CKNW hosted the first debate of the 2024 election campaign with party leaders facing off on the economy, health care and public safety.
NDP Leader David Eby, Conservative Leader John Rustad and Green Leader Sonia Furstenau met face-to-face Wednesday morning for the CKNW radio debate and sparred on what the right solutions are to fix a collapsing health care system and put more money back in people’s pockets amid the current affordability crisis.
Moderated by radio host Mike Smyth, the debate took place at the CKNW studios in Downtown Vancouver and set off fireworks from the outset with Eby accusing Rustad of not believing in climate science and putting forward candidates who believe in conspiracy theories.
Rustad pushed back by saying that the NDP leader was simply trying to distract from his government’s record on health care, public safety and affordability.
Furstenau consistently attempted to bring the debate back to policy by focusing on the platform her party released Tuesday, which promises a near doubling of income and disability assistance, free transit and a new well-being framework designed to shift government priorities away from a simple focus on GDP.
Neither the NDP or the Conservatives have released their full-platform yet but both Eby and Rustad have spent the past week-and-a-half criss-crossing the province making promises on everything from an average $1,000 income tax cut for families by the NDP to a “Rustad Rebate” on up to $3,000 a month in mortgage or rental payments by the Conservatives.
The NDP leader said that while his party’s income tax cut will be instituted immediately, the “Rustad Rebate” won’t be fully implemented until 2029 and called it the “Rustad long-wait.”
Rustad shot back that it will start in 2026 and accused the governing party of bringing in or increasing 33 taxes since being elected in 2017 under former Premier John Horgan.
Furstenau said both parties have failed to address the dearth of services when it comes to housing and health care accusing both the NDP and former B.C. Liberal government, in which Rustad served as a cabinet minister from 2013 to 2017, of overseeing the growing financialization and privatization of B.C.
On energy, she said the province needs to be focused on scaling up wind, hydro, hydrogen and solar power and get rid of all subsidies for the oil and gas industry, including LNG.
Moving on to health care, Rustad pointed to closed emergency rooms in rural areas and long-wait times despite billions of added spending by the NDP as examples of how the current approach is not working.
He promised a Conservative government would introduce a patient-centred approach that would reduce wait times by using public dollars to get people private care if the public system is taking too long, similar to models in Europe. He also said that his government would reduce the burden of administration which is eating up the provincial budget.
Eby shot back that the issue is a shortage of health care professionals and that the NDP is continuing to work on training, hiring and retaining doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. He said both Alberta and Ontario are also struggling despite having greater privatization of health care.
Furstenau said what the province needs is an integrated health care system, which she said the Greens are offering through their promise to introduce community health centres to every riding in the province. Under this model, doctors, nurse practitioners, social workers and psychologists would work together to deliver team-based care.
Another issue canvassed was the toxic drug crisis, with Rustad and Eby focused on treatment and involuntary care while Furstenau said the solutions include supportive housing and expanded harm reduction measures like safe supply alongside treatment.
Both Eby and Furstenau criticized Rustad for wanting to turn safe consumption sites into treatment intake sites.
The debate closed on Indigenous rights with the three leaders sparring on bail reform, gun laws and the fate of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which Rustad has promised to modify in favour of economic reconciliation.
Eby and Furstenau argued the Conservative approach would bring the province back to the days of court battles with First Nations and that the government needs to sit down with Indigenous leaders and come to agreements on rights and title.
Rustad retorted that he signed over 400 agreements with First Nations while Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation minister and pointed to the NDP withdrawal of Land Act changes that would have introduced co-management with First Nations.
He also criticized the NDP for the agreement on Haida title, which he argued would infringe on private property rights.
Later Wednesday, the three leaders will attend another debate hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.