BC NDP Leader John Horgan and BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson are both set to campaign in Maple Ridge on Thursday.
The provincial election campaign is heading into the city home to a pair of swing ridings. Both Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge-Mission were Liberal ridings in 2013, but were won by the NDP in 2017.
Horgan will be making a childcare announcement alongside local candidates Bob D’Eith and Lisa Beare.
The NDP promised $10-a-day childcare in the provincial election. They have not yet been able to complete the promise, although they have launched a pilot project where some parents in the province are able to access the $10-a-day care.
More than 30,000 children have accessed child care for $10 a day or less since the pilot project was launched two years ago. The NDP have committed to opening up spaces for training of early childhood educators, and have launched the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund providing funding to create new licensed child care and helping families access affordable, quality child care.
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Horgan’s announcement will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Wilkinson’s stop in Maple Ridge will focus on community safety. The Liberal leader will be meeting with community members impacted by modular housing units in the community and the impacts of the Anita’s Place homeless camp.
Wilkinson has sparred with the NDP on this issue before. In 2019, Wilkinson suggested a proposed modular housing project ignored the opioid addiction issue and did not provide 24-hour support. The NDP and then-housing minister Selina Robinson ensured there would be trained and dedicated staff at the facility 24 hours a day.
The modular housing on Burnett Street was announced in March 2019 with 51 units of supportive housing on province-owned land.
Wilkinson has expressed concerns over impacts that homeless camps and shelters have had on communities in Victoria, Vancouver and Maple Ridge. He is promising a comprehensive plan on housing which also includes support for business owners impacted by the ongoing homeless crisis.
Wilkinson will appear alongside the two Liberal candidates in Maple Ridge. Cheryl Ashlie is running in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and Chelsa Meadus is running in Maple Ridge-Mission.
Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau continues to be focused on the party keeping hold of both her seat and Adam Olsen’s on Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands. She will be speaking to the Union of B.C. Municipalities on Thursday.
Horgan will also be speaking to the UBCM. It is unclear if the NDP leader will reveal parts of his platform aimed towards municipalities or wait until the full platform release.
The NDP government announced just last week that municipalities and transit would receive $1.62 billion — half from B.C., half from Ottawa — in COVID-19 economic recovery funds. It is still not crystal clear when the money will be distributed and how it can be used.
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