KEVIN EASTWOOD - BC Green Party - CANDIDATE ANSWERS

 

1a. Small business cant thrive if the barriers to access are too high for new entrants. As with accessibility across all aspects of society, we need to ensure that small businesses have a realistic path to formation and success.

 

1b. BC Greens support maintaining ICBC but recognize a need to make care following an accident easier to access for all people.

 

1c. Minimum wage has knock on effects. Government can help address costs by provision of better transit, assistance for rent and aging in place, improved public healthcare and food access, to reduce counteract the simple need for higher income in the face of inflation.

 

1d. Taxes help provide services for us all but we deserve to feel confident that we get great value from our tax dollars. Greens support most existing taxes but wish to shift burden of Carbon tax toward big emitters while providing transit and investment in community climate change resilience projects. Increased transparency and accpuntability in spending are the forst steps in appropriate adjustments.

 

1.e Distribution costs need to be understood to evaluate solutions at appropriate scale and frequency. Trains? Trucks? Combimation with Transit? We can find solutions by looking at the data and sulimultaneously improving the industry with electrification.

 

2a. My personal stance on health of food is that government should make the best science available to the public. People deserve the best information available to inform their own decisions. Government does have a role in supporting science as well as supporting industry in adapting to changing markets without squashing innovation.

 

2b. I try to think about whether a program or regulation is serving its objective. Imported fruit is currently vital to sustain wine production but as local grapes become available we need to ensure that BC government is supporting growers as well as vinters.

 

2c. Replant is a critical piece of sustianing an industry and addressing climate change. Support for marketing more resilient varietals can assist wineries in continuing to craft excellent wines from local grapes. Innovators in BC are already demonstrating success through new varietals and government can support sharing of these experiences.

 

3a. Agriculture is facing pressure from climate change and global market conditions. As an industry Greens wish to increase BC's food product2ion by addressing barriers to market entry, water insecurity, and business stability. Greens envision a land bank available for lease to new farmers. To address Labour we need a stable, long term, and community appropriate solution. Temporary Foreign Workers have helped to meet labour demands, but perhaps these programs have also prevented cultivation of local labour or a pathway for these critical workers to become a part of our communities. I would personally support youth and student jobs in agriculture tied to education and new entrant support to help bring up a new generation of farmers. This can add to Green initiatives to encourage regenerative ag, increased access to capital for farmers, and investigation into how to make farming more accessible, attractive and sustainable. Adressing transit, housing, healthcare, and climate change are also necessary pieces in improving life in rural areas beyond wages.

 

3b. I understand that food production requires a chain of businesses from inputs to growing, harvesting, processing, distributing, marketing and sales. A break in this chain affects the whole system. Greens believe in rebuilding local processing, storage and distribution. Furthermore Greens hope to implement school and institutional food programs prioritizing local food. We need to ensure that vital infrastructure is maintained through disruptions to the industry to prevent a domino effect of business closure. Resilience through local scale businesses and cooperatives can help us grow through challenges ahead as sufficient and flexible storage and processing capacity are variables within our control which should not be limiting factors like the weather.