This is a page from the 2020 British Columbia general election.
Looking for a different election? Click here.

Melanie Mark

This candidate hasn't added a profile yet. Until they do, we're using their profile from the 2017 BC election.

Children, Childcare, & Youth in Care

Childcare

BC NDP's promise

Protect childcare in law; Bring $10-a-day childcare to more families; Create more childcare spaces through a new childcare capital programme, exceeding target of 22,000 new spaces; Work towards universal access to before- and after-school care on school grounds; Train more ECEs.

Protecting childcare in law: Much in the way that legislation was introduced to enshrine the concept of universal health care, we will protect the principles of affordable, accessible, and inclusive quality child care in legislation.

Bringing $10-a-day child care to more families: Our focus on affordability for families has already led to 32,700 families paying $10-a-day or less on child care for their kids. Partnering with the federal government, we will expand the number of $10-a-day child care spaces while enhancing our other affordability measures - delivering savings of thousands of dollars each month to help families get ahead.

More spaces through a new child care capital program: We will exceed our target of 22,000 new child care spaces by expanding our child care capital program and modular strategy for child care. When government builds a new school, housing complex or other projects we will work to ensure child care is included in their capital plans.

More convenient and secure child care at your local school: A John Horgan NDP government will work towards providing universal access to before- and after-school care on school grounds so parents know their children are safe at one place for the full work day.

More convenient child care options for working parents: Through partnerships with crown corporations, universities, local governments, First Nations, and public and private sector employers, we will work to make sure new office/business construction and upgrades will include space for child care centres, so that more parents can access needed child care at their places of work.

Training and keeping more early learning educators: We'll make sure Early Childhood Educators (ECE) are a well-supported profession, just like teachers and other professionals who work in BC's education system. We will continue to implement and enhance the Early Care and Learning Recruitment and Retention Strategy which includes expanding our successful ECE wage enhancement program.

Integrating child care into the broader learning environment: To make sure child care is brought formally into the learning timeline, we will move responsibility for child care to the Ministry of Education. It will oversee delivery of all childcare initiatives and funding, manage a capital investment program to build more new spaces, and ensure quality care through ongoing curriculum enhancements.

— From Working for You.

Early childhood development

BC NDP's promise

Train more Early Childhood Educators; Enhance the Early Care and Learning Recruitment and Retention Strategy, including expanding the ECE wage enhancement programme.

Youth in care

BC NDP's promise

Expand tuition waivers to all former youth in care, regardless of age.

Climate Change & the Environment

BC Parks

BC NDP's promise

Expand popular provincial parks with new campgrounds, trails, and protected areas while increasing funding to improve infrastructure and protect park ecosystems.

Conservation

BC NDP's promise

Work with adjacent jurisdictions to protect shared wildlife and habitat corridors; Implement recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review to protect further old-growth stands; Develop a new coastal strategy.

[...] we will seek a partnership with the federal government to establish a Watershed Security Fund to fund Indigenous, local, and regionally led clean water initiatives - and create good, sustainable, local jobs for British Columbians in watershed restoration, monitoring, technology, and education.

— From Working for You.

We'll make sure owners of large industrial projects are bonded moving forward, so that they - and not BC taxpayers - pay the full cost of environmental cleanup if their projects are abandoned.

— From _Working for You_.

We will develop a new provincial coastal strategy — in partnership with First Nations and federal and local governments — to better protect coastal habitat while growing coastal economies. A priority will be working with the federal government to address freighter traffic management and anchorage through southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

— From Working for You.

We'll work with the federal government to develop new strategies that:

 - Protect and revitalize BC's salmon populations by building on the successful Broughton process and supporting innovation in fish hatcheries.

 - Step up protection of fish habitat through our biodiversity strategy.

 - Ensure BC processing of BC-caught fish.

— From Working for You.

Electric bikes

BC NDP's promise

Remove PST on e-bikes.

