Juno News - BC Conservatives vs NDP madness

00:00:00.000 Hi, I'm Candace Malcolm, and this is The Candace Malcolm Show.

00:00:04.180 I am here in Vancouver, and I'm very pleased today to be sitting down with Trevor Halford.

00:00:07.960 Trevor is the interim leader of the B.C. Conservative Party.

00:00:11.200 He represents the good people of Surrey, White Rock.

00:00:13.820 So, Trevor, thanks so much for doing this.

00:00:15.460 Candace, thanks for having me today.

00:00:17.340 Okay, so give us a little bit of a background and overview.

00:00:20.140 How did you become interim leader, and what happened to former leader John Rudstad,

00:00:23.960 who's previously been a guest on this show?

00:00:25.560 Yeah, you know, obviously, we came in to be the official opposition in October of 2024.

00:00:34.140 And, you know, through that year, we've made some great strides.

00:00:37.100 And, you know, the NDP only have a one-seat majority in the House,

00:00:42.120 and we came within 500 votes of actually being able to form government.

00:00:46.300 So, you know, as we got into the year, you know, I think going forward,

00:00:51.080 we kind of realized that the party was kind of expanding,

00:00:56.620 and John resigned in early December, and I was appointed interim leader.

00:01:03.740 And the process was, I think, you know, to be fair to everybody involved,

00:01:07.660 was probably not as smooth as we all wanted it to be.

00:01:11.360 But, you know, John did say that, you know, he was going to put the party first.

00:01:17.620 And, you know, I think he's going to be true to his word on that.

00:01:21.340 And, you know, I'm excited about what's going to take place next,

00:01:23.980 which is going to be a great leadership race as we go into 2026.

00:01:27.400 So lots of exciting things ahead.

00:01:29.700 And, you know, for me, you know, why I stepped up and accepted the position of interim leader

00:01:35.600 is because I really want to give some stability within that caucus with holding the NEP to account.

00:01:42.880 I'm going to talk about that.

00:01:44.280 But also, too, is that I want to hand that office off to the next person in better shape than when I found it.

00:01:49.900 And that's what I'm going to be focused on over the months to come.

00:01:52.600 So when you say better shape, so there has been some internal party turmoil.

00:01:57.260 Was it sort of issues-based, or what was the conflict?

00:02:01.560 Yeah, to me, it was never issues-based.

00:02:04.120 I think it was just that, you know, as parties evolve and as they expand and as they grow,

00:02:13.340 you know, I think that there can be some tension within that.

00:02:16.740 And obviously we saw that.

00:02:18.620 And, you know, unfortunately it played out in a public way.

00:02:21.640 But I think that we're moving past that.

00:02:23.860 I'll tell you, you know, in the other day, just before New Year's,

00:02:29.440 we raised more money than we've ever had in one day,

00:02:31.940 which I think is absolutely fantastic.

00:02:34.620 Like, British Columbians want change.

00:02:36.860 And what I want to show them and what our caucus wants to show them

00:02:39.440 is that we are a government-in-waiting with the Conservative Party in B.C.

00:02:42.360 Great. Well, maybe you can help us understand just the political landscape here in British Columbia.

00:02:46.300 So you have the NDP that are in power.

00:02:47.960 You used to have the B.C. Liberals,

00:02:49.400 which was a combination sort of free market liberals and conservatives in a coalition.

00:02:53.820 The coalition didn't seem to last.

00:02:55.080 And so we have the B.C. United Party, which is the former Liberal Party,

00:02:58.820 and then the Conservative Party came out of that.

00:03:00.840 And then we also have 1.B.C., which is dealing with their own sort of party turmoil.

00:03:04.500 So can you help us understand what are the differences between the B.C. United,

00:03:08.720 the B.C. Conservative, and 1.B.C.?

00:03:11.080 So, again, this is the beauty about B.C. politics,

00:03:15.460 is that it's always moving, it's always dynamic,

00:03:20.300 and it's, you know, there's a level of excitement there.

00:03:24.140 There's also some challenges within that.

00:03:27.940 You know, the NDP are the NDP, right?

00:03:31.700 And they've got their base,

00:03:32.800 and I actually think they have some major internal issues and some fracturing

00:03:37.260 that I think is going to come to, you know,

00:03:40.460 to the light pretty soon as we get into the spring session.

