British Columbia Hansard — 19 February 2020, p.m., Issue 309 (41st Parliament, 5th Session)

20200219pm-Hansard-n309

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Fifth Session, 41st Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday, February 19, 2020 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 309 THE HONOURABLE DARRYL PLECAS, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC Fifth Session, 41st Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Darryl Plecas EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John Horgan Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance ...........................................................................................................................Hon.

Carole James Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training..................................................................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Minister of Agriculture.........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General.................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

David Eby, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ............................................................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Minister of State for Child Care...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Minister of Citizens’ Services...................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Minister of Education ............................................................................................................................................................ Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources ..................................................................................................... Hon. Bruce Ralston Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy............................................................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ..............................................Hon. Doug Donaldson Minister of Health .....................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Adrian Dix Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... Hon.

Scott Fraser Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness.............................................................................Hon. Michelle Mungall Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon. George Chow Minister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Minister of Mental Health and Addictions............................................................................................................................ Hon. Judy Darcy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.................................................................................................................. Hon. Selina Robinson Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction..............................................................................................Hon. Shane Simpson Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.....................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................ Hon.

Claire Trevena LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition................................................................................................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Leader of the Third Party .................................................................................................................................................................Adam Olsen Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................................................................................

Raj Chouhan Assistant Deputy Speaker............................................................................................................................................................. Simon Gibson Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ................................................................................................................ Spencer Chandra Herbert Acting Clerk of the Legislative Assembly...............................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Clerk Assistant — Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..........................................................................................Susan Sourial Associate Law Clerk ..............................................................................................................................................Loredana Catalli-Sonier, QC Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel............................................................................................................................................ S.

Suzie Seo Acting Sergeant-at-Arms..................................................................................................................................................................Greg Nelson

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal) ......................................................................... Penticton Bains, Hon. Harry (NDP)................................................................ Surrey-Newton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal) .....................................................Cariboo-Chilcotin Beare, Hon. Lisa (NDP)..............................................

Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry (NDP) .......................................................................Surrey-Guildford Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal) .........................................................Peace River South Bond, Shirley (BC Liberal)...........................................Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (NDP).......................................................................Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal)........................................................

Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) .......................................Vancouver–West End Chen, Hon. Katrina (NDP)...................................................... Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Raj (NDP) .................................................................Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon. George (NDP).................................................Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal) ..................................Columbia River–Revelstoke Coleman, Rich (BC Liberal) ................................................................ Langley East Conroy, Hon.

Katrine (NDP)...........................................................Kootenay West Darcy, Hon. Judy (NDP) ............................................................. New Westminster Davies, Dan (BC Liberal) ........................................................... Peace River North de Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal) ..............................................Abbotsford West Dean, Mitzi (NDP)................................................................ Esquimalt-Metchosin D’Eith, Bob (NDP) ................................................................Maple Ridge–Mission Dix, Hon.

Adrian (NDP)....................................................... Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Hon. Doug (NDP)...................................................................... Stikine Eby, Hon. David, QC (NDP).............................................. Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP).........................................................Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (NDP) ........................................................Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (NDP) ......................................................

Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal).............................................................Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Hon. Scott (NDP) ..................................................Mid Island–Pacific Rim Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) .............................................Cowichan Valley Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal) ...................................................Abbotsford-Mission Glumac, Rick (NDP).........................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Heyman, Hon. George (NDP) ................................................Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon.

John (NDP) ................................................ Langford–Juan de Fuca Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal) ........................................................ Surrey-Cloverdale Isaacs, Joan (BC Liberal) .......................................... Coquitlam–Burke Mountain James, Hon. Carole (NDP).................................................... Victoria–Beacon Hill Johal, Jas (BC Liberal).................................................Richmond-Queensborough Kahlon, Ravi (NDP)............................................................................... Delta North Kang, Hon.

Anne (NDP)......................................................... Burnaby–Deer Lake Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal)..............................................................................Shuswap Larson, Linda (BC Liberal) .............................................. Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Michael (BC Liberal) ........................................................Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (NDP) ..................................................... Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal).............................................

Kelowna–Lake Country Ma, Bowinn (NDP) .....................................................North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Sheila (NDP) ........................................................................Nanaimo Mark, Hon. Melanie (NDP) .......................................Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Martin, John (BC Liberal)....................................................................... Chilliwack Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal)..................................... Kamloops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal) ........................................... Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Hon.

Michelle (NDP)......................................................Nelson-Creston Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal) ............................................................ Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (BC Green Party)............................ Saanich North and the Islands Paton, Ian (BC Liberal).......................................................................... Delta South Plecas, Hon. Darryl (Ind.) ........................................................... Abbotsford South Polak, Mary (BC Liberal) ............................................................................. Langley Popham, Hon.

Lana (NDP)............................................................... Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce (NDP) ............................................................Surrey-Whalley Redies, Tracy (BC Liberal) .......................................................Surrey–White Rock Reid, Linda (BC Liberal) ................................................. Richmond South Centre Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ............................................................................. North Coast Robinson, Hon.

Selina (NDP) .........................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal)................................................................................... Skeena Routledge, Janet (NDP) ....................................................................Burnaby North Routley, Doug (NDP) ................................................. Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, John (BC Liberal) ................................................................Nechako Lakes Shypitka, Tom (BC Liberal) ..............................................................

Kootenay East Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ......................................... Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Hon. Shane (NDP)..................................................Vancouver-Hastings Sims, Jinny (NDP) ........................................................................ Surrey-Panorama Singh, Rachna (NDP) .........................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal) ................................................................. Kelowna West Stilwell, Michelle (BC Liberal)...............................................

Parksville-Qualicum Stone, Todd (BC Liberal)..........................................Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal)........................................ West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Sullivan, Sam (BC Liberal)................................................ Vancouver–False Creek Sultan, Ralph (BC Liberal) ...........................................West Vancouver–Capilano Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal) ................................................................. Fraser-Nicola Thomson, Steve (BC Liberal)......................................................

Kelowna-Mission Thornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) ...............................North Vancouver–Seymour Throness, Laurie (BC Liberal) .......................................................Chilliwack-Kent Trevena, Hon. Claire (NDP) ................................................................North Island Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal) ................................................. Richmond North Centre Weaver, Dr.

Andrew (Ind.)................................................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal) ................................Vancouver-Quilchena Y ap, John (BC Liberal)............................................................Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission............................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South....................................................................... Hon. Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West......................................................................

Michael de Jong, QC Boundary-Similkameen...................................................................... Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake....................................................................... Hon. Anne Kang Burnaby-Edmonds................................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed .................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Burnaby North .................................................................................

Janet Routledge Cariboo-Chilcotin .............................................................................Donna Barnett Cariboo North.................................................................................... Coralee Oakes Chilliwack ............................................................................................... John Martin Chilliwack-Kent ...............................................................................Laurie Throness Columbia River–Revelstoke .........................................................

Doug Clovechok Coquitlam–Burke Mountain.................................................................. Joan Isaacs Coquitlam-Maillardville ...................................................... Hon. Selina Robinson Courtenay-Comox................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard Cowichan Valley .............................................................................

Sonia Furstenau Delta North.............................................................................................Ravi Kahlon Delta South ..................................................................................................Ian Paton Esquimalt-Metchosin ..............................................................................Mitzi Dean Fraser-Nicola .........................................................................................

Jackie Tegart Kamloops–North Thompson .............................................................Peter Milobar Kamloops–South Thompson..................................................................Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country .....................................................................Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission ..............................................................................

Steve Thomson Kelowna West ..........................................................................................Ben Stewart Kootenay East.......................................................................................Tom Shypitka Kootenay West........................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Langford–Juan de Fuca .............................................................. Hon. John Horgan Langley .....................................................................................................

Mary Polak Langley East.........................................................................................Rich Coleman Maple Ridge–Mission.............................................................................. Bob D’Eith Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows............................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim................................................................ Hon. Scott Fraser Nanaimo......................................................................................

Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo–North Cowichan............................................................... Doug Routley Nechako Lakes........................................................................................ John Rustad Nelson-Creston ................................................................... Hon. Michelle Mungall New Westminster........................................................................... Hon. Judy Darcy North Coast ...........................................................................................

Jennifer Rice North Island.............................................................................. Hon. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale................................................................... Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour........................................................Jane Thornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head............................................................Dr.

Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum.......................................................................Michelle Stilwell Peace River North ................................................................................... Dan Davies Peace River South ................................................................................ Mike Bernier Penticton ................................................................................................. Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam...................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam.......................................................................Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast....................................................... Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie....................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ..................................................................

Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre..........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough.........................................................................Jas Johal Richmond South Centre ......................................................................... Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston ...................................................................................

John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands .............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South .............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap...................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena........................................................................................................... Ellis Ross Stikine....................................................................................Hon.

Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale ................................................................................ Marvin Hunt Surrey-Fleetwood.....................................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers........................................................................Rachna Singh Surrey-Guildford......................................................................................Garry Begg Surrey-Newton ..............................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ...................................................................................... Jinny Sims Surrey South ................................................................................ Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Whalley ......................................................................... Hon. Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock .............................................................................. Tracy Redies Vancouver-Fairview.............................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek........................................................................ Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview...............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ............................................................... Hon. Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington....................................................................... Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..................................................................... Hon.

Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara................................................................................ Michael Lee Vancouver–Mount Pleasant..................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Vancouver–Point Grey ............................................................Hon.

David Eby, QC Vancouver-Quilchena........................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Vancouver–West End .....................................................Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee ....................................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill.................................................................. Hon. Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake.................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano...................................................................

Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky................................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC Liberal 42; NDP 41; Independent 2; BC Green Party 2

CONTENTS Wednesday, February 19, 2020 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members................................................................................................................................................... 11015 Introduction and First Reading of Bills.............................................................................................................................. 11015 Bill 7 — Arbitration Act Hon. D.

Eby Statements (Standing Order 25B) ....................................................................................................................................... 11016 Positive Living B.C. society S. Chandra Herbert B.C. Winter Games in Fort St. John D. Davies Primary care network in Burnaby R. Chouhan Early hearing program L. Reid Maxwell Johnson Sr. J. Rice Seatbelts on school buses L.

Throness Oral Questions....................................................................................................................................................................... 11018 Response to protests supporting Wet’suwet’ en Hereditary Chiefs S. Bond Hon. M. Farnworth Parliamentary secretary purchase of training from Organize B.C. M. de Jong Hon. M. Farnworth Government action on climate change and economic plan A. Olsen Hon. G. Heyman Response to protests supporting Wet’suwet’ en Hereditary Chiefs and role of Environment Minister J. Johal Hon. M.

