Tuesday October 6, 2020 | VANCOUVER, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Today in Vancouver, NDP Leader John Horgan unveiled the BC NDP party platform which includes 154 commitments … of which “60 are brand new and the rest building on the work we’ve already started”
He told media and livestream viewers that “we can’t afford to go back”, saying governance is about facing “the problems of today to make life better for all British Columbians”. He said “after 16 years of BC Liberal neglect” that many problems were created and “we’re committed to solving them”.
The platform is guided by “four basic principles that will help us create a province that we want now and in the future”:
- A more affordable province for everyone;
- Lasting and meaningful reconciliation with indigenous people;
- A better future through fighting climate change;
- Ensuring that workers and small businesses are put at the front of economic recovery.
Key details include a $1,000 one-time recovery benefit, a rent freeze until 2022, a renter’s rebate for households earning under $80,000/year (if not already receiving rental support), and free transit for children under the age of 12.
Another key announcement is a commitment to develop a second medical school in BC, to shore up the number of doctors in the province. With a hub-and-spokes approach, Horgan said the school would likely be based in Vancouver with outlying campuses in other areas (already there is medical training at UNBC and UVic). He said his government’s support of on-the-ground health care has been enhanced by rolling out several Urgent Primary Care Centres around the province in the last few years, but that BC still needs more physicians.
The platform in detail:
The BC NDP site includes platform details about COVID-19, Health Care, Affordability, Security, Community, Jobs, Economy and Energy.
