Matt Recchi

David Eby seems to think being a billionaire is something to be condemned. Maybe he should take a look at what Jimmy Pattison has actually done for British Columbia. • EXPO 86: Pattison worked virtually full-time for five years without compensation to help make Expo 86 a reality and putting Vancouver on the world stage • Health care: He donated $75 million to St. Paul’s Hospital, described by the B.C. government as a historic contribution to Canadian health-care philanthropy. (BC News⁠) • Royal Columbian Hospital: He donated $30 million toward the redevelopment, with the new acute-care tower now bearing his name. • Surrey health care: He donated $5 million toward the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre, helping fund equipment and attract physicians. -Vancouver General Hospital: donated $20 million to VGH -He made major contributions to Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, Burnaby, Kelowna General and Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. A 2024 grant record shows nearly $20 million in foundation grants in one year, much of it going to B.C. health care. - Children’s health: the Pattison Group, has contributed tens of millions of dollars to B.C. Children’s Hospital, including $15 million for its family immunization clinic. • Jobs and investment: The Pattison Group grew from a single Vancouver car dealership into a major Canadian business empire employing thousands of people. So when David Eby looks at Jimmy Pattison and sees only “a billionaire,” British Columbians should remember what Pattison has actually contributed. He built businesses. He created jobs. He invested in our communities. He helped put Vancouver on the world stage. And he has donated millions to help British Columbians receive health care. We should be debating how to create more success stories like Jimmy Pattison not denigrating people simply because they achieved extraordinary success. B.C. needs more builders, more investment and more ambition, not politicians who turn success into something to be ashamed of and using him for cheap political talking points