00:03:44.560 Obviously, we had the B.C. Liberal Party before that, it was social credit.

00:03:48.740 And so you kind of have this evolution of parties.

00:03:51.520 The B.C. Liberal Party took power in 2001 and, you know, held majorities until 2017.

00:03:59.100 When the NDP came in and they had a minority,

00:04:02.580 they were able to get a confidence and plies agreement with the Green Party,

00:04:06.720 and that's when John Horgan took power in 2017.

00:04:10.940 The B.C. Liberal Party kind of went through an evolution of leaders,

00:04:14.740 you know, whether it was Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark, Andrew Wilkinson, Kevin Falcon.

00:04:22.420 But it was really based on what you mentioned before,

00:04:25.540 kind of that free enterprise sense, right?

00:04:29.840 And I think that was really, really important.

00:04:32.160 And, you know, the key thing that I've been talking about

00:04:36.100 and I think is really important for everybody to understand

00:04:38.600 is that, you know, so many people in British Columbia and Canada,

00:04:46.200 you know, they don't walk around with a party membership in their wallet.

00:04:51.920 They don't.

00:04:52.820 They don't wake up today and say,

00:04:54.480 today I'm a federal conservative, today I'm a federal liberal, I'm NDP.

00:04:57.560 Today they wake up and they say, how am I paying my mortgage?

00:05:02.560 Like, why is the line at the food bank bigger than it's ever been before?

00:05:07.080 And so that's kind of the things that we focus on.

00:05:09.780 And I think for us as the Conservative Party of B.C.

00:05:12.420 is that, you know, the Conservative Party has been around for a long time.

00:05:17.280 The party itself here, like, we're in our infancy

00:05:21.220 and we're still growing.

00:05:23.040 But we're actually kind of, I think we're growing in a way that's so exciting, right?

00:05:28.020 The platform that we ran on in 2024 hasn't changed.

00:05:32.360 Like, we still stand by those principles.

00:05:35.080 And I think what you're going to see as we go forward on a leadership race

00:05:38.240 is we're going to have contestants that are going to come out there

00:05:40.340 and they're going to give their vision of what this party should be

00:05:44.060 and ultimately our path to success to government.

00:05:47.140 And it's going to be up to the members on which way they want to go.

00:05:50.460 And I think that's an awesome thing.

00:05:52.220 So one of the things I did want to ask you about

00:05:54.180 was that under John Rudstad, you had Dallas Brody,

00:05:57.220 who's a really outspoken MLA representing Vancouver, Kulshana.

00:06:01.280 She was ousted from the party for her stance on, I think, residential schools

00:06:05.180 and some comments she made on social media.

00:06:07.520 Is that an issue that, you know, if you have those views,

00:06:10.980 you can't be part of the B.C. Conservatives?

00:06:12.680 Or how do you reconcile with people who might be skeptical

00:06:16.040 of the claims around unmarked graves or the history of residential schools?

00:06:20.400 Yeah, I think that, listen, any caucus, doesn't matter what party you're affiliated with,

00:06:26.200 is going to have a difference of the views.

00:06:28.560 So my, and I'm not scared of that at all, right?

00:06:32.240 I actually think that the more views that you have is better.

00:06:36.980 What I will say is that it has to be done in a respectful way.

00:06:40.840 No matter what side you're on, those views need to be communicated in a respectful way.

00:06:46.700 And I think part of the opportunity for us is that, you know,

00:06:52.280 we're a party that believes in free speech,

00:06:53.760 and we're a party that, you know, wants to make sure that people are having their voice.

00:07:00.220 But also, too, is that we want to make sure that people realize that, you know,

00:07:05.640 on some of these issues, whether it's reconciliation or whether it's, you know,

00:07:10.700 decriminalization or anything like that,

00:07:12.980 that we're coming from a sense of what's best for British Columbia, right?

00:07:18.560 And so, you know, I welcome people's views, but they have to be done in a respectful way.

00:07:24.260 And, you know, we have to make sure that we're tolerant of everybody's opinions as we go forward.

00:07:29.980 Interesting.

00:07:30.540 Okay, so let's talk about the major issues facing British Columbians.

