Second Session, 43rd Parliament

Official Report

of Debates

( Hansard )

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 125

The Honourable Raj Chouhan , Speaker

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

Contents

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill M232 — Long Term Care Access and Transparency Act

Brennan Day

Members’ Statements

Support for Human Rights in Iran

Susie Chant

Peachland Recognition as Kindest Community

Macklin McCall

Pink Shirt Day

Amshen / Joan Phillip

Bullying Prevention and Practice of Values of Kindness and Inclusion

Kristina Loewen

B.C. Winter Games

Steve Morissette

Megan Rokeby-Thomas

Harman Bhangu

Oral Questions

Government Gift Card Programs and Spending Priorities

Peter Milobar

Hon. Brenda Bailey

Claire Rattée

Hon. Jodie Wickens

Protection of Old-Growth Forests

Rob Botterell

Hon. Ravi Parmar

Government Response to Violent Threats and Extortion Cases

Mandeep Dhaliwal

Hon. Nina Krieger

RCMP Staffing Levels and Funding for Police Services

Macklin McCall

Hon. Nina Krieger

Police Services in Surrey

Bryan Tepper

Hon. Nina Krieger

Budget Allocation for Action on Extortion Crimes

Jody Toor

Hon. Nina Krieger

Government Priorities and Action on Extortion Crimes

Harman Bhangu

Hon. Nina Krieger

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate (continued)

Harman Bhangu

Hon. Jessie Sunner

Jordan Kealy

Sharon Hartwell

Hon. Adrian Dix

Amelia Boultbee

David Williams

Hon. Niki Sharma

Jody Toor

Sunita Dhir

Macklin McCall

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: Rosalyn Bird.

[1:35 p.m.]

Introductions by Members

Janet Routledge : My Whip’s assistant, my very capable Whip’s assistant, has some special guests here

today.

Please join me in welcoming her dad, Jeff Keenliside, and her grandma, Janis Murray.

Sunita Dhir : Today I would like to welcome in the House Mr. Bill Basra along with his wife, Mrs.

Baldish Basra, from Vancouver. Bill is a long-time community advocate and the past

president of Guru Ravidass Sabha in Burnaby.

Accompanying them is Mr. Gopal Lohia, who is my constituent and an active member in

the community.

Along with these guests is a special group of Punjabi singers visiting from Punjab,

India, along with their families.

Would the House please make them feel welcome.

Macklin McCall : I rise today to introduce two representatives from the National Police Federation,

the certified bargaining agent representing the members of the Royal Canadian Mounted

Police, who serve communities across British Columbia under our provincial policing

model.

Joining us is Chris Voller, a currently serving member of the RCMP and the director

for the Pacific/north region of the National Police Federation. In 2021, Mr. Voller

was appointed to the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. He has also been recognized

by the International Association of Chiefs of Police as part of their 40 Under 40,

and he is a recipient of the British Columbia Reconciliation Award. His recognition

reflects not only professional excellence but leadership at a time when policing across

our province faces increasing demands and expectations.

Also joining us is Colin Buschman, the western government relations adviser for the

National Police Federation. Since 2021, Mr. Buschman has worked with government partners

and stakeholders on issues directly affecting RCMP members and the sustainability

of provincial policing.

The RCMP provide front-line policing in the vast majority of communities in British

Columbia. Their members respond to emergencies, support disaster deployments, and

uphold public safety in both rural and urban regions of our province.

The Conservative caucus is grateful to have the National Police Federation here today

to discuss matters that affect their members and the strength of provincial policing

in British Columbia.

I ask all members to join me in welcoming them to the Legislature.

Brent Chapman : I am proud to acknowledge a wonderful seniors living community in my constituency,

Rosemary Heights Seniors Village. Their CEO, Graham Freeman, and general manager,

Christian Bunz, are here with us in the chamber today. Rosemary Heights won the Workplace

of the Year award last night at the B.C. Care Providers Association Care Awards ceremony.

The Workplace of the Year award recognizes BCCPA members in the seniors living and

care sector who demonstrate exceptional staff engagement, recognition and positive

workplace culture.

I would ask the House to join me in congratulating the team at Rosemary Heights for

building a culture of trust, collaboration and moments that matter for the staff and,

of course, the residents.

Darlene Rotchford : I’d like to make an introduction. Today I have Neil Parkinson-Dow, national coordinator

of events and partnership of Public Service Pride Network. He’s not just a constituent.

He’s also a member of one of three chambers of commerce in my riding.

As well, another proud chamber member, Brenda MacFarlane, financial consultant with

IG Wealth Management.

Thank you for joining us in the House today.

Everyone make them feel welcome.

Brennan Day : I have a couple of introductions today.

I’d first like to introduce two guests joining us in the gallery: Mr. Scott Jackson,

manager of advocacy; and Ms. Rebecca Frederick, director of community engagement with

the Alzheimer Society of B.C.

The Alzheimer Society of B.C. provides vital support, education and advocacy for individuals

and families affected by dementia across our province. Their work makes a meaningful

difference in communities large and small and in the lives of British Columbians across

this province.

I would also, since I just got notified about 20 minutes ago, like to introduce the

six-pound, three-ounce beautiful baby girl, Amara Mackenzie Okagabwe-Day, who showed

up right on time this morning. I could not be more proud of my amazing sister-in-law

Aiko and my brother Ian and niece Kyra.

To all my amazing Nigerian in-laws who’ve flown across for this amazing event, big

love from everybody here in B.C.

[1:40 p.m.]

Hon. Lisa Beare : I have two introductions today.

Joining us in the gallery right now are grades 6 and 7 students from Alouette Elementary,

alongside their teacher Shirley Bice and some other guardians today.

Would the House please make them feel very welcome.

I also want to give a very warm welcome to the junior choir of Reynolds Secondary,

who, this afternoon, during the lunch hour, performed an amazing song for us in the

Hall of Honour to celebrate Pink Shirt Day.

Just a reminder to all of us in the House that it is Pink Shirt Day. We have kids

in the House. Remember kindness, compassion and caring is the goal for the day and

for always.

Misty Van Popta : In the House today, we have four members from the B.C. Care Providers Association.

They are doing important work of advocacy and are the leading voice of B.C.’s seniors

living, wellness and care sector. Today we have Lara Croll, Marc Kinna, Tiffany Trownson

and Langley legend Mary Polak here in the chamber.

Will you please make them feel welcome.

Ward Stamer : My youngest daughter, Nicole, and husband, Connor, welcomed their second child and

first son and grandson to the extended family, Kellen John Robert Dolighan, eight

pounds, 15 ounces.

Please join me in congratulating Nicole, Connor and big sister Sophie.

Á’a :líya Warbus : Today I’d like to take a moment to recognize my daughter Kesianne Warbus. She received

Student of the Month from Kiwanis Club in Chilliwack. She is supported by Ms. Lisa

Ego, who was a classmate of mine at Vedder Middle School.

She’s thriving where she’s at. She’s being recognized for her hard work with the rest

of the student body. I think it’s so fitting today that we’re talking about young

people and kindness and compassion.

I just want to say to her: I think that you really exemplify that. I’m so proud.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

Bill M232 — Long Term Care Access

and Transparency Act

Brennan Day presented a bill intituled Long Term Care Access and Transparency Act.

Brennan Day : I move that a bill intituled Long Term Care Access and Transparency Act, of which

notice has been given in my name on the order paper, be introduced and read a first

time now.

You cannot fix what you do not measure. This is the premise behind the Long Term Care

Access and Transparency Act. In British Columbia today, when it comes to long-term

care, hospice beds and subsidized home supports, we are not measuring clearly, and

we are certainly not reporting transparently.

This government has earned a reputation for secrecy. Families are left guessing how

long their loved ones will wait, how many hospice beds are available or how long it

takes to access home supports. The information is fragmented, inconsistent and too

often buried.

This bill requires simple disclosure of data that should already be collected. It

simply shines a light. Monthly reporting on long-term-care wait-lists, wait times,

alternative level of care beds that are being taken up in hospitals, hospice capacity,

deaths while waiting for care and access to home support wait-lists. If that data

is not already being collected, we have a much bigger problem.

But transparency is only the first step. Currently in British Columbia, there is no

meaningful public plan to address long-term-care capacity in this province. In fact,

the most recent budget cancelled six long-term-care projects. Capacity is simply not

keeping pace with our aging population.

This bill forces the government to publish and update annually a clear plan to address

long-term-care beds, hospice capacity, wait-lists and care at home in full public

view. This should be non-partisan. There is no reason to oppose transparency and a

public plan unless the objective is to hide failure and be afraid of simple public

accountability.

We will no longer accept decisions made in the dark that affect our most vulnerable

population. Seniors deserve honesty, and this bill intends to give it to them.

To my colleagues of every political stripe: this bill is deserving of your support.

Our parents and grandparents deserve absolutely nothing less.

[1:45 p.m.]

The Speaker : Members, the question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Brennan Day : I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the

next sitting of the House after today.

Motion approved.

Members’ Statements

Support for Human Rights in Iran

Susie Chant : I will start by acknowledging with gratitude that I’m speaking on the lands of the

lək̓ʷəŋən People, specifically the Songhees and the xʷsepsəm.

When I’m at home in the riding of North Vancouver–Seymour, I’m on the lands of the

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ. I speak these names with honour and pride.

Today I would like to talk about and commend the extraordinary bravery of the Iranian

people as they stand up for their dignity and their fundamental right to peaceful

protest. Their courage in the face of repression has inspired people around the world,

including many here in British Columbia who are deeply worried and troubled about

their loved ones in Iran.

In British Columbia and in my community of North Vancouver, we are lucky to have a

vibrant Iranian population, many of whom have shared stories about their families

and the crushing fear that they feel.

I am proud that our Premier and Attorney General, as well as our federal government

and governments across the world, condemn the killing of protesters, as well as the

violence, arbitrary arrests and intimidation carried out by the Iranian regime against

its own citizens.

The Iranian government has a responsibility to protect its population, not harm it.

It must allow freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.

The right to protest is fundamental, and no one should be threatened or punished for

exercising it.

I stand firmly with the Iranian people, who continue to demonstrate remarkable courage

as they call for justice and basic human rights. We mourn those who’ve been killed

while peacefully protesting, and we call on the Iranian government to allow these

demonstrations to continue without violence or intimidation.

Peachland Recognition as

Kindest Community

Macklin McCall : I rise today with great pride to recognize the community of Peachland for being named

Canada’s Kindest Community. Out of communities across this country, Peachland was

selected for national recognition, backed by Coca-Cola and the Community Foundations

of Canada. Along with that honour comes $100,000 contributed to local support initiatives

through the Central Okanagan Foundation.

Anyone who knows Peachland is not surprised by this recognition. Peachland is a small

community with a very big heart. It is the kind of place where neighbours check on

neighbours, where volunteers quietly carry the weight of community organizations without

seeking recognition. In moments of challenge, including the wildfire seasons that

test communities across the Okanagan, Peachland responds not with panic but with care,

coordination and neighbourly support, where seniors are supported, food banks are

stocked and community groups set up before anyone has to ask.

Kindness in Peachland is not a campaign. It is not a one-time act. It is simply how

people live. I have seen it firsthand at the Peachland Wellness Centre, through local

service clubs, through volunteers who show up week after week to make sure no one

is left behind.

What makes Peachland special is not just generosity in moments of difficulty. It is

consistency. It is the steady everyday acts of care that build trust, belonging and

resilience. That is why this recognition matters. It reflects who the people of Peachland

truly are. It tells the rest of Canada something we in the Okanagan have long known,

that the strength of a community is measured not only in growth or infrastructure

but in how its people treat one another.

As a local MLA, I could not be more proud to represent this community.

To the residents, volunteers, families, small business owners and community leaders

of Peachland: this honour belongs to you. You have shown the country that kindness

is not weakness. It is strength, it is leadership, and it is the foundation of a community

that looks after its own.

Pink Shirt Day

Amshen / Joan Phillip : Today I’m proud to mark Pink Shirt Day, recognizing students, educators, families

and community members throughout B.C. who are standing together against bullying.

[1:50 p.m.]

Pink Shirt Day was created by the compassionate leadership of students in Nova Scotia

in response to homophobic bullying and hate.

This year Pink Shirt Day comes at a difficult time. Recent acts of violence have shaken

communities and left many people feeling grief and uncertainty. We must centre the

humanity of all people. But we are seeing harmful, divisive rhetoric. Vulnerable communities,

including members of the 2SLGBTQIA community and particularly our friends in the trans

community…. We must stand against this hate.

Young people are watching. They learn how we act. Our schools and our communities

must be places where every person feels safe being themselves without fear of bullying.

That safety should not depend on who they are, how they identify or what they believe.

Pink Shirt Day may have started in classrooms, but bullying exists everywhere. We

contribute to the problem or the solution by how we act in this House, in our communities

and in our homes.

Today students across the province are choosing kindness and solidarity. They are

showing impressive leadership in their own schools and communities. We cannot allow

our differences to lead to dehumanization or to be seen as a threat. We need to build

a future for everyone, because our strength is found in unity and love. We can’t let

hate divide us.

Bullying Prevention and Practice of

Values of Kindness and Inclusion

Kristina Loewen : When my kids were in elementary school at Rose Valley, they had a special bench on

the playground. It was a bench you could go to and sit on if you were feeling lonely.

It was a signal to the other children that you were looking for someone to play with,

someone to connect with.

I loved that for my children. I loved that one of my kids would go and watch for others

to sit down and then go and befriend them. I loved it for the kids who felt sad, lonely

or left out, because it took away the stigma and the sting. It made it socially acceptable

to say: “Hey, I need a buddy. I’m not thriving today.”

But it did something else. It gave that child a voice. It gave them an opportunity

to advocate for themselves and to ask for a friend. There were no victims. There were

no bullies. There was only opportunity on both sides.

I think about that today, on a day when we talk about anti-bullying, and I wonder:

where would you be on that playground? Where would I be? What if the playground is

your caucus or this chamber? Would you dare to sit on that bench and show your vulnerability?

Would you dare to cross the field and extend that friendship?

It is not lost on me, and I don’t believe it’s lost on any of you, that what happens

in this chamber and the way that we treat each other is reflected in the greater community,

in our province, in our families and amongst our neighbours. Every member in this

chamber is elected. We are elected to make life better for British Columbians, and

they are depending on us to do just that.

This is about perspective. It’s about putting ourselves in the shoes of others, recognizing

that we never truly know the struggles someone else may be facing or the personal

circumstances they may be carrying.

Every day members highlight beautiful stories of our ridings — stories of generosity,

innovation and community. Every day we speak about kindness, inclusion and equality.

But at times, we fail. We fail British Columbians when we do not model these same

values here in this chamber, in the bathrooms, in the hallways, in the dining rooms

and in our caucus rooms, even in how we follow parliamentary procedure.

So let us do better today. That is what British Columbians elected us to do, and their

lives depend on it.

B.C. Winter Games

Steve Morissette : I rise today to celebrate the 33rd B.C. Winter Games and the incredible opportunity

they bring to our province, especially this year to the host communities of Trail

and Rossland, with support from Castlegar and the Beaver Valley.

From today through March 1, the hills, rinks and gyms of the area will showcase 15

sports and welcome as many as 1,700 athletes, coaches and officials from every corner

of B.C., supported by the same number of local volunteers.

[1:55 p.m.]

The B.C. Games are where dreams come alive. They are where young athletes discover

what they are capable of and take their first steps toward provincial, national and

even international competition. The games are extraordinary not just for the competition

but for the personal and community growth they inspire. Young athletes learn resilience,

teamwork, leadership and how to rise after setbacks — skills that build both stronger

competitors and more confident young people.

Outside of the competition, the B.C. Games energize host communities. Volunteers step

up, local businesses thrive, and hotels and restaurants welcome visitors from throughout

the province. The result is meaningful rural economic impact and strengthened community

bonds that showcase the very best of who we are.

That is why our government invests $50 million annually in sport to provide safe and

inclusive opportunities for more than 870,000 members of amateur sport organizations

in British Columbia. When we host an event like the B.C. Winter Games, we’re investing

in healthy, connected communities.

I ask all members of this House to join me in celebrating the B.C. Winter Games and

cheering on all the athletes, coaches and volunteers. Let the games begin.

Megan Rokeby-Thomas

Harman Bhangu : This past Saturday, February 21, I had the honour of attending the memorial service

for Megan Rokeby-Thomas. It is heartbreaking to stand here speaking about her.

One of my first major issues I worked on as an MLA was travelling to East Shore during

the Kootenay Bay–Balfour ferry strike. That was when I came to know Megan. Everywhere

I went, people spoke about her, how she advocated for everyone, how she showed up

for her community and how she wanted what was best for people.

She carried herself with a quiet strength and genuine care. That wasn’t just something

she said; that is who she was. It felt, though, as the entire town and surrounding

communities gathered, that people made the ferry crossing to the other side of the

lake just to be there. That alone speaks volumes. Voices were lifted in songs. Stories

were shared. It was not just a time of mourning but a celebration of life that clearly

touched so many.

It was an honour to meet Megan’s husband, son Byron and Byron’s young family. The

strength they carried through such a difficult day was deeply moving.

Small communities like East Shore thrive because of people like Megan, people who

deeply care, who put others first and work tirelessly for their neighbours.

Megan will be deeply missed. Our thoughts are with her family, her friends and the

entire East Shore community.

Oral Questions

Government Gift Card Programs

and Spending Priorities

Peter Milobar : Yesterday we discovered that yet again, this Premier and this government is a government

that says one thing and does another.

They say we need fiscal restraint. They say they’re cutting out all unnecessary spending.

They say they’re going to send a message to the public service and the public that

they’re going to get things under control. Then an FOI reveals that gift cards are

getting purchased not just from your local coffee shop but also from predominantly

American companies like Amazon, Walmart and Starbucks, while the Premier touts a buy-B.C.

policy.

There is absolutely zero accountability for this government’s finances. In fact, I

think people at home would have preferred to get a $500 grocery gift card from this

government, but that was withdrawn shortly after the election as well. Since 2022,

when the member for Vancouver–Point Grey, the Premier, became the Premier, the government

has spent, on purchase cards, $6.3 million on Amazon alone.

A simple question to the minister: just how much money was actually spent on these

gift cards by government?

Hon. Brenda Bailey : Thank you to the member opposite for the question. There are two things that are

primarily the source of why these gift cards are used.

[2:00 p.m.]

The first one is that gift cards are sometimes used as recognition for folks working

in the public service. There is a guideline that the gift card be no more than $100,

and they’re used for recognition, often for long service or for a particular thing

that someone in the public service has done.

The second way that gift cards are sometimes used…. When there has been, for example,

a new website and we have volunteers from the community who are testing that website,

the honorarium is sometimes a gift card.

It is true that sometimes these gift cards might be a coffee shop that is a Starbucks

or a Tim Hortons, owned by an American company, but, of course, in small communities,

many people are employed at these spots, so that’s important to recognize.

It is true that this government is devoted to making sure we spend our taxpayer dollars

wisely, but I do want to say that it is very, very clear to us that our public service

works very hard to deliver services for British Columbians.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh.

Hon. Brenda Bailey : A small recognition of the hard work that they do is not something that I’m embarrassed

about. It is something that I’m proud of. These people do great work, and these are

small recognitions.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Peter Milobar : Wow. Tell that to the senior on fixed income that just had their taxes increased

in this budget.

The question was actually how much was spent, and the minister wouldn’t answer. Instead,

she said “guidelines.” But we know that certain people actually got $200, not the

$100 guideline that the minister might want to indicate. So obviously, there are not

tight rules, there is not tight control, and the minister doesn’t even know how much

is being spent on gift cards. That was the actual question.

So given that and given that there is a complete lack of oversight and understanding

and hard-and-fast rules, will the minister commit today to cancelling the gift card

giveaway scheme?

Hon. Brenda Bailey : Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

Of course, these gift cards are used very appropriately to recognize members of the

Public Service Agency who have gone above and beyond. It’s normal to provide a small

recognition for people. Most of these gift cards are in the $15 range.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Member. Members.

Hon. Brenda Bailey : The member opposite asked for some numbers. I will share with the member what I understand.

The FOI FOI’d 15 different ministries and organizations. We’re talking about $15,000

over almost a two-year period. That’s about $1,000 per ministry or $500 per year.

It is true that there were, I think, two that were above the $100 guideline, and I

understand that the head of the public service is going to make that guideline a hard

cap going forward.

The Speaker : Member, second supplemental.

Peter Milobar : So instead of a removal, we’re just going to play with the guidelines.

Here’s the thing. Questionable judgment needs to be questioned, and that’s what the

opposition is here for.

The city of Richmond used to give almost the exact same answers as this minister did

when their gift cards were discovered. Let’s look at what happened there. Between

January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024, approximately $450,000 of gift cards were actually

discovered on a program that was first characterized as small, $15 here and there,

for staff inducement. Now here’s the thing. That budget in that three-year period

was about $750 million at the city of Richmond.

The minister doesn’t actually know. She hasn’t bothered to ask, other than FOI documents

that have been released to the media. She didn’t pick up the phone to her own ministries

to find out what the actual dollar figure is, knowing this would come up in media

and in question period.

What we have found with these gift card schemes is that it’s always bigger than first

expected. There are always a lot of discrepancies. In the case of Richmond, they can’t

find $300,000 worth of those $450,000 worth of gift cards.

Why are this minister and this Premier deciding to hide and defend this gift card

scheme instead of just bringing full transparency to it and removing the program altogether?

Hon. Brenda Bailey : Thank you to the member opposite. I do hear the member taking a very negative story

and trying to attach it to a very different circumstance here.

Let me point out some really important areas of differentiation. Each one of these

gift cards is attached to an individual person. The example the member gave opposite

was bulk buying of gift cards that was very out of control. This is an extremely different

circumstance. We have very clear ability to track every one of these gift cards.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh.

Hon. Brenda Bailey : We know exactly who they were attached to, what they were for and what the amount

of money was.

Claire Rattée : This Premier promised a $1,000 grocery rebate. He promised that we would have educational

assistants in every K-through-3 classroom. This Premier has promised a lot of things

that he hasn’t delivered on.

[2:05 p.m.]

Instead, we’ve learned that this government has spent tens of thousands of taxpayer

dollars on gift cards for public service employees that are already making in excess

of $100,000 a year, far more in some cases, all while running a $13 billion deficit.

This comes on the heels of the Minister of Finance taking a $44,000 taxpayer-funded

trip to Boston last year that included thousands on limos and fine dining.

British Columbians are being told to tighten their belts. Why does the same discipline

never apply to this government?

Hon. Brenda Bailey : These gift cards are primarily in the $15 range and are provided to people as a recognition

of their service, mostly coffee gift cards. There are some gift cards that are in

the $100 range, the $50 range, that are for recognition of long service.

