Darryl Schmidt asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

What is your opinion on the current state of public construction project bidding transparency?

Anna Thomas Answered

I have to acknowledge that I'm not familiar with the issues involving bidding transparency on public construction projects. That said, if elected -- of course -- I will make sure to educate myself and see if government, particularly the Ministry of Labour, has a role to play in ensuring that all bids on public projects are fair and transparent.

Darryl Schmidt asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

What are your plans to stimulate high paying jobs specifically in the Kamloops area?

Anna Thomas Answered

The building of a cancer diagnosis and treatment centre--along with the NDP's commitment to hire 7,000 new health care employees province-wide--will mean that high paying jobs will be available in our community and that will help encourage people to settle in Kamloops. The NDP's support of Community Benefit Agreements, with their preference for local workers and local procurement, will also mean high paying, family supporting, union protecting jobs. Investments by the Horgan government in post-secondary education means that TRU will continue to add faculty and staff jobs.

Darryl Schmidt asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

What are your plans to increase affordable housing if any?

Anna Thomas Answered

The NDP's Homes for BC plan--with a budgeted investment of $300 million over 3 years--will help make accommodation more affordable for British Columbians. Here are some details:

• Freezing rents to the end of 2021 and capping increases after that: To make life more affordable for renters – particularly during the hardship caused by COVID-19 – we will freeze rents until the end of 2021. After that, the action we took to limit rent increases to the rate of inflation will be made permanent.
• Providing a renter’s rebate:
We will bring in an income-tested renter’s rebate of $400 a year for households earning up to $80,000 annually that are not already receiving other rental support.
• Reducing construction costs to make homes
more affordable:
By bringing down costs for developers, we can bring down the cost of housing for people. We’ll streamline and modernize housing construction by eliminating outdated parking minimums in projects close to
public transit, develop a single-window provincial permitting process, and work with communities
to streamline approval processes at the local level.
• Controlling the rising cost of strata insurance:
We’ve begun tackling this problem already by closing loopholes in strata insurance and beefing up regulatory powers – and tasked the BC Financial Services Authority to investigate and find new ways to help bring insurance costs down. If rates have not corrected by the end of 2021, we will develop a public strata insurance option, similar to Saskatchewan.
• Continuing to deliver a steady supply of new affordable homes:
For years, when housing related revenues were soaring, BC Liberal government investments in affordable public housing fell short. The resulting lack of affordable housing has hurt people, communities, and our
economy. Our government has started to turn that around, with more than 25,000 affordable homes – including co-op housing – complete or underway across the province in just three years. But there is more work to do. At stake in this election is our 10-year housing plan, and the 114,000 new, affordable housing it’s bringing to tens of thousands of British Columbians. We will continue rolling out our Homes For BC plan, the largest investment in affordable housing in our province’s history.
• Providing more homes for Indigenous people
in BC : We will deliver the remaining units in our $550 million commitment to building 1,750 new
homes, both on- and off-reserve – and pressure the federal government to do its share in providing urgent housing for Indigenous people.
• Getting more affordable housing built through Housing Hub partnerships:
Through the Housing Hub we launched in 2018, we’ll provide additional low-interest loans to add tens of thousands more homes for middle-income families. We’ll expand the role of this innovative team to partner with non-profit and co-op housing providers to acquire and preserve existing rental housing.
We’ll also instruct the Housing Hub to look for new pathways to home ownership through rent-to-
own or other equity-building programs.
• Building more supportive housing:
With 2,800 units of supportive housing already built in just a few years, we’ll increase that total to at least
5,000 units through our 10-year Homes For BC plan – helping to curb existing encampments and
prevent new encampments from being created. Kamloops has benefited from this investment with new supportive housing under construction on St. Paul Street.
• New rent supplements for people moving on from supportive housing:
We will provide rent supplements for residents of supportive housing who are ready to move on to independent living – freeing up space in existing supportive housing.

Darryl Schmidt asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

What are your plans to increase affordable housing if any?

Anna Thomas Answered

The NDP's Homes for BC plan--with a budgeted investment of $300 million over 3 years--will help make accommodation more affordable for British Columbians. Here are some details:
And here’s where our Homes For BC plan will
take us in the next few years:
• Freezing rents to the end of 2021 and capping increases after that: To make life more affordable for renters – particularly during the hardship caused by COVID-19 – we will freeze rents until the end of 2021. After that, the action we took to limit rent increases to the rate of inflation will be made permanent.
• Providing a renter’s rebate:
We will bring in an income-tested renter’s rebate of $400 a year for households earning up to $80,000 annually that are not already receiving other rental support.
• Reducing construction costs to make homes
more affordable:
By bringing down costs for developers, we can bring down the cost of housing for people. We’ll streamline and modernize housing construction by eliminating outdated parking minimums in projects close to
public transit, develop a single-window provincial permitting process, and work with communities
to streamline approval processes at the local level.
• Controlling the rising cost of strata insurance:
We’ve begun tackling this problem already by closing loopholes in strata insurance and beefing up regulatory powers – and tasked the BC Financial Services Authority to investigate and find new ways to help bring insurance costs down. If rates have not corrected by the end of 2021, we will develop a public strata insurance option, similar to Saskatchewan.
• Continuing to deliver a steady supply of new affordable homes:
For years, when housing related revenues were soaring, BC Liberal government investments in affordable public housing fell short. The resulting lack of affordable housing has hurt people, communities, and our
economy. Our government has started to turn that around, with more than 25,000 affordable homes – including co-op housing – complete or underway across the province in just three years. But there is more work to do. At stake in this election is our 10-year housing plan, and the 114,000 new, affordable housing it’s bringing to tens of thousands of British Columbians. We will continue rolling out our Homes For BC plan, the largest investment in affordable housing in our province’s history.
• Providing more homes for Indigenous people
in BC : We will deliver the remaining units in our $550 million commitment to building 1,750 new
homes, both on- and off-reserve – and pressure the federal government to do its share in providing urgent housing for Indigenous people.
• Getting more affordable housing built through Housing Hub partnerships:
Through the Housing Hub we launched in 2018, we’ll provide additional low-interest loans to add tens of thousands more homes for middle-income families. We’ll expand the role of this innovative team to partner with non-profit and co-op housing providers to acquire and preserve existing rental housing.
We’ll also instruct the Housing Hub to look for new pathways to home ownership through rent-to-
own or other equity-building programs.
• Building more supportive housing:
With 2,800 units of supportive housing already built in just a few years, we’ll increase that total to at least
5,000 units through our 10-year Homes For BC plan – helping to curb existing encampments and
prevent new encampments from being created. Kamloops has benefited from this investment with new supportive housing under construction on St. Paul Street.
• New rent supplements for people moving on from supportive housing:
We will provide rent supplements for residents of supportive housing who are ready to move on to independent living – freeing up space in existing supportive housing.

