Today Andrew Appleton, BC Greens candidate for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, announced BC Greens policy for post-secondary education which included  a domestic tuition freeze for post-secondary, and a new public funding model.

“For too long, our post-secondary institutions have relied on squeezing international and domestic students like a cash cow to fill their funding gaps,” said Appleton, “because the government hasn’t taken its responsibility to fund education seriously.”

Until 2024, international tuition accounted for about 18% of revenue across the public system, up to 40% at some institutions. Federal changes to study permits are expected to reduce sector-wide tuition revenue by roughly $300 million annually, contributing to hiring freezes, layoffs and program cuts. 

“Every time tuition goes up, another young person decides college or university isn’t for them. Not because they aren’t capable, but because they can’t afford it,” said Appleton. “When we price people out of post-secondary, we all lose: the nurse who never trains, the researcher who never makes the breakthrough, the tradesperson who never finishes their apprenticeship. Post-secondary education isn’t a private luxury. It’s how a society builds its future. B.C. needs to rebuild public funding so that education is open to everyone who wants it, not only those who can afford it and that’s what the B.C. Greens will do.”

 The BC Greens will:

• Freeze domestic tuition and institutionally charged mandatory fees at public post-secondary institutions and cap annual international tuition and mandatory-fee increases at inflation.
• Replace BC’s outdated post-secondary funding model through a public, system-wide review with new provincial funding on the table. This will include reviewing the roles and mandates of all 25 public institutions, how funding is distributed, regional access, research and teaching responsibilities, trades and technical education, transfers between institutions and the needs of communities around the province.
• Expand non-market student housing on public campus land, with provincial capital funding to build substantially more below-market student homes, including family-sized units for students with children. Require new publicly funded student housing to remain affordable over the long term.

https://bcgreens.ca/tuition-freeze-funding-overhaul-announced-for-post-secondary-by-bc-greens/

Today the BC Greens announced new protections for people living in housing subject to long-term leasehold contracts. They were joined by leaseholders who have been deeply affected by skyrocketing, unexplained costs, and who have been seeking relief from the BC NDP government, to no avail.

“People living in housing subject to long-term leasehold contracts aren’t protected by the law, and corporate landlords are taking full advantage, squeezing exorbitant profits out of people’s homes,” said Emily Lowan, Leader of the BC Greens and candidate for Saanich North and the Islands. “In 2024 NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert consulted with leaseholders and wrote an extensive report. But like too many other reports commissioned by the BC NDP, it’s now collecting dust while everyday British Columbians suffer.” 

An estimated 2,500 homes in B.C., mostly in Victoria and Vancouver’s West End, are held under long-term leaseholds, often called 99-year leases. Because leaseholds fall outside both the Residential Tenancy Act and the Strata Property Act, residents have no cap on fee increases, no right to see how their money is spent, and no affordable way to fight back. Most who took part in the Province’s 2024 engagement were seniors on low or fixed incomes, and some reported neighbours already forced to sell.

“Residents are paying thousands in unnecessary maintenance costs, dispute resolution fees, and other unexplained expenses. After the BC NDP failed to act on MLA Herbert’s recommendations, these residents asked local BC NDP MLA Grace Lore for help. Her first suggestion was another study,” said Raj Sahota, BC Greens candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill. “The solutions are obvious. People living in housing subject to long-term leasehold contracts deserve the full protection of the law.”

“We bought our leaseholds from companies that are now trying to ‘renovict’ us by piling on unnecessary maintenance projects with unfettered costs,” said Katharine Ferguson, a  resident of a leasehold property in Victoria. “We’re not protected by the Residential Tenancy Act or the Strata Property Act, and building owners are taking full advantage. Many of us are seniors on fixed incomes, and these skyrocketing levies may drive us into homelessness. After our protest outside David Eby’s campaign office last week, the BC NDP promised to enact legislation, but I’m not holding my breath.”

The BC Greens will introduce legislation to protect residential leaseholders, including:

• Fair limits on costs: caps on fee increases and special assessments, reserve funds and months of notice. Limitations on charging leaseholders for capital improvements and a ban on passing  the owner’s legal costs back to leaseholders .
• Open books: audited financial statements, multiple independent quotes on major projects, and residents can see quotes and reports.
• A voice in their own homes: the right to form a leaseholders’ association, meet with the building owner, and use common areas to organize.
• Affordable justice: access to the Civil Resolution Tribunal or Residential Tenancy Branch instead of B.C. Supreme Court, and no passing dispute costs on to residents.

https://bcgreens.ca/after-years-of-bc-ndp-inaction-bc-greens-promise-leaseholders-the-protection-they-deserve/

BC Greens leader and candidate for Saanich North and the Islands, Emily Lowan, launched the BC Greens’ plan to support reproductive rights.

“Across the world, reproductive rights are under attack,” said Lowan. “It is more important than ever that government does everything in its power to protect the right for everyone to make their own reproductive choices, and to get the care they need to support those choices at every stage of life.”

The BC Greens will also require all fertility clinics to advertise full details on the life birth success rates, including for additional or ‘add-on’ services. This will provide transparency and ensure prospective parents can trust the clinics they are investing their trust in.  

“From IVF, to pregnancy, to birth control, to menopause, reproductive health is under-resourced and under-studied,” added Lowan. “Our public health system must serve every British Columbian with the care they deserve. That’s why the BC Greens’ plan will deliver accessible reproductive care, and ensure areas that have been systemically ignored by government will receive the resourcing they require.”

The BC Greens will:

• Ensure mifepristone and misoprostol remain legally available via virtual telehealth clinics, with medication able to be shipped to patients.  
• Include sexual health services in community health centres, and provide direct funding to existing services. 
• Require all fertility clinics to advertise full details on the life birth successes per cycle, including for additional or ‘add-on’ services. 
• Review the midwifery funding model to ensure it is sustainable, recognises the distinct needs of rural and Indigenous communities, and provides enough care so families can receive care in their own communities.
• Ensure mental health support for post-partum depression is fully covered by MSP.
• Make vaginal estrogen available over-the-counter from pharmacists 

https://bcgreens.ca/launch-reproductive-healthcare-plan/