BC Conservative Interim Leader Lorne Doerkson launched a new plan to make British Columbia an energy superpower while confirming that, if elected, his party would repeal both the province's sexual orientation and gender ideology curriculum and “DRIPA.”
During a press conference on Monday, Doerkson launched a plan to improve the province’s economy by rapidly developing ambitious energy projects and shipping those products to international markets.
Doerkson also affirmed that the Conservative Party of British Columbia would repeal the sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum and scrap Premier David Eby’s NDP Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which puts private property rights at risk.
During the live broadcast, Doerkson said he would end the NDP government’s repeated handicapping of liquid natural gas (LNG) projects and other natural resource programs.
His plan is to double the province’s LNG production in BC by 2032 and triple its production by 2035.
“We will deliver this by cutting red tape, faster permitting, faster approvals. We will uphold the highest environmental standards in the world because that is the British Columbia way,” he said.
“But we won’t let regulatory reviews become bureaucratic black holes that kill good projects through attrition. If a project is good for British Columbia, it is going to get a yes. In fact, it’s going to get a very quick yes.”
When asked how he would do this while respecting the province's various First Nations without having to go to court, Doerkson said the party was committed to working with First Nations.
“The challenges that we have faced in First Nations with First Nations and working together have been no question a very serious challenge. Drippa hasn’t helped that,” he said. “I am committed to working with First Nations. I am committed to building these projects together with First Nations for the benefit of all of us, and I want partnerships with First Nations.”
He said these projects should make every British Columbian, including First Nations, “equally successful.”
“We need to make everyone equally successful here, and equally both in a number of different ways, financially, socially, in all respects,” he said. “We have to work together with our First Nations, and trust me when I say this, I am very committed to that.”
He also affirmed that the BC Conservatives want to greenlight any projects that are going to be positive for the province “in the quickest possible way.”
“Our debt under the NDP is at an all-time high, and if we think that we can wait for another 30 days on this, we’re wrong. We are in a very serious situation,” Doerkson said. “The reality is, with First Nations and with respect to First Nations… I am a respectful person, and I believe in team building, and I know that there is a way to move forward as partners with First Nations.”
He said that working together with Indigenous communities will help the province become “the strongest” in Canada.
“We can be an absolute world leader when it comes to energy. And trust me when I say this: I will be open, listening carefully, and willing to work very closely with our First Nations.”
When asked about his policy to get rid of SOGI and DRIPA, Doerkson said SOGI needs to be removed from schools while still ensuring students who identify as LGBT+ feel safe and not discriminated against in schools.
“I firmly believe that we have to repeal SOGI,” he said noting that the curriculum has become “an absolute lightning rod for division” in BC.
“Obviously we have to provide a safe place for our kids. Just like I said in Bridgeview yesterday, I went as a child to the Bridgeview Elementary School and felt safe. We need to continue that tradition,” he said.
“But I do believe that Soji has to be repealed. I believe the same for DRIPA. It has not created the security for British Columbians that it was met to achieve. We are in court everywhere in this province, so the reality is it has to be repealed.”
Please repeal the mandatory high school native indoctrination course:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/indigenous-focused-graduation-requirements
How is what Doerkson just said any different than what Kerry-Lynne Findlay wanted ?