Electric vehicles

BC NDP's promise

Provide a new income-tested incentive on new and used zero-emission vehicles; Increase public vehicle charging availability with incentives and "right-to-charge" legislation for stratas and apartment buildings.

Expand CleanBC and our zero-emissions vehicle program to industrial vehicles: [...] We will expand CleanBC's SUVI program to get more trucks, buses, ports, airports, and marine vessels off fossil fuels.

— From Working for You.

Emissions

BC NDP's promise

Pass legislation requiring BC to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, either through no emissions or through carbon offsets; Invest in made-in-BC carbon capture technology; Empower local governments to set their own carbon pollution performance standards for new buildings.

[...] we will require realtors to provide energy efficiency information on listed homes to incent energy-saving upgrades and let purchasers know what energy bills they will face.

— From Working for You.

We'll provide additional funding for our CleanBC industrial emissions strategy so that more mines, pulp mills, oil and gas processing plants, and other industrial facilities can reduce harmful emissions and more to cleaner operations.

— From Working for You.

Plastic waste

BC NDP's promise

Ban single-use plastics.

Retrofits

BC NDP's promise

Spur energy-efficiency upgrades with programmes and incentives for both residential and commercial buildings, including allowing homeowners to take out loans for efficiency upgrades and pay them back overtime through property taxes.

Water

BC NDP's promise

Create a watershed security strategy to protect local watersheds.

[...] we will seek a partnership with the federal government to establish a Watershed Security Fund to fund Indigenous, local, and regionally led clean water initiatives - and create good, sustainable, local jobs for British Columbians in watershed restoration, monitoring, technology, and education.

— From Working for You.

Education

Adult learning

BC NDP's promise

Increase eligibility for the BC Access Grant.

Meal programmes

BC NDP's promise

Work with school districts to create local school meal programmes based on district data and priorities, focused on locally grown food.

Mental health and schools

BC NDP's promise

Invest in mental health supports for students and staff.

Post-secondary

BC NDP's promise

Conduct a funding review of post-secondary education operating grants to make sure post-secondary institutions are aligned for economic recovery and student success.

School infrastructure

BC NDP's promise

Expand the Playground Fund to more schools; Invest in school infrastructure focusing on meeting seismic requirements and climate change and energy efficiency standards.

School tuition

BC NDP's promise

Strengthen existing Tuition Fee Limit Policy to make sure institutions don't increase fees beyond prescribed limits; Expand tuition waivers to all former youth in care, regardless of age.

Schools and COVID

BC NDP's promise

Install new ventilation systems, plexiglass barriers in key areas, and comprehensive cleaning stations; Ensure more hours of cleaning in all schools; Fast-track improvements to online and remote learning.

We'll invest in more computers and tablets, more training for teachers and support staff, and in new ways to improve social e-learning that promotes group interactions between students and teachers.

— From Working for You.

Healthcare

COVID-19 Vaccine

BC NDP's promise

When they are approved and available, anyone who wants the vaccine will receive it for free.

Cancer

BC NDP's promise

Commit that all cancer care patients get information and care when they need it, including in rural communities; Provide more individualized care; Invest in new equipment, systems, and procedures; Expand enhanced research and diagnostic capabilities.

An anywhere/anytime commitment so that all cancer care patients get information and care when they need it, including in rural communities.

Providing more individualized care for cancer patients, including dedicated teams providing a full continuum of care.

improving that continuum of care by investing in new equipment, systems and procedures that deliver leading-edge prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment services.

Expanding and funding enhanced research and diagnostic capabilities, allowing health professionals to improve the precision of disease risk prediction, prevention, diagnostics and treatment.

— From Working for You.

Care homes & assisted living

BC NDP's promise

Hire 7,000 new workers for long-term care and assisted living; Restore standards for wages, benefits, and working conditions; Build more public care homes; Require transparency from private operators; Launch a Silver Alert system to help locate missing seniors.

