Elected officials, staff, and members of the BC NDP are gathering in Victoria for the party's biennial convention this weekend.While the event has been billed as an opportunity to "celebrate our progress," BC Conservative leader John Rustad has argued that it will be "overshadowed by a province in decline" under Premier David Eby."Every corner of this province is feeling the consequences of an NDP government that has stopped listening, stopped responding, and stopped delivering for British Columbians," he said. "From ferries to forestry to public safety to private property rights, this government is failing the people it claims to represent."Rustad went on to list nine examples of what he deemed to be evidence that "when British Columbians are asking for help, this government is looking the other way."He pointed to the province's "collapsing" forestry industry, noting that under the BC NDP, annual timber harvests have gone from around 60 million cubic metres to 35 million, despite the allowable cut limit being "much higher." Since 2018, a number of mills have had to close up shop..Also listed were the extortion crisis, BCGEU strike, and bureaucracy-fuelled spending.The two issues that perhaps gained the most public backlash, however, have been the threat to private property rights brought on by the Cowichan Decision, and the BC Ferries shipbuilding contract awarded to a Chinese firm.Rustad argued that the latter could be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and turns Eby's base against him."Nearly ten thousand good, long-term jobs could have been created here in British Columbia," he said. "Union leaders, trades workers, ferry workers, and even long-time NDP members begged the Premier to bring this contract home. Instead, he ignored them all, sided with insiders, and sent billions of dollars offshore."He went on to add that, "if your own base does not believe you are standing up for workers, you have lost your way."The premier will face a leadership review at the convention. Whether he manages to secure a majority as strong as years past, only time will tell.