00:07:34.200 Like, when I talk to friends, family, and listeners that live in Vancouver,

00:07:38.220 and all of British Columbia, you know, it's always cost of living.

00:07:40.680 It's always the cost of real estate, cost of homes, just price, cost of living, cost of gas and everything.

00:07:48.040 So what is your party's vision for making British Columbia more affordable?

00:07:54.120 Oh, I think it's quite simple.

00:07:55.980 I think part of it is get out of the way.

00:07:58.260 Don't grow government.

00:07:59.680 Grow small business, right?

00:08:01.720 I come from Surrey, where 95% of the businesses are small businesses.

00:08:06.100 I grew up in a family where it was based on small business.

00:08:08.880 That's what put food on our table, right?

00:08:11.280 If you look at the things that government is layering on small businesses, it's choking them out.

00:08:16.900 And that is where we actually get our economic growth from, right?

00:08:20.460 We actually get it from the people that are signing the front of the paychecks.

00:08:23.660 And I think that's the disconnect with the NDP.

00:08:26.080 The NDP will evaluate their success on how much they can grow the premier's office, how much they can grow government.

00:08:32.300 I don't think that that's what British Columbians are looking for.

00:08:35.460 I think what they're looking for is when you come here, right, or when you decide that you are going to, you know, you are going to be a part of the economy here.

00:08:48.020 Do you have a chance?

00:08:49.440 Is the government going to move the goalposts in the middle of the game?

00:08:55.600 And that's all British Columbians want to know, right?

00:08:58.780 And I think for this government is that they have made it so difficult to do business in British Columbia.

00:09:05.440 That that is why we're seeing investment leaving this province, going to Alberta, going to other places, because this government is not credible when it comes to supporting the economy.

00:09:14.920 They're credible when it comes to supporting themselves, when it comes to growing the bureaucracy.

00:09:20.160 But when it comes to actually making sure that people can come here with a dream and that they can grow their business and that they can have employees and those employees can can prosper.

00:09:30.800 That's that's not a priority for the government.

00:09:33.020 And that's that's been very clear over the last eight years.

00:09:35.880 Interesting.

00:09:36.220 The other issue that I hear a lot of concern from people here is just with property rights.

00:09:41.180 There was that court ruling over the summer that gave a large portion of Richmond, British Columbia, or transferred the land, saying that the Cowichan tribe was the rightful owners of that.

00:09:51.520 What does that do to the confidence in just property rights here or building a business or moving here or or buying a house when that's sort of like looming over?

00:10:02.380 Like, do you actually have title over your land in British Columbia?

00:10:06.300 What's your take on that issue and how would you reassure your constituents and British Columbians that that actually you can buy land here and you don't have to worry about the government taking away your title?

00:10:17.540 Well, I it's a sense of chaos, right?

00:10:23.000 Property rights are foundational.

00:10:27.520 OK, they're they're not up for negotiation.

00:10:29.700 They are foundational.

00:10:30.800 That is paramount.

00:10:33.280 And we need to make sure that everyone, not just in British Columbia, but not just in Canada, but worldwide, knows that that is the case here in this province, because right now that is subject to question.

00:10:45.540 We are in a very vulnerable situation because of the NDP, because of Premier Eby.

00:10:51.060 Right.

00:10:51.340 Right. And I think part of the challenge is, is that the Premier knows that, but he actually doesn't know what to do about it.

00:10:59.400 OK, we have said we have put forward some solutions.

00:11:02.140 One of them is to repeal DRIPA.

00:11:04.500 And we could talk about that.

00:11:05.780 But I think part of the challenge is, is that he's he's given mixed messages on everything.

00:11:09.920 So one, he says, well, property rights, they're they're not up for discussion and there's no issue here and I'm not concerned about it.

00:11:15.260 But then he says, well, we're going to backstop these mortgages to the tune of I think it was one hundred and fifty million or something like that.

00:11:24.280 But the then we hear from the economists that the real number is is over a billion dollars that they would need to be doing.

00:11:30.120 But it's not just Richmond that is dealing with this.

00:11:33.020 They're dealing with this right now on the ground.

00:11:34.560 But there's other communities.

00:11:35.820 There's Kelowna.

00:11:36.420 There's Kamloops.

