Throne Speech contains little signs of hope for British Columbians; MLA Tegart

The BC Government laid out its priorities for the coming legislative session in Monday’s Speech from the Throne.

The speech touched on infrastructure upgrades to drive economic recovery, promised to build new hospitals, expand of $10 an hour daycare, boost rental housing, and develop an anti-racism law.

Fraser-Nicola Liberal MLA Jackie Tegart joined Q101 following the speech sharing her disappointment in the lack of a concrete plan.

“It was a disappointment today. I think that people in BC were looking for some sign of hope as we’re in our third stage of the pandemic and unfortunately that wasn’t contained in this throne speech today,” said Tegart.

“I didn’t hear a lot in the speech. We’re looking for a plan from this government for recovery. There was very little in the speech today talking about where we’re going to be going in the next year. There was a lot of rehashing of aspirational promises but not a lot of details, not a lot of meat on the bones. Overall, pretty disappointed in the speech today,” added Tegart.

Tegart was also surprised by how little the speech mentioned women.
“The only time in the speech when women were mentioned is when women seemed more likely to lose a job or feel forced out of the workforce. Okay, so what’s the plan around supporting women?” Questioned Tegart.

With the lack of details proved, Tegart said her focus now shifts to the upcoming provincial budget, set to be introduced on April 20, 2021.

“Now we’ll wait for the budget because the budget will tell the story,” stated Tegart.