Answers Please, Mr. Anderson and Ms. Malcolmson: Why an Election Now?

 

Image:AI-generated editorial artwork. Politicians depicted are artistic likenesses, not photographs.Concept: Voice of Nanaimo.

An open letter to George Anderson and Sheila Malcolmson, former Nanaimo-area MLAs and BC NDP candidates

Mr. Anderson and Ms. Malcolmson:

Premier David Eby says British Columbia needs an election now to face President Trump. Your party already had a majority and almost two years left before the scheduled election. So please answer the question at the centre of this campaign: What can you do after October 24 that you could not do before the election was called?

Do not send voters only to a party announcement. You both represented Nanaimo-area residents in the government that made the decisions now under examination. We are asking for your own answers.

Lantzville shows that your government could act without another election. The long-term care home was approved in 2023, received additional funding through Budget 2026, and reached construction before the election call. Its current plan includes 298 long-term care beds and a 37-space child care centre. Those spaces are planned; they are not open today.

We welcome needed care. We also expect honest accounting. The original Lantzville announcement described 306 beds at an estimated $286 million. The latest announcement describes 298 beds at $350 million. That is eight fewer beds and a $64-million increase in the announced project estimate. What changed in the design, what caused the increase, and who is accountable for the original estimate?

At the same time, Budget 2026 listed seven previously approved long-term care projects with completion dates marked “TBC.” They are in Abbotsford, Campbell River, Chilliwack, Cottonwoods, Delta, Fort St. John and Squamish. The budget also changed the timeline for Burnaby Hospital’s second phase. On September 21—before the election call—the province announced $210 million for a revised first stage of work at Burnaby Hospital. Further cancer and acute-care expansion is still to follow.

That record raises questions neither of you should avoid:

1. Why this election? Name one specific action to protect B.C. workers or deliver a needed public project that your government could not take with the majority it already had. What prevented you from taking it?

2. Which delayed projects will proceed? For each of the seven long-term care projects with a “TBC” completion date, will you commit to a revised bed count, cost, funding source, construction start and opening date? If you cannot, say so plainly.

3. Will a delayed project return as a campaign promise? If your party announces one during this election, what has actually changed since Budget 2026? Has a revised budget been approved? Has a contract been signed? Or are voters being offered an intention to make another decision after the election?

4. What happened at Lantzville? Explain the change from 306 beds and $286 million to 298 beds and $350 million. The latest announcement says the province will contribute $236 million and the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District $114 million. Is the regional district’s contribution capped if the cost rises again, and what is the expected cost of servicing any borrowing?

5. What will the child care centre deliver? When will its planned 37 spaces open, what ages will they serve, and will any be available for school-aged children who need after-school care? A space promised for a future building does not help a family looking for care this school year.

6. What is your fiscal limit? Budget 2026 forecasts a $13.3-billion deficit for 2026–27 and taxpayer-supported debt of $189 billion by 2028–29. Is there a deficit or debt level beyond which you would refuse to support further spending promises without identifying savings or new revenue?

7. What will you deliver locally? Tell Nanaimo-area voters what you will personally pursue if elected, the cost you expect, and when they can check whether you delivered it. Where do the proposed patient tower and cardiac catheterization lab at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital stand in your priorities?

Mr. Anderson, I wrote to you approximately three weeks ago with specific questions about after-school daycare spaces and have not received an answer. Please respond to that letter separately. The proposed child care centre at Lantzville does not, by itself, answer those questions.

There is a difference between saying “we will build it” at an election podium and showing voters an approved budget, a workable schedule and construction underway. Lantzville demonstrates that your government could move a project forward under its existing mandate. The projects left with “TBC” dates demonstrate why voters need to examine every new promise carefully.

What, specifically, requires this election—and what will it cost the public? Please give voters answers they can check after October 24.

Jim Taylor
Voice of Nanaimo

Project records: Lantzville’s 2023 approval · Lantzville construction and revised figures · Budget 2026 project and fiscal tables · Revised Burnaby Hospital announcement.