Farnworth Response to protests supporting Wet’suwet’ en Hereditary Chiefs and NDP position on LNG development E. Ross Hon. M. Farnworth Hon. S. Fraser Orders of the Day Budget Debate (continued) .................................................................................................................................................. 11023 S. Bond A. Olsen T. Stone Hon. M. Mark M. Bernier N. Simons M. Morris Hon. L. Beare

WEDNESDAY , FEBRUARY 19, 2020 The House met at 1:36 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Prayers and reflections: N. Letnick. Introductions by Members Hon. A. Dix: Today is, in fact, B.C. Care Providers Day, as was referred to in such a beautiful way by the member for Kelowna–Lake Country. We have guests here from the B.C. Care Providers Association, and over the lunch hour, many people on both sides of the House, all sides of the House, met with the care providers. I want to introduce today my friend Aly Devji, the board president of the B.C.

Care Providers Association; Daniel Fontaine, the CEO; Mike Klassen, the vice-presid- ent, public affairs; care aide Jill Huckin, who is here — we were acknowledging the extraordinary work of care aides and community health workers; Terra Munro, a com- munity health worker; Nicole Conley, a care aide; Lisa Mackenzie, a care aide; and Cathy Szmaus, the vice-pres- ident, operations, of the B.C. Care Providers Association. There are three pharmacists, believe it or not — Parm Johal, Jason Cridge and Greg Wheeler — who all came to join me, and all work in the sector as well.

I hope everyone in the House gives our guests a great welcome today. T. Wat:It is a great pleasure to rise in the House to wel- come my daughter Tin, my son-in-law Terry and my two lovely and adorable grandsons Andre and Ashton to this House. This is the first time that my daughter’s family is in Victoria. We spent Family Day walking around beautiful Victoria, looking at Chinatown, at the Legislature. They’re going to be here until tomorrow, and they will go back to Vancouver and then back to Asia, where my daughter is now, and where my son-in-law is working.

I wish to share my joy with you — the pride of being a grandma of two. I’m so proud of Tin and Terry for raising two such healthy and lovely grandsons for me. Family brings love and joy, and they will be there for you during the good times and the bad times. I wish…. Every one of us, I’m sure, agrees with me that family is most important. That’s why we are here, all working so hard day after day — because we all want to put family first. Please join me in welcoming Tin, Terry, Ashton and Andre to this House. L.

Reid: On behalf of the official opposition, I’ d like to recognize some individuals representing B.C. care pro- viders. To Aly, to Michael, to Daniel: it is a quality of life that seniors are offered in our province, and we’re ever so grateful to have them with us today. Thank you. I. Paton: Today I actually have three introductions. One has already been mentioned by the Minister of Health. My good friend and my neighbour Aly Devji is here today rep- resenting the B.C. Care Providers. [1:40 p.m.] On another note, I have a group of lovely ladies from south Delta that are here today.

They belong to a club called the Newcomers club, which is right across Canada. They represent Ladner, Tsawwassen and Point Roberts. They welcome new people into the community, and they meet with them and fill them in on different things in the community. They’ve taken a bus trip today to the Legis- lature. Thank you for coming, and enjoy your lunch in the din- ing room. Finally, I noticed — I’m not sure why he’s here — a prominent dairy farming family in Abbotsford. Mr. Bud Dykshoorn is here with his wife. Welcome, Bud. Please welcome all my guests today. Hon. R.

Fleming: All members will join me in recog- nizing that Science World plays an incredibly important role for the teaching profession in British Columbia, for inspiring young people right across British Columbia. It’s helping to open doors and expand the hopes and minds of young people to pursue advanced education and careers in science and technology. Joining us in the gallery today are three community leaders from Science World. Janet Wood serves as inter- im president and CEO of Science World, where she’s focused on driving Science World’s mission to expand STEAM learning throughout our province.

With her are Nancy Roper and Nolan Charles. Nancy is the vice-pres- ident of development, at Science World. Nolan Charles is a board member at Science World and has served as a council member for the Musqueam Indian Band for the last 22 years. I would ask the House to make these three individuals most welcome here today and to welcome them into the precinct. Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL 7 — ARBITRATION ACT Hon. D. Eby presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Arbitration Act. Hon. D. Eby: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now. 11015

I’m pleased to introduce the Arbitration Act. This bill repeals and replaces British Columbia’s domestic Arbitra- tion Act. It will modernize British Columbia’s domestic arbitration regime and achieve greater harmony with the International Commercial Arbitration Act, benefiting business parties, legal counsel and arbitrators. British Columbia’s domestic Arbitration Act has not had major revisions in more than 30 years. Many of its pro- visions are outdated and no longer reflect best arbitration practices.

In 2017, government requested recommendations for domestic arbitration reform from a group of leading arbit- ration practitioners — the then Attorney General’s arbitra- tion advisory group. We continued that work, and I would like to thank this group for the many hours of work they put into this project. This bill is based on their recom- mendations. Family law arbitration has some similarities to com- mercial arbitration, but there are significant differences. The provisions related to family law arbitration are being moved into the Family Law Act.

Generally, the policy underlying family law arbitration is being retained using updated language that aligns with the new Arbitration Act provisions. A separate advisory group of family law arbit- rators and practitioners has provided recommendations to government regarding the move. Mr. Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Hon. D. Eby: I move the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 7, Arbitration Act, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Statements (Standing Order 25B) POSITIVE LIVING B.C. SOCIETY S. Chandra Herbert: It was a time when silence equalled death. It was a time when you had to act up. Oth- erwise, you’ d be forgotten. It was a time when this Legis- lature was debating quarantining people living with HIV/ AIDS, primarily gay men.

The remark at the time was: “Put them away on an island to die. ” Out of that time came remarkable things, remarkable people standing up to make incredible differences. Out of that time was born an organization which is marking its closure this year, sadly, but also marking its closure with pride because they fulfilled their mission. I speak of what began as the B.C. Persons with AIDS Coalition, which became B.C. Persons with Aids Society, which became Positive Living B.C.

This organization, star- ted by Kevin Brown and a team of volunteers and true, act- ive community supporters, first found themselves, out of AIDS Vancouver, working together. [1:45 p.m.] They faced such hatred and discrimination, including from their own government, that they had to be more act- ive. They had to step out of the confines of AIDS Vancou- ver and find their voice as people living with AIDS. Their mantra, “Nothing about us, without us, ” has, of course, been taken by so many to find change and really has changed our health care system that we see today.

They were the founders of some of the first major fun- draising walks, the AIDS walk, which for a long time was the place to be to find solidarity, to raise money, to support those living with the horrible illness that HIV/ AIDS was at the time. They were the founders and the advocates who put the pressure on governments to change how they treated people living with HIV/AIDS. That led to the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the incredible work of Dr. Julio Montaner, which has changed the face of AIDS across the entire world and, in some ways, has led to the upcoming closure of Positive Living B.C.

Because AIDS has changed, there are now people living full, supported lives as healthy individuals embraced by their communities. I want to thank everybody who put their time, their life, their money behind Positive Living B.C., BCPW A. Y ou made a difference. Y ou made a better world. Thank you. B.C. WINTER GAMES IN FORT ST. JOHN D. Davies: I’m very excited, as are the constituents of Peace River North as well as the host community of Fort St. John, to be welcoming the 2020 B.C. Winter Games, set to start tomorrow. The B.C.

Winter Games date back to 1978, when the first winter games were hosted in Pentic- ton, bringing together athletes to one grand event in the name of sport and competition. The games would contin- ue to be hosted every year until 1997, when it was changed to every second year. In March of 1984, Fort St. John was also honoured to host the B.C. Winter Games in our community. The open- ing ceremonies took place at the North Peace Rec Centre, as they will again tomorrow. It consisted of the parade of athletes, coaches, officials, torchbearer members and the official opening by the then Premier, Bill Bennett.

I was honoured to be a much younger volunteer at those games in 1984. I might have even had hair. This year Fort St. John is again making history for the first time in the B.C. Winter Games. Long-track speed skating will be included as an event in the 2020 games. Generally, long-track speed skating is held outdoors on speed skating ovals, and unfortunately, due to the unpre- 11016 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

dictable weather, they are never included in the games. But this year, due to the only indoor speed skating official track in the province of British Columbia, history is being made by hosting this event. As a volunteer myself again, proudly wearing this lan- yard today, I would like to take time to welcome all of the athletes that will be arriving, starting today, into Fort St. John, as well as quickly thank the board of directors. Of course, these games could not be carried out without their incredible dedication.

The president, Darren Snider, supported by Dee-Ann Stickel, Pat Lang, Tony Zabinsky, Margaret May, Patricia Sagert, Lynette Cordonier, Kendra Delitche, Judy Neumeier, Jennifer Moore, Neil Evans, Stephanie Giesbrecht, Heather McCracken, Curtis Red- path, Angela Telford and Cindy Dettling, as well as the thousands of volunteers that are making these games an event to remember for all British Columbians. PRIMARY CARE NETWORK IN BURNABY R. Chouhan: Last Friday my colleagues from Burnaby North, Deer Lake and I met with three doctors: Dr. Baldev Sanghera, Dr. David Wong and Dr. Lindsay McCaffrey.

They are the leading doctors who spearheaded the estab- lishment of the primary care network and the urgent primary care centre in Burnaby. A big thank-you to our Minister of Health for his vision and full support for this project. Given the time constraints, today I will talk only about the primary care network. Burnaby was one of the first five communities to take on developing a primary care network. Burnaby’s model is unique in several ways. It is strongly focused on bolstering and improving access to high-quality longitudinal care and wellness. In this pro- ject, the community is a true partner.

It has equal decision- making roles at the Burnaby-wide governing tables. Planned incubator clinics in each neighbourhood are intended to bring new physicians to Burnaby, train them to practise in a team environment and work in partnership with the community agencies.

In the relatively early stages, Burnaby’s primary care network has developed a chronic disease management program that targets mild-to-moder- ate stages in a way that hasn’t been done before. [1:50 p.m.] Its mild-to-moderate mental health program provides patients in Burnaby with access to services that have been identified as critical for ongoing health and crisis preven- tion at an early stage by family doctors and agencies in the community.

