B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver responding to the Speech from the Throne on Tuesday, said: “I am glad to hear the government acknowledge that the first step to solving the housing crisis must be to address demand and speculation, both foreign and domestic. What’s critical is that these measures are bold enough to make a difference for British Columbians. Our caucus has long maintained that taking strong demand-side action is critical to improving housing affordability. Houses should be for homes for people to live in, not commodities for speculation. I hope to see significant demand-side action in the budget next week.”
Weaver, talking about “shared values” of his party and the NDP being represented in the Throne Speech, added: “The focus on housing and child care and early childhood education represent policies that we have heard are top priorities for British Columbians across the province.
“However, we await details in next week’s budget as to how these values will be implemented in government policy. British Columbians are facing an affordability crisis and they deserve to see a strong vision and bold action from this government.”
Weaver said: “While it’s positive to see a focus on childcare, going forward we hope to see far more emphasis on the importance of high quality early childhood education. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide the next generation of British Columbians with the best possible head start – and well paid, high quality educators must be at the centre of this transformation. Sonia Furstenau, our spokesperson on this issue, will continue to advocate for an evidence-based approach to early childhood education so that our children can succeed in our fast-changing world.”
Talking about taking action on climate change, Weaver said: “While I appreciate the government reiterating its commitment to take steps to meet our climate target, we must get beyond rhetoric. Our caucus’ role is to ensure that the days of politicians vowing to take action on climate and then doing nothing must end. Actions, not words, are what are required to meet our responsibility to the next generation. I look forward to working with [Environment and Climate Change Strategy] Minister [George] Heyman to enact a climate action strategy to meet our targets so that we can become leaders in climate action once again.”
With regards to early childhood education, I can only say the best education is in the home, by example. If there’s no thought to raising children responsibly at home with an interest in learning and the provision of stimuli, an outside educator will be grossly challenged and that’s what we face today. Parents and or child caretakers need to be educated and take responsibility for the children they raise. Its the elephant in the room! Let’s talk about that.