Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon inspects the honour guard as she arrives for the throne speech at the B.C. legislature on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017.

BC新民主党(NDP)发布 BC省情咨文及BC省未来计划

今天(9月8日)下午,在维多利亚,BC新民主党(NDP)发布了他们对BC省未来的计划。

卑诗新省长的贺谨John Horgan

卑诗新省长的贺谨John Horgan

  省督Judith Guichon宣读了省情咨文,布告提及了日益严重的吸毒过量问题、教育资金问题、最低工资问题 和ICBC、BC Hydro这两个机构的问题。

The Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

The Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

  根据卑诗新民主党(NDP)政府首次公布上台后的省府账目,2016/17财政年度盈余为27亿元,省府将于9月11日星期一公布财政更新数据。

  NDP政府表示会履行大选时期的承诺,禁止公司和工会向政党捐款,对个人的捐赠也有严格的限制。并且从2021年开始,将省选从每4年的春天改到了秋天。

  具体情况,省情咨文为BC设定了三大重点:

  1. 让BC的生活可负担

  -让住房更易负担:通过更严格的政策避免房东乱涨房价,增加可负担住房的投入资金;
  -达到目标为$15/小时的最低工资;
  -处理ICBC和 BC Hydro所面临的诸多问题,并不超出BC省的支出。

  2. 加强BC省的各项服务

  -重启各种学生基金,以帮助他们成功;
  -加强和保护公共健保机构的质量,解决BC的吸毒过量危机,增设更多帮助戒除毒瘾的机构;
  -加强公共交通建设,为残疾人提供免费公交年卡,并和社区还有联邦合作,构建新的交通系统。

  3. 建立更强,更可持续的经济

  -帮助传统工业,包括林业、矿产、农业、水产、天然气等行业的发展;
  -让BC成为木材加工和能源附加值创新的世界领导者;
  -投资更多资金在建设新的学校、医院、公路等项目上,以促进全省的就业。

  总体看来,NDP这次的新政布告亮点不足,除了目标是增加基础工资至15$/小时以外,具体措施较少。

  对于增加基本工资这个政策,本省的商界团体也担心会扼杀就业机会增长,到头来损失的会包括工人。规模较小的公司,可能会出现困难,惟有不增加人手,甚至减少人手。

  不过,在北美,增加最低工资至$15已经是一个趋势,安省政府也宣布,在2019年前提高最低时薪至$15,而阿尔伯塔省正分阶段提高最低工资,目标是2018年10月加至$15。

  在此之前,NDP已经宣布了一系列的新政措施:

  1. 取消成人基本教育和英语学习课程的学费。

  2015年,卑诗自由党开始向民众收取学费,就读比率立刻下跌近35%,把民众拒于学习大门之外。NDP要借重开学习之门,让全省各地民众获得希望和协助,对卑诗经济做出长期投资。

  2. 省府还会提高收入补助和残障补助每月一百元,用于解决本省贫穷问题。

  3. 正式取消金穗(Golden Ears)和曼港(Port Mann)两座大桥的收费。

  居住在菲沙河南岸的民众光是外出工作,每年就要支付过桥费超过$1500。而每天过桥的商业司机要交$4,500。取消大桥收费,可以让生活更为便利。

  4. 禁止灰熊为狩猎战利品

  NDP兑现竞选承诺,宣布禁止灰熊战利品狩猎(grizzly bear trophy hunt)活动。

  数据显示,卑诗省约有1.5万只灰熊,每年有多达250只被猎杀,但不知道有多少与战利品狩猎相关。“几乎没有合法的狩猎灰熊的人是为了取食,杀死这些熊就是出于战利品狩猎。”

  关于华人普遍关心的房地产相关政策,NDP却未提及他们在大选时的承诺:

  1. 将目前适用于大温地区的海外买家税扩展到维多利亚地区乃至BC省全境,并对楼花转让也收取15%的海外买家税;
  2. 将向没有在加国缴付入息税的业主(不论国籍),征收2%的房屋投机税(Property Speculation Tax);
  3.取消自由党的“首次置业优惠项目”;
  4. 每年$400的租金退款。

