British Columbia Hansard — 18 March 2021, p.m., Issue 35 (42nd Parliament, 1st Session)

20210318pm-Hansard-n35

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

First Session, 42nd Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday, March 18, 2021 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 35 THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC First Session, 42nd Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Raj Chouhan EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John Horgan Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training...........................................................................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries......................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing .............................................................................................Hon. David Eby, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................................Hon.

Mitzi Dean Minister of State for Child Care...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Minister of Citizens’ Services.....................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Education .................................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Jennifer Whiteside Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation ........................................................................................Hon. Bruce Ralston, QC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy............................................................................................. Hon. George Heyman Minister of Finance .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Selina Robinson Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations................................................................................. Hon. Nathan Cullen Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs.............................................................................Hon.

Adrian Dix Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation .......................................................................................... Hon. Murray Rankin, QC Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation....................................................................................................... Hon. Ravi Kahlon Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon.

George Chow Minister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Harry Bains Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.............................................................................................................. Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Minister of Municipal Affairs ............................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Josie Osborne Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon. Mike Farnworth Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction........................................................................................... Hon. Nicholas Simons Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport .................................................................................................................. Hon.

Melanie Mark Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of State for Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Bowinn Ma LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition...................................................................................................................................................Shirley Bond Leader of the Third Party .......................................................................................................................................................... Sonia Furstenau Deputy Speaker..........................................................................................................................................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Assistant Deputy Speaker..............................................................................................................................................................Norm Letnick Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole .......................................................................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ...........................................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel.............................................................................................................................. Seunghee Suzie Seo Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services........................................................................................................................... Artour Sogomonian Clerk of Committees.......................................................................................................................................................................

Jennifer Arril Clerk Assistant, Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..............................................................................................Susan Sourial Senior Research Analyst ................................................................................................................................................................... Karan Riarh Acting Sergeant-at-Arms..................................................................................................................................................................Greg Nelson

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Alexis, Pam (BC NDP) ............................................................Abbotsford-Mission Anderson, Brittny (BC NDP) .........................................................Nelson-Creston Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Penticton Babchuk, Michele (BC NDP)...............................................................North Island Bailey, Brenda (BC NDP).................................................. Vancouver–False Creek Bains, Hon. Harry (BC NDP).........................................................

Surrey-Newton Banman, Bruce (BC Liberal Party) ............................................ Abbotsford South Beare, Hon. Lisa (BC NDP) .......................................

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

Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–West End Chant, Susie (BC NDP) ..............................................North Vancouver–Seymour Chen, Hon. Katrina (BC NDP) ............................................... Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Hon. Raj (BC NDP).................................................Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon. George (BC NDP) ..........................................Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal Party)........................Columbia River–Revelstoke Conroy, Hon.

Katrine (BC NDP) ....................................................Kootenay West Coulter, Dan (BC NDP) .......................................................................... Chilliwack Cullen, Hon. Nathan (BC NDP) ................................................................... Stikine Davies, Dan (BC Liberal Party)................................................. Peace River North de Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal Party)....................................Abbotsford West Dean, Hon. Mitzi (BC NDP) ...............................................

Esquimalt-Metchosin D’Eith, Bob (BC NDP) .........................................................Maple Ridge–Mission Dix, Hon. Adrian (BC NDP) ................................................ Vancouver-Kingsway Doerkson, Lorne (BC Liberal Party) ........................................Cariboo-Chilcotin Donnelly, Fin (BC NDP) .......................................... Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Dykeman, Megan (BC NDP)............................................................... Langley East Eby, Hon. David, QC (BC NDP).......................................

Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (BC NDP) ..................................................Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (BC NDP) .................................................Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (BC NDP) ...............................................

Victoria–Swan Lake Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) .............................................Cowichan Valley Glumac, Rick (BC NDP) ..................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Greene, Kelly (BC NDP) ........................................................Richmond-Steveston Halford, Trevor (BC Liberal Party) .........................................Surrey–White Rock Heyman, Hon. George (BC NDP) .........................................Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon. John (BC NDP) ......................................... Langford–Juan de Fuca Kahlon, Hon.