...we're investing $44 million to hire and train 7,000 new health care workers for long-term care homes and assisted living facilities. This Health Career Access Program will provide new opportunities for workers who lost their jobs in other sectors due to COVID-19.

— From Working for You.

We will develop a staffing retention strategy that provides workers in long-term care and assisted living with "levelled up wages" even after the pandemic ends, and restore provincial standards for wages, benefits, and working conditions that were cut by the BC Liberals.

— From Working for You.

We're working with non-profits to build public care homes that keep seniors safer, healthier, and more comfortable.

— From Working for You.

... new requirements that will make sure private operators are more transparent and accountable for the public funding they get.

— From _Working for You_.

Working with community groups and the BC Seniors Advocate, we will develop a made-in-BC Silver Alert system to help assist first responders locate missing seniors, particularly those with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

— From Working for You.

Contraception

BC NDP's promise

Make contraception free for all.

Healthcare staffing

BC NDP's promise

Launch a second medical school to expand health care workforce; Create a comprehensive health care human resources strategy including credential recognition.

Launching BC's second medical school to expand our health care workforce: This means more doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health professionals trained, graduating and working right here in BC.

A comprehensive health care human resources strategy including credential recognition: From doctors and nurses to long-term care aides, we will make sure BC is well-prepared to deal with future demand and pressures. In addition to expanding training in all fields of healthcare, we'll be improving the provinces credential recognition process and licensing so that people trained in other countries can provide their skills and knowledge here in BC.

— From Working for You.

Homecare

BC NDP's promise

Invest in a new Hospital at Home programme; Expand publicly funded home care to provide better care and help with daily living.

Invest in a new Hospital at Home programme so patients can get safe care while in the comfort of their homes, and taking pressure off hospitals. It will act as a blueprint for expanding e-health and tele-health services more broadly, so people can get virtual visits from doctors and nurses at home.

— From Working for You.

We'll expand publicly funded home care to provide better care and help with daily living - bathing, dressing, meal preparation and more - so that people can stay in their own homes for as long as is safely possible. It will also improve continuity of care with seniors receiving visits from a more consistent group of care aides.

— From Working for You.

Prescription drugs

BC NDP's promise

Fight for a national pharmacare programme; Make prescription contraception free.

Vaccinations

BC NDP's promise

Invest in 2 million doses of flu vaccines.

Wait-times

BC NDP's promise

Optimize surgical and diagnostic space; Add four more MRI machines in the next year; Provide the hospital needed staff to perform more surgeries and other procedures.

Maximizing the capacity of existing surgical and diagnostic space: We're developing new strategies to optimize surgical and diagnostic space and teams, so BC can keep pace with the demand for new surgeries and increase the number of MRIs annually - reducing people's wait for care and relief.

Adding four more MRI machines in the next year: We're putting more MRIs in areas of highest remaining demand - Ridge Meadows Hospital (Maple Ridge), Langley Memorial, Vancouver General and St Paul's, with more to come.

Providing the hospital staff needed to perform more surgeries and other procedures: Our training, recruitment, certification, and retention strategies will help make sure BC has the skilled health workforce to deliver care faster.

— From Working for You.

Housing & Homelessness

Homelessness

BC NDP's promise

Build 2,200 more units of supportive housing; Provide rent supplements for residents of supportive housing who are ready to move on to independent living.

Housing affordability

BC NDP's promise

Continue work to provide 114,000 new, affordable housing units; Provide remaining portion of 1,750 new homes for Indigenous people on- and off-reserve; Provide more low-interest loans and expand the Housing Hub.

We'll streamline and modernize housing construction by eliminating outdated parking minimums in projects close to public transit, develop a single-window provincial permitting process, and work with communities to streamline approval processes at the local level.

— From Working for You.

Controlling the rising cost of strata insurance: [...] If rates have not corrected by the end of 2021, we will develop a public strata insurance option, similar to Saskatchewan.

— From Working for You.

Providing more homes for Indigenous people in BC: We will deliver the remaining units in our $550 million commitment to building 1,750 new homes, both on- and off-reserve [...]

