Falcon’s ads can’t hide his plans to raise costs on people, says Parmar
Last night, Kevin Falcon launched two TV ads featuring rhetoric as empty as a Vancouver condo on his watch.
The ads contained several falsehoods and no solutions to the challenges people face. Notably, Falcon avoids any mention of the government record he claims to be proud of – which is no surprise, given his history of hiking fees on people.
False Claim #1: “David Eby’s NDP have introduced and increased 30 different taxes that make life even more expensive.”
Fact: Lower and middle income British Columbians are paying thousands less in provincial taxes under the B.C. NDP, thanks to MSP elimination and the BC Family Benefit.
Falcon frequently makes this “30 taxes” claim but refuses to say which taxes he’s talking about. That’s because his list of tax complaints includes the Speculation and Vacancy Tax, the Foreign Buyers’ Tax, the Luxury Vehicle Tax, the Corporate Income Tax, and Personal Income Tax on the top 1%.
A family with two kids earning $100,000 has seen a tax reduction of 34%, and those with incomes lower than that have benefited even more. Many of those families are saving even more if you count childcare fee reductions, ICBC rate reductions, the Renter’s Tax Credit, and toll elimination.
The only ones paying more provincial tax under the B.C. NDP are the wealthiest and big corporations.
False Claim #2: “Under [David Eby’s] watch, we’ve become Canada’s least affordable place to live.”
Fact: B.C. was the least affordable place in Canada when the B.C. Liberals left office.
Falcon directly contributed when he was a cabinet minister by hiking ICBC rates and MSP premiums, and hitting drivers with unfair tolls – all to subsidize tax breaks for the wealthiest and big corporations. The B.C. NDP has reduced ICBC rates and eliminated both MSP Premiums and bridge tolls.
Home prices increased four times faster under the last six years of Falcon’s party than under six years of the B.C. NDP.
False Claim #3: “The NDP plans to make things even more unaffordable by tripling the carbon tax.”
Fact: As the carbon price increases, the Climate Action Tax Credit will also increase to ensure most British Columbians will get back more than they pay out. Eliminating the carbon tax and the corresponding rebates would cost most people more, not less.
These increases to the carbon price are also federally mandated and completely outside of the province’s control – something even Falcon has acknowledged.
B.C. NDP MLA Ravi Parmar:
“For 16 years, Kevin Falcon and his party drove up costs for people. He hiked ICBC and MSP, hit drivers with unfair tolls, and let speculators drive housing costs out of reach. Now he’s planning to cancel the speculation tax and roll back David Eby’s action on housing. Making things up about the B.C. NDP won’t hide Falcon’s plans to raise costs on people.”