Our Public Service Agency…. We know they choose to work for our government usually

because they care very much about delivering service. They could make more money elsewhere.

It’s reasonable for us to reward work of people who are serving British Columbians

with such diligency.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Claire Rattée : You know who didn’t get a $100 gift card, not even a $15 gift card? The children

with autism who had their funding cut in this year’s budget. Or the people that are

living on disability assistance that make $18,000 a year work. They are surviving

on $18,000 a year. That’s less than half the cost of that trip I just mentioned.

Other people that didn’t get a gift card: seniors struggling to keep a roof over their

heads or the small businesses that are already operating on razor-thin margins that

are now being hit with new PST burdens.

A simple question to the Premier. Why did he prioritize gift cards for public servants

over kids with autism?

Hon. Jodie Wickens : I want to really point out to the members opposite that our redesign for children

and youth with support needs was necessary in our province — 475 million new dollars

for children and youth with disabilities. This has never been done before in this

province.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh, Members.

Hon. Jodie Wickens : We know, and members across the way have gotten emails and had meetings with, families

for whom the current system was not working. Thousands of children who never received

support before are now going to receive support for the first time.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members. Members.

Hon. Jodie Wickens : A one-size-fits-all approach was not working for children and youth in our province.

Experts told us that. Families told us that.

I want to point something out to the members opposite. When the Leader of the Opposition

worked for the B.C. Liberal government in 2009, my ministry budget was cut by $469

million. That is nearly half a billion dollars that was cut to children and families.

We are still making up for that today.

My ministry’s budget has increased year over year over year.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh.

Hon. Jodie Wickens : We know exactly what a B.C. Liberal, B.C. Conservative, OneBC, B.C. United government

would do to children and families. They would cut services. They’ve done it before,

and they would do it again.

Protection of Old-Growth Forests

Rob Botterell : In 2023, this government announced $1 billion in federal and provincial funding to

conserve nature. Through tools like conservation financing, the government promised

to ease the transition of local economies away from old-growth harvesting while respecting

the sovereignty of First Nations.

We know old-growth forests are worth more standing. Independent analysis shows if

we fully protect old growth in the Okanagan and Prince George areas, over the next

100 years we add $43 billion more than if we cut the old growth down.

[2:10 p.m.]

But talk and log is alive and well in B.C., and it has nothing to do with Trump. It

has nothing to do with trade wars or budget cuts.

My question to the Minister of Forests: is this government going to take any action

to protect more old growth, or will we keep cutting until Big Lonely Doug is the only

ancient tree in B.C.?

Hon. Ravi Parmar : What complete nonsense from the member across the aisle. On this side of the House,

we have worked together with the Green Party. We launched an old growth strategic

review that led to recommendations that we’re implementing.

I think the member opposite should, in front of this House, make it known very clear.

What side is he on? Does he want a strong, robust, sustainable forest sector, or does

he want to go with his leader, who is very clearly putting out a message that she

wants to shut down the forest sector?

I was honoured over the course of the year….

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh, Members.

Hon. Ravi Parmar : Keep wasting your time.

Forty-five thousand jobs, 100,000 jobs; B.C. Liberals, B.C. Conservatives.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members, wait for your turn.

Hon. Ravi Parmar : I was honoured to work with the member across the aisle over the course of the last

year through a new review that was conducted in forestry. That review was just released

a few weeks ago. And then the B.C. Greens left the CARGA agreement.

To the member opposite, I am always prepared to work with all sides to ensure that

we can have a strong, robust and sustainable forest sector that includes protecting

old growth, protecting our biodiversity. I am proud to be part of a government that

is working to ensure that we can have a strong, robust and sustainable forest sector

for the next 100 years, that ensures we’re doing just that.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Rob Botterell : I didn’t hear anything from the minister across the way about protecting more old

growth.

You know, maybe this should be “question and no answer period.” Yesterday we witnessed

the Energy Minister answer a food bank question by saying we just need to wait five

or ten years for climate-killing LNG and mining revenues to solve all problems. I

didn’t know the Minister of Energy was an expert in food banks.

Today we have the Minister of Forests saying, “Don’t worry; be happy about old growth,”

despite the forest panel we worked on together and he set up saying that the data

we’re relying on around old growth is bogus.

To the Minister of Forests, or maybe the Minister of Energy: will you continue the

work of the round table on old growth protection you started and do the work to stop

talking and get old growth protected?

Hon. Ravi Parmar : It’s quite telling that the Conservatives are clapping to the answer to the Green

Party. It’s clear that the Green Party is more keen on focusing its attention on supporting

the Conservative Party than supporting a progressive, stable government on the other

side of the House.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh. Shhh.

Members, the minister will conclude — but quickly.

Hon. Ravi Parmar : If the members opposite would stop heckling, I could provide an answer. In British

Columbia, there are 11.1 million hectares of old forest, and of that, 8.9 million

hectares are either protected, deferred or uneconomic to harvest.

In 2022, after the old-growth strategic review, we deferred harvesting of 2.6 million

hectares of old forest. We are proud of the record on this side of the House, where

not only have we protected those old forests but we are working with First Nations

to ensure that we can build a strong, sustainable and robust forest sector for the

next 100 years. That’s what we’re proud of on this side of the House.

[2:15 p.m.]

Government Response to

Violent Threats and Extortion Cases

Mandeep Dhaliwal : Everyone deserves to feel safe. It does not matter if you are Hindu, Christian, Jewish,

Muslim or Sikh.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Society, was murdered

at a Sikh temple in Surrey, on June 18, 2023. Now, again, the police have issued a

duty to warn to Moninder Singh, spokesperson of B.C. Gurdwaras Council. They had a

threat to Moninder’s life and his family. Now his and every family needs protection.

Why is this NDP government failing to protect B.C. families?

Hon. Nina Krieger : Thank you to the member opposite for the important question. The safety and protection

of all individuals, all communities in B.C., is our absolute priority.

We are committed to ensuring that police have the tools and resources that they have

to protect communities. We know that, south of the Fraser, extortion crimes in particular

are wreaking havoc on communities in Surrey, Delta and Langley. We are continuing

to take action, ensuring that police have all the tools that they need to target these

criminals and bring them to justice, working with federal partners, as well, to close

loopholes, to ensure that our communities are safe.

We’ll continue to do this work, ensuring police have the tools that they need to keep

vulnerable people safe.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Mandeep Dhaliwal : Continue, continue. Nothing is continuing except shooting in Surrey.

Let’s talk about numbers. In 2024, 13 cases of extortion. In 2025, 133 cases. That’s

a 1,000 percent increase in one year. And 53 cases of extortion only in Surrey in

over one month. In my riding, every weekend people are protesting on the road.

When will this NDP government provide peace for Surrey residents?

Hon. Nina Krieger : Let me be clear that what is happening in Surrey and other communities where businesses

and families are being targeted by threats and violence is completely unacceptable.

In B.C., when one person and one community is affected, we all feel it. Combatting

extortion crimes that we’re seeing in our province and that we’re, indeed, seeing

across Canada is the top priority for our government.

In addition to standing up the B.C. extortion task force, which is leading to arrests

and removals from Canada, we are partnering wherever possible with the federal government.

We have been urging the federal government to swiftly adopt Bill C-12 to close the

immigration loopholes that are being exploited by criminals who are claiming refugee

status after being arrested for extortion-related crimes. We know how frustrating

this is for communities. We are continuing to urge the government federally to pass

Bill C-12 as quickly as possible.

We’ve also been advocating the federal government for supports. These include additional

officers, helicopter resources. We’re certainly committed to ensuring that the police

of jurisdiction in Surrey and the B.C. extortion task force have all the tools that

they need to keep our communities safe.

RCMP Staffing Levels

and Funding for Police Services

Macklin McCall : This government overpromises and underdelivers.

In the 2023 budget, the government promised to hire an additional 256 provincially

funded RCMP members. Since 2012, B.C.’s population has grown by nearly 30 percent.

That’s 1.1 million people. Yet the allocation for RCMP officers has remained the same.

Can the minister tell us how many of the 256 promised police have been hired and the

communities they have been deployed to?

Hon. Nina Krieger : Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Certainly, as British Columbia

continues to grow, the expectations and the work of front-line police continue to

expand as well.

[2:20 p.m.]

That is why we made our historic investment of over $230 million to meet the authorized

strength of the RCMP to a total of 2,602 members. We have now, of the 256 vacancies,

hired 251 members. The remaining five vacancies have now been filled, and those officers

will be reporting for duty soon.

I’m certainly able to provide additional information about the communities where they

have been deployed, but I will emphasize that those additional officers have targeted

the needs of remote and rural communities. They’ve been used to bolster B.C. Highway

Patrol. They’ve been used to enhance specialized enforcement units to target hate,

human trafficking and extortion.

We’ll continue to ensure that police have the resources that they need to meet the

needs of changing communities and to keep communities safe.

The Speaker : Member has a supplemental.

Macklin McCall : Well, wages may have increased to match inflation, but the simple fact is the ask

has always been to increase the amount of officers.

I asked how many of the 256 RCMP officers have actually been hired and in which communities.

According to the government’s own data, provincial policing numbers have remained

stuck at 2,602 officers since 2012. These officers are stretched thin and pushed to

their limit. Police deserve the resources they were promised. So do communities.

What is the actual number of RCMP officers deployed to B.C. communities today?

Hon. Nina Krieger : Thank you to the member opposite for the follow-up question. I’ll reiterate that

the authorized strength of the B.C. RCMP is 2,602 members. Of those are 256 vacancies;

251 officers are hired and on duty. The additional five officers have now been hired

and will soon be reporting for duty.

This historic investment that we have made in supporting policing in communities across

the province really is so important. We know that the opposition, when they were in

power, did not increase police funding for 16 years, leaving deficits that we have

committed to filling.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members, shhh.

Hon. Nina Krieger : In addition to the historic investment in increasing the number of RCMP officers,

we’ve invested in police training, increasing the seats of the Justice Institute of

B.C. by 50 percent, with more to come. It’s to continue to do the work that we are

clearly committed to doing to ensuring that the B.C. RCMP have the tools, the resources,

the officers they need to keep our communities safe.

Police Services in Surrey

Bryan Tepper : So 2,602 14 years ago, and now it’s still 2,602. There’s no inflation there. There

are no more officers. I’m not sure what they’re answering, but it’s certainly not

the question there.

Also, the Surrey police chief requested a four-month transition delay into Cloverdale

while Surrey battles the extortion crisis, citing lack of capacity and resources.

This crisis has required the redeployment of over 40 Surrey police officers to specialized

investigative units. The chief said: “The redeployment has significantly impacted

our staffing capacity.” This reasonable request to delay the transition was denied

by this government.

Knowing lives could be at risk, why did the minister deny the request to pause the

expansion of the Surrey police service into Cloverdale?

Hon. Nina Krieger : Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Public safety in Surrey is our

ministry’s and our government’s top priority throughout the transition.

Now, we know this transition from the RCMP to the SPS is the largest transition in

Canadian history, and that is why it is so crucial that all the parties are around

the table. That includes the RCMP, the SPS, the province and the city.

[2:25 p.m.]

The plans to undertake the fourth district, Cloverdale, have been in the works for

many, many months. This extensive planning has included all of the parties I just

referenced. These plans have been submitted to our director of policing services,

who’s made the determination that the transition of district 4 can be completed safely.

As we have said from the beginning, our steadfast goal is to ensure that when anyone

calls 911, help is there. We have a commitment from the B.C. RCMP to ensure that they

will work closely with the SPS to ensure that there are no gaps to front-line services

and police response.

