Provincial Election 2026

David Eby and the BC NDP agree that, whenever possible, Government must prioritize prevention and early intervention so people get the supports they need to avoid unnecessary justice system involvement and escalating cycles of crime.

We need to keep moving in the right direction, with a focus on improved access to affordable housing, timely treatment for mental health and addictions, and overall help with costs so people do not end up in crisis.

Since 2017, we’ve provided 860 new addiction treatment beds and doubled the number of beds for youth. We’ve cut wait times for treatment in Vancouver to just one day for urgent cases, and we’ve expanded the Road to Recovery program province-wide to bring those same results to communities that were once underserved. Access Central is now available in every health authority, with one central line people can call for a same-day clinical assessment to get into treatment. There are 35 Foundry Centres open or on the way to provide young people with mental health and addictions services, which has helped over 84,000 youth since 2019.

We are now working with partners to open new involuntary care beds in all regions of the province to provide a higher level of care for people with overlapping brain injuries, and severe mental health and addictions challenges.

We also know that rent is down across the province, and there are more than 1,500 temporary housing units and 9,900 permanent supportive homes delivered or underway across the province for people moving out of homelessness.

The BC Conservatives represent an imminent risk to the services and supports needed to prevent crime and reduce risk of reoffending. We cannot afford to put our justice system in the hands of people who will cut health care, crime prevention programming, victim services funding, and programs that support youth at risk - just as they did before.

The BC Greens completely agree with this analysis; we must do more to address the underlying conditions that create crime and end the criminalization of poverty. Our broken social safety net, lack of access to housing, and deep poverty are driving people to despair and crimes of desperation. The BC Greens have a substantial package of reforms that would address this; reform of social assistance to eliminate deep poverty, a housing-first approach to reducing homelessness, and making mental health supports widely available.

Bail is federal law. What a province controls is whether the person released has somewhere to go, someone watching, and a prosecutor who can see the case through. CentreBC’s plan does all three.

Inside the justice system:

• Double BC’s targeted enforcement programs for repeat and violent offenders (SITE and CSTEP) to about $26 million a year, with dedicated prosecutors
• 60 more Crown prosecutors, with support staff, by 2030/31
• 500 more police over five years
• An independent review of how bail is working in BC, with data on detention requests, releases and reoffending on bail published every quarter, reporting before Parliament’s December 2028 review of the 2023 bail reforms and well ahead of its 2031 review of the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act

Outside the justice system:

• 150 more detox beds and 500 more treatment and recovery beds by 2030, free to the person using them, with same-day detox for urgent cases by 2028 and treatment within 14 days by 2030
• Voluntary addiction treatment in every provincial correctional centre
• About 50 more beds at Red Fish and 80 more forensic beds at Colony Farm
• 1,000 supportive homes with on-site health care
• 1,500 rent supplements
• 400 complex-care spaces and about 300 Intensive Housing homes for people with brain injuries who cycle through emergency rooms and jail
• 12 round-the-clock crisis centres beside the busiest emergency rooms

From April 2027, a quarterly public safety dashboard would show repeat offending, treatment waits and housing outcomes by operator.

A modernized court system allows for more timely, accessible, and effective court services for British Columbians. This continues to be a priority for us at the BC NDP. Court services have advanced considerably since 2019: This includes virtual appearances, scheduling efficiencies, online dispute initiation, e-filing, expanded connectivity, and more.

Following our sustained recruitment and retention efforts, the BC Sheriff Service is now fully staffed. The efforts have led to a 7% increase in fully trained sheriffs as of April 2026, compared to the same time in 2025. If re-elected, an NDP government would continue to invest in the recruitment, retention and training of sheriffs to strengthen the court system and ensure people can access safe, timely justice services throughout British Columbia.

There is more work to be done – the BC NDP is committed to reaching the objectives outlined in the 2024-2029 Digital Transformation Strategy, which notes that reliable funding and ongoing measurement will be needed to enable change.

A re-elected BC NDP government will also continue to pursue operational and regulatory efficiencies. For example, recent changes to the chambers application process will resolve issues earlier and reduce unnecessary hearings and adjournments which frees up court time for other matters.