00:11:37.160 Now we're hearing about Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, where this could pop up.

00:11:40.860 And I think that's a pretty sobering indictment on where we are right now in terms of property rights.

00:11:49.840 Right.

00:11:50.120 And I can tell you that this is on the mind of not just a few British Columbians, but a lot.

00:11:56.260 And it's if it's on the mind of them, then it's on the mind of people that want to move here.

00:12:00.680 It's on the people that want to invest their businesses in here.

00:12:03.120 And right now there's no clarity on what this province, what this NDP government, what this premier is going to do to bring that clarity back.

00:12:12.380 Well, to me, it's all tied.

00:12:14.020 Like, again, you know, I'm visiting and I'm here and all I hear everywhere I go is like land acknowledgements.

00:12:19.500 Right.

00:12:19.620 And I get that it's a way to show respect to people who lived here before.

00:12:24.220 But, you know, we were a science world with the kids.

00:12:25.780 And before every little presentation, they remind us that we're on unceded land.

00:12:30.460 Right.

00:12:30.780 And it's like, you know, if you're telling the population, you're telling kids in schools and you're telling little kids at a science museum that the land you're on is stolen.

00:12:39.460 It sort of implies that Canada is not really a legitimate country and that somehow some other people are the rightful owners of the land, not based on institutions and country, but based on their race and their tribe.

00:12:51.460 To me, it's all connected.

00:12:53.080 It's like the message that we're sending to people is that somehow property rights are up for negotiation and that and that maybe we should be, you know, transferring land and, you know, the whole land back movement.

00:13:04.040 So I'm wondering if you if you see that connection, you think that there's a danger in that.

00:13:08.820 Yeah, I definitely do.

00:13:10.480 Listen, I for I people are free to do and not do land acknowledgements.

00:13:15.480 I think it's I'm one for free speech.

00:13:17.640 They people want to do them, do them if they don't, don't.

00:13:20.900 Um, but the one thing I will say on them is like there there has to be, um, people have got to realize kind of what they're saying, right, and what their words, what their words mean.

00:13:31.500 And you can tell that if you listen to the previous land acknowledgements and does he use the word unseated?

00:13:37.360 Does his ministers use the words unseated?

00:13:39.260 And I'd ask people to pay attention to that because that's something, you know, I think that we have to start understanding is what language are elected officials using when they're doing land acknowledgements?

00:13:49.720 And how is that being prescribed or perceived and, um, or interpreted for me is that, again, it goes back to the fact that, you know, we're all British Columbians and it's important that, um, people understand what their rights are.

00:14:07.760 And it's important that when we pass legislation in that house, that we understand what the consequences are.

00:14:15.560 We had a premier and a government and an attorney general at the time.

00:14:19.720 The premier, David Eby, was attorney general at the time when DRIPA was announced and when they did the, uh, Declaration Act.

00:14:26.340 And they assured British Columbians that we would not be in the situation that we are today.

00:14:35.420 And we're here.

00:14:37.080 And that's why I've called for a full repeal of DRIPA.

00:14:39.680 I've said that we would go back to the legislature immediately.

00:14:42.120 We would do that.

00:14:42.740 I even said that we would forego question periods.

00:14:45.500 We'd forego, uh, introducing private members bills, two minute statements, all that stuff.

00:14:50.020 We will go there just to do this specific work and we can get it done.

00:14:54.460 And we won't leave until it's done.

00:14:56.100 We made that offer and I, I continue to make that offer.

00:14:59.640 The premier is answer to that.

00:15:01.340 Well, we're looking at the legislation amendments and I guess my, my whole thing on this, and

00:15:07.480 I mean this sincerely, if you didn't get it right the first and the second time, why are

00:15:12.760 you going to get out?

00:15:13.640 What makes you think you can get it right this time without a full repeal?

00:15:18.100 Like what makes you think, and that, that doesn't mean that that's anti-reconciliation.

00:15:23.260 Like the other thing I've said too, is that has reconciliation in this province been well

00:15:29.060 served over the last number of months?

00:15:31.540 I would say no.

00:15:32.920 I would definitely say no.

00:15:34.640 Right?

00:15:35.120 Because people are scared.

00:15:38.400 Uh, people are frustrated.

00:15:39.760 They're angry.