  除此之外,之前一直标榜的$10/天的托儿计划也被含糊带过。

  NDP位置坐实:自由党一省议员 有意出任省议长

Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas is escorted from the speaker's corridor to the legislative assembly after being elected speaker of the legislature in Victoria on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017.   Photograph By CHAD HIPOLITO, The Canadian Press

被自由党称为叛徒的 党籍省议员做大NDP议会势力。 Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas is escorted from the speaker’s corridor to the legislative assembly after being elected speaker of the legislature in Victoria on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Photograph By CHAD HIPOLITO, The Canadian Press


  而就在省情咨文宣布的今天上午,自由党阿波斯福南选区(Abbotsford South)省议员普莱卡斯(Darryl Plecas)表示有意出任省议长。

  由于目前NDP与绿党的议席加起来也才44席,如果按照惯例,省议长由执政党推出的话,省议长在未来推出的新政投票时要保持中立,使得NDP就算是得到绿党的全部支持,也只有43票,与反对党自由党打平,让省政局充满变数。

  相反,现在普莱卡斯愿意出出任省议长,NDP和绿党在省议会中的票数,还是会以44比42(自由党原43席,扣掉普莱卡斯出任省议长所空出的一票,成42),取得绝对优势,未来执政党在推出新政时,能轻松过关,未来的NDP省政府将会相对平稳过渡。

卑诗新省长的贺谨,现年57岁,2005年开始担任温哥华岛胡安德富卡(Juan de Fuca)选区省议员。他在省督府外向记者表示:“我将比以往任何时候都更努力工作,确保这个伟大的省份继续增长。卑诗省将会在今天开展一个新政府,每一天都为改善人民生活而努力。

卑诗新民主党竞选政纲回顾

卑诗新民主党在竞选期间公布的政纲长达118页,其中重点包括在未来4年中停止收取省医疗保险费;逐年增加最低工资,到2021年时将把最低工资提升至$15加元,2021年后,再按照通货膨胀率逐年调整;承诺将实行$10/天的儿童日托服务,年收入低于$4万加元的家庭将无需缴费;以及计划开始提供免息学生贷款。

另外,NDP承诺将在未来10年中新建11.4万个出租单位,并每年向BC省租户每人提供$400加元补贴。

此前与自由党所纠结的过路过桥费问题,NDP也表示将会完全免除Port Mann桥和Golden Ears桥的过路过桥费,其中开销将从LNG基金中取出$5亿加元来负担。

政治方面,NDP还表示将整改BC省选举制度。目前的制毒是得票最多者当选,NDP将把制度改为按比例代表投票。NDP还计划完全禁止来自企业、工会及外省捐款人的政治捐款,个人捐款也将设定上限。

年收入超过$15万加元的高薪家庭每年税率将重新生效,另外NDP还计划计划每年收取2%的房屋空置税。税款收入将用于BC省的可负担性房屋基金。

科技方面,NDP计划投入$1亿加元用于扩大技术领域的专上教育项目。

环境方面,NDP承诺禁止灰熊战利品狩猎,并计划停止Kinder Morgan管道扩张。

NDP还承诺将会按照市长委员会温哥华地铁十年展望计划每阶段的要求资助40%的资本成本。

除了以上提到的几大重点之外,卑诗新民主党还有以下竞选承诺,是否能在任期内实现,大家可以拭目以待:

