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B.C. Premier David Eby says it will be a busy summer as he reflects on past 8 months
B.C. Premier David Eby says it has been an 'eventful' period for British Columbians since he was re-elected in October.
'What we set out during the election campaign, which was in advance of the (Donald) Trump election, has shifted quite dramatically in terms of where we have to be,' Eby told Global News in a one-on-one interview.
'And so the focus has been on ensuring that B.C. can assume the role that we have assumed now, which is to be the economic engine for the country.'
Eby said that while his government did not provide a $1,000 grocery rebate to residents, they did remove the carbon tax, as promised.
'The focus of our government has been ensuring that we're bringing the most vulnerable along, but the group of people that really feels pressure has expanded,' Eby added.
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'It includes the middle class, concerns around housing and health care and safe communities, which are the focus of our government.'
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Eby also said the province is working to diversify trading partners, especially in the Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, Korea and Japan.
One of the big issues still facing Eby's government is housing.
'Rents are unacceptably high, which is why we continue to push on housing, why we're buying land around transit stations to build more rental housing, why we are giving direct support to more seniors through the Safer Programme so they can afford rent,' he said.
'The work needs to continue. The good news is we're finally pointing in the right direction. Rents are coming down. We've had eight months of decreases overall, we're the only province that's seen that. But we have to continue doing the work because they are too high.'
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As summer gets underway, Eby said there is still a lot of work to be done.
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'First of all, it's advancing the economic work with the federal government, with the other provinces, whether it's corridors, internal trade, building major projects, ensuring that British Columbians have access to good jobs, as we see the direct attack on sectors like our forest sector here in British Columbia,' he said.
'The second is, I am hopeful we won't, but I am worried that we might see a significant wildfire season again, so supporting British Columbians through that, if we have to have large-scale evacuations like Manitoba and Ontario have had to do.
'The third, and I think a critical piece, is we have to continue to advance the work on a variety of other fronts, ensuring that our health-care system is strong.'
