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Nicola Spurling

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Misc. topics

Affordable Housing

BC Green's promise

Affordable Housing

A BC Green government will:

  • Introduce measures to eliminate money laundering and property speculation
  • Implement a provincial housing plan for affordable rental accommodation
  • Invest up to $750 million per year to create approx. 4,000 units of affordable housing per year
  • Update the Residential Tenancy Act to protect renters

Agriculture

BC Green's promise

Make a Significant Investment in B.C.'s Agricultural Sector
  1. A Green government will invest $30 million to enhance the long term viability of the agricultural sector (including incentives to produce food on Agricultural Land Reserve land, the establishment of agricultural apprenticeship programs at the secondary and post-secondary levels, and the expansion of 'Buy Local' initiatives.
  2. A Green government would introduce new legistlation to enhance the protection of agricultural land.
  3. A B.C. Green government will provide $40 million to fund research, and establish regional agricultural bureaus to provide expertise and support to local farmers to adapt to a changing climate.
  4. A B.C. Green government will collaborate with the indigenous people, the not-for-profit sector, and other land interests to enhance access to land farming.
  5. A Green government will work with farm operators to introduce measures to address labour shortages in agriculture.

Childcare

BC Green's promise

Free Preschool and Daycare

A BC Green government will provide:

  • Free preschool for 3- and 4-year olds
  • Free daycare for children up to age 2 with working parents
  • Up to $500/month for families with a stay-at-home parent and a child up to age 2

Democratic Reform

BC Green's promise

Democratic Reform

Introduce a proportional voting system in time for the 2021 provincial general election

  • Introduce legislation to establish a Provincial Budget Officer
  • Ban members of the Cabinet from engaging in partisan fundraising activities to address unethical cash-for-access events
  • Institute a multi-year prohibition on lobbying for former Senior Public Office Holders

Education

BC Green's promise

Increase Funding for Public Education

A BC Green government will:

  • Increase funding for our public education system over four years from $250 million to $1.5 billion
  • Invest $35 million into public education learning-readiness initiatives such as meal programs
  • Provide $140 million over three years to train teachers to effectively deliver the new K-12 curriculum

Environment and Natural Resources

BC Green's promise

Resilient management of our natural assets

A BC Green government will:

  • Re-establish the integrity of the Environmental Assessment process
  • Implement new guidelines for the use of qualified professionals that eliminate the potential for conflict of interest
  • Identify old-growth forest reserves and protect them
  • Engage in meaningful consultation and engagement that respects indigenous resource rights and title

Health care

BC Green's promise

Healthcare

A BC Green government will:

  • Establish a ministry responsible for healthy living, wellness and preventative medicine
  • Develop an Essential Drugs program to reduce the cost of prescription drugs
  • Create a ministry for mental health and addictions
  • Support seniors and others who need assistance to live in their own homes
  • Add $100 million over 4 years to hire and support more social workers

Homelessness

BC Green's promise

Income security

A BC Green government will:

  • Begin the transition to liveable incomes with an increase in Persons with Disabilities (PWD), income assistance and shelter allowance rates.
  • Introduce a basic income support for youth aged 18 to 24 who are transitioning out of foster care.
  • Draw on experience in other jurisdictions to design a basic income pilot project that will test its ability to reduce poverty, improve health, housing and employment.
  • Establish an arm's-length fair wages commission, that will be tasked with establishing a new minimum wage and overseeing regular rate reviews.
  • Work with the federal government to provide a Low-Income Benefit of up to $205 per month for low-income families.
  • Roll Medical Service Plan (MSP) premiums into the payroll tax and personal income tax to ensure that they are administered in a more equitable and progressive manner.

Innovation and BC Tech

BC Green's promise

Strategy for the new economy

A business environment for the new economy

A BC Green government will:

  • Establish an Emerging Economy Task Force to address the changing nature of business over the next 10 to 25 years.
  • Work with the federal government to develop a systematic approach to the tax system that is both progressive and neutral. A Green government will simplify the tax system and utilize it to achieve goals such as greening the economy and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.
  • Review existing programs to ensure they are effectively supporting innovation and new business models in the emerging economy.
  • Modernise labour laws to recognize new and evolving types of work relationships in the emerging economy by introducing a fairer, more responsive and more inclusive code that contributes to increased competitiveness.

