The B.C. NDP pledges to create more spaces for childcare, expand before-and-after-school care and create more housing by building more of it on Crown land and raise the housing speculation tax.
The party revealed these planks as part of a party platform released this morning in a suburban neighbourhood of Surrey.
According to figures provided by the party, the platform would add just under $3 billion to the projected deficit of $9.6 billion in 2025-26. Government expects $490 million in additional revenues based on fast-tracking critical mineral mines, increases to B.C. Hydro's capital plan and economic activity from tax cuts.
B.C. NDP Leader David Eby announced the platform in the riding of Surrey-Serpentine River, where former RCMP officer Baltej Singh Dhillon is running for the his party against B.C. Conservative and former Surrey mayor Linda Hepner, and independent Jim McMurtry.
The location 鈥� a quiet suburban street near an elementary school 鈥� can be read as a signal to voters in the fast-growing suburbs of Metro Vancouver that will likely decide the election.
Standing in a local backyard, Eby acknowledged various challenges around affordability, housing and health care. "That's what drive me -- working to solve those problems, those challenges for British Columbians....I believe in British Columbia's potential and our biggest asset is our people and this plan is about building up that asset."
The B.C. NDP becomes the second party to release its election platform after the B.C. Greens had released theirs on Tuesday in Victoria. Conservative Leader John Rustad did not give a specific date when his party would roll out its fully-costed platform, but this morning promised additional announcements in the coming days.
Among the biggest new single ticket-items in the New Democratic platform is a pledge of $500 million to build more child care spaces and a pledge to expand a pilot project that uses school properties for before and after school care from four districts to the rest of the province inclusive staffing through educational assistants. It is not clear yet how much that measure would cost.
The housing section of the platform includes several measures already announced, including plans to subsidize 40 per cent of 25,000 housing units across B.C.
Other elements of the NDP's new housing policies remain uncertain, starting with the future size of the housing speculation tax. It currently applies to Greater Victoria, Metro Vancouver, and 12 municipalities on Vancouver Island, the Fraser Valley and parts of the Okanagan including Kelowna, where Conservative Party of Leader John Rustad will be campaigning Friday and Saturday. The tax will extend to 13 more municipalities in January 2025.
It is also not clear yet how much new Crown land a future B.C. NDP government plans to make available, or how much more housing would be created. Government staff have been creating an inventory of potential lands for the past two years.
Other housing elements of note include the elimination of 'no pet' clauses for purpose-built rental apartment buildings and "cracking down on the inflated cost of buying a home" with details to be announced later.
The party pledged to expand the eligibility of Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters and increase the senior's supplement by $50 to $149 per month. Other signature policies include a $1,000 tax cut for 90 per cent of families, starting first with a rebate next year, then a permanent tax cut in 2026. Eby had first announced that measure last week.
Outside housing, notable promises include $500 million to create more spaces for child care and Other notable elements include free menopause treatment with a figure yet to be announced, a naloxone availability expansion and the building B.C.'s first-ever addictions treatment centre for construction workers. The party is also pledging to build a second RedFish Healing Centre along with additional satellite facilities.
On the economic front, the B.C. NDP pledges to: create a clean economic transition fund with revenues raised from oil and gas development; double electricity generation by 2050; and boost the forestry sector by reviewing the stumpage system among other measures including planting 300 million trees every year.
Eby said the stumpage system stems from a different time, adding that it requires urgent reforms to help get more value out of existing timber supplies. "We will do this as quickly as possible," he said, adding that his party also plans to roll out additional support for the industry and affected workers.
Thursday's roll-out came out after Rustad had promised to end ICBC's monopoly on car insurance, an issue that somewhat overshadowed Rustad's appearance before a construction industry association and Eby's platform roll-out.
The pledge, announced Wednesday afternoon by press release, would see a future Conservative government open up the automobile insurance market. 鈥淏ritish Columbians deserve the freedom to choose the insurance plan that works best for them, rather than being forced into a broken monopoly,鈥� Rustad said. The party has also promised to eliminate limits on payouts for serious injuries. 鈥淭he Conservative Party will make sure that anyone with life-altering injuries has the right to representation and the ability to fight for the support they need to get their lives back on track,鈥� he added.
Rustad said Thursday morning that more competition for automobile insurance would drive down costs. He also rejected suggestions that ending no-fault insurance would drive up costs, adding that 85 per cent of cases involve minor injuries. Proposed changes would not affect those cases, he said. But he added that he is not interested in having a Crown corporation that focuses more on its bottom-line than on serving its clients.
Eby responded by saying that Rustad's plan would drive up costs for younger drivers and owners of large vehicle fleets in accusing him of pandering to injury lawyers. Rustad's plan represents a "direct threat" to affordability in British Columbia, Eby added.