Budget Allocation for

Action on Extortion Crimes

Jody Toor : This Solicitor General has the same talking points as the Premier. He has said: “I

want you to know that this extortion issue is our most important public safety priority.”

However, the budget allocates no new funding to combat the rampant extortion crisis

in Surrey, another example of this government overpromising and underdelivering.

My question to the Premier is: if extortion is truly his top public safety priority,

where is the money, or can this be added to the growing pile of the promises he never

intends to keep?

Hon. Nina Krieger : Thank you to the member opposite for the question. I’ll reiterate that combatting

extortion is the province’s number one priority. We know that these crimes of extortion,

causing such an impact in our own communities and in communities across the country,

demand partnership between all levels of government.

That’s why B.C. has acted in a very comprehensive way, standing up the B.C. extortion

task force, ensuring that we’re working with federal partners to access all of the

resources that they can contribute. We’ve contributed over $600,000 to a new forensic

firearms lab to expedite the processing of guns linked to extortion crimes. We are

continuing to take action to combat extortion in collaboration with all partners.

I’ll be happy to speak about other items in the budget related to public safety and

how we are targeting and standing up programs that respond to the needs of community

and help keep our communities safe.

Government Priorities

and Action on Extortion Crimes

Harman Bhangu : When affordability has become a crisis for a lot of British Columbians, what do we

have from the others across the aisle? Gift cards being bought for staffers. Did they

buy local? No. Whatever happened to “Elbows up”?

They say it’s small recognition. Who’s this small recognition intended for? What?

Seniors pay more, families seeking care for their children with autism pay more, businesses

pay more, just so NDP staffers get gift cards.

Minister of Forests talks about jobs, yet a record number of mills have been shut

down under his watch.

Minister of Solicitor General, we don’t need more town halls. We don’t need more task

forces. We don’t need more press releases and photo ops. What we need is action for

the residents of the Fraser Valley. Extortion has hit my riding. It has hit my colleague’s

riding.

Every day businesses email me. You know what they email me with? Living under fear

with their business and name. That is shameful. In this House, we need to represent

British Columbians in a better manner when their lives and businesses are at risk.

To the minister: when will you take real action and stop with the town halls, press

releases and photo ops?

Hon. Nina Krieger : That did sound somewhat like a leadership speech, but in response to the question….

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members. Members, shhh.

Members, let’s not repeat what we did yesterday.

Members, shhh.

Hon. Nina Krieger : I’ll reiterate that what is happening in Surrey and Delta, in Langley and communities

south of the Fraser is absolutely unacceptable. Targeting extortion is our number

one public safety priority, reflected in the actions that we have taken and continue

to take to ensure that police have every available tool to identify, arrest, prosecute

extortionists and to remove extortionists from the country if necessary.

[2:30 p.m.]

We’ve identified loopholes in federal immigration systems that we know will be addressed

by Bill C-12 that is now before the Senate. Our government has written to the Public

Safety Minister federally, to the standing Senate committee, urging the swift passage

of Bill 12 to ensure that criminals are not exploiting our refugee system.

Recently we stood up a community advisory group to set up crucial communications between

community members and law enforcement. I know that community members, businesses and

families are scared. This matters deeply to our government, and we will keep taking

actions until the extortion crisis comes to an end and our communities are safe.

[End of question period.]

Peter Milobar : I seek leave to move my motion:

[That pursuant to

section 13 (2) of the Auditor General Act , the Legislative Assembly request that the Auditor General undertake an examination

of the Government of British Columbia’s gift card for public servants program examining

any potential conflict of interest relating to program administrators providing themselves

and their immediate colleagues with gift cards.]

Leave not granted.

Orders of the Day

Hon. Mike Farnworth : Continued debate on the budget.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

Budget Debate

(continued)

Deputy Speaker : Thank you, Members. We’re going to call the chamber back to order. We’ll ask you

to take your conversations into the hallway.

We are going to continue debate on our budget.

Harman Bhangu : I wanted to talk about this budget in a way regular people talk when cameras aren’t

on — early mornings leaning against the truck before a shift starts, coffee getting

cold, no speech writers, no applause lines, just a simple question. What’s this going

to cost us? Or later in the day at the kitchen table, an envelope open, a bill unfolded,

a quiet shake of the head. Not anger, not ideology, just simple math.

I’ve spent most of my life in places where money is not theatrical. It is earned the

hard way and spent carefully. When it’s yours, you look at it differently. You think

about the next month. You think about next year. You think about what happens if things

go sideways. You measure it twice. You think about long term. You question the cost.

You avoid the waste. And you do not gamble with it. You make sure it delivers value.

This is not what we are seeing in this budget. Government is playing with everyone

else’s tax dollars. In my world, you do not get credit for announcing something. You

get judged on whether you finish it — finish it on time, finish it on budget — and

take responsibility when you do not. That is the lens I used to take a look at Budget

2026. Does it make life easier for working people? Does it make government bigger

while families feel smaller?

Families do not debate budget plans. They do not talk about models. They do not talk

about slow rollouts. They look at what is left after the bills are paid. Right now

for far too many British Columbians, there is not much left.

Costs are not rising all at once. They are going up bit by bit. PST now shows up on

power bills, transit, car insurance, phone bills and more. Every month another line

item creeps up. You do not see it in press releases. You don’t see it in your bank

account. It is tax bracket shifts, paused indexing, small hikes, fees that never go

back down. Government does not need a big, new tax. It lets inflation do the work.

[2:35 p.m.]

Seniors feel this the most. They paid their taxes, they followed the rules, they did

everything society asked of them, and now they’re being squeezed.

Speaking of infrastructure and delivery, delivery matters. This government loves to

announce projects, but British Columbians are stuck in the middle of delays. Projects

stretch longer, costs expand, timelines slide and accountability fades. And when a

project takes longer and costs more, guess who pays for it.

Has anyone got an answer on the other side? Of course not, because they don’t want

to admit it’s you, the taxpayer.

It’s the small business owners behind construction barriers; commuters stuck in traffic,

burning fuel; families paying for cost overruns they did not create. Working people

do not get to say they’re still in the planning phase. They have to pay on time. Governments

should operate with the same discipline.

Now let’s talk a little bit about health care in this budget and where it fails the

seniors the most in their twilight years. Nowhere does delivery matter more than in

health care. This budget talks about billions more in spending, but if delivery is

broken, those numbers mean nothing. When you cannot access quality care, the system

is failing. This is where the contract with society breaks.

You pay your taxes, you work hard, you do everything society asks of you, and in your

twilight years of your life, when you need the system the most, it fails you. That

is what this NDP government has done. They have failed seniors where it matters the

most: their health, their dignity, their well-being.

Seniors built this province. They paid into the health care system. They upheld their

end of the deal. And now they’re left waiting in emergency rooms, waiting for long-term-care

placements, waiting for surgeries. That is not simply a funding issue. It’s a delivery

issue, and when delivery fails, government has failed.

I want to talk about child care, because not having the family’s support, I wouldn’t

be able to stand here today. Child care has been a cornerstone of the NDP promise

for ten years. My wife and I have two kids. Our lives run on routines filled with

drop-offs, pickups, school bells and reliable care. When child care is available,

you can focus at work. When it is not, everything feels strained. Your

schedule becomes

harder to manage. Your income feels less certain. Stress follows you home.

Stability matters, but too often, instability has come from shifting government promises.

In 2017, the NDP government promised universal $10-a-day child care. In 2020, the

NDP shifted towards before- and after-school child care through Bill 8. In 2021, that

direction shifted yet again. Federal funding was redirected to expand $10-a-day child

care for children aged zero to five instead.

In May 2024, the Premier announced a $2 million pilot study for before- and after-school

child care. Then during the 2024 election, the Premier promised $500 million over

two years to expand before- and after-school child care provincewide, $500 million.

These were not minor commitments. They were flagship promises.

Then in October 2025, the B.C. NDP recommitted to before- and after-school child care

through Bill 19. B.C. Conservatives supported that legislation to ensure it passed

with unanimous support. You know why? It’s because B.C. Conservatives care about child

care too, and in the budget of 2026, here is the result. That $500 million promise

becomes roughly $25 million over three years for expanding child care on school grounds.

And now the $10-a-day plan itself has been cancelled.

[2:40 p.m.]

Families do not plan their lives around shifting announcements. They plan them around

simple but important questions. Will there be a space for our child? Will that space

still be there next year?

B.C. Conservatives believe in before- and after-school child care as a practical solution

for families in need. It can be delivered on school grounds that already exist. It

supports working parents immediately. It aligns with school day and parent work schedules.

Families with the greatest need deserve steady support. A space they can count on.

A program that does not change every year. A promise that lasts past press releases.

Instead, they have seen promises rewritten, funding scaled back and priorities shifted.

When deficits become structural and interest costs rise faster than the economy, government

has less room to act. The services families rely on begin to feel uncertain. Child

care should give families certainty, and this budget gives them pause.

I want to talk about something that is near and dear to me.

Deputy Speaker : Apologies to interrupt you, Member.

Hon Chan : I seek leave to do an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Hon Chan : I would like to take a moment to welcome another group of students from Richmond

Secondary School from the riding of Richmond Centre. They are just sitting up in the

chamber.

We were fortunate enough to have several groups visit yesterday, and it is great to

see more students joining us today. The group in the gallery right now is the second

group for today from Richmond Secondary high school, and it is always encouraging

to see young people take an interest in how our democracy works. Who knows, they might

be the future leaders of our province.

Please join me in welcoming the students from Richmond Secondary School.

Deputy Speaker : Welcome to everybody in the chamber today.

Langley-Abbotsford, my apologies. Take it away.

Debate Continued

Harman Bhangu : Yes, those kids could be the future leaders. That’s why we need to take their future

seriously.

I’ll get back to what I was going to say there, which is autism and early diagnosis

and the outcomes that it can really help with when you have early diagnosis. I know

that myself, having family affected — my nephew. When the cuts were brought back under

this government, previously in years, they actually packed up their bags and moved

to Saskatchewan.

This government has also announced major changes to autism funding. Early diagnosis

is critical. Early support means earlier speech therapy, earlier behaviour support

and better long-term results. I know this personally. I have a nephew with autism

and a brother-in-law with autism, and I’ve seen how important early help is.

Under the new funding model, more children may qualify for support, but many families

are now facing loss of direct funding that helped them choose the service their child

needed. Families raising a child with autism already live in assessments, therapy

appointments, school meetings and care routines. They are not asking for confusion.

They are asking for certainty, consistency, stable funding and clear timelines.

When funding rules change in the middle of the process, when families are unsure what

help will stay and what help will go, stress replaces stability. Delivery matters

here because with autism, time matters, and when time is lost, progress can be lost

with it.

In closing, British Columbians uphold their end of the deal. They work hard, they

pay their taxes, they follow the rules, and government must uphold its end too. When

you play with your own money, you treat it carefully. British Columbians deserve a

government that treats their tax dollars the same way.

This budget fails on affordability. It fails on discipline. It fails on delivery.

And on health care, it fails seniors when they need it the most. For those reasons,

I cannot support Budget 2026.

[2:45 p.m.]

Hon. Jessie Sunner : Before I begin my remarks on the budget, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge

the unthinkable tragedy that has affected the community of Tumbler Ridge and each

and every one of us here and across the province and country as a result.

Our hearts are with the families who are grieving, with the friends and neighbours

whose lives have been irreversibly shaken and with the community that is navigating

this unimaginable loss.