Its patient attachment mechanism is actively finding family doctors for people identified through the urgent primary care centre, through community agencies and through family doctors and clinics in the community. These are just some of the highlights of this great pro- ject. Thanks to our doctors and the community partners for their hard work and vision to take care of the residents of Burnaby. EARLY HEARING PROGRAM L.

Reid: I was delighted to celebrate a significant mile- stone on February 7, 2020, with the original steering committee of the B.C. early hearing program, comprised of Laurie Usher, Ann Marie Newroth, Susan Lane, Janet Jamieson, Anne Caulfield, Fred Kozak and Dr. Dana Brynelson. The program announcement that they made that day was that 5,000 British Columbia newborn babies have been successfully screened. This world-class program has done remarkable work. Please join me in thanking these amazing professionals for the work they do to support B.C. families. The room at B.C.

Children’s Hospital was an exciting place to recognize this wonderful achievement. I can share with many ministers back in the day that to see a program that you were, in fact, responsible for come to life and actually have a huge milestone to celebrate warms my heart. The B.C. early hearing program is a provincewide pro- gram for early hearing screening and intervention. Babies start to learn speech and language from the moment they are born. If your baby can’t hear well, he or she may have problems learning to talk and to develop language skills.

About one of every 300 babies is born with hearing loss in one or both ears. This number increases for babies who require special care at birth. It is not easy to identify when a young baby has a hearing loss by simply watching his or her behaviour. Without early screening, many babies with hearing loss go undetected. While you’re in the hospital, you’ll be offered hearing screening for your baby. A trained hearing screener con- ducts the test. The test uses quick, simple and safe methods to check the hearing of a newborn babe.

If your baby is not screened in the hospital, screening can be done at your closest public health screening clinic. For information about the B.C. early hearing pro- gram, visit the website at www.phsa.ca/earlyhearing or call 1-866-612-2347. The babies of this province deserve our care. MAXWELL JOHNSON SR. J. Rice: I want to talk about a good soul, a general all- around good guy: Maxwell Johnson Sr. Maxwell is some- one who stands up to care for those who have no one else. He looks after his two grandchildren full-time, and he recently adopted his grandnephew to keep him out of pro- vincial care.

Community members describe him as kind, generous and funny. He cares deeply for his community and First Nations people. He has suffered a lot of trauma and mental Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11017

health issues, but he perseveres despite all that to be in ser- vice to and advocate for others. He grew up with his grandmother, but she never spoke about their Heiltsuk culture. “She was quiet about it, ” he says. People were scared of going to jail, because they were not allowed to talk about it. In the ’90s, Maxwell started learning about his culture, and he discovered art. Today he is a cultural leader who has dedicated many years to revitalizing Heiltsuk art, songs, dance and ceremony. “I teach my kids and grandkids to never be ashamed of where you come from. Never be ashamed of who you are, ” he says.

He told me: “I don’t want to be in the fore- front. I was taught to be in the background. I don’t like the attention. ” What a shock it must have been to be put in the fore- front of a recent controversy around racial profiling. Max- well was handcuffed along with his 12-year-old grand- daughter after trying to open a bank account with an Indi- an Status card. Today in Bella Bella, hosted by the Heiltsuk Tribal Council and the Heiltsuk hereditary leadership, a traditional purification or washing ceremony will be held for Maxwell and his family. He didn’t deserve this treat- ment.

But sadly, it’s still all too common for Indigenous people today. Today I want to raise my hands up to this kind and self- less soul, to a person who exemplifies leadership, commit- ment to family and community — qualities we all value. Today I just want to say: “Maxwell, I see you. ” [1:55 p.m.] SEATBELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES L. Throness: Recently I introduced a private member’s bill to require seatbelts on school buses beginning in 2021. But good things are happening right now.

Last week the federal government announced a pilot project to install seatbelts in school buses in three com- munities across Canada, including one yet to be named in B.C. That’s an improvement, but in the Fraser Valley, we’re already way ahead of the federal government. Sev- eral months ago school district 78, part of which is in my riding, purchased three new school buses equipped with seatbelts. I want to thank Doug Templeton, director of facilities and transportation, for giving me a preliminary report.

The district explored the cost of retrofitting buses and, for reasons related to warranty and cost, decided to put them only in new buses for about $17,000 more per bus. After some site demonstrations and notices to parents, the new buses went into service at the end of January. The implementation has been seamless, because students are already familiar with the mandatory use of seatbelts in every other vehicle they travel in. In addition, seatbelts tend to keep students from mov- ing around from seat to seat while the bus is operating, which helps to minimize risk and reduce concerns about supervision.

The district has not heard one complaint from passengers or parents to date or any negative response to the seatbelts. In fact, a bus driver on another route has asked why his bus doesn’t have seatbelts. With or without a law, the Fraser Valley is lighting the way toward the highest student safety at lowest cost. I’ d like to congratulate the board of trustees of district 78 and superintendent Karen Nelson, who, sadly, will be retiring this fall, for bringing this historic improvement to school bus safety to our province.

Hopefully, other school districts in B.C. — and who knows, maybe even the federal government itself — will follow our lead. Oral Questions RESPONSE TO PROTESTS SUPPORTING WET’SUWET’EN HEREDITARY CHIEFS S. Bond: Day after day, we continue to watch as illegal blockades are having a devastating impact on the liveli- hood and lives of British Columbians and Canadians. In fact, we’ve just learned that, as we speak, there is a block- ade on a rail line near Spruce Grove, Alberta, stopping all rail traffic west to Prince Rupert and Vancouver.

Y esterday the Sierra Club of British Columbia issued a statement in solidarity with “resistance and blockades. ” This is an organization that the Minister of Environment knows well. Not only is he their former executive director, but he’s met with them regularly over the past two years. With that in mind, will the minister stand up today and denounce those that promote and participate in the illegal protests that are wreaking havoc across our province? Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for the question.

This is a serious issue here — not just in British Columbia but, in fact, right across the country — that our government and the federal government, along with other provinces, are trying to resolve in a way that gets the trains moving in this country and eliminates rail blocks wherever they are. As we have also said, people in this country and this province have a right to peaceful protest. We support that. We do not support illegal protests. We do not sup- port illegal blockages. That’s the position of this govern- ment, and I would hope that would be the position of the opposition.

I think I’ve made it really clear, Member. We do not support illegal demonstrations, illegal blockages. That’s why our government is working closely with the federal government to bring a resolution to the dispute, not just here in British Columbia but, indeed, in the other parts of the country. Mr. Speaker: The member for Prince George–Vale- mount on a supplemental. 11018 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

S. Bond: I appreciate the comments from the Solicitor General. I just want to reassure him that our position on this matter has been very clear from day one. What is at question today is the relationship between the Minister of Environment, who has an opportunity to stand up and to make a comment today, and an organiza- tion of which he was the executive director. Let’s see what else the Sierra Club…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, if we may hear the question. [2:00 p.m.] S. Bond: Let’s see what else the Sierra Club had to say. Y esterday they described the B.C.

Supreme Court decision to extend Coastal GasLink’s injunction order as having “perpetuated violence against Wet’suwet’ en people. ” Last week they repeatedly tweeted out #shutdownCanada. These statements in opposition to the court and the rule of law are simply wrong. The Minister of Environment has a chance today to stand up and send a message to the people he meets with regularly. Will he denounce the Sierra Club and those who are seeking to maximize the disruption of B.C. ’s economy and daily life? Hon. M.

Farnworth: I’ve got to say that I find it really fascinating that the opposition, at a time when this prov- ince, other provinces and the federal government are try- ing to find a peaceful resolution to what is a very serious issue in this province and across this country, wants to try and cast aspersions on a member of this government who has done nothing since his arrival here but to protect the interests of this province. This government… Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, order, please. Hon. M. Farnworth: …has been clear from the begin- ning and speaks with one voice.

While we support the right of peaceful protest, we do not support illegal block- ages. That’s why we continue to work with the federal gov- ernment. That’s why we work with other provinces. That’s why we work with First Nations — to ensure that we can bring a resolution to this issue that works for this province and all Canadians. PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY PURCHASE OF TRAINING FROM ORGANIZE B.C.

M. de Jong: I think it is a sad day when a minister of the Crown, the Minister of Environment, refuses to denounce the activities of a group that is showing a blatant disrespect for the rule of law simply because they’re political friends of his. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. M. de Jong:Organize B.C. is another group dedicated to the training of activists. Their director is providing active social media support for ongoing blockades. One of their trainers was an organizer of last week’s activities here at the Legislature and the subsequent attempt at a B.C. gov- ernment shutdown.

Another individual trainer is a former NDP candidate from Ontario who is actively organizing actions with 350.org. That, apparently, is not all they do. Apparently, they also provide training, at taxpayer’s expense, to the Parlia- mentary Secretary for TransLink, the member for North Vancouver–Lonsdale, or her staff. That’s what the receipt shows.

Can the Minister of Housing, to whom the parliament- ary secretary presumably reports, explain why her parlia- mentary secretary is using public money to get training from a group that seems dedicated to the disrespect of the rule of law and grinding the Canadian economy to a halt? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M. Farnworth: For that specific question the member asked, I will take that on notice. Mr. Speaker: The member for Abbotsford West on a supplemental.

M. de Jong: The Minister of Environment has already made it clear that he refuses to denounce friends of his who are showing a disrespect for the rule of law. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. M. de Jong: The Minister of Housing doesn’t want to, apparently, discuss her parliamentary secretary’s involve- ment with another activist organization that’s up to its eye- balls in promoting a blockade and disrespect for the rule of law. [2:05 p.m.] Look, if members opposite want to be activists, then leave this place and go back to being an activist.

But when you’re here, maybe you can do your job, do your duty and show some respect for the rule of law. Again, to the member… Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11019

Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, we shall hear the question. M. de Jong: …to whom the parliamentary secretary, the member for North Vancouver–Lonsdale, presumably reports, how much public money has been spent and provided to this organization that is today, apparently, dedicated to the disruption of the entire Canadian eco- nomy and putting thousands of British Columbians out of work, and will she stand up and do a relatively straight- forward thing and announce unequivocally that no more public money will be sent to this organization? Hon. M.

Farnworth: As I said a moment ago in response to the member’s first question, we’ll take that on notice and get the appropriate information for him. I have to say that I find it deeply, deeply disturbing that… Interjections. [Mr. Speaker rose.] Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, order. [Mr. Speaker resumed his seat.] Hon. M.

