NDP Failures: The Full Record

🎰 Casino Money Laundering — The "Vancouver Model" ($7.4 Billion)

When David Eby became Attorney General in July 2017, he found a money laundering operation so sophisticated it had become an international model for organized crime. The scale was staggering:

• $7.4 billion laundered in BC in a single year (2018 Expert Panel Report)
• $5.3 billion flowing through real estate transactions alone
• $100 million+ through casinos — bags of $20 bills converted to chips and out as large denominations
• Connected to Las Vegas, Macau, and Chinese underground banking networks
• The "Vancouver Model" became a name used internationally in money laundering circles

The Cullen Commission (BC's public inquiry, 2019–2022) concluded Canada's anti-money laundering regime was "not effective." The BC Lottery Corporation's CEO had ignored federal direction on cash handling because these transactions were large revenue generators. The NDP commissioned the inquiry, but the systemic failures spanned multiple governments.

🏠 BC Housing / Atira Scandal

In May 2022, a government-commissioned Ernst & Young audit found BC Housing had "inadequate oversight" and "unclear roles and responsibilities."

• Eby (as Housing Minister) dismissed the entire BC Housing board of commissioners
• Ordered a forensic audit of the agency
• Atira Women's Resource Society — a major BC Housing contractor — faced scrutiny over governance and compensation
• Atira CEO received a $50,000+ raise during the pandemic while managing properties with significant complaints
• Raised questions about billions in public funds flowing to non-profit operators without accountability

📋 FOI Suppression — Bill 22

On October 18, 2022, just weeks before leaving office, Horgan's government introduced Bill 22, reforming BC's Freedom of Information Act. The result:

• Excluded access to metadata from FOI requests
• Allowed government to disregard "excessively broad" FOI requests
• Added application fees, creating financial barriers to access
• Result: BC's Information Commissioner reported media FOI requests dropped 80% in the six months following passage
• Eby chose not to repeal the fees after taking power

🗳️ Anjali Appadurai Disqualification (2022 NDP Leadership)

When Horgan stepped down in 2022, climate activist Anjali Appadurai entered the leadership race and gained significant momentum — particularly with young and progressive members. She was disqualified one day before results were to be declared (October 20, 2022).

Critics alleged the party establishment engineered her removal to ensure Eby's victory. David Eby won the leadership by acclamation. One internal source described the NDP's "pervasive culture of cheating." No independent investigation was conducted.

💬 Selina Robinson — Education Minister Removed (Feb 2024)

Education Minister Selina Robinson made comments about pre-state Palestine referring to the land as "a piece of land that was a mess… not a people or a place." Comments were condemned as historically inaccurate and Islamophobic. Eby removed her from cabinet on February 5, 2024. She subsequently left the NDP caucus entirely and ran — unsuccessfully — as an independent in 2024.

⚡ 2020 Snap Election — Breaking the Green Agreement

The 2017 NDP-Green Confidence and Supply Agreement was supposed to provide stable governance for four years. In September 2020, Horgan called a snap election during the COVID-19 pandemic, breaking the agreement. He had promised not to call an election during the pandemic. The Greens — who had honoured the agreement through three years of minority government — called it a betrayal. Horgan was rewarded politically: the NDP won 57 seats, its largest majority ever.

🔍 BC Housing Forensic Audit (2022)

The Ernst & Young audit found BC Housing had "inadequate oversight" of its operations and funding partners. Eby dismissed the entire board and ordered a forensic audit. Billions of dollars were flowing to non-profit housing operators with inadequate supervision. The Atira scandal became the public face of this systemic failure.

🏥 Rural Emergency Room Closures

One of the most persistent healthcare failures under the BC NDP was the wave of rural emergency room closures caused by physician and nursing shortages. Communities affected included 100 Mile House, Lillooet, Ashcroft, Vanderhoof, Grand Forks, and many others — sometimes closed for weeks. Patients in some communities were forced to drive hours for emergency care. The BC Nurses' Union and Doctors of BC both raised formal concerns about staffing crises. By 2022–2023, multiple rural ERs were simultaneously closed or operating at reduced capacity.

💊 The Overdose Death Spiral

BC was already in a declared public health emergency (April 14, 2016) when the NDP took power. Under eight years of NDP governance, deaths rose every year:

The government's responses — supervised consumption sites, naloxone, safe supply, decriminalization — all failed to stem the death toll. Deaths continued rising despite over six years of increasingly interventionist drug policy.

🌆 Public Disorder Explosion

After January 2023, drug use became visible in parks, libraries, transit stations, and playgrounds across BC. Municipalities — Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna, Prince George — objected loudly. Police reported feeling powerless to enforce any behavioural standards. Public disorder complaints escalated dramatically. Downtown Vancouver's DTES open-air drug market intensified.

In June 2023, Eby himself issued a new bail directive requiring Crown prosecutors to seek jail for alleged violent criminals — an acknowledgment that the system was out of control.

🚗 Property Crime Surge

BC vehicle theft reached epidemic proportions under NDP governance, with organized theft rings exporting stolen vehicles internationally. Retail theft and "smash-and-grab" crimes increased dramatically in downtown Vancouver and other centres. Businesses reported billions in losses.

In September 2023, a Forensic Psychiatric Hospital patient who had previously been found not criminally responsible for murder stabbed someone in Vancouver's Chinatown on an unescorted day pass. Eby ordered a review, acknowledging "serious system failures."

💳 Five Credit Downgrades in Four Years

BC experienced five credit rating downgrades in four years — an extraordinary deterioration from the AAA status the province held when the Liberals left office. Each downgrade increases the cost of borrowing for the province, adding to the long-term burden on taxpayers through higher interest payments. S&P and Moody's both downgraded BC in February 2026 following the record $13B+ deficit budget.

💸 New Taxes Under the NDP

• Employer Health Tax (2018): Replaced MSP premiums with a payroll tax of up to 1.95% — shifted burden to employers, raising business costs
• Speculation & Vacancy Tax: 2% annually on foreign-owned residential properties
• Foreign Buyers Tax: Increased from 15% to 20%
• Carbon tax: Increased annually throughout the NDP years
• School tax surcharge: New surtax on high-value homes above $3 million