— From Working for You.

Getting more affordable housing built through Housing Hub partnerships: Through the Housing Hub we launched in 2018, we'll provide additional low-interest loans to add tens of thousands more homes for middle income families. We'll expand the role of this innovative team to partner with non-profit and co-op housing providers to acquire and preserve existing rental housing. We'll also instruct the Housing Hub to look for new pathways to home ownership through rent-to-own or other equity-building programs.

— From _Working for You_.

Rent and evictions

BC NDP's promise

Freeze rents to the end of 2021 and capping increases after that; Provide a renter's rebate of $400/year for households earning up to $80,000 annually that are not already receiving other rental support.

Stratas

BC NDP's promise

Control the rising cost of strata insurance; If rates have not corrected by the end of 2021, we will develop a public strata insurance option, similar to Saskatchewan.

Human Rights & Equality

Accessibility

BC NDP's promise

Work with people across the province to develop and bring in comprehensive accessibility legislation.

Diversity in government

BC NDP's promise

Support increased representation of Indigenous, Black, and people of colour within government, and set targets for representation in the public sector.

Gender pay gap

BC NDP's promise

Introduce new pay transparency legislation in an attempt to move towards equal pay for equal work.

Gender-based violence

BC NDP's promise

Develop an action plan to end gender-based violence, including minimum standards for sexual assault response; more training for police, crown council and justices; establishing core funding for sexual assault centres.

Immigration

BC NDP's promise

Streamline foreign credential assessments processed by various regulatory bodies and health-related Colleges to make sure immigrants can access job opportunities in their field.

Period poverty

BC NDP's promise

Create a multi-sector Period Poverty Task Force to develop a long-term response to period poverty.

Policing

BC NDP's promise

Modernize the Police Act based on the recommendations of the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act, prioritizing tackling systemic racism, creating a dedicated hate crime unit within local forces, and reviewing training and procedures for "wellness checks".

Racism

BC NDP's promise

Conduct a full review of anti-racism laws in other jurisdictions and launch a full stakeholder consultation leading to a new Anti-Racism Act.

Systemic discrimination

BC NDP's promise

Work with BC's Human Rights Commissioner and stakeholders to introduce legislation to collect race-based data on policing, health care, and education.

Indigenous Issues

Connection to home communities

BC NDP's promise

Expand support of Aboriginal Friendship Centres to connect urban Indigenous peoples to their home communities.

Indigenous culture

BC NDP's promise

Extend funding for key projects to preserve and respect Indigenous cultures, including the retention and revitalization of First Nations languages, putting additional languages into curriculum, & reflecting Indigenous history and culture in provincial parks and wilderness areas.

Indigenous involvement

BC NDP's promise

Partner with Indigenous peoples to work together on decisions on regional land and resource use allocation; Create a dedicated Secretariat to ensure new legislation and policies are consistent with UNDRIP.

Self-determination

BC NDP's promise

Move from short-term transactional arrangements with Indigenous peoples to long-term agreements that support reconciliation, self-determination, and economic independence.

Jobs, the Economy, and Affordability

Agriculture

BC NDP's promise

Create a Regenerative Agricultural Network to make farming sustainable and create agricultural jobs; Expand the Grow, Feed and Buy BC programmes with new worker training, land acquisition supports, and new processing hubs.

Car insurance

BC NDP's promise

Move ICBC to a new enhanced care model to reduce premiums by an average of 20% while increasing care available for people who are seriously injured in accidents; Provide COVID-19 premium rebates to BC drivers from any surplus ICBC delivers during the pandemic.

Employment standards

BC NDP's promise

Develop employment standards targeted to precarious and gig economy workers; Strengthen employment rights with employment standards inspections and by hiring more case workers to help resolve employment standards complaints.

Film and TV production

BC NDP's promise

Re-establish the government-film sector task force to recommend the size and term of a new visual effects tax credit based on production costs.