Amid this tragedy, heartbreaking loss, what we have seen in the days since is something

profoundly Canadian — neighbours showing up for one another, first responders stepping

forward with courage and compassion, local leaders offering steadiness and community

members wrapping their arms around those who need it most.

To the people of Tumbler Ridge: you are not alone. This House stands with you. We

will continue to support you in every way we can in the days, weeks, months and years

ahead.

I am honoured to rise today in support of Budget 2026 in my role as Minister of Post-Secondary

Education and Future Skills and as the proud MLA for Surrey-Newton.

I’d like to start by acknowledging the lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations upon whose lands we are gathered today.

Let me start with a simple truth. Budget 2026 is about people. It’s about making life

better for British Columbians, helping them build good careers, manage the cost of

living and feel safe in their communities. It’s about opportunity, the kind that doesn’t

just open a door but keeps it open for the next person. Because at the heart of this

year’s budget is a simple idea: that people deserve opportunity — opportunity to learn,

opportunity to train and the opportunity to build a good life.

Our government continues to invest in post-secondary education and skills training

so British Columbians can gain the skills and expertise that they need for the jobs

and careers of today and the opportunities of tomorrow. Budget 2026 provides our ministry

with a total budget of $3.58 billion for 2026-2027. That’s not just a number. It’s

tuition covered. It’s apprentices hired. It’s a pathway to the middle class.

I have the privilege of seeing the work behind the numbers — the steadfast commitment

to lifting people up, the partnerships with institutions and unions and the conversations

with students forging their own path. I can tell you that behind every single dollar

is a story: a student learning, getting one step closer to graduation; parents retraining

for a career change; workers training for new opportunities as our economy evolves

and strengthens.

This investment will give people the tools to succeed and give our province the workforce

we need to grow our economy and become the economic engine of Canada. Over the next

decade, B.C. expects more than one million job openings, and with 40 percent of Canada’s

priority projects happening right here in B.C., the stakes are high. This means opportunity

is coming fast, and we intend to make sure that people right here in B.C. are first

in line.

We need a skilled workforce ready to seize those opportunities, and we are acting

on doing just that. My ministry and this government remain focused on investing in

people, education and training to build economic resilience, to support the workforce

needed for today and the opportunities of tomorrow.

Across the province, 18 priority major projects, including construction, clean energy,

mining, critical minerals, infrastructure and advanced technology are moving forward,

and we are making sure that British Columbians benefit. So 77 percent of the over

one million job openings in B.C. over the next decade will require post-secondary

education, trades training or skills upgrading. That’s why we’re working closely with

post-secondary institutions, Indigenous partners, industry, businesses and unions

to make sure training matches what the job market actually needs.

Programs such as the future skills grant and micro-credentials are designed to support

priority sectors in high-opportunity jobs, technical occupations and skills needed

for emerging technologies and a clean economy.

[2:50 p.m.]

I want to tell you about Marat Raimkhan. He used a StrongerBC future skills grant

to complete a micro-credential at UVic in 2024. The essential soft skills training

micro-credential he completed helped him secure a job at UVic in B.C. with good pay,

benefits and pride in his work.

This budget stands for people like him. It stands for potential. It stands for paycheques

earned through purpose. It stands for a B.C. that grows because its people grow and

prosper.

That’s why our government launched the Look West strategy, a jobs and economic strategy

to make B.C. the powerhouse of Canada, to create good jobs and drive prosperity in

every single corner of this province. Look West builds on the StrongerBC future-ready

action plan, which helped over 100,000 people across our province access skills training

and supported 145,000 people with more affordable education while guiding 300,000

people towards post-secondary pathways. Those are our province’s future workers.

I visited a trades-training centre in the Lower Mainland and met with a young apprentice

from Surrey who told me that he was ready to give up because the wait-lists at institutions

were far too long. Then an intake opened. Today he’s building homes, earning a great

wage and proud of the work that he’s doing.

He said something I’ll never forget. He told me: “I didn’t just get access to a seat.

I got access to a better opportunity for me and my family.” This is who we work for.

In the last budget, the other side of the House voted against the $107 million that

our government provides to SkilledTradesBC to grow and support trades training. This

is despite their commitment to increasing funding to SkilledTradesBC by $70 million

over two years in their 2024 platform.

I’m proud to say that our government will be investing $241 million over three years,

with $54 million being invested this year to strengthen B.C.’s trades-training system

in order to double funding to SkilledTradesBC by 2028-2029. This is a historic investment,

the first of its kind in almost 20 years. This funding will increase per-seat funding

for apprentice programs; address wait-lists for critical industrial trades; advance

skilled-trades certification, beginning with crane operators; and ensure workers can

move easily between industries as opportunities evolve.

I urge the other side to not vote against the historic funding to skilled trades in

B.C. I urge them to vote in favour of the aspiring tradespeople in Kamloops, in Courtenay,

in Langley, in Prince George, in Surrey and all across British Columbia, who simply

want to pursue a meaningful career and build the future of our province.

This investment is not just about spending. It’s building. It’s building homes, building

infrastructure, building clean energy projects, building careers and building communities.

I urge the other side of the House to put aside partisan ideology, join us and do

what voters sent us here to do — to work together, to solve problems and to make life

better for British Columbians.

This $241 million investment will ensure that B.C. has the talent needed to deliver

our mutual economic priorities, from building more housing and major infrastructure

projects to advancing innovation in clean energy and emerging technologies. This investment

will allow us to create opportunities and deliver real results for people and businesses

across the province through Look West, our government’s jobs and economic growth strategy.

Through Budget 2026, our ministry is receiving an additional $283 million over three

years to support initiatives under the Look West strategy, including the historic

$241 million investment over three years to double B.C.’s trades-training system funding,

as well as an investment of $42 million over three years by adding targeted, highly

qualified professional training streams to existing short-term training programs in

priority sectors.

This strategy will help B.C. lead the country in job creation, innovation and economic

growth. At its core is something simple — making sure every community from the Pacific

to the Rockies has the skilled workers needed to grow the economy and grow people’s

paycheques.

[2:55 p.m.]

Our government will continue to lead in investing in the jobs of the future.

Every year our ministry supports 4,000 more student spaces than we did in 2017, backed

by $77.7 million in annual funding. We’ve also provided Mitacs with $50 million to

support 10,000 internships over five years for students in priority sectors, such

as clean energy, life sciences, emergency management, advanced timber and agritech.

Through this funding, interns have helped grow businesses like Human in Motion Robotics,

Spannovation, Inverted AI, 1Qbit and D-Wave.

Through our Look West strategy, B.C. is targeting AI and quantum computing as priority

sectors for economic growth. Over the next ten years, our goal is to double the size

of these sectors, grow tech employment to 400,000 jobs and increase their GDP contribution

by 75 percent. We’re investing in the electricity infrastructure needed for AI data

centres, with B.C. Hydro launching a competitive process in 2026 to allocate power

specifically for AI. We’re fostering partnerships between universities and businesses

to develop real-world AI applications, from drug discovery and cancer screening to

geospatial analytics.

The Quantum Algorithms Institute — with members from UVic, SFU and UBC — is helping

strengthen our capabilities in quantum computing and cybersecurity. We’re preparing

people for careers that haven’t even been invented yet.

We know that a stronger B.C. starts by supporting the people who care for us and our

loved ones in our times of need. That’s why we’re expanding training programs across

our province. We need more doctors, nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals,

midwives and health care assistants. We’re training them in every region across our

province, so everyone, no matter where you live, can access the care you need, where

and when you need it.

Since 2017, over 66,000 graduates have been awarded credentials in health programs.

This is an 11 percent increase in the number of health program graduates in priority

areas. Every year our government provides more than $250 million in targeted funding

for health education programs to public post-secondary institutions throughout B.C.

and has provided significant additional investments to respond directly to health

workforce needs.

Deputy Speaker : Minister, sorry to interrupt.

Hon Chan : I would like to seek leave to do an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Hon Chan : I would like to welcome the last group of students from Richmond Secondary School

from my beautiful riding of Richmond Centre. Over 200 students from Richmond High

were in the Legislative Assembly yesterday and today, and this is our last group.

These are the people of our next generation. Who knows? One of them might be our future

Premier. It was great to take a photo with them and a selfie with one of the students

a moment ago.

Please make them feel very welcome here.

Go, Colts!

Deputy Speaker : Thank you very much, and welcome.

Debate Continued

Hon. Jessie Sunner : Training more health care workers, including doctors, to deliver services for British

Columbians is one of our government’s top priorities.

Since 2017, approximately 25 people have graduated with an M.D. right here in B.C.

Now we are proudly building the first new medical school in western Canada in nearly

60 years. It is going to be in my home of Surrey. It is a $496 million investment.

The first class will start this year with 48 seats and will grow to approximately

120 seats.

While people in Surrey, south of the Fraser and across the Mainland are excited and

proud of this achievement, some people question why this medical school wasn’t built

earlier. It’s important that we all remember why. In 2021, the B.C. Liberals knew

that B.C. had the worst medical-grad-to-population ratio in any province of our country

with a medical school. In 2008 and 2009, the Fraser Health Authority and Simon Fraser

University pushed the then-government to open a medical school in Surrey.

[3:00 p.m.]

Instead of saying yes to the medical school, the government of the day, including

members across the aisle, kicked the can down the road and refused to build the medical

school. If the government of that time saw the value of investing in people and delivering

on building a medical school in Surrey 15 years ago, there is no telling where we

might be today.

Now, there’s a saying: “The best time to plant a tree was 15 years ago. The second-best

time to plant that tree is right now.” That is why our government is building the

SFU School of Medicine right in Surrey.

I’m proud of this achievement. All British Columbians should be proud of this achievement.

This new medical school at SFU is a partnership between my ministry and the Ministries

of Infrastructure and Health. My ministry and the Ministry of Health are supporting

SFU with the operating and program components, while the Ministry of Infrastructure

is supporting SFU on the capital components.

This took a tremendous amount of work between many partners, and by leading with our

principles and putting people first, our government was able to move this from an

idea to a business case to accreditation to shovels in the ground and future doctors

in seats in four years, because we believe that this is the right thing for British

Columbians.

In this budget, more than $30 million will be allocated to fund the operations of

SFU’s School of Medicine in Surrey. I urge the other side of the House to not make

the same mistake twice and to join us and vote for Surrey; vote for people south of

the Fraser; vote for patient care; and vote for British Columbians getting the care

they need, when and where they need it.

This work and funding from this budget also complements the work currently being done

to increase the number of doctors we’re training at UBC medical school at their four

locations across Vancouver, Victoria, the Okanagan and Prince George.

Our government is also funding more than 730 new nursing seats at colleges and universities

throughout B.C., like Camosun College, North Island College and Kwantlen Polytechnic

University, adding to the approximately 2,000 existing nursing seats in the province.

This includes 345 registered nursing seats, 72 registered psychiatric nursing seats,

120 nursing practitioner seats and 180 licensed practical nurse seats. Our government

also funds 1,000 specialty nursing seats at BCIT every single year.

Since forming government in 2017, our government has more than tripled nurse practitioner

seats, along with a 46 percent increase in practical nursing seats and a 24 percent

increase in the bachelor of nursing seats. We’re backing future nurses with seats,

scholarships and ongoing support.

To meet the increasing demand for nurses, we have launched new supports and bursaries

to make it easier for eligible internationally educated nurses to enter B.C.’s health

care system so they can work in B.C. sooner, providing much-needed care to people

around the province.