Farnworth:…at a time in this province and, in particular, this nation, when this province, other provin- cial governments and the federal government are trying to find a resolution, a peaceful resolution to what is a serious situation which we have seen all too often in the past in this country can lead to extremely unfortunate and violent situations sometimes…. To find a peaceful resolution….

One would expect that the opposition would under- stand that their role, while, sure, is to criticize, is not to try and inflame a situation, is not to cast aspersions on people who are doing their jobs, their sworn oath in upholding the rules of this province, in this House. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M. Farnworth: Instead, they might want to be part of the solution as opposed to the problem in this province. GOVERNMENT ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ECONOMIC PLAN A.

Olsen: Budget 2020 had some interesting things to say about competitiveness, specifically: “ A key goal is to ensure that B.C. ’s leadership on climate change does not materially impair B.C. ’s business competitiveness. ” For many B.C. industries, this might be a good policy, as long as we are making strategic investments in innov- ation. However, this argument falls completely, entirely apart when this government uses it to justify LNG and oil and gas sector expansion in our province.

Another way of saying that we won’t “materially impair” compet- itiveness is that we will ensure that the oil and gas sector in B.C. is able to expand. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Cli- mate Change Strategy. How does the government recon- cile its legislated requirement to meet its GHG reduction targets with policies that promote the expansion of the oil and gas sector in British Columbia? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, if we may hear the response. Interjection. Hon. G.

Heyman: To the member from Abbotsford, that’s not a bad idea. [2:10 p.m.] I thank the interim Leader of the Third Party for the question. I think the member knows well that we have a leading, if not the leading, climate plan in North America, and the member knows that because we collaborated with the Green caucus in its preparation.

A fundamental underpinning of the CleanBC plan is to invest in people, to invest in clean energy, to invest in emission reduction in industry and to invest in a range of things that make life better for British Columbians, more affordable for British Columbians and cleaner for British Columbians. Budget 2020 put an additional investment of $419 mil- lion, for a total investment of $1.3 billion over a four-year time frame. That’s significant.

But as I believe the mem- ber knows, we all understand that moving toward a net- zero carbon future in the world, in British Columbia and in Canada is a process of transition. It is not helpful…. That is why the member knows that we focused on helping emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries to do everything they can to reduce emissions so we don’t simply displace B.C. jobs with greater emis- sions in other jurisdictions. Our CleanBC incentive program for industry does that by rewarding companies and industries that have world- leading low-carbon-intensity processes.

Our industry fund also invests in diversifying B.C. ’s tech sector and applying that to reducing emissions throughout B.C. ’s tra- ditional industries as well as creating technologies that can be used here in B.C. and exported elsewhere, helping to build B.C. ’s economy and diversify it. 11020 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Third Party on a supple- mental. A. Olsen: Y es, absolutely, the B.C. Green caucus was very happy to participate and provide ideas for CleanBC. Unfortunately, it should be the program that we’re using going forward rather than being used to provide the basis for the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. That’s exactly what my questions are about. Building a low-carbon innovative economy won’t happen overnight. It also won’t happen if we’re not aligning the types of policies that will support the type of innovation that will get us there. We can’t do both things.

We can’t say that we’re in a transition while also investing taxpayer money into LNG. This is especially true with programs like CleanBC’s indus- trial incentive program, which the minister mentioned. When it’s used as a loophole that allows the fossil fuel sec- tor to actually expand in this province, we’re moving fur- ther away from the transition, not closer.

To the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, how do we justify policies that subsidize fossil fuel devel- opment in British Columbia by returning a share of their carbon tax when this is actually allowing them to expand their operations in British Columbia? Hon. G. Heyman: To the member, I’ve explained the principle behind the CleanBC industrial incentive, wheth- er it applies to the gas industry, the metallurgical coal industry, the aluminum industry or the pulp and paper industry.

We don’t see a successful climate plan in B.C. being one that sheds jobs while not creating new jobs and diversifying our economy. That is at the fundamental root of the incentive program. I don’t need to talk to the member about carbon leakage, because he understands that climate change is a global issue. I won’t leave it to the member or to me to make the final determination. That’s why we introduced amendments to the Climate Change Accountability Act.

That’s why we established an independent council, which has recently been appointed, to both give us advice about how we can reduce emissions while promoting a healthy economy and reducing emissions in B.C. ’s traditional resource industries and also to comment independently to the public on how we’re doing every single year. RESPONSE TO PROTESTS SUPPORTING WET’SUWET’EN HEREDITARY CHIEFS AND ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT MINISTER J. Johal: On January 30, 2018, the Environment Min- ister attended an anti-pipeline strategy group meeting on Bowen Island.

In attendance were Karen Mahon, Mike Hudema, Sven Biggs and Tzeporah Berman of Stand.earth, all who today are encouraging illegal blockades to “shut down Canada. ” [2:15 p.m.] Two years ago the minister refused to answer this ques- tion. Will he now disavow the statements of his friends that support conflict and illegal activity? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, we shall hear the response from the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety. Hon. M.

Farnworth:Once again, I find it really surpris- ing that an opposition, at this particular point in what’s facing us right now as a nation — not just here in British Columbia, right across this country — wants to try and drag people and wants to try and tear down individuals. They’re saying: “Oh, you once worked with this organiza- tion. Y ou once worked with this group. ” Well, it’s kind of interesting that they’re doing that. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M. Farnworth: I’ d like to remind them, because they asked the questions….

They talked about the Sierra Club, and I’ d like to remind them that they worked with the Sierra Club. They worked with the Sierra Club in December 2016 for new regulations about the Great Bear Rainforest. They worked with them in 2016 on new legis- lation on forest management. They clearly didn’t have any problem working with an organization back then, but now, because they think that they can try and somehow score cheap political points, somehow that’s okay. The double standard… Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M. Farnworth: …of that opposition is beyond belief, and we see it on issue after issue.

On one day, it’s: “Let’s get rid of ICBC. We need private competition. ” The next day they’re saying: “Oh my god. Condo owners are having a problem. Get in and interfere with the market. ” That’s why they’re sitting there. They bring nothing posi- tive to the debate in this chamber. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. The member for Richmond-Queensborough on a sup- plemental. Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11021

J. Johal: I want to remind the minister that these radical activists have blocked B.C. Ferries. They’ve blocked this Legislature. They’ve blocked rail lines. They’ve blocked companies. They were sitting outside of the Premier’s home just yesterday as well. We will stand up for law and order — unlike that side. It’s a very simple question to answer. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members, order, please. We shall hear the question. Thank you. J. Johal: This is a very easy question to answer. The min- ister will not get up and answer.

Let me remind the minister of the Bowen Island strategy group document that we revealed to this House two years ago. It describes a structure of hives and swarms that are “organized to seize a specific political moment and support mass popular resistance. ” For two years now, the Environment Minister normal- ized discussions with radicals who want to shut down Canada’s resource industry. Will he now explicitly denounce this mass resistance and declare support for Coastal GasLink’s project? Hon. M.

Farnworth: I’ll take no lessons on standing up for law and order from the party of Basi and Virk, from the party of triple delete. I’ll also tell…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members, we shall have order, please. Hon. M. Farnworth: When it comes to law and order, I will also remind the member that the police have a very difficult job to do in this province. I will trust their judg- ment in dealing with these situations as opposed to having an opposition that would, on the basis of their statements, direct and tell how law and order should be done.

Interjections. [2:20 p.m.] Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M. Farnworth: We have made it clear. We have made it clear as a government that speaks with one voice. Lawful protest is tolerated. Unlawful protest is just that — illegal. That’s also why…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M.

Farnworth: Y ou know, I really do find it fas- cinating that at a time when the Prime Minister and the federal government, the Premier of this province and our government, Premiers in other provinces, First Nations, the RCMP are trying to find a way to deal with a very com- plex situation that impacts this province and this country, all we have is an opposition that wants to try and score cheap political points. We’re working to fix things. They’re working to stay on the other side of that aisle. RESPONSE TO PROTESTS SUPPORTING WET’SUWET’EN HEREDITARY CHIEFS AND NDP POSITION ON LNG DEVELOPMENT E.

Ross: Inflame the situation. It’s too late for that. Members on that side already did it. We’re not the ones that signed anti-LNG declarations. That side of the House did it. We’re not the ones that made comments to destabil- ize elected band councils in B.C. Members on that side made those statements. Y ou helped this issue, and now you claim to be the ones to fix it. Right now there are activist organizations that want to keep Indigenous people below the poverty line through misinformation and manipulation. Nobody has gone to meet with these elected band councils to hear their story.

Illegal protests are aimed at shutting down opportunit- ies that my band has fought for since 2004. In fact, it was my band that brought the LNG opportunity to this Legis- lature. It was Christy Clark that finally listened to us and said: “Okay. We’ll look at it. We’ll follow up for you. ” But all we get is posturing and politics from a government that historically has been playing both sides of this issue, and stuck in the middle are average Aboriginals. My question is to the Environment Minister. Will he denounce the eco-colonialist actions of these radical groups and get Canada back on track? Hon. M.

Farnworth: I appreciate the question from the member. Nobody on this side of the House supports illegal demonstrations or blockages. We have made that clear. And the police are doing their job on that. I’ d also like to remind the member that it was this side of the House that brought that project to fruition. It’s this side of the House that brought that project. From the very first day…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. 11022 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Hon. M. Farnworth: From the very first day that that project was successfully announced and delivered by this government, that side of the House did not like that one little bit. We recognized the opportunity that it brings to that member’s riding. We recognized the opportunity that it brings for northern British Columbia, to create training for Indigenous peoples, to create apprenticeship oppor- tunities, to create business opportunities. We want it to succeed. That’s why we are working with the federal gov- ernment, other provinces, the RCMP , First Nations.

The Minister of Indigenous Relations was up in Wet’suwet’ en territory for…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. M. Farnworth: Y ou know, that attitude is exactly what is not needed. If we are to find a solution, that means having dialogue with everybody involved to get a resolu- tion to that. We’re committed to that. They’re clearly not. Mr. Speaker: The member for Skeena on a supplemen- tal. [2:25 p.m.] E. Ross: It’s true. Y our government brought this to fruition, but you did none of the heavy lifting.

In fact, in the 15 years of consultation and accommodation on all the LNG projects in B.C., you aligned yourselves with the environmental activists. It’s inHansard. All your state- ments that you made in an emergency debate in the sum- mer of — what was it? — 2015…. Everything you said is on the record. Y ou also mentioned going out to meet with the Heredit- ary Chiefs.