Financial assistance

BC NDP's promise

Give families with a household income under $125,000 annually a one-time direct deposit of $1,000; Give single people earning less than $62,000 annually a one-time direct deposit of $500.

A one-time $1,000 direct deposit to families whose household income is under $125,000 annually — with a sliding scale up to $175,000.

A one-time $500 direct deposit to single people earning less than $62,000 annually — with a sliding scale up to $87,000.

— From Working for You.

Food security

BC NDP's promise

Increase support of food banks and develop partnerships with grocery stores and not-for-profits to develop discounted food market, food recovery, and redistribution programmes.

Infrastructure investment

BC NDP's promise

Invest an additional 1% of GDP — approx $3B/year — to build new schools, hospitals, child care spaces, roads, transit, and more, creating an expected 18,000 new jobs each year.

[...] wherever possible, we will attach our Community Benefits Agreement (CBAs) to projects launched through the Recovery Investment Fund. Through CBAs, we're providing good jobs, fair wages, and skills training to qualified local workers — particularly those who have traditionally been under-represented in the workforce.

— From Working for You.

Precarious & gig workers

BC NDP's promise

Develop a precarious work and gig worker economy strategy focused on employment standards & union rights; Develop a government-backed collective benefit fund for independent contractors, self-employed, & part-time workers; Expand access to a voluntary pooled-capital pension plan.

Restauraunts & hospitality

BC NDP's promise

Permanently authorize the expansion of service areas, such as patios; Permanently allow retauraunts and pubs to purchase beer, wine, and spirits at wholesale cost instead of liquor store retail prices; Permanently allow liquor delivery with takeout.

Small businesses

BC NDP's promise

Expand the RevUp programme to connect small business owners with mentors; Expand BC's Export Navigator programme to help local businesses find and access new global markets.

Tech & Innovation

BC NDP's promise

Make targeted investments in high-potential, innovative businesses based in BC; Introduce a First Patent Program to provide eligible businesses with a rebate on expenses that lead to obtaining their first patent; Create 2,000 new tech-relevant spaces in public post-secondary.

We'll create 2,000 new tech-relevant spaces in public post-secondary institutions, provide start-ups with more ISI grants to hire new grads - with a priority on placements for women, Indigenous people, transitioning workers and others - and expand scholarships for people using online courses for necessary skill upgrades.

— From Working for You.

Tourism

BC NDP's promise

Act on ideas from the Tourism Task Force when they come out.

Wages

BC NDP's promise

Tie the minimum wage to inflation.

Workplace safety

BC NDP's promise

Increase workplace safety inspections.

Mental Health, Drugs, & Addiction

Decriminalization

BC NDP's promise

Work with police chiefs to push federal government to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use.

Mental health support

BC NDP's promise

Focus new mental health initiatives on kids and young adults; Develop Complex Care housing; Expand access to counselling.

Focus new mental health initiatives on kids and young adults: We've developed an initial mental health approach that focuses on addressing problems early, before they become too big. Moving forward, we'll establish successful Foundry youth centres in more communities and dedicated mental health teams in school districts.

Develop Complex Care housing: We'll provide an increased level of support - including more access to nurses and psychiatrists - for BC's most vulnerable who need more intensive care than supportive housing provides, including in places like the Riverview lands in Coquitlam.

Expand access to counselling: By investing in new e-health and other technologies, we can bring mental health care to more people in all regions of BC - reducing counselling costs for people in rural and remote communities, in particular [...]

— From Working for You.

Policing of drugs

BC NDP's promise

Redirect police to focus on serious crime and crack down on distribution of toxic drugs.

Safe supply

BC NDP's promise

Explore new ways to help prescribers separate more people from the toxic drug supply through safe prescription alternatives.

Treatment

BC NDP's promise

Build new treatment, recovery, detox and after-care facilities, including in Maple Ridge, with some beds specifically for British Columbians under age 24; Step up oversight of recovery homes and private treatment providers.

We will build new treatment, recovery, detox and after-care facilities across the province, including in communities with an expressed need such as Maple Ridge, with some beds specifically for British Columbians under age 24. We will also step up oversight of recovery homes and other private treatment providers to ensure quality care, accountability, and value for money.

— From Working for You.

Work-related chronic pain

BC NDP's promise

Work with WorkSafeBC to identify new ways of improving pain management practices for injured workers, and mandate WorkSafeBC to to provide treatment on demand to those with chronic pain as a result of workplace injuries.

Public Safety

Gang violence

BC NDP's promise

Introduce legislation to improve information sharing for law enforcement agencies, regulate imitation firearms, strengthen regulation of shooting ranges, and close regulatory gaps.

Resource Extraction & Export

Forestry

BC NDP's promise

Dedicate a specific portion of the annual allowable cut to higher value producers who create new jobs for workers in BC; Plant more trees.

Government support for workers

BC NDP's promise

Establish a new Worker Training & Job Opportunity Office to maximize the impact of an Economic Recovery Plan for workers and communities, with a focus on retraining, supporting communities facing job loss, developing higher value goods, and accessing new global markets.

LNG

BC NDP's promise

Continue the $40 billion LNG Canada project.

Mining

BC NDP's promise

Create a Mining Innovation Hub to identify and support innovation, offer training for workers in new technologies, regulatory excellence, environmental management, and low-carbon approaches.

Transit & Transportation

BC Ferries

BC NDP's promise

Improve BC Ferries service at peak time, allocate more space to reservations, allow walk-on reservations, and coordinate with BC Transit and TransLink to align scheduling and provide a more seamless passenger experience.

Emissions

BC NDP's promise

Move towards a net-zero emission bus fleet powered by electrification, hydrogen fuel, cell technologies, and other zero-emissions technologies.

Infrastructure

BC NDP's promise

Widen Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley by 2026.

Transit fares

BC NDP's promise

Make transit free for children aged 12 or under, province-wide.

Transit service

BC NDP's promise

Expand transit options in the Fraser Valley and the Sea-to-Sky region; Add more service to the BC Bus North programme; Improve transit connections to Surrey and Langley with SkyTrain, rail, and rapid bus lines; Implement the South Island Transportation Strategy.

Expanding transit options for people in growing areas of the province: This includes increased connections within the Tranlink (sic) network for people living in the Fraser Valley and the Sea-to-Sky region, expanded West Coast Express service, and more service for the successful BC Bus North program for rural communities.

— From Working for You.

Improving connections to Surrey and Langley: We'll work with communities to complete the Skytrain (sic) expansion project and add new rail and rapid bus lines.

Delivering better transit for the South island: We will implement the South Island Transportation Strategy, and provide more active transportation infrastructure, rapid bus service to the West Shore, and safety upgrades to the Malahat highway.

Planning for future clean transit projects with long-lasting economic benefits: We'll work with the communities and regions to support planning of key projects, like high-speed transit links for the North Shore and the expansion of rail up the Fraser Valley - bringing cleaner transit and more construction jobs for BC workers.

Promoting cleaner communities and better health through active transportation: We'll work with communities to expand their networks of active transportation as we move towards our CleanBC goal of doubling trips taken via walking, biking and other kinds of active networks by the year 2030.

— From Working for You.

Misc. topics

Arts & culture

BC NDP's promise

Expand new $2 million Arts Infrastructure Program to help communities build new cultural spaces and renovate existing ones.

Japanese internment

BC NDP's promise

Provide lasting recognition of Japanese-Canadian internment during World War II in libraries, communities, and at the BC Legislature.

South Asian-Canadian museum

BC NDP's promise

Build a South Asian-Canadian museum documenting the history, art, and contributions of South Asian people in BC.


¯\_(ツ)_/¯


This candidate hasn't added policies to VoteMate.
They may still in the future!

In the meantime, you can learn more about them on their website.

melaniemark.bcndp.ca melaniemark.bcndp.ca