Ravi (BC NDP) .............................................................. Delta North Kang, Hon. Anne (BC NDP) .................................................. Burnaby–Deer Lake Kirkpatrick, Karin (BC Liberal Party) ........................West Vancouver–Capilano Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal Party)....................................................................Shuswap Lee, Michael (BC Liberal Party) ..............................................Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (BC NDP)...............................................

Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal Party) .................................. Kelowna–Lake Country Lore, Grace (BC NDP)........................................................... Victoria–Beacon Hill Ma, Hon. Bowinn (BC NDP).....................................North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Hon. Sheila (BC NDP)........................................................Nanaimo Mark, Hon. Melanie (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Mercier, Andrew (BC NDP) ........................................................................

Langley Merrifield, Renee (BC Liberal Party)......................................... Kelowna-Mission Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal Party) .......................... Kamloops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ................................. Prince George–Mackenzie Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal Party).................................................. Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (BC Green Party)............................ Saanich North and the Islands Osborne, Hon.

Josie (BC NDP)........................................Mid Island–Pacific Rim Paddon, Kelli (BC NDP) ................................................................Chilliwack-Kent Paton, Ian (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Delta South Popham, Hon. Lana (BC NDP)........................................................ Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce, QC (BC NDP) .............................................Surrey-Whalley Rankin, Hon.

Murray, QC (BC NDP) .............................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Rice, Jennifer (BC NDP) ...................................................................... North Coast Robinson, Hon. Selina (BC NDP)...................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal Party)......................................................................... Skeena Routledge, Janet (BC NDP) .............................................................Burnaby North Routley, Doug (BC NDP)...........................................

Nanaimo–North Cowichan Russell, Roly (BC NDP).................................................... Boundary-Similkameen Rustad, John (BC Liberal Party)......................................................Nechako Lakes Sandhu, Harwinder (BC NDP) .................................................Vernon-Monashee Sharma, Niki (BC NDP)..........................................................Vancouver-Hastings Shypitka, Tom (BC Liberal Party) .................................................... Kootenay East Simons, Hon. Nicholas (BC NDP).........................

Powell River–Sunshine Coast Sims, Jinny (BC NDP) ................................................................. Surrey-Panorama Singh, Aman (BC NDP) .............................................Richmond-Queensborough Singh, Rachna (BC NDP)...................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Starchuk, Mike (BC NDP) ......................................................... Surrey-Cloverdale Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal Party) .......................................................

Kelowna West Stone, Todd (BC Liberal Party) ...............................Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal Party) ............................. West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal Party)....................................................... Fraser-Nicola Walker, Adam (BC NDP) ....................................................... Parksville-Qualicum Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal Party) ....................................... Richmond North Centre Whiteside, Hon. Jennifer (BC NDP) .........................................

New Westminster Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal Party)......................Vancouver-Quilchena Y ao, Henry (BC NDP) ..................................................... Richmond South Centre LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission................................................................................. Pam Alexis Abbotsford South...............................................................................Bruce Banman Abbotsford West......................................................................

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

Janet Routledge Cariboo-Chilcotin ..........................................................................Lorne Doerkson Cariboo North.................................................................................... Coralee Oakes Chilliwack ...............................................................................................Dan Coulter Chilliwack-Kent .................................................................................... Kelli Paddon Columbia River–Revelstoke .........................................................

Doug Clovechok Coquitlam–Burke Mountain...............................................................Fin Donnelly Coquitlam-Maillardville ...................................................... Hon. Selina Robinson Courtenay-Comox................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard Cowichan Valley ............................................................................. Sonia Furstenau Delta North................................................................................... Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Delta South ..................................................................................................Ian Paton Esquimalt-Metchosin .................................................................... