BC NDP leader David Eby unveiled his party's plan for Surrey on Wednesday, promising to expand transit infrastructure, strengthen health care services, and accelerate housing construction if re-elected on October 24.
Speaking in Surrey, Eby outlined several commitments aimed at addressing the needs of one of BC's fastest-growing cities, including a proposed SkyTrain extension to Newton, three new primary care clinics and faster housing approvals.
“Surrey will soon be BC's biggest city, and it's at the heart of my vision for our province's future,” Eby said in a statement. “Building a stronger British Columbia starts right here.”
The BC NDP says Surrey has received $12 billion in major infrastructure investments under its government, including the new Surrey hospital in Cloverdale, the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension, and the SFU Surrey medical school.
Eby said a re-elected NDP government would continue those projects while working with Surrey's mayor and council to advance a SkyTrain extension to Newton and develop a new health care facility on land offered by the city.
The party also pledged to strengthen health care services by opening three additional primary care clinics in Surrey and introducing an accelerated training program to help qualified international medical graduates living in BC enter family medicine.
The plan includes recruiting additional health care professionals and doctors from the United States.
On housing, the BC NDP is promising a 30-day permit guarantee for smaller residential construction projects, standardized technical building codes across the province, and a partnership with the federal government to reduce development cost charges by up to 50%.
Eby also committed to giving Surrey a municipal charter similar to Vancouver's, providing the city with greater authority over local decisions involving housing, transit, and community services.
Affordability measures outlined in the plan include suspending a portion of the provincial gas tax to reduce prices at the pump by up to 30 cents per litre, capping car insurance rates for another three years, and providing free transit passes to low-income seniors.
British Columbians head to the polls on Saturday, October 24.
