British Columbia’s Green Party has unveiled its complete election platform, which covers policies ranging from climate change to public safety.
Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau released the platform on Tuesday morning, as her party aims to challenge the B.C. NDP and B.C. Conservatives in the Oct. 19 provincial vote.
The release came as NDP Leader David Eby pledged a pair of health-care initiatives.
The Greens had already laid out a number of commitments, including promises to establish a network of 93 community health centres, cover six visits per year with a mental health professional under the provincial medical services plan, and maintain carbon pricing in B.C. while increasing the rebate residents receive.
Tuesday’s platform announcement included a policy that would make all vaccines free and available to British Columbians.
The party has also promised a special taskforce to investigate missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people, and says it would continue to support the implementation of SOGI 123 in classrooms.
If elected, the Greens would require supervised consumption sites to be set up in all public hospitals.
There would be tax increases for homes valued at over $3 million, and the carbon tax would be increased for companies creating the most pollution in B.C.
No new permits for fracking, pipelines or LNG would be granted and gas production would be phased out under a Green government.
NDP health-care pledges
Meanwhile, at a campaign event in Castlegar, B.C., NDP leader Eby said his government would cover travel costs for cancer treatments and extend employment protections for people with serious illnesses.
He said rural residents face “unique challenges” accessing health care, and bolstering travel assistance would allow them to be reimbursed for mileage if they can’t get a flight to access treatment.
The New Democrats said in a statement that changes to the province’s travel assistance program would allow people to receive “upfront payments.”
An NDP government would also extend the “job protection” period for people with illnesses to 27 weeks, up from the current eight days, with Eby saying people shouldn’t fear losing a job “when they’re fighting for their life.”
Neither the NDP nor the Conservative Party of B.C. have yet released their full platforms.
As part of the second week of the election campaign, all three major party leaders are expected to come face-to-face for multiple events on Wednesday.
They will debate live in the morning on Vancouver radio station CKNW, followed by an event hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.