Ensuring that everyone has access to justice in a timely manner is crucial to people continuing to have faith in our justice system. Better data on what improvements would best improve the system would be beneficial for everyone involved in the justice system, and the BC Greens would gladly support this recommendation. We would use the information gathered to make determinations on what specific investments in people and technology are needed going forward.

It’s not possible to fix delays that are not measured. CentreBC’s platform adds 60 Crown prosecutors with support staff by 2030/31, so cases aren’t lost to delay, and commits to publishing justice data the province doesn’t publish today: bail detention requests, releases and reoffending every quarter, and a public safety dashboard from April 2027. A CentreBC government would work with the Chief Justices on the Court’s proposed data collection and disclosure system, so the next decisions about court resources are made on evidence rather than anecdote.

The BC NDP is committed to ensuring the courts have the resources needed to meet the demands of the justice system and serve the province effectively.

Under the BC NDP, government leadership has established strong working relationships with our federal counterparts, which has led to stronger bail laws and other federal reforms – a re-elected BCNDP government would continue our consistent advocacy around the timeliness of judicial appointments made by the federal government.

Our strategy for addressing caseload and increased demand also involves technological and process improvements, ongoing analysis of pain points within the system, and our commitment to ongoing efforts to address provincial appointments, including 10 additional appointments since the beginning of 2026.

The BC Greens know that judicial resourcing and capacity is integral to a well functioning and ethical justice system, and that no system in our province should be operating as a triage. To this end, the BC Greens would work with the Judicial Council of BC, federal partners, and the courts to advocate that the judicial complement meets population and caseload needs. We would also work with these partners to determine the feasibility of creating more associate judges to handle non-trial cases, partner with Indigenous Law organizations to identify opportunities for diversion, and investigate opportunities for mediation-focused solutions.

The gap is real, and most of it is Ottawa’s to close: Supreme Court judges are appointed and paid federally, and new positions need both a provincial amendment to the Supreme Court Act and federal funding for the salaries. A CentreBC government would make that case with numbers. Our yearly BC Fair Share report would compare BC’s share of federal funding with its share of the population, and judicial positions would be on that list. For the Provincial Court, which the province appoints, we would publish vacancies and time-to-fill on our public scorecard and fill them promptly.

The BC NDP supports the Declaration Act, reconciliation, and partnering with First Nations. Through the implementation of the Declaration Act Action Plan we have:

• Made changes that recognize Indigenous communities’ inherent right to deliver their own child and family services that are helping keep Indigenous children and youth safely connected to their families, cultures and communities.
• Officially recognized First Nations-led post-secondary schools– schools that are ensuring learners can access safe and culturally relevant education.
• Opened 17 Indigenous Justice Centres and 15 First Nations Primary Care centres;
• Working together to protect our lands and waters through things like the First Nations Guardian program and conservation initiatives.

We continue to support the Declaration Act. Our work on the Act is about getting back to the original intent, which was passed unanimously in the Legislature by all parties.

We entered into a process to work with First Nations on the path forward for DRIPA, and we will continue that work. David Eby and the BC NDP will continue to work with Indigenous peoples to respect rights and build stronger communities and a better future for everyone in BC.

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) provides a framework for reconciliation, outlining the work the Government must do to set the stage for a province that works in true partnership with Indigenous peoples. Free, prior and informed consent is crucial, especially in a time of fast tracking and trade wars. Specifically, the BC Greens commit to:

• Remove uncertainty and opacity that currently exists by implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act through legislation.
• Support and improve the Modern Treaties process and expand the opportunities for other constructive agreements.

We would seek to achieve this work in a transparent manner, making clear that accountability rests with the government, not with First Nations, and seeking to reduce the racism faced by First Nations and Indigenous peoples being perpetrated due to disinformation at the moment.

We respect the UN Declaration as a guide, and we would act on it through negotiated treaties rather than through DRIPA. In our first session, one bill will repeal DRIPA and section 8.1 of the Interpretation Act and replace them with a new law built on negotiated treaties: $30 million a year to move treaty negotiations forward and settle overlapping claims, restored treaty advisory committees, private land off the table, a homeowner guarantee in law, and a yearly report to the legislature on treaty progress. Section 35 rights and the duty to consult are unchanged.