As part of a plan to retain and recruit new nurses into the health care system, government

is investing $52.5 million to provide at least $2,000 in nursing student tuition grants

to every nursing student enrolled in a public post-secondary institution between September

2023 and August 2026. These grants and supports aren’t only money. They are support

to help British Columbians pursue their dreams while keeping education affordable.

The province is also creating more opportunities for health care assistants and nurses

to advance in their careers through the development and expansion of nurse bridging

programs throughout B.C.

We are taking action to support other essential roles as well within the health care

system, including health care assistants and allied health professionals, who play

a vital role in providing and delivering patient care. We’re working with post-secondary

institutions to expand health care assistant training as a part of the health care

access program, which trains people to work in home and community care, acute care,

long-term care and assisted-living facilities across the province.

As of August 2025, more than 10,531 people have been hired into HCAP’s health care

assistant partnership pathway, and 203 participants have been hired into the mental

health and substance use pilot.

[3:05 p.m.]

This program is backed with investments in training of more than $105 million since

2020, in addition to nearly $19 million from the Ministry of Health for tuition and

supplies for future health care workers.

Our government is also expanding training for allied health care professionals to

deliver the health care services that people count on across B.C. In 2022, we announced

322 new allied health seats in targeted areas, expanding medical laboratory technology,

pharmacy technician and social work seats across the province.

In 2023, Camosun College opened a new campus ultrasound clinic that allows students

in the diagnostic medical sonography program to gain valuable, hands-on, practical

experience while expanding access to valuable health care services in the community.

In the summer of 2024, we announced that KPU would begin offering the first degree

program in traditional Chinese medicine in Canada.

In the fall of the same year, our government announced that more students would have

the opportunity to train in the Fraser region for in-demand careers such as physical

therapy, occupational therapy and midwifery at the state-of-the-art UBC facility located

in Surrey. In addition, the province has invested more than $10 million in bursaries

and professional development funding to help train, retain and support allied health

professionals.

In the summer of 2024, the province also announced more than $30 million to enhance

the high-performance computing infrastructure known as supercomputers to help advance

research into cancer care at SFU and brain health at UVic.

In the spring of 2024, the province announced more than $50 million to support infrastructure

for 25 research projects at five public post-secondary institutions. This includes

an innovative project at UBC to identify resilient features of our bodies’ metabolism

that could be targeted to fight common and debilitating diseases such as obesity,

diabetes and obesity-driven cancers.

All of this work focuses on human health, including designing and building artificial

internal organs and body parts such as hip joints; designing computer software to

operate complex medical equipment, such as 3D X-ray machines; and developing new drug

therapies.

Serving as the Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills is one of the

greatest honours of my life. But I am equally humbled and privileged to have been

elected by the people of Surrey-Newton to be their representative in this House.

This government understands that Surrey has been treated unfairly by previous governments.

Since forming government in 2017, we’ve worked every day to fix that injustice, from

removing unfair and punishing bridge tolls to removing MSP premiums for families.

When we talk about investing in people, we’re not talking in abstracts. We’re talking

about real, meaningful investments. We’re talking about new schools, new classrooms,

new hospitals — real families and real lives made better across British Columbia,

especially in my own community of Surrey.

Surrey has seen the impact of these investments. Just last week, on the Family Day

long weekend, the new stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge fully opened, giving Surrey residents a smoother and safer way across the

Fraser River. Best of all, Surrey finally gets a brand-new bridge with no tolls, just

better commutes.

This year we also opened a brand-new school, École Snokomish Elementary, which opens

its doors, filling its hallways with the sounds of kids laughing, learning and building

friendships that will shape their lives. Not far away, in my own community of Newton,

construction also began on a major addition to Tamanawis Secondary, giving thousands

of students the space they need to learn and grow. We also announced a major expansion

at Clayton Heights Secondary, with 1,000 new seats to relieve crowding and give every

young person a chance and space to learn.

This isn’t happening in isolation. Last fall alone more than 700 new student seats

opened across Surrey, at Woodland Park Elementary, opening 400 new seats; Walnut Road

Elementary, adding another 100 seats; and Theresa Clarke Elementary, adding 225 seats.

These numbers are more than just numbers. They’re students from across Surrey walking

into bright classrooms, teachers welcoming new faces and parents breathing a little

easier knowing their children will finally get the space that they deserve.

[3:10 p.m.]

We’re not done yet. Right now construction crews are working on more than 2,300 new

seats across our city — 500 new seats at Kwantlen Park Secondary, 150 new seats at

Martha Currie Elementary, 425 new seats at Old Yale Road Elementary, 150 new seats

at Latimer Road Elementary, 300 new seats at William Watson Elementary, 350 new seats

at George Greenaway Elementary and 450 seats at Guildford Park Secondary.

Since 2017, we have built or approved more than 15,000 new student seats across Surrey.

This is a meaningful investment. We’re also investing in supports for students in

post-secondary in Surrey. This fall we announced that over 350 new student beds and

a dining hall are coming to Kwantlen Polytechnic University Surrey campus, marking

the first on-campus public housing project at a public post-secondary institution

in Surrey ever.

Across these projects, the message is clear. Surrey’s kids matter. Their future matters.

Their learning environment matters. But we’re investing in more than just their classrooms.

We’re investing in the health and well-being of the entire community.

Recently Surrey Memorial Hospital opened a new state-of-the-art unit with two cardiac

catheterization suites and two interventional radiology suites. These are the first

cardiac cath labs south of the Fraser. For the first time ever, families in Surrey

will be able to get the life-saving cardiac care that they need right in their communities.

This is long overdue, and I’m proud that this is the government, and I am a part of

the government, that delivered this for the people in my own home community.

We also opened the new Cloverdale Urgent and Primary Care Centre, offering year-round,

seven-day access to urgent and primary care for people in Cloverdale and around Surrey.

We invested in the Guru Nanak Diversity Village, a new long-term-care facility with

125 beds, designed by the community, that will offer comfortable and culturally sensitive

care for our seniors.

For young people, we opened the Foundry Surrey Central, offering counselling, health

care, employment supports, all in different languages — in more than a dozen languages

ranging from Punjabi, Malayalam, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Tagalog.

We’re also supporting young families. Over the summer and fall of 2025, Surrey welcomed

dozens of new child care spaces across our communities. These will create safe, nurturing

environments for the youngest learners in our community.

Alongside these new spaces at Strawberry Hill Hall, A.J. McClellan, Ocean Cliff and

the Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex, we also opened more child care centres in Surrey

that have joined the $10-a-day program, including Al-Mustafa Junior Kindergarten,

Communication Stars Specialized Childcare and the Fraser Heights recreation centre.

These actions our government is taking, these actions being funded through our government’s

budget, mean parents paying less, kids learning more and families finally getting

a well-deserved break on costs. All of this — every classroom, every hospital suite,

every long-term-care bed, every child care space — is part of a bigger story, a story

about a government that refuses to stand still, a government building with intention,

a government choosing to invest not only in infrastructure but in people of all ages.

When we say we’re building a stronger British Columbia, this is what it looks like

on the ground.

As minister, I can promise this. Our work is far from finished. We will continue to

stand shoulder to shoulder with our post-secondary institutions, with students, with

industry, with communities, with everyone who believes that education is not just

a system but a ladder to better opportunities for all, a ladder that can bring people

higher than their circumstances, higher than their doubts, higher than the challenges

in front of them.

As MLA, I carry that responsibility home with me every single day, because our government

is building a future for British Columbia that is strong, steady and full of possibility,

a future grounded in care, powered by innovation and strengthened by the perseverance

of the people we serve.

[3:15 p.m.]

Budget 2026 reflects a simple, powerful belief. When we invest in people, we unlock

opportunity. When opportunity expands, prosperity follows throughout our province,

not just for the few but for every single person in every community across our province.

To my constituents in Surrey-Newton: thank you. Thank you for your trust. Thank you

for your honesty, your resilience and your belief that progress is always possible.

Thank you for letting me represent you in this House. It is the honour of my life.

To the students, staff, faculty across every post-secondary institution in British

Columbia — those who teach, those who learn, those who support our dreams — thank

you for walking this road with us. You are building a strong, inclusive future with

your hands, your minds and your hearts.

This is our moment — our moment to keep pushing, keep building, keep believing in

the extraordinary potential of this province and its people. I really hope the entire

House will join us.

Jordan Kealy : I want to thank the minister for her kind words about Tumbler Ridge. That’s close

to home for my riding. That’s actually very close to home. It’s left me with a heavy

heart since it’s happened.

I’ve got a lot of friends there. I’ve introduced the mayor, Darryl Krakowka, to this

House when he has been advocating for help for his community. You never expect that

to happen. I think that the one thing that they would ask…. They appreciate the supports

that have been given so far, and they would ask that they continue to happen and that

they stay happening in the long term, because, in my region, we have been asking for

them for a long time.

I thank you for your kind words.

Today I rise in opposition to this budget. I do so on behalf of the people of Peace

River North, not from a spreadsheet perspective but from a lived perspective, because

budgets don’t show up in people’s lives as line items. They show up as whether you

can find a doctor, whether your parent can get a long-term bed, whether your child

has mental health supports, whether your roads are safe to drive and whether your

community still has jobs.

As for Peace River North, this budget delivers more of the same — announcements without

outcomes, promises without timelines, spending without accountability. Let’s be frank

here. People in the North are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for

fairness. They are asking for basic service that urban British Columbians take for

granted. They are asking to stop being treated like an afterthought.

Let’s start with health care. Residents across Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Taylor

and Hudson’s Hope live under the responsibility of Northern Health. I will say plainly

that the system is breaking, if not already broken. Emergency departments close and

run reduced hours. Families drive hours for basic care. Patients are sent out of area

for conditions that should be treated locally. Cancer patients drive hundreds of kilometres

for treatment. Mental health services are scarce. Specialist care often requires leaving

the region entirely.

This budget talks about billions in health spending, but up north people don’t experience

funding envelopes. They experience outcomes. In fact, an FOI request obtained by SecondStreet.org

found around 80 Northern Health patients who died on wait-lists from 2024 to 2025.

Those were 80 people that were just waiting to get a specialist.

The outcomes are chronic doctor shortages, burnt-out nurses leaving, reliance on short-term

locums, ambulance delays, families living in constant uncertainty.

There is no northern workforce strategy with enforceable targets in this budget, no

rural retention framework, no housing plan for health care workers, no guarantee that

new funding actually results in doctors and nurses showing up in our communities.

[3:20 p.m.]

It’s just big numbers and press releases and broken promises. You cannot treat patients

with press releases.

Let’s talk about seniors. For years, Peace River North has been promised a long-term-care

facility in Fort St. John, scoped to deliver 84 long-term-care beds and a 30-space

adult day program. That project mattered because more than 70 seniors in our region

are already waiting for care. Some are stuck in hospital beds. Some are waiting in

unsafe home situations. Families are stretched thin, trying to fill the gaps.

And what does this budget do? It removes the start timelines for that facility. In

plain language, the project is being placed on an indefinite hold. Our population

is aging, demand is rising, and instead of accelerating capacity, this government

has quietly taken the promise off schedule. That is not planning; that’s abandonment.

My father-in-law is sitting in Peace Villa right now, and the only way that he got

in there…. He was in the hospital, on the second floor, waiting for care. To be placed

into that seniors care facility for acute care, he waited 9½ months. The only reason

he actually got in there is because five people chose MAiD, and he managed to get

past the wait-list to get into that facility.

