Vancouver Sun | Vaughn Palmer | May 27, 2020
VICTORIA — Labour Minister Harry Bains was nearing the end of a media briefing last week when he fielded a question that would cause him no end of trouble.
What did he think of the B.C. Liberal proposal that WorkSafeBC use its surplus to help businesses buy personal protective equipment for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic?
“Good question,” replied Bains. “Every business has their own suppliers, and they should work with them. And if they need support from WorkSafeBC, they should approach WorkSafeBC.”
The briefing moved on. But once it was over, Bains called Rob Shaw of The Vancouver Sun, who’d asked the question, to provide an important detail.
He disclosed that the WorkSafe surplus, the one referenced by the B.C. Liberals, had been pretty much vaporized by the novel coronavirus pandemic-driven downturn in the stock market.
“WorkSafeBC is not immune to COVID-19 either,” the labour minister told the reporter.