The BC Greens say their platform will put the province back in the hands of British Columbians, not lobbyists, corporations or special interests.
Sue Moen, the candidate for the North Island, has released a series of comments about the platform, that the Greens are revealing in stages.
One was a focus on lifelong learning.
“We will invest in free/subsidized childcare, extend early childhood education to three and four-year-olds and provide a healthy start for schoolchildren,” she said. “We will invest in our teachers and in worker skills, upgrading and retraining, alleviate student debt and assist youth to find employment.”
The party’s platform also says the BC Green government would increase funding to the public education system from $250 million to $1.5 billion, invest in learning ready initiatives such as meal programs and provide $140 million over three years to train teachers to effectively deliver the new curriculum.
In the realm of post secondary education, the Greens plan to implement needs-based grants for post-secondary students, offer tax forgiveness of up to $2,000 for up to five years to assist tuition repayment as well as investing $65 million over four years to support co-op and work experience programs for high school and undergraduate students.
Moen also declared that yes you can be serious about climate action and still prosper.
“Acting on climate is about positioning B.C. to succeed in the emerging economy and the world we will leave for our children,” she said. “We will follow four pathways to reducing emissions to meet the 2030 goals: change in behaviour, efficiency, low carbon fuels and materials and sinks. We have a moral imperative to leave the world better off than we found it.”
The platform promises that a Green government would take bold action on climate change and position B.C. to be a leader in low-carbon energy.
Moen also stated that she believes we can have healthy, sustained forests for everyone.
“We will reform the Forest Management Tenure System,” she said. “We will include forest health, planting, sustainable harvesting, eco-system repair through local processing and value added in our plan.”
The platform promises to re-establish the integrity of the Environmental Assessment process, engage in meaningful consultation with the indigenous people and identify and protect old-growth forest reserves and protect them.
Under a Green government, fish farms would have no future in the ocean.
“A land-based aquaculture industry could be a strong and thriving industry in B.C. with well-paying, local jobs,” Moen said.
“We will immediately protect our wild salmon by removing pens from migratory routes, put a moratorium on new licenses and support workers to retain or transition.”
On the other hand the B.C. Greens plan to make significant investment in the agricultural sector.
The platform promises to enhance access to farmland and develop new models of farm tenure, to increase production of food in B.C. and enhance food security, to address labour shortages and to increase the number of British Columbians choosing farming as a career option.
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