Liberal leader Christy Clark made another campaign stop in Burnaby last Friday, this time at Garibaldi Glass, a local business the Liberals say suffered during the 1990s, when the NDP was in power.
Clark toured the glass plant in Burnaby's Big Bend area before delivering a speech on keeping the economy strong.
"A strong economy needs a government that will control spending, keep government small, balance the budget and put us on a path to a debt-free B.C.," she said. "Today our economy is strong, but just like the glass out there, it's fragile."
Clark said the three brothers who run Garibaldi Glass remembered what it was like to keep the business afloat during the NDP's reign in the 1990s.
"It was difficult, and the NDP's reckless economic polices and red tape meant by the end of that decade, this business was almost bankrupt, and everyone who worked here had a job that was threatened," Clark said. "But in 2001, the NDP went back to the wilderness, and a government was elected that was supportive of business.
"The NDP agenda is a danger to your family. It's a danger to our economy because families need stability, and the NDP creates instability," Clark said. "Businesses like Garibaldi Glass need certainty, and the NDP creates uncertainty."
Clark also said the NDP plans to freeze all capital projects that are not currently underway.
Burnaby-Deer Lake candidate Kathy Corrigan took issue with Clark's statements.
"I find it very frustrating and quite astounding how much she will play with the facts," Corrigan said. "We've called it a fact-free campaign, and it really is."
Corrigan said "it's simply not true" that the NDP is going to freeze the capital budget. "What we have said is we will commit (funding) to all the projects that have been committed to by the Liberals' budget," she said. "Of course we're going to build projects, . and one of the ones that's very important is the rebuilding of Burnaby Hospital."
Corrigan said if the NDP forms government, she would like to discuss possibilities with city council on where the Burnaby Hospital rebuild should be and that the NDP would prioritize Burnaby Hospital.
As for Clark's comments on the economy, Corrigan replied, stating: "That's the Liberal message, which has little to do with reality."
"(Clark) talks about balancing the budget, when in fact the Liberals have increased the debt more than any other provincial government in history. Since she's come into power, the provincial debt has gone up $12 billion."
According to Corrigan, since Clark announced her job plan two years ago, the province has lost 35,000 private sector jobs.