I asked this question the last time: how many of you, at the same time, went to visit elected Chiefs — who are not bad people, who have been demonized in the press, who have been destabilized because of remarks that came from that side of the House? Now you want to try and fix the situation. What was the remark that was said? Y ou’ve got…. It’s important to remember that elected band coun- cils are “a construct of the Indian Act meant to annihilate the Indian. ” Who said that? Put your hand up.

For the first time in our history, communities like mine can make decisions for ourselves to deal with our own issues on our own terms. Instead, all we get are condes- cending platitudes from the likes of Tzeporah Berman and other activist friends of the Environment Minister. This time it’s going to be a simple question to the Envir- onment Minister. Whose side are you on? Hon. S. Fraser: Of course, we are facing a very serious situation in… Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. S. Fraser: …this province, in this country.

As has been mentioned already, we support the right of peaceful protest, but the disruption of the country’s rail systems and infrastructure has a serious impact on the economy and on people’s lives. We all get that, and we all need to be work- ing together. There is a project that has received its permits and has its environmental assessment process in place, spanning two governments. The project is underway. We are work- ing to try to de-escalate the issues that are before us. It was mentioned that I’ve travelled up to meet with the Wet’suwet’ en Hereditary Chiefs. It’s more than once.

I’m working closely with my federal counterpart, Min- ister Bennett. I met with her on Monday. We’ve offered up both of ourselves to be there at the drop of a hat to de- escalate, to deal with these issues. We were able to work with the Gitxsan Hereditary Chief, Norman Stephens, who had made that wonderful offer which we accepted. Through dialogue, we were able to de-escalate the rail blockade near New Hazelton, and I want to thank Hered- itary Chief Norman Stephens for that show of good faith.

That’s the kind of work we need to do to overcome these serious issues, not the acrimony that’s going back and forth and trying to cast blame where there may be no blame. [End of question period.] Orders of the Day Hon. M. Farnworth: I call debate on the budget. [2:30 p.m.] [R. Chouhan in the chair.] Budget Debate (continued) S. Bond: I appreciate the opportunity to continue mak- ing some remarks about the budget that the government tabled yesterday. As designated speaker, I don’t plan to take hours to continue this discussion. I know there are lots of people…. Interjections. S.

Bond: I really appreciate my colleagues’ enthusiasm across the way. Not so much on my own side. Did you hear that? I want to begin again. We’re going to take a little bit of time to reflect on what was announced yesterday and, probably more importantly in many ways, what was not captured in the budget. Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11023

This is the time in the Legislature where people have the opportunity to stand up and express their views. There will be very different views about the budget that’s been pres- ented for British Columbians. We have very strong views about the approach that was taken, and I’m sure the mem- bers opposite will stand up in large numbers to support and defend their budget. That’s what one would expect. I wanted to, on a more personal note, mention again my appreciation to the minister.

I think one of the things that I’m always surprised about in this Legislature is that no matter how long you’ve been here, you often don’t really know very much about each other. I appreciated the Minister of Finance and how she char- acterized her speech remarks. She talked about her family. She talked about the kinds of values that shape and drive the decision-making that she has. All of us bring with us those values that shape the thinking we do. The minister reflected on the fact that she’s a mother and a grandmother.

So am I, and I can tell you, when I look at the speech and the budget that’s been tabled, that while we’re looking at exactly the same document, we come away with very different feelings and impressions about what that means for the future of British Columbia. I think that’s an important part of what we do in this place. I do, however, recognize that those values result in differ- ences in opinion. Budget 2020 is a very good example of an approach that we have very significant concerns about. As I noted yesterday, British Columbians need to be ask- ing themselves a pretty critical question.

This is a govern- ment that’s talked, consistently and regularly, about afford- ability. I don’t think there’s an elected official in this House that doesn’t think that British Columbia needs to be more affordable for families. As I said yesterday and today, most people have no idea that a budget has been tabled in this province. But it’s going to have implications for them. Most people are just trying to take care of their family, just trying to find a way to make things a little bit easier. I think we owe it to British Columbians to actually take a hard look at the budget.

I know that at times it gets uncomfortable in this place, but let’s be clear. Our job is to look with a critical eye at what has been presented to British Columbians and to ask some hard questions. That’s what we’re going to do. Not just today and in the days of debate that lie ahead, every critic is going to ask ministers of the Crown exactly what they intend to be doing in their ministries. A little bit later, I’ll go through a bit of a list.

One of the untold parts of the story that the Minister of Finance left out of her discussion yesterday was that there are ministries, and a large number of them, that have had their budgets cut or frozen. [2:35 p.m.] We heard about the big spending plans — and there is some big spending going on — but we didn’t hear about the ministries that, in fact, will have their budgets cut or frozen. I think British Columbians need to know that side of the story as well. Y esterday the minister laid out the story of how this budget is going to help families, help British Columbians.

Let me share the story of one British Columbian who responded almost immediately after the budget was tabled yesterday. I’ll tell you this: I don’t know this British Colum- bian, but I was pretty compelled by her story. It was a story that CBC News told. I quote from that article, because I think it’s time we had an honest conver- sation about the whole affordability agenda of this gov- ernment. Here’s what the

article says: “While government MLAs clapped and thumped their desks in Victoria during the budget speech Tuesday, many facing affordability chal- lenges said there was little to cheer about. ” We didn’t hear any reference to the fact that there was little to cheer about. Here’s what one New Westminster mother said: “For our personal expenses, I don’t see a huge difference for our family. ” Child care and strata fees take a big bite out of this mom’s bank account. She said: “Life is becoming less affordable. ” I don’t know her. I don’t know her name.

I don’t know — she lives in New Westminster — but here’s what she said. This is exactly why detailed questions are important, because this government has had lots to say about child care. Y ou know what? Perhaps they should go and talk to some of those families that it’s impacting on the ground. Here’s one. This mom, who’s 37 years old, lives in New Westminster and says that life is becoming less affordable. Here’s why.

Last year the daycare that this mom’s three- year-old daughter attends “qualified for provincial funding that reduced fees by almost 10 percent. ” Now, I’m sure members opposite would be celebrating this story to that point, but the story goes on: “But this year the daycare is upping its fees by 15 percent, meaning that we’re going to be paying about $1,000 a month. So that’s more expensive. ” Pretty straight mathematics.

I use the story only to illus- trate the point of standing in the Legislature day after day — whether you’re in the House or outside — and talk- ing about affordability for all British Columbians when, in fact, for many British Columbians, that is simply not true. She also goes on to say that she’s very disappointed that there’s “no relief for strata homeowners in the budget. with news of big hikes to insurance. ” In this mom’s building, the price of insurance has nearly tripled. That means her strata fees are going to go up $100 a month.

Y esterday when we listened to the Finance Minister deliver her budget, there was not a single word — not a mention — about the crisis related to strata in British Col- umbia. Not a word. The

article goes on to say that this mom is not alone. Here’s another quote: “Critics say many ordinary families trying to keep their heads above water won’t get much help from this budget. ” Members opposite may want to dismiss my words, and they often do. This is a mom trying to figure out how she’s going to pay for her strata increases and trying to figure 11024 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

out how the child care plan that was promised by this government has disappeared. They can argue and try to capture it however they want. I’ll talk, in just a couple of minutes, about child care. Perhaps the biggest concern I have…. [2:40 p.m.] Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the record today. Y ester- day, in my initial response to the budget, I said that there were 23 new and increased taxes; there are actually 24. I want to make sure that the record is correct, because I was amazed that from the time it took me to leave the Legis- lature after my original remarks to get to my office, guess what.

They discovered a new tax, one that was just one of those little sneaky ones. Y ou see, I was actually quite sur- prised when I discovered the Netflix tax. Who knew? Who knew that in British Columbia, British Columbians who enjoy using Netflix are going to face the PST? I definitely want to correct the record. What this gov- ernment has done since it has been sitting on that side of the House, about 2½ years or more now…. They’ve increased or introduced 24 new taxes. Y esterday we didn’t even hear about all of those taxes in the Finance Minister’s comments. So let’s take a look at two of the taxes that….

Y ou know, they’re just those little ones that get tucked in the budget. Let’s talk a little bit about the tax that’s been fondly dubbed the Netflix tax. I can assure you…. I know that my colleagues on this side of the House are hearing about it. I can virtually guarantee you that members on that side of the House are going to hear about it. We look forward to a bit more clarity about this tax during the estimates debate, but as we understand it, a 7 percent PST will come into effect on July 1, 2020, for a wide range of online media ser- vices. So to be fair, it’s not just about Netflix.

I don’t know about you, but certainly, as a grandma, I know that Dis- ney+ gets a lot of viewing in our house. Let’s just look at some of the services, the video plat- forms, that might be included: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV , Crave TV , Y ouTube Premium. Oh, and we didn’t stop there. They didn’t stop there. It includes music platforms as well, like Spotify and Google Music. So while I was busy with my colleagues sorting out the 23 new and increased taxes, there are actually 24.

I really look forward to the minister explaining her expectations related to the other new tax that will be applied to all British Columbians. It was called the carbon- ated sugary beverages tax. It’s not a new concept. It’s been discussed and debated in British Columbia for a long time. The most important question should be the efficacy of a tax. Does it work?

I look forward to the minister provid- ing us with whatever best information she has that would demonstrate that this tax is going to actually make a dif- ference other than taxing carbonated sugary beverages to gain revenue to balance this minister’s budget. Let’s look at the definition of the now fondly dubbed pop tax. Let’s just see what that covers. Well, as we under- stand it, PST at a rate of 7 percent will be expanded to include all carbonated beverages that contain sugar, nat- ural sweeteners or artificial sweeteners.

It applies to soda drinks in both can and bottle form — including those purchased in stores, kiosks, cafés, restaurants and vending machines — as well as soda drinks in dispensable forms, such as soda fountains and soda guns. Think about those small mom-and-pop organizations suddenly faced with another tax. Today we’re not going to debate the merit of the health impacts of the tax. We’ll wait to hear from the minister about what kind of homework she did before looking at the revenue side of this equation. But let’s be clear about one thing. The reason I raised those two taxes….

