SELINA ROBINSON, BC NDP [INCUMBENT], COQUITLAM-MAILLARDVILLE
If there is one key issue that NDP MLA Selina Robinson says keeps coming up on doorsteps as she campaigns for re-election in Coquitlam-Maillardville, it is housing affordability.
She lists myriad examples, from a man who told her he earns a healthy salary but can’t afford to move out of his tiny basement suite, to older empty-nesters unable to downsize due to a scarcity of housing options.
And Robinson said the BC Liberals are only taking an interest in the file now because of the election.
“Governments have to recognize that there is a problem and have a conversation about it,” Robinson told The Tri-City News. “The BC Liberals have refused to have this conversation for years. [Housing] Minister [Rich] Coleman said to stop whining. [Premier] Christy Clark said if you don’t like it, move to Fort St. John.”
Robinson, who served as a Coquitlam city councillor from 2008 to 2013 and previously worked at Share Family and Community Services, runs through the menu of initiatives she said an NDP government would enact should it have a majority in the legislature after next Tuesday’s election.
First, the party would impose a speculation tax, which she said will help slow runaway home prices, particularly in places like Metro Vancouver and Victoria.
Second, the NDP has committed to building 114,000 new units of housing in the province over the next decade. Robinson said that means partnering with community organizations, faith groups and non-profits to facilitate the creation of a variety of housing types, from purpose-built market rentals to subsidized housing and co-ops.
“There is no rental right now,” she said. “It doesn’t exist.”
Third, Robinson said an NDP government would make the creation of an affordable child care plan a priority — an initiative she notes has the support of not only labour groups but the BC Chamber of Commerce.
These kinds of programs “will make a difference for all British Columbians — not just those at the top,” she said.
A family therapist, Robinson said she understands the importance of preserving the Riverview Hospital lands and noted NDP leader John Horgan has promised to protect the 244-acre site.
The property is ideal as a health and wellness centre, she added, noting that it could become an important place for people dealing with mental health and addiction issues.
“We are not talking about institutionalized care,” she said. “It could be a place where you can get some long-term respite and support.”
Robinson is aware of the knocks on her party from the government side of the legislature, which has accused the NDP of being poor fiscal managers.
But the NDP’s program has been costed, she said, and fears of returning to the 1990s — stoked by the BC Liberals and their supporters — are overblown and not something she is hearing from voters in her riding.
“If we want to look backwards, let’s just look at the last 16 years,” she said. “The reason they go back to the 1990s is they don’t want to talk about their record, because their record is abysmal.”
