WATCH: BC Greens unveil plan to ensure economy benefits British Columbians first

The BC Greens have released their plan to ensure that British Columbians are the primary beneficiaries of the province's vast wealth and resources.

Leader Emily Lowan argued that BC "has everything it needs to build a strong, sovereign, thriving province, yet too often economic decisions are made to benefit multinational corporations and their foreign shareholders."

During a press conference in Vancouver on Wednesday, Lowan argued that local workers "should have a share in the prosperity that they help create," and that decisions made about land, resources, and public funds, government should be "thinking about what we're actually leaving behind for the next generation and what stays in the community where these activities are generated."

She went on to point out that workers in the forestry industry have been victims of the aforementioned multinational corporate control, citing moves made by Domtar.

"The second that those profit margins have shifted, they've closed the vast majority of their mills, leaving workers stranded," Lowan lamented. "That is because they are first and foremost accountable to their foreign shareholders."

She said it's government's job to "relocalize power and control in communities' hands," and outlined her plan to do just that.

The BC Greens' economic vision consists of four pillars, strong regional economies, abundant, reliable, affordable clean power, making and retaining more value in BC, and a fair economy that shares prosperity.

"If we are to withstand external price shocks and trade attacks, we have to reduce our exposure to supply chains we don't control," Lowan said. "Right now BC ships out raw resources and buys back finished goods, which leaves us exposed every time a corporation's profit margins take a turn or a foreign government changes the rules."

She argued that to protect British Columbians, the government must "use public purchasing, infrastructure financing, workforce training, and research to help BC businesses scale and build stronger domestic supply chains."

"We will use public procurement and strategic investment to help promising BC technology and clean technology companies to grow here," Lowan added, "with public returns when taxpayer-backed investments succeed."

She went on to note that a strong economy requires a strong transportation network, vowing to restore both freight and passenger corridors across the province.

"This will unlock strong local economies, eco-tourism, and will actually ensure that we can visit our families all across the province instead of getting fleeced on a $1,500 plane ticket to Terrace," Lowan added.

She argued that government "has the power and ability to be bold, to set directions and shape our economy in the public interest," citing achievements of past administrations as evidence that it is possible for Victoria to think big and in the interest of British Columbians.