卑诗新省长的贺谨

卑诗新省长的贺谨


1、组成青年理事会
2、为学生提供$1000加元的毕业补助金
3、消除成人基础教育和ESL的费用
4、保持高校的学费上限
5、允许大学在附近建造可负担性租住房屋
6、解决“固定期限租赁”漏洞
7、加强对租金上调的控制
8、通过法律保护租户在拆迁期间的利益
9、允许市政府对Airbnb租赁征税
10、允许市政当局进行土地重新规划并出租
11、收入援助和伤残补助每月将增加$100加元
12、为青年提供额外的$1000万加元补助
13、为遭受暴力的女性每年增加$800万加元补助
14、实行临时外国劳工登记
15、聘请首席人事官协助招聘技术人才
16、确保卑诗省的每个孩子都能学会编程
17、为初创企业提供拨款
18、打击房地产税务欺诈和洗钱
19、冻结BC省水电费
20、停止计划上调42%的ICBC汽车保险费
21、小渡轮票价下降15%
22、冻结主要渡轮航线票价
23、老年人工作日享受100%折扣
24、引入濒危物种法
25、雇用更多公园护林员和保护官员
26、建造新的露营地,BC省居民可以优先预定
27、创建新的气候行动补助
28、创建96,000个建筑工作机会
29、创建心理健康及毒瘾厅
30、2017/18年度平衡预算

B.C.’s Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon delivered a throne speech with few surprises Friday and written with confidence that the government can deliver on it.

The speech, which sets the direction of the government for the coming legislative session, stuck close to the priorities identified in the New Democrats’ agreement with the Green Party and its campaign promises.

“British Columbians deserve a government that is working for people,” Guichon said.

The speech came just hours after Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas was revealed as Speaker, which will give the government more power to pass its legislation. With Plecas as Speaker, the NDP-Green Alliance will have 44 votes to 41 for the Liberals.

Priorities outlined in the speech include:

• Closing fixed-term loopholes on leases to end unfair rent increases and increasing the stock of affordable housing. The government will also increase support to the Residential Tenancy Branch.

• Bringing back the annual bus pass for people with disabilities as of Jan. 1. Social Development Minister Shane Simpson said in July that the government was looking at ways to fulfil its promise to restore the bus pass program for people with disabilities. The former B.C. Liberal government came under fire last year for introducing a new $52-a-month fee for a bus pass that previously cost $45 a year. “We’re just determining now what the options are,” Simpson said in July.

• Delivery of a universal child-care program, beginning with more child-care spaces and training for early childhood educators, plus consultation with families providers this fall.

• Set up an Innovation Commission, an initiative of the Green Party caucus, to encourage investment in B.C.’s technology sector.

• More resources to fight the wildfire crisis and opioid crisis. More than 1,200 fires have burned 1.1 million hectares of land, an area one-third the size of Vancouver Island. Meanwhile, 876 British Columbians have died from overdoses in the first seven months of this year.

• Full implementation of class-size and composition requirements.

• A commitment to embrace the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and promise to address all of the Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools. “We cannot continue to push these actions further down the road to a day that never comes,” Guichon said.

• Reforming campaign finance laws to eliminate corporate and union donations, put strict limits on individual contributions and make sure that only people living in B.C. can contribute to political parties.

• Moving B.C.’s fixed election date to the fall of 2021, and every four years thereafter.

• Setting the terms for a referendum on proportional representation to take place no later than November 2018.

• Adding new lobbying restrictions to make sure former public office-holders do not improperly benefit from their experience serving the public.

• First reducing, then eliminating Medical Services Plan premiums.

• Building new hospitals and urgent-care centres, increasing access to family doctors and reducing surgical wait list times.

• Making B.C. a leader in engineered wood products and getting a fair deal on softwood lumber.

“The road ahead won’t be easy. It will take time for the better choices this government is making to take hold — transforming people’s lives, revitalizing our communities and bringing all of us together,” Guichon said.

“It will happen, starting with the work that takes place here in this legislature. That work must start and end with the people we are here to serve.”

The speech also highlighted priorities that the government has already begun to act on, including a $100 increase to monthly income assistance and disability rates, removal of tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges and eliminating tuition fees for adult basic education and English-language learning.

One notable absence in the speech was mention of the Site C dam, which the government has referred to the B.C. Utilities Commission for expedited review, while its commitment to introduce a $15 minimum wage came with no promised deadline.