Last week, the NDP announced they would invest $150 million per year to help British Columbians live more sustainable lives.
The Green Fund, announced on October 1 by the New Democrats, will return millions of dollars to rural communities abandoned by the B.C. Liberal government, New Democrat forest critic Norm Macdonald said.
“The Green Fund offers hope to rural B.C., where the resource-based economies of entire communities have been devastated by the failed policies of the B.C. Liberals,” he said, noting that the fund would invest $120 to $150 million per year into helping rural B.C. communities.
“The biggest obstacle to green living for rural British Columbians is the lack of available options,” said Macdonald, the MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, adding, “Under the B.C. Liberals, public transit, particularly outside of large communities, has been inadequate, and northern residents have little choice but to use fossil fuels to heat their homes. The Green Fund would improve transit and invest in technologies.”
Macdonald said investment in rural B.C. is long overdue.
“The B.C. Liberals don’t have a shred of credibility when it comes to forestry or rural communities. People in small towns from Campbell River to Mackenzie are painfully aware that the Liberals have abandoned rural B.C. Yet the Campbell Liberals want to continue along the same failed track.”
Macdonald said Carole James’ plan, outlined last week at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention, will provide significant benefits to rural communities and help with economic recovery in communities hard hit by the economic downturn.
“The Green Fund would invest millions per year in solutions for British Columbians, money that the B.C. Liberals plan to hand out in tax breaks to large corporations. Taxpayer dollars should be used to benefit all British Columbians, not just the large corporate donors of the B.C. Liberals,” said Macdonald.
Macdonald said that this is the beginning of an answer for some infrastructure issues in rural B.C. communities.
“This will put money towards solutions for those communities including the need for energy alternatives in rural areas. We have to give people alternatives and most rural communities haven’t had the funds to initiate alternative energy solutions. This is just the beginning of a solution to sensible reallocation of funds instead of an increase in taxation.”
According to a recent press release, Carole James and the New Democrats have been holding the B.C. Liberals accountable for breaking their word on the HST, and for backtracking on their election promises to protect health care, education, and other vital services.