Tony Luck, MLA for the Fraser-Nicola, was put in charge of municipal affairs and local government portfolios in John Rustad's shadow cabinet for the Conservative Party of B.C. as of Nov. 19.
"I'm feeling really good about it," Luck said. "This was on my list, having been in civic government before. So, it seems to be a good fit."
The Conservative leader made the announcement on Nov. 20 and unveiled the list of 42 B.C Conservative MLAs who were given portfolios. In the press release, the Conservatives emphasized that the MLAs chosen are a "diverse and experienced group." And that they are committed to holding David Eby’s government accountable in "restoring prosperity, public safety, and affordability for every British Columbian."
As part of his new position, Luck said he will be contacting local municipalities and governments over the new year and speaking with them about the needs of their community. According to the MLA, the portfolio also puts him in charge of looking over and critiquing any crossover between the provincial and federal governments. This includes the things like (though not limited to) the Community Charter, the Vancouver charter, grants to the cities, and infrastructure.
While Luck said there is still much to learn about the portfolio, due to the newness of it, he wants to see more communication regarding "top-down approach to cities" when it comes to important factors like housing and infrastructure.
"One of the things I'd like to bring the table is we need to be having more consultation with the cities, before we put these top-down edicts down in the city," Luck said. "For example, look at Kelowna when this government shut down short-term rentals. The untended consequences was crippling the tourism in Kelowna. That does not help the overall economic picture for the province, right? So, maybe there's ways that we could certainly look at that and find find better ways of doing things like that."
Luck, before getting elected, worked as a real estate agent in Merritt and ran because he believes a change is necessary in B.C. Born and raised in Vancouver, he worked 26 years with BC Hydro, was a city councillor in Mission, and held leadership positions with the Fraser Valley Regional District and the Southern Interior Local Government Association
He will be working in opposition to NDP Ravi Kahlon, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
In addition to Luck, Chiliwack-Cultus Lake Á’a:líya Warbus was named house leader for the Conservative Party of B.C.
To contact Luck readers can email him at tony.luck@conservativebc.ca.