Currently, on the second floor, there are over 15 people waiting to get into the existing

facility. Outside, on the wait-list, there are over 50 people waiting. That’s just

what’s existing. Where do we place those people if they can’t get into that facility,

if they can’t afford to live in their home, if they can’t defer their property taxes?

Are we forcing them to live on the streets?

They’re going to the food banks. People in my riding — 12 percent of them are using

the food banks. We’re at record-high numbers. Where’s the practical solution? This

government isn’t looking at it.

I need to speak about mental health in Peace River North, especially for our children

and youth. Up north, mental health supports are scarce. Families face long wait-lists.

Travel is often required just to access basic care. Crisis services are limited. Preventable

supports are almost non-existent in smaller communities. When something goes wrong

in the North, there is often nowhere for the young people to go.

Before Tumbler Ridge, we had two youth commit suicide in my region, in Fort St. John,

and they were within two weeks. One was an 11-year-old girl. The other one was a 13-year-old

boy. When I talk about having a heavy heart about Tumbler Ridge, this was a gut punch

right before it.

It made me realize that for rural schools…. It’s really sad. When I was a kid, each

school normally had a counsellor. For the rural schools now, one counsellor is allocated

for 800 students. There are no supports. When families were looking for supports after

those suicides, it was almost impossible to actually give them any real, good solutions.

Talk about Foundry. This is the main wraparound service that the province is focusing

on. The only thing that Foundry is able to offer right now is online. How do you properly

assess somebody online? How do you help a child if you can’t actually see them face

to face and know what they’re going through?

We also saw that reality laid bare in Tumbler Ridge. It’s not an isolated incident,

but it’s the visible consequence of years of underinvestment in youth mental health.

[3:25 p.m.]

That community had already been sounding the alarm. Local leaders, families and front-line

workers had been warning the government that supports were inadequate, that kids were

falling through the cracks, that early intervention programs were desperately needed.

Instead of strengthening those services, this government moved to shut down one of

the few programs servicing vulnerable youth.

You’ve heard me in this House talking about it. It was the Saplings program. The funding

for it, when it came to the care in the ER department, got cut. It was going to be

cut for their outreach as well. Luckily, I’ve been told that it has been secured to

continue for the next contract, for the outreach portion of it. But Dawson Creek and

Tumbler Ridge do not have a Saplings program.

In Peace River, we don’t even have a child psychiatrist. You think about kids dying

and the effects on that, how it would affect everybody else. That whole town is going

to have PTSD. We don’t even have a single child psychiatrist for a region of 88,000

people, somebody that actually knows what they’re doing with medications, if they

need to be used.

I personally worked alongside community members in Peace River North to explain to

this government how critical that program was for children who were struggling. We

made the case. We pleaded for the continuity of care, because if those services disappear,

children don’t magically get better. They spiral. Mental health doesn’t just collapse

overnight. It deteriorates slowly, quietly, while communities beg for help.

This budget once again fails to provide a northern mental health delivery plan. There

is no actual dedicated youth treatment hub for Peace River North, no regional crisis

response team, no guarantee that new mental health funding actually lands in remote

communities. Just provincewide announcements with no accountability for outcomes in

the North.

Our children deserve better than that. They deserve early intervention. They deserve

local supports. They deserve stability. And families deserve to know that when their

child is in crisis, there is somewhere to turn. Right now, too often, there isn’t.

This brings me back to the budget itself because this is exactly the problem. This

government will stand up and point to the provincewide funding totals, but those numbers

don’t tell families in Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Hudson’s Hope and Taylor where

their child can go tonight if they’re in crisis. They don’t tell parents how long

they’ll have to wait for counselling. They don’t tell communities when treatment beds

will open. They don’t tell schools when supports will arrive. They just tell us how

much money was announced.

That is the fundamental failure of this budget. It measures success in dollars committed,

not lives improved. Up north, we don’t need more press releases. We need doctors who

stay. We need youth mental health programs that aren’t threatened with closure. We

need seniors beds that actually get built. We need roads and bridges that are safe

to drive. We need schools that can hire and retain staff.

Instead, this budget offers generalized funding, shifting timelines and disappearing

commitments, while Peace River North is left competing with urban centres for the

same limited resources. That is neglect, plain and simple.

[3:30 p.m.]

Infrastructure has been left to decay in Peace River North. I think of energy, forestry,

agriculture, heavy haul. Everything depends on safe, reliable roads and bridges. Right

now too many of them are falling apart. Highways are riddled with potholes and temporary

patches, and a Taylor Bridge that has enough weld on it that could build us ferries.

The bridges are aging out. Industrial routes that move goods to market are deteriorating.

Multiple hillsides are literally falling apart. Yet this budget contains no named

transportation upgrades. No Taylor Bridge — another failed promise. No highway reconstruction.

No targeted investment in the corridors that keep northern economies alive.

I hear the minister talk about a powerhouse. That’s this region — 38 percent of the

hydroelectric power, a big chunk of the LNG that goes to the coast, forestry, agriculture.

It’s great when the government can take the revenue from my region, but very little

comes back.

It really can be a powerhouse. There are a lot of other projects that can be done

that help pay to reduce the debt, make your deficit smaller. I’d love to be able to

talk to you about them.

I’ll move on to education. It tells the same story. Northern districts struggle to

recruit teachers, education assistants, counsellors and support staff. Classrooms

are stretched. Education funding does not keep pace with growing needs. Transportation

costs are higher. Housing shortages make it hard to attract professionals. Parents

fundraise for basic supports.

Yes, this budget announces education funding, but there is no rural differential,

no northern recruitment strategy and no recognition that Peace River North faces fundamentally

different conditions than urban districts. A provincewide increase means nothing when

northern communities start behind and continue to fall further back.

In Peace River North, jobs are not just abstract economic indicators. They are family-supporting.

They sustain schools, volunteer fire departments, minor hockey teams, local shops

and municipal tax bases, and this government continues to undermine them.

Forestry is collapsing — mill closures, curtailments, layoffs, families forced to

leave towns they’ve lived in for generations. The sawmill that’s operated in Fort

St. John since the ’60s is shut. The pulp mill that I worked in, in Taylor, as a millwright

is shut now as well. Closure after closure after closure. Job loss after job loss

after job loss.

In the last few years alone, British Columbia has seen dozens of forestry facilities

shut down. Since 2020, at least 16 sawmills, three pulp mills and four paper mills

have closed across this province, many of those in the North. Every closure ripples

outwards — lost wages, lost services, lost students, lost volunteers. Municipalities

lose millions in tax revenue, and that loss doesn’t disappear. It gets downloaded

onto the homeowners and small businesses.

Industry leaders have been begging this government for certainty. Instead, they get

regulatory chaos, rising costs and policies made in Victoria with little understanding

of rural realities. This budget offers no credible forestry recovery plan for the

North, no urgency, no long-term strategy. Just more consultation while communities

are hollowed out bit by bit by bit.

[3:35 p.m.]

Agriculture up north is not being supported. In real terms, funding is flat while

costs rise. Farmers face higher fuel prices, higher inputs, higher transportation

costs and less provincial support. At a time when food security should be a priority,

this government is leaving the northern agriculture sector behind. They are neglecting

food security. Why?

I heard, in question period, a question about agriculture, and it got returned instead

by a different minister. It’s interesting — the response. I just had a constituent

ask me about crop loss in their region. They had 160 acres of crop loss. The insurance

coverage was supposed to be 81 percent, and it came back that the coverage was 50

percent. What’s the point of having insurance if the government isn’t going to cover

it?

Instead of fixing spending inefficiencies or growing the economy, this budget expands

provincial sales tax to new professional services and removes exemptions on everyday

items. That means families and small businesses now pay more for accounting, engineering,

real estate services, cable and basic necessities. People in Peace River North already

pay more for groceries, fuel, heating and transportation. Now they are being hit with

expanded PST on top of it. This is nowhere near fiscal management. This can only be

classified as utter incompetence. It almost feels like a targeted attack on British

Columbians’ way of life.

Another pattern in this budget is putting the incompetence of not being able to balance

a budget…. When provincial decisions destabilize major employers, municipalities are

left holding the bag. When health care fails, families step in. When mental health

services aren’t available, communities rely on volunteers and charities. When schools

can’t get staffing, parents fill the gaps.

Peace River North is doing more with less every year, and this budget does nothing

to change that trajectory. Constant promises. Shifting timelines. Broken trust. People

in the North are tired of announcements. They’ve heard them before. They’ve watched

projects get announced, re-announced, delayed, re-scoped and delayed again. They’ve

watched timelines disappear from capital plans. They’ve watched commitments quietly

evaporate. What they want is certainty. What they get is perpetual waiting.

Under this government, Peace River North keeps hearing the same message: wait longer,

travel farther, accept less. That is not how you build a united province.

Cost of living is higher in the North — being ignored. Everything costs more in the

North — groceries, fuel, heating, transportation. Families are paying a premium just

to live where they work. Yet this budget offers no targeted northern affordability

strategy, no transportation relief, no rural cost of living recognition. Policies

are written as though everyone lives within transit distance of downtown Vancouver.

That is not reality for Peace River North. Electric batteries don’t work when it’s

minus 46. This is not reality for Peace River North.

This budget lacks a northern health worker workforce strategy with measurable targets,

guaranteed rural health mental capacity, education funding that reflects northern

recruitment realities, a serious forestry recovery plan, protection for municipalities

facing tax base erosion, accountability for capital project delays and recognition

of higher operating costs in the North. Instead we get generalized provincial averages

and aspiring language. Peace River North cannot live off of aspirations.

[3:40 p.m.]

The North contributes enormously to this province through energy, forestry, agriculture,

hydroelectric, mining and hard-working families who keep communities alive in some

of the toughest conditions in British Columbia. All they are asking for is a fair

share of attention, resources and accountability.

This budget does not deliver that. It leaves northern residents waiting again, out

in the cold. We’re waiting for doctors, for nurses, for seniors care, waiting for

infrastructure, waiting for jobs, waiting for mental health support. We deserve better.

Until this government starts treating Peace River North better as an equal partner

in this province, not as an afterthought, these gaps will continue to grow, just like

the deficit and the debt.

This province, if you look at the fundamental basis of it, just from a practical standpoint….

I grew up in the Lower Mainland. It’s a different world down here compared to the

North and the rest of British Columbia. There’s a very practical way that it can function

as a business. We are rich in resources. We need fresh revenue for British Columbians

to survive and thrive. But right now our fresh revenue sources are not being utilized

to their fullest potential.

Forestry is a great example of what’s happening in that industry. It was a backbone

of how a lot of the towns were built in this province. If we want to see a balanced

budget and a debt being paid down, we need to focus on that backbone again.

Instead, right now the revenues that this government is prospering off of are actually

our decline. As our way of life diminishes, we have vices that we turn to. People

struggle. They’ll buy alcohol, they’ll buy marijuana, or they’ll go gamble. Oh, but

wait. The government taxes those.

Oh, there’s no tax on alcohol? There’s no tax on marijuana? They’re great revenue

income streams. Sorry, I was just going off of facial recognition on that.

Right now when we look at the revenue streams that the government makes off of alcohol

and marijuana and gambling, these are all things that are actually bad for British

Columbians, for our mental health and for our way of life. We need a government to

focus on what is actually good for us.

What’s good for us is going back to the practical fundamentals of how this province

can work. That’s our resources. I can tell you right now that if I switched all of

the engines on my farm to electrification, I would be bankrupting my farm. It is not

practical. There are some things that don’t work.

This province and country have to go back to the practical nature of what we have

to be able to bring in fresh revenue streams, not recycling the revenue that we currently

have in our system.