00:15:40.920 And in many cases, they're looking for leadership.

00:15:44.560 They're looking for the premier to say, here's our path.

00:15:48.140 Here's what we're going to do.

00:15:49.000 I've always said it's never the wrong time to do the right thing.

00:15:51.420 Okay.

00:15:52.800 So we have an opportunity to do that.

00:15:55.300 But if he's going to say, well, we're going to come in and we're going to do some legislative

00:15:58.040 work and amendments, um, he's a lawyer.

00:16:00.840 I'm not.

00:16:01.620 But when he got up in the house as attorney general and assured us that we weren't going

00:16:05.420 to be in this position, um, I'm not sure why British Columbians are going to take his

00:16:09.980 word for it when he finds it convenient to introduce whatever legislation he's going to

00:16:14.080 do in the spring session.

00:16:14.960 Well, it seems to all be coming from an ideological position, part, partially just opposing development.

00:16:22.240 And we see this just to take a step back.

00:16:24.700 Um, you know, we have Prime Minister Mark Carney coming to a memorandum of understanding with

00:16:29.920 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to get a pipeline built.

00:16:32.700 And you have David Eby stepping up saying, it's not going to happen.

00:16:35.800 We're going to find a way to veto it.

00:16:36.940 It's not going to happen.

00:16:38.300 Like, like what, what, what do you make for, you know, what should Canadians do?

00:16:42.720 Or how should Canadians interpret the situation where you have the, the leader of the country

00:16:46.440 and the leader of one province saying, we, we all want pipelines.

00:16:49.740 And then, you know, the person who's governing the, the, the, the port, uh, you know, the

00:16:54.240 province that controls the port saying it's not going to happen.

00:16:57.640 Um, you know, we, we sort of found ourselves in a situation for over a decade now where

00:17:01.880 we can't seem to get anything built partially because of this ideology.

00:17:05.000 What, what, what do you think is going to happen?

00:17:06.380 Yeah, uh, maybe it's, I think to be fair to Premier Eby, um, and I mean this sincerely,

00:17:10.820 I don't think people should be surprised.

00:17:13.080 Um, this is a person who has built his career on activism, right?

00:17:19.680 And whether it's, uh, you know, having people followed around during the Olympics to, um,

00:17:25.580 that were protesting and interfering with police work and making sure that he was, uh, giving

00:17:30.660 them legal support or, or actually instructing them on, on how to protest the police.

00:17:34.820 Um, you know, that's what he was doing in 2010.

00:17:37.740 Um, you know, if you fast forward past, uh, you know, uh, into the Premier's office or

00:17:43.080 before that as Attorney General, he spent his time in the court supposing TMX losing every

00:17:49.000 single time, uh, uh, by the way, but, but now he'll be at the ceremony to cut the ribbon.

00:17:55.620 Right?

00:17:56.960 So I don't think anybody should be surprised by the fact that, that, uh, that he's being

00:18:04.720 obstructionist on this.

00:18:06.540 Um, but that doesn't serve us well.

00:18:08.960 If you look at what's happened over the last week and in different things, um, not only that

00:18:13.860 over the last, the last number of years is that we've missed out on so much economic development

00:18:19.680 in this province over the last eight years and especially over the last, the last four.

00:18:25.240 And I firmly believe that it's because that this is a government that is, is anti-resource

00:18:32.800 development and they can say, well, we know where, you know, this is where we're pro wind

00:18:37.040 farms, we're pro solar, all, all good.

00:18:39.080 Okay.

00:18:39.440 I understand all that.

00:18:41.060 Um, but just because you put out news releases and, you know, your window dress, that's not the

00:18:47.260 reality of what we've got on the ground.

00:18:49.040 Okay.

00:18:50.420 Site C is coming to an end.

00:18:52.800 TMX is coming to an end.

00:18:54.880 LNG Canada is coming to an end.

00:18:56.600 Coastal gas link is coming to an end.

00:18:58.200 When I say coming to an end, that means that they're the construction of those projects,

00:19:01.700 which creates not hundreds of jobs, not thousands of jobs, but tens of thousands of well-paying

00:19:07.200 jobs.

00:19:08.120 A lot of those jobs are first nations, by the way, that's all coming to an end. 0.97

00:19:12.480 So what's next?

