JOHN Horgan, addressing his fellow New Democrats on Saturday for the first time since becoming Premier earlier this summer, highlighted some of his government’s achievements:

• Embracing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
• Ending big money in politics and reforming BC’s lobbying laws to make sure public interests, not private interests, drive government decisions;
• Holding a referendum on proportional representation in 2018 to let people decide how we elect MLAs;
• Creating a Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions to tackle the opioid crisis;
• Renewing the Human Rights Commission;
• And supporting people and businesses affected by the wildfires.

All of those achievements, he noted, are just the start of what’s to come. “Friends, if this is what we can do in 109 days, imagine what else we can do,” said Horgan. “Together, we can make life more affordable, build housing for people, bring in fair ferry fares and eliminate unfair MSP premiums. We’ll build hospitals and urgent care centres, make sure our kids have safe schools to learn in and deliver transit and transportation to get people moving. We’ll continue to support traditional industries like forestry and mining, and we will grow the new economy and create good jobs for people as we build up our province.”
He added: “Together, we will build a stronger, fairer, more just province, where no one is left behind.”

Horgan said: “We are here this weekend to celebrate our victory. We ran an incredible campaign. We weren’t afraid of bold ideas. We weren’t afraid to talk about our values. We gave people something to believe in.”

He added: “To every candidate who put their name forward to represent their communities, every activist who stepped up, during the campaign and in the weeks, months and years in between… Your hard work made this victory possible. And together, we will build a better BC. We’re standing up for people, and we’re fixing the problems the BC Liberals left behind.”

More than 800 New Democrats have gathered this weekend at the Victoria Conference Centre to debate policy resolutions, participate in training and workshops and hear from other guest speakers including Jagmeet Singh – newly elected Leader of Canada’s NDP.