Andrew Wilkinson promises to slash PST to 0% for one year and reinstate it at 3% following year

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Monday Covid-19 update

There has been one death and two new cases of COVID-19 in the Island Health region. The new cases are among 267 confirmed in BC since Friday. The death is among three that occurred over that time. Two deaths were residents of long term care homes on the lower mainland. BC's Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry says health officials did not know the man who died on Vancouver Island was suffering from COVID-19.

"This was a man in his sixties, who did have underlying health conditions and unfortunately died in the community at home and was identified as being positive for COVID after his death. So very disturbing and tragic for his family and our condolences go out to his family and his community."—Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

The unidentified man's death is the first in the Island Health region since May the 6th. 233 people have died from COVID-19 in BC, including six in Island Health. In other COVID news, there has been a new community outbreak in Kelowna where five cases of the virus have been tracked to a service at the Calvary Chapel Church on September the 20th. And, there are three new outbreaks at care homes on the lower mainland. In those cases, one worker at each facility has tested positive for the virus.

Woman killed on Highway One near Nanaimo Airport

A 37-year-old woman from Nanaimo and her dog were killed on Highway One, just south of the airport, early this morning. The highway was shut down for several hours while investigators surveyed the scene. It appears the woman may have deliberately stepped into traffic. She was hit head-on in the southbound lane of the highway just before 6 a.m. RCMP Corporal Chris Manseau says a preliminary investigation has found no fault with the driver.

"The road conditions were good at the time, although that area is known to be dark. It's not believed that speed, alcohol or distracted driving were a cause of this collision."—RCMP Corporal Chris Manseau.

The driver of the Blue Nissan sedan was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

BC Liberals make their first big election promise

In his first major announcement during the election campaign, Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson says if elected, his party will eliminate the Provincial Sales Tax for one year. And reinstate it at 3 per cent in the second year. Wilkinson says the idea is to stimulate the economy by leaving British Columbians with more money to spend. Eliminating the seven per cent PST for one year would mean close to $7 billion dollars in lost tax revenue—but Wilkinson says a BC family with a $120,000 dollar a year income would save more than $1700 if the PST was eliminated. The NDP has responded by saying a PST cut would disproportionately help the wealthy who spend more on luxury items.