00:19:15.400 And I don't have an answer for you.

00:19:17.800 Right?

00:19:18.200 So by the time that we go to the next election, whenever the NDP is going to find it to be

00:19:23.880 most convenient for them, there is really nothing that they're going to be able to point

00:19:29.260 to and say, well, we started that and it's finished because that's not the reality.

00:19:34.640 Right?

00:19:35.040 They'll say they got LNG Canada done.

00:19:36.920 That's not true.

00:19:38.160 Right?

00:19:38.440 They'll say, well, we got Site C done over budget.

00:19:41.600 You know, long, long behind.

00:19:43.940 And I think that, you know, that's part of the challenge here.

00:19:46.600 It's like, what's next?

00:19:48.400 Like, what, where is the vision?

00:19:50.780 Like, what is next for British Columbia?

00:19:52.860 And, you know, obviously under David Eby, it's not going to be a pipeline.

00:19:57.340 Or if it is, it's going to be him, you know, you know, chained to the bulldozer.

00:20:03.140 Unbelievable.

00:20:03.820 Yeah.

00:20:04.040 I mean, you start to have a little bit of hope with Carney and Premier Smith working together

00:20:09.280 that maybe they can get something done.

00:20:10.520 And then there's a sort of, you know, impediment, which is just this left in government here

00:20:16.180 in British Columbia.

00:20:17.220 I want to switch gears a little bit and just ask you about the other issue I hear from people

00:20:21.700 here in British Columbia, concerns over is crime, drugs, homelessness.

00:20:28.000 You know, we see David Eby coming out saying basically that the delegitimization or that

00:20:35.280 it didn't work, that having legal drugs didn't work and that we should probably

00:20:40.300 reverse that.

00:20:41.020 So what was your position on the issue of drug use and how it's connected to, like,

00:20:48.740 homelessness, crime, the sort of encampments that you see here around Vancouver cause a

00:20:54.660 sort of public safety concern for citizens.

00:20:57.400 What was your position on that?

00:20:59.500 Yeah.

00:21:00.820 Again, like, the unfortunate part with all this is that you have, you have, and I just wish,

00:21:08.360 I just wish the government, the NDP government would be transparent, right?

00:21:12.180 Is you have a government that continues to over-promise and under-deliver.

00:21:16.280 So 2020, they campaigned on the fact that they believed in involuntary care, involuntary

00:21:22.920 treatment.

00:21:24.000 In 2024, they campaigned on voluntary care and involuntary treatment.

00:21:29.800 We're in 2026, nothing, right?

00:21:33.360 You know, you can walk these streets, doesn't have to be downtown Vancouver, it can be Surrey,

00:21:37.780 it can be Prince George, it can be Quenelle, it can be Terrace, it can be all over this

00:21:40.980 province.

00:21:42.560 And you see people on the streets that are suffering.

00:21:45.780 They are suffering and it's, it is a tragedy.

00:21:49.300 But what's more tragic is not doing anything.

00:21:51.960 And there's people on our streets that we know cannot make decisions for themselves.

00:21:58.340 We know that.

00:22:00.000 No, we, you don't need the police to tell you that.

00:22:02.500 You don't need the health professionals to tell you that.

00:22:04.720 You can go out to any corner of this province and see it for yourself.

00:22:09.460 So it's one thing not to do anything about it, but what's worse is actually to campaign

00:22:15.560 on it and then not do anything about it.

00:22:18.420 And I think that that's part of the frustration is that we can all see this and it's getting

00:22:23.320 worse, not better, right?

00:22:25.600 And, you know, when you look at decriminalization and things like that, the police were never

00:22:30.360 really enforcing small amounts of drug use.

00:22:33.280 They were, and that's, that's a known fact.

00:22:35.980 But the issue is, is that, you know, very clearly we need to make investments in recovery.

00:22:46.280 We do, right?

00:22:47.820 We need to make investments in recovery.

00:22:50.380 We need to make sure we close the gaps in the system between detox and treatment and

00:22:55.380 everything like that, that, that there is a streamlined process for people to get better.

00:23:03.060 But what this government continues to do is to double down on the fact that safe supply,

00:23:10.380 and there's no such thing as safe supply.

