BC NDP dismiss critique of party platform’s financial sustainability

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Election sparring continued Sunday as party leaders exchanged jabs over a report commissioned by the BC Liberal Party into the financial credibility of the B.C. New Democrats' platform.

The five-page document prepared by C. Scott Clark, a former federal deputy minister of finance, and Peter DeVries, a former federal director of fiscal policy, found the NDP platform to be fiscally prudent, but neither transparent nor sustainable.

Calling the platform not financially viable, the economists write that "it would be virtually impossible to develop a fiscally sustainable fiscal plan without a major reduction in political promises and additional tax increases."

Liberal candidate and Finance Minister Mike de Jong said in a statement the report shows the NDP platform is neither balanced nor fully costed.

The NDP dismissed the report as a product of Mr. de Jong's "phantom platform fabrications." The party noted as an example that the the commissioned report references a four-year freeze on BC Hydro rates and a one-year freeze on ICBC rates – neither of which it proposed.

Following a rally in Vancouver on Sunday, NDP Leader John Horgan scoffed at the idea of the Liberals hiring "independent economists," adding, "They hired a bunch of people who said Site C made sense at well."

"The BC Liberals are desperate; they're going to do anything they can to cling to power," Mr. Horgan said.

Asked specifically about hydro and insurance rates, Mr. Horgan said his party would "freeze BC Hydro rates for a year and see what happens after that." The party would also "commit to not seeing a 42-per-cent rate increase," a rate that has been projected for over the next four years.

When pressed whether that would mean a lower rate increase, Mr. Horgan said the party "would look at it."

Earlier in the day, Liberal Leader Christy Clark participated in the annual Vancouver Sun Run. Speaking with media at the starting line, Ms. Clark said she was feeling optimistic, but acknowledged that the political race is far from over.

"There's a reason there's 28 days in a campaign, because we spend every day talking about the things that we stand for and the things that we believe in," she said.

Ms. Clark criticized the NDP, saying its platform "appears to be changing every day," citing confusion over its promise to scrap the Medical Services Premium as an example.

"It's kind of a moving target when they're changing their policies every day," she said.

The NDP says it would slash the MSP in half by January and eliminate it completely within four years, striking a non-partisan MSP elimination panel to determine how to pay for the plan. However, a few NDP candidates have said it would be rolled into a progressive tax system.

The Liberals, which have also pledged to slash the MSP in half by January, have said its elimination would depend on how fast the economy grows.

When pressed on the matter last week, Mr. de Jong said that elimination is an "objective" and "unequivocal promise."

One man standing at the race's starting line on Sunday heckled Ms. Clark as she readied to run, calling on her to go back to the corporate boardroom before Liberal staff stepped in and he stopped.