Talks would be confidential and deals public: draft agreements published at least 60 days before signing, and title and land agreements tabled in the legislature before cabinet signs them. Agreements affecting private land would wait for the Cowichan appeals; economic partnerships and revenue sharing would go ahead.

Alongside that: First Nations equity financing expanded to $3 billion in loan guarantees within six months, First Nations partners in every clean power project, $20 million a year to support First Nations running their own child and family services, and a $25 million a year top-up to end every long-term drinking water advisory in First Nations communities by 2029.

The independence of lawyers and the judiciary is a fundamental cornerstone of our justice system. A BC NDP Government will always ensure that lawyers can operate free of government interference or influence, as they should and must.

Access to legal help and respecting the independence of legal professions are priorities for us. The new Legal Professions Act will expand access to justice and create a new and modern regulatory body for lawyers, paralegals, and notaries. The new act upholds the independence of lawyers and maintains self-regulation while ensuring that the regulated professions operate in the public interest.

The BC Greens are concerned about governments increasingly politicising judgements made by BC Courts. The independence of the judiciary is paramount in our approach to justice, and the BC Greens would seek to uphold this principle in all words and actions.

The BC Greens have also committed to repeal of the Legal Professions Act, which disrupted the role of the Law Society of BC. We would reinstate the Law Society and launch a comprehensive review of access to justice in accordance with the Futures Task Force Report.

Independent courts and an independent bar are not optional, and a government’s job is to respect them even when it loses. The Cowichan case will be settled by the courts, not pre-empted by a government deal. Where we disagree with a ruling, as in the Drug User Liberation Front case, we would appeal and intervene, not legislate around it. And we would put our own conduct under independent checks: an Independent Budget Officer reporting to the legislature, a Climate Accountability Office, the Auditor General invited to audit our public scorecard, and a plain-language summary of every major cabinet decision, with the documents behind it, within 30 days.

We have a range of priorities for the justice system, including:

• Protecting public safety;
• Stopping violent repeat criminals from re-offending;
• Addressing gangs and guns;
• Addressing intimate partner violence and family violence in the criminal, family, civil, and human rights justice sectors;
• Improving accessibility, timeliness, and cost, and removing administrative barriers through digital and systems transformation.
• Continuing advocacy to the federal government on BC NDP justice priorities – including ongoing work on bail reform and online safety;
• Protecting British Columbians from unfair healthcare costs and ensuring accountability for wrongdoers by identifying opportunities to recover expenses.

The goal is to ensure that British Columbians feel safe in their communities, that cycles of crime are prevented or addressed before escalating, that our federal relationships result in meaningful change for people in BC, and that our justice system is equipped to deliver fair, accessible, affordable, and timely services for British Columbians.

The BC Greens top three justice system priorities are:

1. Carry out the recommendations from the Transforming Policing and Community Safety in British Columbia report, which includes enacting a new Community Safety and Policing Act. This includes establishing a fourth 911 option which connects people with mental health support, rather than police, when sought.
2. The full implementation of DRIPA, including alignment of provincial legislation with the principles of DRIPA.
3. Following calls to action from the Red Women Rising report and BCFNJC’s Indigenous Women’s Justice Plan, create a specialized and independent taskforce to investigate and prosecute open and cold cases of violence against Indigenous women, children, and Two-Spirited peoples. This taskforce will operate under civilian oversight from Indigenous communities, with a strong focus on women’s leadership.

First, consequences for repeat offenders: SITE and CSTEP doubled, 60 more prosecutors, and an independent bail review. Success is BC’s Crime Severity Index closing the gap with Canada in Statistics Canada’s annual release (92.4 against 75.0 in 2025), with reoffending on bail and cases lost to delay published every quarter and falling.

Second, treatment and housing that break the cycle: 650 more detox and treatment beds, treatment within 14 days, 400 complex-care spaces and about 300 Intensive Housing homes. Success is published treatment wait times, an annual homelessness count that falls, and housing outcomes at 12 and 24 months by operator.

Third, certainty on Indigenous rights through treaties: a new law, $30 million a year for negotiations, and a homeowner guarantee. Success is a yearly treaty-progress report to the legislature and every agreement published before it is signed.

All of it goes on one public scorecard, updated every quarter, with the Auditor General invited to check the numbers.