First of all, we need British Columbians to recognize that the total number of taxes in 2½ years that are impacting British Columbia’s families and businesses is 24 new or increased taxes. That has a significant impact on the economy of this province. [2:45 p.m.] Despite the lack of any credible economic strategy that deals with growth in this province, this government con- tinues to rely on the back pockets of hard-working British Columbians to raise revenue. We should be clear that this government would have zero as a surplus if it were not for the new taxes they’ve introduced.

Let’s think about that for a moment. Lots of clapping and desk thumping about a balanced budget. Interjection. S. Bond: Well, thank you very much to the minister. I look forward to her explaining to British Columbians how that budget…. Let’s be clear, four new taxes required to balance the budget. Without that tax revenue, zero bal- anced budget. Let’s take a look at that, just so…. Maybe the members and the minister opposite haven’t had a chance to delve into the tax budget revenue page. But let’s be clear. Interjection. S. Bond: Oh, it’s nice to hear the member speak up on something over there. Good for him.

Interjections. S. Bond: Lower taxes? Wow. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members. S. Bond: I look forward to the member’s speech. Interjections. Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11025

Deputy Speaker: Members. S. Bond: Obviously, he hasn’t looked up the revenue generation page. Deputy Speaker: Members, let’s have one speech at a time, please. S. Bond: Oh, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let’s be clear. Together, the taxes introduced in this budget raise $850 million over three years. Now, the member…. I would challenge him to go and add up the surpluses for the next three years. Isn’t it incredible that the taxes that this government introduced yesterday actually result in the surpluses that they’re adding up over three years? The minister may want to thump her desk all she wants.

It’s $850 million in additional taxes over the next three years in order to balance this budget. The government is projecting cumulative surpluses during that period of time of $780 million. Figure that out. They’re going to have sur- pluses that add up to $780 million, and they’re collecting new tax revenue to the total of $850 million. Just do the math, and then ask yourself how British Col- umbians can possibly be better off when at every turn, they’re being taxed.

Whether it’s their Netflix account, their Disney account, whether it’s the carbonated beverage they’re going to have, whether it’s through the employer health tax, the taxes just keep on coming. That is the only way that there is a surplus that this government is touting over the next number of years. Y esterday we walked through some of the challenges that British Columbia is facing as a result of the budget that’s been tabled. We know that by 2022, total taxation in British Columbia will have increased by almost $4,700 per household at the same time that this government contin- ues to talk about affordability.

The challenge we face is that there would be no need for those taxes if government spending wasn’t basically out of control. This government would rather rely on the pock- ets of British Columbians to make ends meet. Let’s listen to what MSP Task Force chair…. Let’s just walk back in time for a moment here. Dr. Lindsay Tedds was actually chosen by this government to lead the MSP Task Force that was going to look for all of that lost revenue when they got rid of the MSP premiums in British Columbia. What they did, of course, was transfer it to a new tax called the employer health tax. Dr.

Tedds and her team actually laid out a plan for gov- ernment. Do you know what government did? When she came to government with an interim report and said: “Y ou know what? Y ou’ve got to do some things. But I advise you not to do it this way…. ” [2:50 p.m.] I think you know what’s coming. Do you know what the government did? They did it in precisely the way that their handpicked chair said not to do it: “Most import- antly, don’t double-dip. Make sure there’s some transition time. Take care of small business owners in British Colum- bia. ” They ignored that. Let’s hear what Dr.

Tedds said yesterday about the fin- ancial decisions of this government. And let’s be clear: I don’t know who Dr. Lindsay Tedds is. But apparently, the government did, because they handpicked this person to be the chair of their MSP revenue replacement task force. Here’s her quote: “It is a lazy Finance Minister that first raises taxes as opposed to making sure that the leaky budget is plugged first. There are many ways B.C. could plug the leaky bucket. ” No ally of ours. Not my words. Their very own handpicked MSP Task Force chair. What did the government do when they were looking for more revenue? Just as Dr.

Tedds pointed out, the first choice they made was to dig into your pocket, British Col- umbians’ pockets: “Let’s add some more taxes. ” We’re up to 24. We were 19 before this budget was increased. We’re up to 24 new or increased taxes. The really sad part, when you think about what’s happened, when you think about the massive increase of taxation revenue…. The ministers can sit, and the mem- bers across the aisle can go and look up the numbers. It is billions of dollars of taxation revenue every single year — $5.8 billion a year — and that’s going up. Spending is going through the roof as well.

Y ou know what’s really disappointing about it all? It actually has provided precious little gain for average Brit- ish Columbians. Y ou heard that from the mother in the

article at the beginning of my discussion. She said: “Y ou know what? There was a little bit of benefit in my child care last year. But guess what. It’s disappearing, and the costs are going up. My strata insurance is going up. The budget has very little benefit for me and my family. ” But no recog- nition, none whatsoever, from the members on the oppos- ite side about that. The question British Columbians are asking them- selves today, before and after this budget discussion, and that they should ask themselves: “ Am I better off as a res- ult of Budget 2020 or not?” We know the answer. The answer is short.

It’s no. Let’s talk about one of the reasons why. A telltale indic- ator of the health of an economy is business — small busi- nesses, medium-sized enterprises — and how they struggle to get by. One of the things that we heard loud and clear after yesterday’s budget was tabled was the fact that British Columbia is facing some pretty challenging times. The global economy is softening. We’re starting to see issues develop in terms of business confidence as taxes are increased and profits decrease. Real business investment in British Columbia is down. It’s down from 10.5 to 4.1 percent.

Retail sales are barely holding their own, even with population growth. So we see business investment dropping. Retail sales are flatlined. And we watch as countless small businesses across the 11026 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

province struggle with increasing property taxes. But this government has taken zero action to remedy that situ- ation. [2:55 p.m.] Let’s look at some of the things they could and should be working on. Split assessment would be a considerable help to thousands of small businesses, but this government would rather increase taxes than give vital small businesses much-needed relief. We watched as the businesses struggled. The time frame that was dubbed “double-dip year” …. As much as the members opposite want to celeb- rate the fact that they transferred a tax….

Y es, the words “MSP premiums” are gone, but they’ve been transferred to another tax: the employer health tax. To think or suggest for a moment that those taxes don’t impact British Columbians…. The letters “MSP” may not be attached to those challenges, but believe you me, when a small business gets hit with an additional tax, how do you think they cover those costs? Well, there are a number of ways, and we’re seeing it all across the province. They either lay off staff or they increase costs to consumers. So in the end of the day, there will be a cost to taxpayers, and there’s no recognition of that.

There’s no sense that the taxes, the 23 new and increased taxes, are going to have a direct impact on British Columbians. I think one of the biggest concerns that we have is the fact that the NDP are failing to grow business confidence in British Columbia. As I spoke earlier, I talked about how we may share some of the same values. We want to care for vulnerable British Columbians, and we want to make sure that we have top-quality education. All of those things are important. The question is: who’s going to pay for them, and how?

Where we differ with this government is that we actually recognize that you have to grow and strengthen the eco- nomy. Y ou can’t simply rely on the 23 new and increased taxes. In my enthusiasm, I gave the government 24. It’s 23 new and increased taxes; four in this budget. But to suggest that that isn’t going to make a difference in British Colum- bia is a significant problem. Y esterday we heard from job creators in this province. Y esterday’s news release from the B.C. Business Council…. I think everyone in this House has a great deal of respect for Jock Finlayson. Here’s what he had to say.

He is the chief policy officer for the B.C. Business Council, and here’s what he said, “Since 2013, the B.C. government has added more than $5 billion in incremental tax costs on B.C. businesses” — $5 billion. He goes on to say: “These trends make it harder to do business and to scale up our companies. The government has much more work to do if it wants B.C. to remain an attractive place for investment, entrepreneurial ambition and top talent. ” Well, I think the members opposite need to take a moment and actually think very seriously and carefully about those words. Let me say them again.

Let me read this part again. “The government has much more work to do if it wants B.C. to remain an attractive place for investment, entrepreneurial ambition and top talent. ” Why does that matter? It matters because you need to grow the economy. Y ou need to grow the revenue-gener- ation side of the books. There was none of that in this budget.

Here’s what there was: “Let’s tax more, and let’s spend more. ” In the end of the day, the people who are going to be paying for that are British Columbians, hard- working individuals and families who are just trying to get through the day and make life a little bit easier. Y ou can’t ignore the revenue-generation side in a budget. That’s exactly what happened yesterday, and it happened last year. It’s not radical thinking. It’s not overly critical of the government. It’s just the facts. This govern- ment, the current one, has a history. It’s a pattern.

They believe in tax and spend. [3:00 p.m.] We believe that you need to support small businesses and medium-size enterprises in British Columbia, that you need to have a competitive tax regime, that you need to be a place where investors want to come and that you cer- tainly cannot be an island of your own when it comes to competitiveness. Y es, we’ll grant the government the fact that the word competitiveness was in their budget. But guess what.

There was nothing to back it up — no action, no plan, no recog- nition that British Columbia cannot continue on this course, which is tax and spend without a recognition that we need to be paying attention to the loss of B.C. ’s compet- itive edge. There is damage being done, and this govern- ment needs to stand up and take some responsibility for it. We should actually take a look at some of the quotes from job creators. These are people who create jobs in Brit- ish Columbia, who help to grow and strengthen an eco- nomy. Let’s hear from a few of them. Greg D’ Avignon from the B.C.

Business Council said: “The budget is virtually silent on the agenda, let alone the implementation of a sustainable economic plan. ” One would think that’s probably a pretty core fundamental part of anyone’s budget. He goes on to say: “We needed a budget that recognizes the province is operating in an increasingly competitive and uncertain global economy, and we must up our game on productivity.

The budget falls short. ” Jock Finlayson goes on to say, “The budget does not pay sufficient attention to the storm clouds facing us due to slower global growth and escalating tax and regulatory costs at home, ” and then: “The budget fails to address the eroding competitiveness of some of B.C. ’s largest export industries due to the design of the province’s carbon pri- cing regime, rising property taxes, the PST system and pre- vious increases in the corporate income tax rate. ” The list goes on.

There is significant concern in the province of British Columbia about this government’s ability to continue to attract investment and to grow the economy in a sustain- Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11027

able and strong way. But it doesn’t seem to matter, because we’ll just tax and we’ll spend. We do need to spend a couple of minutes talking about the whole premise of this government’s time in office, and that’s about the issue of affordability. We all care that British Columbians have the best opportunities that they can for their families. We want them to live in a province that’s affordable, allowing people to consider purchasing a home or those important things that they make tough decisions about. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in our province right now. Gas prices — among the highest in the country.