Growing sustainable enterprises in BC

A BC Green government will:

  • Establish an Innovation Commission to support innovation and business development in the technology sector, and will appoint an Innovation Commissioner whose mandate will be to serve an advocate and ambassador on behalf of the B.C. technology sector in Ottawa and abroad.
  • Invest up to $20 million per year to support ideation, mentoring and networking at post-secondary institutions in order to promote entrepreneurship, leadership and business skills development.
  • Provide up to $70 million over four years for qualifying entrepreneurs to leverage seed or angel funding.
  • Invest up to $50 million a year in business incubators, accelerators and affordable space for small and medium-sized enterprises.
  • Promote innovative collaborations with domestic and international partners, facilitate strategic business mentoring, and invest $35 million in talent over four years to help create, grow and attract companies.

Encouraging emerging opportunities

A BC Green government will:

  • Invest $120 million over four years for partnerships with industry, academic institutions and other levels of government in order to support research, development and the comercialization of climate friendly technologies.
  • Promote investment in clean energy and transportation, particularly those initiatives that create jobs and economic activity without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Review the environmental legislative framework and its application to ensure that the regulatory environment promotes the adoption of green technlogies and practices.
  • Use government procurement to encourage the greening of businesses, products and processes, and will allocate $20 million per year to support the adoption of green technology.
  • Promote the use of clean technology to derive the maximum economic benefit from waste streams.
  • Review the mandates and legislation of public sector agencies and Crown corporations to ensure that they promote innovation and support business development.

Oil and Gas Industry

Political Party Fundraising

BC Green's promise

Political Finance Reform

A BC Green government will introduce legislation to modernize and strengthen the province's electoral finance laws to prevent the outsized influence of money in our democratic institutions.

  • Ban members of the Executive Council (Cabinet) from engaging in partisan fundraising activities while in ofice and explore similar restrictions for all MLAs.
  • Ban monetary and non-monetary contributions from non-individual entities (including corporations and unions), and non-residents of BC.
  • Place annual limits on individual contributions that are in line with current federal limits.

Post-Secondary Education

BC Green's promise

A BC Green government will:

  • Implement needs-based grants for post-secondary students
  • Offer tax forgiveness of up to $2,000/year for up to 5 years to assist graduates in repaying debt from tuition fees
  • Set up a Post-Secondary Education Task Force to identify ways to make post-secondary education more relevant, accessible and affordable
  • Invest $65 million over 4 years to support co-op and work experience programs for high school and undergraduate students

Seniors

BC Green's promise

Supporting seniors and providing quality end-of-life care

As the number of seniors in BC rises, so the pressures on the health care and long-term care systems increase. In BC, seniors are generally healthy and independent as they age. According to the 2nd Annual Report of the Office of the Senior's Advocate, only 10% of seniors (88,900) are frail and require residential care, palliative care, or supports for daily living. However, while those with age-related, health concerns account for less than 2% of the provincial population, they consume 35% of all services.

A B.C. Green Government will:

  • Invest $35 million over four years in home care to enable seniors and other people who need assistance to stay in their own homes.
  • Act to ensure the staffing of public and private care homes meets government guidelines, and will provide an additional $200 million over four years to address staffing levels in public facilities.
  • Develop a Medical Assisted in Dying (MAiD) Strategy that supports training for physicians and nurses who wish to provide medically assisted dying services and ensures patients receive services in appropriate time frame and in appropriate settings.

Transit

Wages

BC Green's promise

Income security

A BC Green government will:

  • Begin the transition to liveable incomes with an increase in Persons with Disabilities (PWD), income assistance and shelter allowance rates.
  • Introduce a basic income support for youth aged 18 to 24 who are transitioning out of foster care
  • Launch a basic income pilot project that will test its ability to reduce poverty, improve health, housing and employment
  • Establish an arm's-length fair wages commission to recommend a new minimum wage and oversee regular rate reviews
  • Eliminate Medical Service Plan (MSP) premiums by rolling them into the payroll tax and personal income tax

Biography

submitted by the candidate or their team

With experience in project management, construction, sales, economics, research and marketing, Spurling brings a unique variety of skills to the table. Spurling chairs the Vancouver Pride Society's Outreach Committee, which travels throughout British Columbia, supporting other communities and fielding LGBTQ2+ related questions. In a time of uncertainty and dirty politics, Spurling strives to remain positive and lead by example.

Spurling has spent her life in the greater Vancouver area; gaining an understanding of people's needs, and how those needs have shifted over the years. She has also spent time travelling; learning about how others govern themselves, and how British Columbia is viewed by non-residents.

Spurling is committed to upholding the B.C. Green Party's core values of sustainability, respect for diversity, participatory democracy, ecological wisdom, social justice, and non-violence. Economic, social, environmental and fiscal sustainability can all be achieved, and are crucial for the long-term well-being of British Columbia.


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