Politicians from all levels of government and every corner of British Columbia gathered at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Victoria in late September.
It was a chance for local government and First Nations members to come together in person to discuss key policy issues and engage with other orders of government.
For the BC Conservatives, it was seemingly a chance to hear some hard truths.
Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew joined NowMedia video host Jim Csek for a discussion about several topics this week, including the current state of his Conservative party.
When asked about how the John Rustad-led Conservatives have gone from the incredible success of their near election victory to seemingly being in disarray today one year later, Dew admitted it was a "fair" evaluation.
According to Dew, they’re continuously hearing of people’s frustration with the sitting BC NDP government, which comes with extra frustration that they’re not being challenged by the Conservatives.
“A lot of these mayors and councillors were very direct in saying to us, we need you to get your s**t together,” he candidly noted. “We need you guys to get your s**t together, act like grownups, act like a government in waiting, act like you are in fact ready to take the place of this government.”
Dew didn’t dispel those comments, but rather said that it was crucial the Conservatives “get to that point as soon as possible.”
The MLA claimed that Premier David Eby and the NDP have their own problems within their party, even if “that dirty laundry hasn’t been aired in the public square quite so much.”
Although Dew is consistently critical of the work Eby and company are doing, he said it “doesn’t diminish” the “challenging times” and “growing pains” his party is going through.
In the half-hour discussion, Dew and Csek also discussed small business struggles, economic indicators, pipelines, investment uncertainties, property rights and plenty more.
You can watch the full interview through the embedded video above or by clicking this link.