Netflix taxes. Pop taxes. When you think about…. We might all smile when we think about a streaming tax on streaming services, but the government is going to take in $11 million as a result of that sneaky little tax. Sugary car- bonated drinks — we look forward to hearing more defin- ition about what that means — will bring in $27 million. I know government members recognize that that applies to all British Columbians. So while we’re busy talk- ing about affordability, we’re ramping up taxes on people’s ability to watch the Disney Channel and to drink a carbon- ated beverage in British Columbia.

These kinds of taxes are a far cry from making life more affordable. We need to raise the issue, as well, of the creation of a new tax bracket. I know we’re going to hear lots of com- ments on the other side of the House about the top 1 per- cent and all those rich folks. There is also an important consideration to be made.

When we’re talking about the tech sector, as a perfect example, and other places where we want to attract exceptional professionals to British Col- umbia, I can assure you that one of the first things they look at is the tax regime in the province they’re being recruited to. [3:05 p.m.] The more we layer it on, the more difficult it is going to be to attract the kinds of professionals we need to have a strong, growing, innovative and creative economy. We’ll look forward to having a discussion with the minister about that, but we should be clear.

This tax rate will now be 20.5 percent if you earn above $220,000 a year. The previ- ous rate was 16.8 percent. This alone will add $216 million in tax revenue. Let’s just make the point one more time. When you look at the new tax bracket, you look at the pop tax and you look at the Netflix tax, guess what the number adds up to. The surplus. So to suggest that this is balanced on anything but the backs of hard-working British Colum- bians is inaccurate. Let’s talk a little bit about one of the foundational pieces of this government’s plan for affordability, and that’s child care.

I am the first to admit it’s a complex file. It’s hard. Y ou have to figure out: how do you provide support to famil- ies? How you do that in a way that encourages and sup- ports families who, perhaps, want two parents or need two parents in the workforce? How do you find ways that meet options — families who have shift work and need care in the morning and late at night? It’s expensive. It’s hard. But make no mistake about it. This government was incredibly clear with British Colum- bians in 2017. There was no mistaking the promise that was made by this government.

Today we’re going to hear all kinds of things about how we’re still on track and all of those kinds of things. We know that is not the case. The budget simply does not allow for that promise to be met. Let’s be clear. What did this government tell British Col- umbians in 2017? They told them that there would be a $10-a-day child care program for whoever needed it and wanted it.

Well, if anyone listened to the throne speech, that promise was significantly walked back, because the words that were missing were “whoever wanted it. ” From my perspective, when you’re talking about a uni- versal $10-a-day daycare program, that means everyone. That is not what this government is now delivering, and the budget backs it up. Don’t take my word for it or our exceptionally good critic’s, who manages the data and the file. Look at the budget. [S. Gibson in the chair.] Here’s what we know. They have abandoned their promise for $10-a-day child care. They are very far behind on the promised spaces.

Let’s look at what the budget tells us. Six years into what was purportedly going to be a ten-year program, there will only be one- third of the funding in place to accomplish the promise they made to British Columbians. I can be very candid about this. Before the election in 2017, we talked to lots of young families who live in north- ern and rural communities. One of the things they said repeatedly was: “We like that promise. We like that we’re going to have $10-a-day child care. We like the fact that everyone will be able to take advantage of it. ” Well, guess what.

That program is no longer the program that this gov- ernment promised. It is one big signature broken promise. Y ou know, families have every right to feel let down. This government, this Premier, made a promise, and they’ve abandoned a universal $10-a-day daycare pro- gram for all parents who need or want it. As I said, the throne speech backed away from universal child care, saying subsidies for child care will be based on need rather than need or want. [3:10 p.m.] Do you know what’s even more challenging? Right now the $10-a-day daycare program is a pilot program. It’s a temporary program.

I don’t know if the members opposite have gone and actually talked to families. It was like win- ning a lottery if you got to be in one of those programs. We experienced it in Prince George. Two families who live next door to each other — both of them with young children, both of them excited about the possibility of $10-a-day daycare. Well, guess what happened. One of 11028 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

those families…. Their children went to the pilot site for $10-a-day daycare. They got the $10-a-day child care benefit. The other family didn’t. So big promise in the win- dow. Big promise to British Columbians. Big promise to families. Then what? Well, let’s pick winners and losers across British Columbia. Let’s pick some families, a few spaces here and there.

Now what we see in this budget is that there is abso- lutely zero intention and, more importantly, there are no dollars in place to deliver on a program that this govern- ment stood before the people of British Columbia in 2017 and promised that they would be able to benefit from. Families have every right to feel let down, and they’re not the only ones. This government also promised a renters rebate. Now, I don’t know about you. Maybe you haven’t done the Google search yet through the budget document. There is no renters rebate. Disappeared.

Do you know what — I heard the rationale from the minister the other day — one of them was? The Green Party wasn’t comfortable with it. They didn’t like it. Well, I want the members opposite to know that maybe the Green Party members didn’t like it, but British Columbia’s renters certainly liked it. And guess what. Just like $10-a-day daycare, it’s gone. No promise to deliver that now or in the future. We continue to go through the budget, as we look at the impact of what the numbers on the pages mean for British Columbians. Let’s talk about infrastructure projects.

Budget 2020 fails to give any assurance that important and necessary infra- structure projects will actually be completed. Over $1 bil- lion in infrastructure projects that were announced in 2019 have now been delayed. The budget is missing fund- ing for important projects that are needed to clear conges- tion. There is no money for the George Massey replace- ment project. The throne speech went out of its way to dangle the prospect of commuter rail for the Fraser Valley. Y et guess what. No money in the budget. No money set aside. But it’s not just commuter rail that has been given no funding.

There are no meaningful plans for improving or expanding transit in other areas of the province, including Vancouver and Surrey. So where are the Surrey MLAs? Oh, nothing. Let’s hear what Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart…. Now, I can imagine that the ears will be perking up on the other side of the House. I can assure you that I’m sure Mayor Kennedy Stewart is more closely aligned with that side of the House than with this one. Let’s hear what he had to say yesterday after the budget.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart commented on the failure to address transit to UBC, saying: “Until we see a signal from the government of B.C. that they intend to connect UBC to the rest of the region, congestion and long travel times along the second-largest business and innov- ation corridor in the province will continue to be unre- solved. ” Vancouver — no mention. Improvements to this and other transit corridors would make a big difference in the rapidly growing Lower Mainland. Let’s talk about another important promise that this government made. Let’s talk about housing.

Because if you’re going to talk about affordability, you actually need to have a thoughtful analysis of child care and housing and transportation and taxation. [3:15 p.m.] Take a look at all of those things in totality. We’ve seen that the promise around $10-a-day child care has morph- ed, and it is no longer what this government promised. We’ve seen the $400 renters rebate disappear. Let’s talk about housing. The NDP are so far behind on their housing promises. Here’s what we know. Only 2,400 units were actually opened by this government as of its own latest housing report.

So before the catcalls start and the criticism, it’s their own report that points out that only 2,400 units were actually opened by this government. We continue to see a target, and it’s a lofty one: 114,000 new housing units. It’s done absolutely nothing about the pace at which the housing is being built. Y ou can promise all you want, 114,000 units. At the rate this government is going, it will take more than a hundred years for the gov- ernment to reach its targets — at the current rate. Not only that…. This is a serious issue. We hear lots about the housing plan and the strategies and the reports.

Well, guess what the budget tells us. Go to the document. Look it up. Housing starts are going down. Not just this year — a whopping 22 percent. They continue to go down in the next two years. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that if you don’t have more supply, if you don’t have more housing being built, guess what happens. The price of available housing goes up. So much for the afford- ability argument. There are no plans and no measures being put in place to deal with the issue of how quickly that supply will take place. In fact, it is a missing element of the housing strategy.

Y ou have to unleash the private sector. Y ou have to look at how you are going to increase supply in the mar- ket if you’re going to deal with the issue of affordability. We heard concerns yesterday being expressed about the lack of housing affordability, about the fact that this government has done very little to actually deal with those significant issues. In fact, until there’s a serious approach to looking at the issue of supply, nothing is going to change. Y esterday we looked. There’s no mention of measures being considered or discussed to deal with the growing crisis in strata insurance.

This issue will have impacts, seri- ous implications, for thousands of British Columbians. Y et what do we hear from this government? “That’s an afford- ability issue. ” Y ou heard that from the mother that I talked about at the beginning of my remarks. Her strata insur- ance is going to cost her an additional $100 a month at the same time that her child care costs are going up. We saw yesterday that one of the things that seems to have taken a lesser profile for this government, certainly Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11029

one they talked about an awful lot, is related to the envir- onment, and stakeholders are starting to take notice. Y es- terday, a quote from BCBC. I hope that members opposite will listen and share this with the minister. It’s pretty dis- couraging. “For more than a year, we have been working with the province to fashion a CleanBC plan that both reduces emissions and keeps our natural resource, manufacturing and transportation industries competitive. Unfortunately, Budget 2020 falls short of what we were expecting.

Many of B.C. ’s biggest export products and com- modities have half the carbon intensity of competing jurisdictions, but these industries — vital to middle-class jobs in rural and urban regions — are now operating at a unique global and North Amer- ican competitive disadvantage. Regrettably, our collaboration with the province on this important file appears to have hit a wall. ” [3:20 p.m.] After working in good faith for more than a year, sud- denly they read the budget and realize that all that effort has been, basically, ignored.

So for a file that was once so celebrated by this government, it’s odd to see it secondary to so many other issues. As we look at the rest of the budget, we hear comments from the mining sector, from all of the many resource sec- tors across British Columbia. We heard it on the lawn yes- terday, as hundreds of families and individuals came from a long distance to express their view to British Columbi- ans. But what we see is a decided lack of support for min- ing, resource industries in this province. There is nothing for them in the budget.

Let’s see what the Mining Association had to say. “We’re very disappointed, ” said Michael Goehring, president of the Mining Association of B.C. in an interview. “The min- ing industry is at a crossroads in B.C., and we were hoping to see a solution in this budget. ” However, I would argue that a lot of industries feel forgotten, probably none more significantly than the forest industry in British Columbia.

It was very hard to stand back and watch as the crisis unfolded in rural and northern communities in partic- ular, but communities on Vancouver Island and else- where, when workers and companies and communities asked this government for help. It took months of cur- tailments and closures and families who were in stressful situations, communities that didn’t know what to do. The NDP failed to provide a struggling industry the assistance that they needed. Unfortunately, this budget is just more of the same.

