Vows aid renters, disabled, parents

B.C.’s new NDP government will put more money into education, fix lease loopholes that hurt renters and embark on an ambitious plan to build new schools, hospitals, roads and homes, according to its throne speech.

Premier John Horgan’s government outlined its agenda Friday, in a speech that recapped many of the party’s recent announcements while offering a first glimpse at new reforms.

Among the new items was a promise to restore free bus passes for the disabled on Jan. 1, 2018. The previous Liberal government in 2016 slapped a $52 monthly fee on the transit pass for the disabled.

It’s an “encouraging” sign, but details still aren’t clear on what it means, said Faith Bodnar, executive director of Inclusion B.C.

The speech also reiterated the NDP’s promise to “eliminate corporate and union donations, put strict limits on individual contributions, and make sure that only people living in B.C. can donate to our political parties.”

Horgan said it’s his intention to pass that into law during the current session.

Here are some of the other promises.

An end to fixed-term lease loopholes for renters, which allowed landlords to sidestep mandatory maximum rent hikes.

A boost in the budget of the Residential Tenancy Branch, which deals with conflicts between renters and landlords.

A promise to reduce the

number of school portables, and increase teacher hiring.

Housing affordability will

be dealt with under an unspecified “comprehensive housing strategy,” read the speech.

The NDP’s promised $10-aday child care plan was rephrased as a “provincewide universal child care program” that will increase spaces for families and begin with a consultation this fall. The Liberals called that a watering down of NDP promises.

A potentially ambitious

building plan, but without specifics, for new schools, hospitals, roads and housing.

A pledge to move the fixed election date from the spring of 2021 to the fall of 2021, reform rules for lobbyists, set the terms for a referendum on proportional representation, and create an “innovation commission” for the technology sector — things the NDP promised the Green party as part of a power-sharing deal.