In early May I was approached by the Green Technology Education Centre, based in Vancouver, and invited to join its Council for the New Green Economy, to help design a positive green recovery for BC.
This we have done. The result was published last week as Rebuilding BC: A Portfolio of Possibilities.
“Rebuilding BC contains a host of terrific ideas – policy recommendations well worth our government considering and implementing. These are the kinds of policy innovations, grounded in justice and the climate emergency, that we need right now.”
– Seth Klein, writer and policy analyst
Our Portfolio includes 24 proposals, each of which merits serious consideration. Here are eight, to get you started:
- Establish a Resilient Recovery Action Team to guide recovery in a way that contributes to building a more just, resilient and sustainable economy.
- Create 30,000 jobs for young people as five types of ‘Recovery Ranger’: 5,000 Retrofit Rangers, 5,000 Farm Rangers, 5,000 Restoration Rangers, 10,000 Urban Rangers and 5,000 Climate Rangers.
- Invest in mass deep, neighbourhood-scale building retrofits.
- Support non-profit societies to accelerate the construction of affordable housing.
- Increase BC’s food supply by removing the barriers that discourage young people from farming.
- Encourage advanced cleantech green manufacturing.
- Improve air quality by investing in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and accelerating the electrification of transportation.
- Work with forest-concerned stakeholders to increase the number of jobs generated per cubic metre of timber
The online version is here. The PDF is here.
“We must not try to go back to business-as-usual pre-COVID-19. We have to use the crisis as an opportunity to move to a real path of balance and sustainability. Rebuilding BC is just such a blueprint, a chance to get it right. We must not ignore it.”
– David Suzuki, grandfather
Can you help us spread the word? We want every MLA, thought-leader and Deputy Minister in BC to be familiar with it, and to take it seriously as they plan BC’s recovery.
Here’s where you can find your MLA, and contact details: https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members. Include your name, phone and postal code in your message.
| Can You Help Us? | Done |
| · Write to your MLA, and tell him or her about it | |
| · Follow up with a phone call to her or his office | |
| · Choose five people who you respect and send them a copy | |
| · Share it on Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram | |
| · Choose a paper you respect and send a copy to the Editor |
Do it for everyone, because BC is full:
- Full of people who are hurting.
- Full of teenagers who are stressed and worried about their future.
- Full of people who are struggling under a burden of personal debt.
- Full of people who can’t find an affordable home.
- Full of people who don’t know if or when their jobs will return.
- Full of people who understand the perils of the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and the thousands of jobs that could be created by tackling them.
- Full of people who have a deep urgent longing for a better future, and frustration about the time it is taking to get one.
“Rebuilding BC is a treasure trove of inspirational and pragmatic solutions for building a better, fair, safe, clean future for all. I hope they will influence our future, and the ecosystems we need for a thriving future.” – Joel Solomon, Founding Partner, Renewal Funds; Senior Advisor with RSF Social Finance
“Interested in building a more just, resilient and sustainable economy? Rebuilding BC provides the right type of provincial policy recommendations to do just that. A great recipe for B.C. to emerge from the global pandemic stronger and healthier.” – Ben Geselbracht, Nanaimo City Councillor, UBCM director at large.
“Rebuilding BC is a comprehensive and compelling proposal for our province. Packed with concrete actions to build back better with real gains in housing, jobs, thriving communities and businesses.” – Elizabeth Sheehan Co founder and President, Climate Smart Businesses