Of the $13 million that is going toward forestry, sup- posedly, in this budget — I know our critic and my col- leagues will certainly delve into this further — all of the money is previously allocated. There is nothing — no new money, no new funding, no new help. For a sector that, for generations, has been part of the core industries in this province — nothing. The amount that’s included and the approach will do little to nothing to help those communities. As noted yesterday in my remarks, there is no mention of the rural dividend fund.

Maybe if the members don’t live in a rural community or see the benefits, they don’t understand, necessarily, the impact of what that decision made. When you’re talking about billions of dollars, maybe that amount doesn’t seem significant. But I can tell you as an MLA that saw, on the ground, firsthand — and I’m surrounded by many of my colleagues who saw those benefits — that it made the difference between starting a program and keeping a job. It gave communities hope. It gave them a chance to be creative and thoughtful with just such a small amount of money. What happened?

That money was ripped out of the rur- al dividend fund to fulfil some other funding announce- ment that this government made, and it’s just not right. We even tried Google search. There was a commitment made to restore that program, and I can assure you that we’re going to hold the govern- ment accountable. That program made a difference every day on the ground in northern and rural communities. This government needs to honour its pledge to put it back. When we look at the budget, forestry revenue has fallen nearly 40 percent since 2018.

It should be so obvi- ous to this government that forestry is an industry that needs a comprehensive recovery plan. But instead, hard hit communities are given nothing more than lip service. It’s just not right. [3:25 p.m.] From my perspective, when you look at the budget numbers, when you look at the fact…. And I will look for- ward to an explanation, because as I said earlier, the minis- ter didn’t talk about the ministries that were cut or frozen. I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion about this. Guess what one of the ministries is on the cut list.

Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is on the ministry hit list. Not to mention most of the other job-creating ministries — all of them are on the cut or the frozen list. So let’s spend. Let’s tax British Columbians, but let’s cut the very ministries. Let’s see a reduction in Agriculture; Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources; FLNRO. Here’s an interesting one: Indigenous Relations and Reconcili- ation. I looked long and hard with my colleagues to find the monetary support for the processes related to UNDRIP . Guess what — none. Not that we can find. We’ll look forward to the debate.

Happy to be corrected. Guess which other ministries are being cut: Jobs, Eco- nomic Development and Competitiveness. We’ve just heard from job creators in British Columbia that one of the most significant issues impacting British Columbia is that we are becoming an island that lacks competitiveness. Lots going on south of the border. But one of the things they are concentrating on is creating a competitive tax environ- ment, a focus on competitiveness. Guess what’s happening next door to us as we go to the east. They’re starting to look at how they can become more competitive. Why does that matter?

It’s so you can attract investment and create good-paying private sector 11030 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 19, 2020

jobs. Y ou know what. Zero attention is being paid to that. Absolutely zero. This is a government that likes to talk about: “We’re going to transition to a technology-based economy or a knowledge-based economy. ” Well, I would think that innovation and technology are a pretty key part of that. So why don’t we look at what the B.C. Tech Association had to say about the budget?

One would assume that if you’re moving away or looking at a decline in the natural resource sector side of the budget, and you’re talking about innovation and technology, there would be significant sup- port in the budget for the technology sector. Well, let’s just take a look at what the B.C. Tech Asso- ciation said on February 18, 2020: “Budget 2020 included no new spending for technology and innovation. ” So let’s get this straight. We see little support, if any, for the natural resource sector, but there’s no new spending for techno- logy and innovation either.

Exactly how do we expect to grow the economy of British Columbia? Let’s go on to see what else they said. “On the surface, it may appear that all is well in B.C. ’s tech sec- tor, but a closer look at the data”— the homework, all of the work that should be done — “reveals our twin challenges. Other tech sectors in places such as Ontario, Colorado and Washington state are now growing tech GDP faster than B.C. And B.C. Tech’s ana- lysis of Stats

Canada business count data shows little to no growth in the number of scaled-up technology companies with 200-plus employees, the size needed to anchor sustainable companies that provide good jobs to thousands” — and get this part — “and tax revenues for government. ” Think about it. There’s another way this government could have looked at actually generating tax revenue: by encouraging and supporting innovation and creativity and the tech sector. Even the tech sector could find very little good to say about the budget yesterday. Let’s talk about the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. What did they have to say?

Here’s another quote from the CEO. “There was nothing here to make our region a more competitive region. ” Given the cumulative tax increases, the business community is feeling thoroughly tapped out. [3:30 p.m.] Overall, the budget offered little in the way of providing a vision for job creation and regional competitiveness. There was little to no mention of the contributions small and large businesses make to support everyday working families and revenues contributing to social programs. When we look at the premise….

When we look at the major tenets of a budget that this government has provided, it’s pretty straightforward. There’s one revenue source, and it appears to be hard-working British Colum- bians and taxes — 23 new and increased taxes. Businesses in British Columbia are feeling tapped out. They are feeling that they are losing their competitive edge, yet this budget provided absolutely nothing in terms of any sort of assistance, support, even mention. As we consider what the budget said yesterday to British Columbians….

I certainly recognize that people in this House bring differ- ent views and different values, but what we care about is making sure that British Columbia has a strong, growing, thriving economy. We care that, yes, British Columbians have every oppor- tunity. And what we saw yesterday were squandered opportunities, lost opportunities. We saw tax and spend. We saw very little recognition that this government under- stands that in order to continue to pay for those important programs, you have to grow a strong, thriving economy in this province.

I know that as we work our way through the comments of members throughout the Legislature, we’ll hear…. And very shortly, we’ll actually hear from the members of the Third Party. I want you to know that I listened carefully to their comments, because of the dynamics in this legis- lature as we speak. The coalition partners of the govern- ment actually said that the throne speech was under- whelming and backward-looking. I will be incredibly interested to hear what the interim leader of the Green Party will have to say, because yester- day they actually had some interesting things to say.

Here’s what they said: “I don’t see how there is a strategy here” — this is related to the budget — “for getting us where we need to get to. ” In another quote, the House Leader: “This really is the job of governments. It’s the role of government to look ahead and say, ‘Where do we want to be in ten, 50 and 100 years from now?’” This budget feels like: “Where do we want to be a year from now?” And that’s not good enough in the world that we’re in today.

Here’s what the interim leader said: “We absolutely have to take appropriate steps in building a sustainable, resilient economy for the future, and that’s not what I saw in this budget. ” Once again, from the House Leader. This is a really interesting quote: “It’s time to make smarter, more courageous choices for the future of B.C. We’re here to offer those choices up. ” British Columbians are going to be watching the choices that the leader of the Green Party offers up, because there’s one choice that’s pretty clear.

The leader of the Green Party can continue to stand in the House and outside of the House and be critical of the throne speech and critical of the budget speech. Let’s talk about courageous decisions. Time will tell, because this is a Green Party that, to date, has chosen to support their coalition partners on virtu- ally every single issue that’s been brought to this House. Y et when it comes to the validity and the credibility of this budget, let’s just see how courageous the interim leader of the Green Party is.

It’s one thing to criticize a budget; it’s another thing to demonstrate some action to British Col- umbians. [3:35 p.m.] If this leader doesn’t believe this budget has merit and doesn’t result in a sustainable, resilient economy, then I know there’s one thing for sure that they should consider doing, and that is vote against the budget. That would be Wednesday, February 19, 2020 British Columbia Debates 11031

a courageous decision. But I have every reason to believe that that won’t happen. It’s very easy to stand up and make the Y ouTube video and criticize the budget. Let’s be clear. Let’s talk about courageous steps that the government could take. I think there’s an important and compelling reason that there are some other courageous steps that could be taken. We look at a budget plan. It basically has three years of taxation and spending. We know that British Columbia is facing a global economy that is softening.

The other thing that concerns us deeply is the fact that all of the measures that demonstrate the strength of an economy are heading in the wrong direction. We look at employment numbers. Do you know that over the last eight months, more than 34,000 jobs have been lost in this province — 34,000? More than that over the last eight months alone. We see retail sales, so critically important in British Col- umbia…. We are a consumer…. We rely on consumer spending in this province. Consumer spending has flat- lined. We look at investment trends; they’re dropping. The pace of growth is slowing. All of those things….

Exports. We’re a small, open trading economy in British Columbia. Exports matter. In fact, there are programs in place…. I’m thankful they’re supported by the members opposite. We talk about export navigator programs. Why does that matter? We’re helping small businesses and medium-size enterprises figure out how they can capitalize on the export markets. What’s happening? Exports are down. Retail sales stagnant. Housing starts, 22 percent down in the first year of this budget plan. We know that a plan has to look at business confidence. It has to look at how you grow a sustainable economy.

Y ou simply cannot continue to download the costs of your spending plan onto the backs of hard-working British Col- umbians. That’s exactly what this budget has done. We see no plan. We see haphazard spending and increased taxes. This kind of budget cannot continue for much longer. If you listen and look at the quotes from many of the job creators in British Columbia…. The entire budget critique that this government must be hearing — the B.C. Business Council, the Greater Van- couver Board of Trade…. Y ou look at organizations called Abundant Transit B.C., Canadian Taxpayers.

Generation Squeeze talked about the housing issue. Here’s what they had to say about this gov- ernment’s housing strategy. This is Paul Kershaw of Gen- eration Squeeze. “They’ve committed now to producing almost 2,500 fewer units of affordable housing over their first four years than they initially promised. ” In 2017, this now government stood before British Columbians and asked for their support. They did that based on some pretty significant promises. This budget fails to deliver on the most key of those promises: $10-a- day child care for those who want it and need it. Gone. Renters rebate. Gone.

Housing starts dropping. The number of units completed — far fewer than were prom- ised by this government. British Columbians do deserve the opportunities to get ahead, to have life feel just a little bit easier for them. [3:40 p.m.] I know that today, as we begin to unpack what’s in- cluded in this budget, there is much, much more to come. British Columbians are pretty smart. They’re going to real- ize that despite the promises and the rhetoric, the expo- nential increase in taxes, 23 new and increased taxes, they’re no further ahead than they were three years ago. I look forward to the debate,

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20200219pm-Hansard-n309
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20200219pm Hansard n309
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	0fb5f424bbbb30190a14ef068d00dd03ef414f5e

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