A Socialist Platform For The BC NDP

 

 

The next BC election is far away. Right now, the BC NDP and their government must respond  aggressively to the calamities facing working people caused by the capitalist system - a system based on private ownership and exploitation of our resources and means of production for private profit and immense personal enrichment of the few. The capitalists should be expropriated and our BC economy should operate based on democratic planning by workers to meet human needs in harmony with nature.

We socialists support the BC NDP because the BC NDP is organically tied to the unions, a historical labour party. All the other BC political parties are simply capitalist-supporting enterprises including the Green Party. The current social democratic and autocratic top-down BC NDP leadership seeks only to reform capitalism around the edges, leaving the exploiters, including the oil, forestry and mining cartels in complete charge, and they are refusing to fight for workers’ power and democratic socialism. In power, the BC NDP simply administers the capitalist state and then turns the state back over to capitalist politicians, completely intact, when they eventually lose an election. 

We think you will be interested in what we, as socialists, propose the BC NDP should be advocating for, and fighting for in the streets and in the BC legislature.

The SARS-CoV-2 PANDEMIC. Support nationalizing big pharma and develop local labs and production facilities for the development of viral medicines. Allow time off work for vaccination. Transfer all long-term care into public hands. Hire more Registered Nurses and other nursing and allied health care workers, raise all salaries, and provide safer working conditions for all health care workers.  Acknowledge legitimate fears of government and big pharma by racialized groups, but don't let right wing anti-vaccinators threaten the vast majority who understand the need for vaccination.  Ship vaccines to poorer countries and be involved in global initiatives to distribute vaccines and other resources to end the pandemic.

 

IMMEDIATELY PROVIDE A SAFE SUPPLY PROCESS FOR THOSE THAT USE OPIOIDS DRUGS. This year the BC NDP government introduced a new prescribed safer supply policy for opioid drug users. However, given the urgent and deadly opioid crisis in BC socialists demand an immediate change in policy and support for those that use opioid drugs and those that provide care.

HOUSING. Build high quality public and co-op housing, climate-supporting housing for all and rent it on a geared to income basis. Get real-estate capital and profiteers out of housing. Bring housing left empty by speculators under public control and rent them. Support tenant unions locally and help build a BC provincial tenant union. Support the right of tenants to safe and affordable housing.

 

CLIMATE DISRUPTION. Seize the heavily subsidized BC oil and gas cartel and mining giants – like Pan-American Silver Co, Teck Resources, Taseko, Imperial Metals, Conuma Coal, etc. Shut them down as soon as possible by building a green energy grid with union labour. Cut energy use. Break up monocultural agribusiness and implement healthy, natural farming practices. Impose climate friendly regulations, make polluters pay the cost of cleanup, imprison violators of climate safety. Manage forests and all resources in the interests of future generations and other species, not for the profiteers. 

 

INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION AND RESTITUTION. Give land back, and facilitate full self determination - including no settler courts or police. Full restitution for the land and resource theft, impoverishment and genocide perpetrated by settler colonist rulers from arrival to the present day. 

 

DEFUND, DISARM AND DISBAND THE POLICE AND DEMAND THE MILITARY BE SLASHED. These armed forces do not exist for our protection. They serve to protect the rich and enforce acceptance of exploitation and oppression at home and in the global south.  No new planes, ships or tanks. Ban arms manufacture in Canada. Divert the funds to the basic needs of British Columbians. By eliminating poverty in areas of housing, food, and other material needs, we will dramatically reduce rates of crime. We can instead focus on community peace programs, and enhanced outreach to help those with mental health issues.

 

WORKERS’ RIGHTS Support organizing the unorganized, no strikebreaking, and benefits, pensions and sick pay for all. Demand the right to refuse unsafe working conditions. Provide full rights for seasonal workers including citizenship. Tie working hours to unemployment. As unemployment rises working hours reduce with no loss of pay or benefits. This way workers do not lose out to automation, job exports or energy transition to stop climate change.

 

STOP BC IMPERIALIST EXPLOITATION Force BC imperialist companies to return the properties they exploit in the third world to the people in those countries and pay restitution for their exploitation, brutality and pollution. Openly campaign to shut down the arms industry, and get out of NATO, NORAD, the Lima group and all other imperialist military alliances and trade agreements. Welcome immigrants from war, climate change, brutality, oppression and hunger.

 

ABOLISH BILLIONARES Tax 100% of assets over 1 billion dollars

 

ADVOCATE THE ABOLITION OF  THE UNELECTED SENATE AND THE MONARCHY

 

PROVIDE FREE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN ANY FIELD, TO ANY LEVEL, ABOLISH STUDENT DEBT

 

REPLACE SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS WITH WORKERS' RIGHTS to set the goals, objectives and operating methods of goods and services production to meet human needs, not shareholder profit.

 

ESTABLISH A WELL FUNDED, EQUIPPED and TRAINED “WORKERS CLIMATE AND EMERGENCY CORP” to battle the emergencies caused by global warming, perform search and rescue operations, seize control of unsafe operations, provide emergency, food, water and housing. The Corp would include members of all oppressed groups, but no former police or military. Abolish all private mercenary and other armed groups.

 

CONTACT

BC NDP SOCIALIST CAUCUS

250 589 3650  ( phone and text)

Garyporter24@gmail.com 

Some resources to review - 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-monarchy-polls-1.5952013 - on getting rid of the monarchy