Dan Mitchell asks the Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

Do you support a cancer clinic in Kamloops and do you think that will reduce the overall care by having one in Kelowna and one in Kamloops

Anna Thomas Answered

I'm very proud to be running as an NDP candidate, particularly after John Horgan's commitment on October 17th to build a cancer diagnostic and treatment centre in Kamloops. Local residents need to have a local facility to avoid long, expensive trips to seek treatment. Overall care will actually be enhanced by this decision and all residents of the Kamloops area will benefit.

Cameran Plater asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

I don't really expect much of a response but I'd still like to know where each candidate stands on the trans mountain pipeline and why

Anna Thomas Answered

The John Horgan NDP government supported a number of court challenges of the Kinder Morgan (later Trans Mountain) pipeline because the project was seen as too environmentally risky for British Columbians. One of the primary concerns was the immense increase in tanker traffic through the Salish Sea and into Burrard Inlet. Also, there have been a sad record of pipeline spills both in Canada and the U.S.
The courts have ruled against these challenges and the TMX project is underway.

Wendy J asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

What are your thoughts on ICBC? Should we shut it down entirely? Should we try to lower rates? What's the plan!

Anna Thomas Answered

As you know, the BC Liberals used ICBC as a personal ATM for their wealthy friends. The NDP knows that public auto insurance can--if properly managed--bring benefits to all drivers, particularly young drivers who are often at the mercy of private insurers and have to pay far too much for their premiums.
Here are the commitments of the NDP:
Making car insurance more affordable:
By moving ICBC to a new enhanced care model, we will reduce premiums by an average of 20 percent, while increasing the care available for people who are seriously injured in accidents.
• Delivering a fair deal to BC drivers:
Provide COVID-19 premium rebates to BC drivers from any surplus ICBC delivers during the pandemic.

Blake Anderson asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

What are your plans to help small Kamloops businesses that have been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic? Looking for ideas to help during and recovery afterwards. I hope there's an afterwards soon......

Anna Thomas Answered

The NDP platform contains a number of important commitments to support businesses, especially those that have been hard hit by COVID-19:
• Connect small business owners to mentors:
We will expand the successful RevUp program that brings business owners together with
experienced mentors who provide coaching and advice on growing a successful, innovative
business.
• Help small businesses access new markets:
Having your products and services ready to go is one thing – finding a market for them is another.
That’s why we’ll expand BC’s Export Navigator program which helps local businesses find and
access new global markets.
• Enhance mass timber’s potential as the construction material of the future: Mass timber’s time has arrived – cleaner to produce than traditional lumber or concrete, it is the future of construction. We’ve already designated the new Royal BC Museum and parts of the new St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver as mass timber buildings, and we’ll continue to make it a priority for public buildings moving forward.
If we create forestry as a value-added industry, jobs will be available and many mills closed under the BC Liberals can re-open.
• Support new companies who are bringing innovation to agriculture: We will increase our support for agri-tech through the Canada/BC Agri-Innovation Program – helping BC companies grow, hire more workers, and position our province as an agri-tech leader, while protecting farm lands in the ALR.
• Help BC restaurants and hospitality businesses through COVID-19 and beyond: We’ll continue to support this sector by making permanent the urgent action we took in the spring: authorizing the expansion of service areas, such as patios; allowing restaurants and pubs to purchase beer, wine, and spirits at wholesale cost instead of liquor store retail prices; and allowing liquor delivery with takeout. Again, this commitment will assist Kamloops businesses among the hardest hit over the past six months.
• Support the tourism industry as it moves toward recovery: In our government’s Economic Recovery Plan we are providing critical supports to help the industry move towards recovery, including a Tourism Task Force that brings together leaders from business, labour, First Nations and not-for-profits. A re-elected John Horgan government will act on the ideas coming out of their work. Kamloops relies a great deal on tourism, and our small business sector, in particular, will benefit from these recovery initiatives.
• Keep film and TV production competitive during this difficult time: We will re-establish the government-film sector task force to recommend the size and term of a new visual effects tax credit based on production costs. This special measure will help this critical sector weather the pandemic’s impact while protecting jobs and market share. The Kamloops region has hosted a number of TV and film productions, creating good-paying jobs. Tax credits would help producers choose Kamloops.

Shannon Thompson asks the Kamloops-North Thompson, Kamloops-South Thompson Candidates

How important do you think it is to have our MLA be a member of the party that forms government

Anna Thomas Answered

Having a local MLA in the legislature's governing caucus provides for opportunities for that MLA to advocate strongly for her constituents, knowing that her fellow caucus members will listen carefully and respond. I am running because I listen to all members of our community and as a government MLA would be in a position to push for those policies that meet the needs of all.