B.C. liberal leader slams $800M museum 'vanity project' on first day in legislature
British Columbia Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon said that if elected premier he would halt plans to build a new Royal B.C. Museum, calling it a “billion-dollar vanity project” after he took his seat in the legislature.
The Opposition leader also attacked the New Democrat government's record on affordability after he was officially sworn in Monday, having won a byelection in Vancouver-Quilchena last month.
The former Liberal cabinet minister used question period to criticize the timing of Premier John Horgan's announcement that a new museum in Victoria would be built at a cost of about $800 million.
A satellite facility for research and storage in the neighbouring community of Colwood, announced two years ago, has been budgeted at $224 million.
“Sadly, six people are dying every day from an overdose under this government's watch,” Falcon said. “The worst in history. One in five British Columbians don't have a family doctor and when they try to go to a walk-in clinic, they face the longest wait times in Canada.”
Outside the legislature, Falcon said he was “massively disappointed” at the timing of the museum project, “when British Columbians are struggling with the highest housing and the highest fuel prices in North America at $2.34 per litre.”
“I also want to be clear about this: should I become the next premier of the province, we are cancelling that billion-dollar vanity project,” he said.
Falcon called on the NDP to use the money from the project to help people pay their bills instead.
Horgan said on Friday that the museum, next door to the legislature, needs to be brought into the 21st century, making it seismically safer, inclusive, accessible and modern.
He said the project would protect B.C.'s collective history and he urged Falcon and the Liberals on Monday to support the project.
In November, the museum announced some sections were closing while work was done to decolonize Indigenous exhibits. The move came in response to calls from Indigenous leaders after reports alleged there were racist and toxic working conditions at the institution.
Falcon, 59, was sworn in during a brief ceremony in which he signed the oath of office and entered the chamber as its newest MLA.
He won the BC Liberal leadership last February, replacing former leader Andrew Wilkinson, who resigned the Vancouver-Quilchena riding earlier this year, his party having lost the October 2020 election to the New Democrats.
Falcon's return to the legislature comes after about a decade away from politics to help raise his young family and work in the private sector with a Vancouver property investment company.
He had held portfolios of finance, health, transportation, and the deputy premiership in former B.C. Liberal governments, before he finished second to former premier Christy Clark in the party's 2011 leadership race.
At the signing ceremony, attended by his wife, Jessica, and daughters Josephine and Rose, Falcon said he would lead an Opposition that kept the government under pressure.
“In the coming weeks, months and years, you will see that we will be holding government to account for results or lack of results,” said Falcon at the ceremony. “I truly believe at the end of the day, we should always be judged not by what we say but by what we do.”
The next B.C. election will be held by October 2024.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
How to overcome 'savings guilt' when you're living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.