I want to thank my constituents that are listening and thank them for being able to

vote me in. I’ll continue to fight as hard as I can for our region.

Sharon Hartwell : Before I begin my remarks, I would like to send my condolences out to Tumbler Ridge.

As a former mayor of a small community, my heart reaches out to you. I know council

and mayor are going to be struggling for some time to wrap your heads around the tragedy

that happened.

[3:45 p.m.]

Whether it’s one family or more, you don’t heal that quickly. But we’re here, and

we’re thinking about you. And my colleague the MLA from North Peace will be with you.

I rise today to speak to Budget 2026, and I do so as the member for Bulkley Valley–Stikine;

as a critic for rural infrastructure and rural development; and as someone who represents

one of the largest, most geographically complex and most resource-dependent regions

in this province. I rise not simply to speak about the fiscal plan but to speak about

the people behind that plan, the communities that will feel its impact and the growing

disconnect between what this government promises and what rural British Columbia is

actually experiencing.

I would like to begin by acknowledging the highlights of this budget. Sadly, after

reviewing the document in detail and speaking with constituents across my riding,

I must say I see no mention of any that meaningfully apply to Bulkley Valley–Stikine

or to many of the rural and northern communities that I represent.

That is not a rhetorical point, nor is it intended to be dismissive for the sake of

opposition. It is an honest conclusion that comes from asking a very simple question.

Where in this budget do the people of the northwest see themselves? I find it not

only disappointing but, frankly, disrespectful that once again there is no meaningful

mention of investment in Bulkley Valley–Stikine.

The province continues to look to the northwest for resource revenue and economic

contribution. It continues to rely on the industry’s workers and the communities of

the North to support provincial prosperity. Yet when it comes time to reinvest in

those same communities, to build the infrastructure required to sustain that contribution

or to support the families who make it possible, the North is once again overlooked.

That imbalance is not new, but it’s becoming more and more pronounced, and this budget

does nothing to correct it. Instead, it reinforces a pattern that many people in my

riding have come to expect, which is that rural communities are asked to contribute

more while receiving less in return.

This budget must also be understood in the broader context of the province’s fiscal

position. We’re now facing a projected deficit of $13.3 billion. Even as the government

introduces new taxes and expands existing ones, this is not a situation where the

province is struggling due to a lack of revenue. It is a situation where the spending

has grown beyond what can reasonably be sustained and where the government has not

demonstrated a credible plan to bring that spending under control.

For the people in my riding, this raises serious concerns about accountability and

long-term sustainability. They’re being asked to pay more in taxes while seeing little

improvement in services, infrastructure or economic opportunity. They’re being asked

to trust that this government has a plan, even as the numbers suggest otherwise.

I want to take some time to speak about what has actually happened over the past year

in Bulkley Valley–Stikine. This budget does not exist in isolation. It lands in communities

that are already facing significant challenges, and it must be evaluated in that context.

In Houston, the closure of the Canfor mill has had a profound and ongoing impact.

This was not just a loss of a workplace. It was a loss of a central economic pillar

that supported families, local businesses and municipal revenues. The ripple effects

of that closure have been significant and far-reaching. Workers have lost stable employment,

and many have been forced to leave the community in search of other opportunities.

Small businesses have seen reduced activity, as fewer people are able to spend locally.

The municipality itself is now facing a substantial budget shortfall due to the loss

of industrial tax revenue, forcing difficult decisions about service levels and long-term

planning.

This is not a temporary setback. It represents a structural shift in the local economy,

one that requires a coordinated and meaningful response from the province. Yet when

we look at this budget, we see no targeted support for Houston, no transition strategy

for forestry-dependent communities and no acknowledgement of the scale of the challenge

that these communities are now facing.

Houston is not alone. Across Bulkley Valley–Stikine and across northern British Columbia,

the forest sector is experiencing one of the most difficult periods in recent history.

Communities like Burns Lake, Smithers and Hazelton have relied on forestry for generations.

It has provided stable employment, supported families and sustained local economies.

Today that stability is increasingly uncertain.

[3:50 p.m.]

We are seeing mill closures, reduced harvest levels, declining investment and growing

concern about the future of the industry. Workers who have spent decades building

their lives around forestry are now facing difficult questions about what comes next.

Young people are leaving communities because they do not see opportunities for themselves

in the region. Local governments are struggling to maintain services as their tax

base declines. We all know, those who have been in local government, that local municipalities

are bound by the province to balance their budgets. The province is not.

Industry leaders have been clear in their assessment of the situation, with some stating

that they have never seen conditions this severe in decades of experience. That level

of concern should prompt urgent action from this government. Instead, what we see

in this budget is a reduction in forestry funding and no clear path for how to support

the sector or the communities that depend on it. That is not a strategy; that is an

absence of leadership.

As the critic for rural infrastructure and rural development, I must also speak to

the broader issue of infrastructure because this is where the consequences of government

decisions are often most visible in rural communities. Infrastructure in rural British

Columbia is not simply a matter of convenience. It is essential to safety, connectivity

and economic viability.

Roads, bridges, health care facilities and emergency services are the lifelines that

connect communities, that allow them to function. However, what we continue to see

is a pattern in which major infrastructure projects in urban centres receive significant

attention and funding, even as they experience substantial cost overruns and delays,

while rural infrastructure needs remain underfunded or even ignored. Billions of dollars

have been added to the costs of large-scale projects across the province, yet comparatively

modest investments in rural communities continue to be deferred.

In Bulkley Valley–Stikine, the infrastructure needs are clear and well documented.

Highway 37 requires upgrades to ensure safety and support of economic development.

This is where the province is setting their sights. This is a critical corridor for

northern British Columbia, yet it continues to be overlooked in favour of projects

elsewhere.

In Telkwa, the existing bridge across the Bulkley River is aging and no longer adequate

for a growing community.

In Hazelton, Wrinch Memorial Hospital is operating beyond capacity, placing strain

on both staff and patients.

In Atlin, there has been a long-standing effort to secure funding for a new ambulance

station and fire hall, yet progress has been slow.

In Kitwanga, residents have raised nearly $1 million themselves to support essential

infrastructure, demonstrating extraordinary commitment, yet are still waiting for

meaningful provincial support.

These are not new issues. They have been raised repeatedly in this House and in discussions

with government, yet they remain unaddressed.

When communities are raising their own funds for basic infrastructure, when they are

organizing bake sales and local fundraising efforts to support projects that should

be the responsibility of the province, it raises a fundamental question about priorities.

How much more are these communities expected to do on their own? At what point does

the province step in and fulfil its role?

The reality is that the cost overruns on a single major project elsewhere in British

Columbia could fund multiple critical infrastructure projects in my riding. This is

not an exaggeration; that is a reflection of how resources are currently being allocated.

Examples: Site C dam, over budget by $7.225 billion; Surrey-Langley SkyTrain, over

budget by $1.98 billion; second Surrey hospital, over budget by $1.21 billion; etc.

One of those overruns would have funded projects in my riding.

This issue extends beyond my riding and speaks to a broader provincial challenge.

As critic for rural infrastructure and rural development, I hear from communities

across British Columbia that are facing similar issues. In the Cariboo, in the Kootenays,

in the Peace region and on the north coast, communities are dealing with aging infrastructure,

limited access to services and increasing financial pressures. They are struggling

to maintain what they have, let alone invest in what they need for the future.

The message from these communities is consistent. They feel overlooked. They feel

underfunded. They feel like they are expected to contribute to the province’s economy

without receiving the support necessary to sustain their own communities.

[3:55 p.m.]

I want to turn now to the issue of affordability because this is another area where

this budget fails to meet the needs of British Columbians. This budget introduces

over $1 billion in new taxes on working families, including increases to personal

income taxes and the expansion of the provincial sales tax to additional goods and

services.

In rural communities, the impact of these changes is even more pronounced. People

already pay more for fuel, more for groceries and more for basic services, due to

distance and limited options. The expansion of the PST to services such as shoe repair,

bookkeeping and other essential services may seem minor in isolation, but for families

who rely on these services as part of their daily lives, the additional cost is significant.

This is not about luxury spending. This is about everyday necessities. When people

are working hard and still struggling to get ahead, adding new costs only makes that

situation worse.

Stakeholders across this province have raised serious concerns about the direction

of this budget. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has warned that it

will deepen what it describes as an entrepreneurial drought. Highlighting the challenges

facing small businesses is already difficult in this economic environment. The Business

Council of British Columbia has similarly raised concerns about weak private sector

growth and the impact of new taxes on investment.

These are not partisan voices. These are organizations that represent businesses,

workers and communities across the province. When they raise concerns, those concerns

should be taken seriously.

The cumulative effect of these policies is a growing sense of uncertainty. Businesses

are hesitant to invest. Workers are uncertain about their future. Communities are

questioning whether they will have the resources they need to sustain themselves.

That uncertainty has real consequences, and it is felt most acutely in communities

that do not have the same margin for error as larger urban centres.

In rural British Columbia, when a major employer closes, when a piece of infrastructure

fails or when a service is reduced, there are fewer alternatives available. People

cannot simply relocate services, switch providers or observe increased costs without

consequence. Instead, they are forced to make difficult decisions about their livelihoods,

their families and their futures. This is why the decisions reflected in this budget

matter so deeply. They’re not just fiscal choices. They are choices about whether

communities will grow or decline, whether families will stay or leave and whether

rural British Columbia will be treated as an equal partner in this province’s future.

I’ve heard many of the ministers across the aisle speak about investing in every corner

of this province. Well, I certainly don’t see it in Bulkley Valley–Stikine, so I think

maybe they figure the province stops at Prince George. I’m not really sure.

I want to turn now to health care because this is one of the most pressing and personal

issues facing my constituents. In Bulkley Valley–Stikine, access to health care is

not guaranteed. It is uncertain, it is inconsistent, and, in some cases, it is simply

unavailable when it’s most needed.

As I mentioned earlier, taxpayers in this province contribute to health care at multiple

levels. They contribute federally; provincially; and, in many cases, locally through

municipal taxes and hospital districts. In some jurisdictions, local tax dollars are

used to support health care infrastructure, including clinics and hospitals. This

means that in many cases, individuals are effectively paying into the same system

multiple times.

Given that level of investment, isn’t it reasonable to expect a certain level of service?

Yet what are we seeing across British Columbia and particularly in rural areas? It

is a system that is struggling to meet basic expectations. Emergency rooms have been

closed temporarily due to staffing shortages. Hospital hours have been reduced. Patients

are being asked to travel significant distances for care that should be available

in their own communities.

In 2025 alone, there were over 250 temporary emergency room closures across the province.

That number is not just a statistic. It represents real situations where people arrived

at a hospital expecting care, only to find that it was not available. It represents

moments of uncertainty, anxiety and, in some cases, serious risk.

For someone living in a major urban centre, an emergency room closure may mean travelling

to another facility a short distance away. For someone in Bulkley Valley–Stikine,

it may mean travelling hours to access care. That difference matters, and it highlights

the importance of ensuring that rural health care is not treated as an afterthought.

[4:00 p.m.]

Despite these challenges, this budget does not provide a clear plan to address health

care access in rural British Columbia and rural communities. It does not offer new

solutions to staffing shortages, nor does it outline a strategy for reducing service

disruptions. Instead, it continues with the same approach that has led us to this

current situation, leaving communities uncertain about what that future holds.

I also want to speak about seniors, because this budget fails to recognize their needs

in a meaningful way. Seniors in my riding, li