about urban British Columbia.”
Gavin Dew, a businessman who recently moved to Kelowna from the Lower Mainland, said Premier David Eby’s party “is pretty content to just cut loose the rest of the province.”
That’s despite the “tremendous economic contribution” the rest of BC makes, he said, arguing that the province is still “fundamentally … resource-oriented.”
“If you go down Burrard Street or Howe Street in Vancouver, you've got towers and towers full of people that are serving the mining sector,” he told video host Jim Csek. “They're serving the resource sector.
“They're benefiting from the wealth that is generated in rural British Columbia. So we do need to make sure that we have a government that's representative of the entire province, whether that be geographically or demographically. And we do need to make sure that those rural communities have the resources they need in order to thrive, in order to be revitalized, or in order to make sure that we're cushioning the blow of change.”
During his 30-minute conversation with Csek, Dew also accused the NDP of running a dirty campaign, saying the party is “dumping negativity and toxic sludge out the back of a truck all over the province” to distract from its record.
When asked by Csek about the NDP’s numerous criticisms of the Conservatives’ candidates, including “weird things” such as conspiracy theories, Dew threw the accusation right back at the governing party.
“This NDP government is weird. They've done a lot of weird stuff that's been very ineffective, that's driving our economy into the ground and making our communities unsafe. That, to me, is weird.”
Free crack pipes & cocaine snorting kits Vending Machine located directly outside the Nanaimo Hospital ER The sound of children playing in background as I shoot this video Yet another example of enabling addiction instead of offering treatment#bcpolipic.twitter.com/hLvx17jay6
Dew, who referred to himself as a “pretty big geek” who cares “deeply about policy,” also spoke of:
The NDP’s commitment to “focusing on culture war” topics
“Chaos on the streets”
The importance of elected officials giving interviews to the press
Medical professionals being “deeply concerned” about the health system
Climate change being “real” and the importance of adopting a proactive approach to wildfires rather than the NDP’s “malarkey”
The NDP thinking the election would be a “cakewalk”
David Eby’s “very top-down, autocratic, centralized government”
Short-term rental changes, which he said have been “catastrophic” for tourism
Kelowna’s “serious infrastructure needs”
How Alberta has “eaten British Columbia’s lunch” on tech: “Our mojo is severely, severely eroded”
How Kelowna has lost its “affordability advantage” and workers “literally cannot afford to live in British Columbia”
We’re about to have “probably the most important election in British Columbia in recent memory,” Dew said in closing. He predicted an “extremely close” contest.
The election will be held on Oct. 19.
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