Th B.C. NDP are promising to improve essential services and create good jobs and a sustainable economy if they are elected on May 9.
“The theme of our campaign is that we want to make life affordable for people,” said Claire Trevena, candidate for the North Island. “We think we can make the B.C. services work for people again. Stable funding for education. Making sure that seniors in care homes have the adequate amount of hours so they can get bathed. And those who are at home get the support so they can stay at home.”
The NDP are promising to get rid of MSP fees, freeze BC Hydro rates and stop the increase to ICBC rates as well as cutting back ferry fees on small routes by 15 per cent and freezing fares on major routes.
They will also be reintroducing the 100 per cent seniors’ weekday discount.
“We know this doesn’t take it back to the levels of 16 years ago but it will help people somewhat in dealing with the extraordinary cost,” Trevena said.
To address the housing crisis occurring in many communities, the NDP plan on building 114,000 rental and co-op homes and provide renters an annual rental home credit of $400.
Trevena said this will tighten up the renters protection and stop renovictions and ensure landlords aren’t just jacking up the rental rates.
The NDP have also promised interest free student loans and a $1,000 completion grant.
“We want to have the best educated people in the country and we can do it,” Trevena said. “It’s hard enough having a student loan anyway but if you are facing massive interest rates we think that this is prohibitive for students so we want to make sure that students get the opportunity to participate.”
On the subject of affordability the NDP are also promising $10 a day child care.
In terms of education and other services the NDP are promising proper funding to schools, increased access to health care professionals, faster access to mental health services and increased time home care workers can spend with seniors.
They are promising to tackle backlogs in the court system, develop and implement a poverty reduction plan and restore BC Parks by hiring more park rangers and conservation officers and building new campsites.
Trevena said the NDP will be investing $10 billion in infrastructure which will create 96,000 jobs.
“And these are real jobs, not fake LNG jobs,” she said. “These are jobs in working on ensuring we are getting our roads built, we are ensuring we are getting our houses renovated, we are ensuring we are getting our houses built using B.C. wood, these are very serious jobs, they are not the mythical fairy dust jobs that the Liberals promised in the last election, these are real jobs.”
They intend to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour, and support small businesses with a half-point cut to the small business tax rate.
Climate action is a focus for the NDP as well as sparking innovation and growth in the tech sector and revitalizing the forest industry.
“We do need a good economy and we have a plan that will create thousands of jobs right across the province, not camp jobs, these are jobs around the province that we are talking about,” Trevena said.
For more election coverage go here.
