The BC Green Party is introducing the ‘Dogwood Model,’ a transformative plan to provide every resident with a ‘primary care home,’ ensuring accessible, team-based, longitudinal care.

The ‘Dogwood Model,’ inspired by former federal Health Minister Jane Philpott’s ‘Periwinkle Model,’ will establish a network of Community Health Centres across the province.

👩‍⚕️ British Columbians will have access to doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, and specialists like dietitians and dermatologists within their community. This model eliminates complicated referrals, ensuring timely, comprehensive care all in one place. Once the system is fully built, people will be seamlessly transferred to a unit in their new location when they move.

🏥Spaces will be leased and administered by the province, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on patient care.

🍎 The Dogwood Model is part of the BC Greens’ larger vision of addressing healthcare holistically by focusing on both primary care and the social determinants of health.

“We need to ensure we remove the barriers to accessing mental health care,” said BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau. “It affects all of us, either personally or through someone we love. But too often, people can’t find or afford the help they need. We want everyone in BC to get mental health support when they need it without worrying about how to afford it or where to go.”

The BC Greens plan:

1. MSP Coverage for mental health professionals: We will ensure that every BC resident has access to six fully covered visits with a mental health professional, such as a psychologist, under the Medical Services Plan (MSP).

2. Regulation of psychotherapy: We will introduce full regulation of psychotherapy in BC to provide respect and legitimacy to the profession, while increasing public protection, accountability, and oversight.

3. Mental health integration into 911: We will integrate mental health as a fourth option into 911 services and expand the Peer Assisted Care Teams (PACT) program to ensure that mental health crises are met with appropriate and compassionate responses.

4. Mental Health Act Review: We will conduct an all-party review of the Mental Health Act and create an Independent Office of the Mental Health Advocate to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are heard and that the legislation is updated to reflect modern understandings of mental health care.

Climate change is expensive. It’s making everything cost more, from groceries to home insurance.

While the BC Conservatives don’t believe in the climate emergency, and the BC NDP want to cancel the carbon tax and continue subsidizing fossil fuels, the BC Greens are focused on real solutions to help the environment, and your wallet.

The BC Greens plan:

1. We will increase the carbon tax cheque. We promise that as the government collects more money from polluters through the carbon tax, British Columbians will see more money in their rebate cheque. This way, the system stays fair, and people are not left paying more than they should.

2. We will make sure that polluters pay. People are frustrated that they’re footing the bill while the oil and gas industry gets off easy. The more industries pollute, the more they pay, which helps keep the burden off everyday families.

3. Structured increases, no surprises. We will increase the price of carbon by $15 per year, moving from $80 per tonne in 2024 to $110 per tonne in 2026. But unlike before, this won’t be a burden on your household budget because the increased revenue will be returned to you.

4. We will invest directly in communities. The money collected from industries will go directly into funding climate action projects in local communities, helping to make our province more resilient and sustainable.

5. We will eliminate loopholes and end the use of compliance mechanisms and carbon offsets that let industry continue to pollute without paying the full cost. These loopholes, criticized by the Auditor-General as a form of greenwashing, will be closed to ensure a truly fair system.

"Rents have surged over 20% in just two years, while wages stay stagnant, turning housing into a profit machine for financialized landlords like REITs, pushing individuals and families to the edge. This isn’t just a housing crisis, it’s a crisis of equality," says BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, "Housing in BC is unaffordable and unstable, holding our province back. When people aren’t worried about renovictions or rent, they can contribute more to their communities and the economy, making BC stronger. BC should be the best place to live, not just for investors, but for everyone."

The BC Greens housing plan includes:

🏘️ Building 26,000 affordable rental units annually through targeted investments in non-market housing providers and housing cooperatives,
🏘️ Making existing public land available for non-profit housing development and acquiring new public land specifically for the purpose of building affordable housing.
🏘️ Recognizing community land trusts as crucial for securing land for non-market development.

“We can’t ask for-profit developers to solve the housing crisis. We must use public land for public housing and maximize existing assets,” Furstenau continued. “We need real solutions, not profit-driven policies to dramatically ramp up the construction of non-market housing solutions that supplements the for-profit market housing. This plan prioritizes secure, affordable housing for British Columbians.”

The fund will reinvest returns from interest-free loans, reducing the annual $1.5 billion investment over time. Vacancy control will also cap rent increases between tenancies, preventing landlords from exploiting renters and ensuring stability for those most at risk of homelessness.

This is just part of the BC Greens' housing platform. Full platform released later this fall.

Water is not just an environmental issue, it’s an economic, social, and health issue. It will define the next decades in British Columbia. The BC Greens are announcing a $100 million investment to create Water Stewardship Councils in every community across the province.

“Without reliable and sustainable water sources, our farms can’t grow the food that feeds our communities. Climate change is making it harder for farmers across BC to access the water we need to keep our crops and animals thriving and our families fed. That’s why this commitment to watershed security is so important, it empowers local communities to protect the water we all depend on, ensuring we can continue to grow healthy, local food for generations to come.”

“With climate change already driving droughts and water shortages in BC, we’re at a tipping point," said BC Greens leader Sonia Furstenau. "Right now, water conflicts are still a low-level crisis, but we need to get ahead of this before it escalates into full-blown ‘water wars.’”

1. Empower communities to take control of their water management.

2.Bring together Frist Nations, farmers, local governments, industry, and environmental groups to collaboratively manage water resources.

3. Prevent conflict and promote long-term water security.