00:23:13.040 But, you know, allowing hard drug use to continue is, is the way forward.

00:23:17.520 And I fundamentally disagree with that.

00:23:20.080 It hasn't worked.

00:23:21.120 And if you go to other areas, whether it's Portland, San Francisco, you can see that in

00:23:24.700 spades.

00:23:25.100 So I don't know why, you know, there's, why we continue to go down this road when we know

00:23:33.220 what the results are going to be.

00:23:34.660 Well, I completely agree.

00:23:36.340 That seems inhumane to leave people out under their own devices when they can't even really

00:23:41.800 seem to control what they, what they're doing.

00:23:43.960 And I mean, you mentioned the safe supply.

00:23:46.560 That's another thing I hear from parents is concern over just how ubiquitous fentanyl has

00:23:52.820 become among other drugs.

00:23:54.320 So, you know, you don't even know what you're taking necessarily, and they're terrified for

00:23:58.060 what their children might, might not experiment with.

00:24:00.620 And it's like a different kind of world out there.

00:24:03.040 And so is, is a position of the BC conservatives to like crack down on, on like fentanyl import

00:24:09.860 as well, or what?

00:24:10.560 Oh, 100%.

00:24:11.900 And I think part of that is, is that we actually have to police our ports.

00:24:15.460 And again, that's something that we campaigned on.

00:24:18.860 And the NDP don't think that that's a priority.

00:24:21.520 And I think that you look around and you can see the different access points into British

00:24:26.280 Columbia.

00:24:26.820 You think that maybe we need to do things a little bit differently.

00:24:31.400 They're not, they're not doing that.

00:24:33.260 That's, that's their decision to do.

00:24:35.300 But for me is that, you know, if you look at the people that are really suffering on the

00:24:39.900 streets, you also have to look at the exploitation.

00:24:41.900 That they're going through as well, right?

00:24:43.760 Whether it's sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation, it's, it's rampant.

00:24:49.060 And, you know, the fact is, is that, you know, providing more to these individuals is, is not

00:24:56.340 going to be the remedy.

00:24:57.460 What the remedy is, is, is actually a path to recovery, a path to treatment and, you know,

00:25:03.480 a path back to, to a healthier life.

00:25:06.400 Well, a hundred percent.

00:25:07.040 I know we covered a lot of topics.

00:25:08.220 Really appreciate your time.

00:25:09.220 I just wanted to ask you, so what is the process for selecting a new leader?

00:25:12.700 What's that going to look like?

00:25:13.700 And when are we going to have a new leader in the BC Conservative Party?

00:25:16.260 So the beautiful part in all that is, is that anybody who takes out a membership in this

00:25:21.140 party will have as much say in who the new leader is as I do.

00:25:24.520 And I guess that's amazing.

00:25:26.420 So we're going to have a great race.

00:25:29.000 Nobody, I think, is officially declared at this point.

00:25:31.540 We, you know, I think there's people that have put their name out there that says that

00:25:34.480 they're going to run.

00:25:35.080 I think that's fantastic.

00:25:36.580 The race hasn't officially kicked off.

00:25:38.300 It will be, uh, surely we've got a great leadership committee, uh, being led by Scott

00:25:43.640 Lamb, who's former, uh, president of the Conservative Party of Canada.

00:25:47.140 So, uh, I'm excited, but like, I think it's great because it's going to be member driven

00:25:52.420 and, you know, these individuals are going to go out there.

00:25:54.940 They're going to put forward their platform and they're going to be talking about some

00:25:58.120 really, really important issues.

00:25:59.780 And I, I do believe this is that whoever wins this race will be the next premier of

00:26:04.880 British Columbia.

00:26:05.700 And that is, that's exciting because that's what we're electing.

00:26:09.200 All right.

00:26:09.540 Well, Trevor Halford, I really appreciate your time.

00:26:11.420 Thank you so much for joining us.

00:26:12.600 Thank you.

00:26:13.220 All right.

00:26:13.460 Take care.

00:26:14.420 All right, folks.

00:26:14.880 Thanks so much for tuning in.

00:26:15.800 I'm Candace Malcolm.

00:26:16.700 Have a great weekend and God bless.

Juno News - January 13, 2026

BC Conservatives vs NDP madness

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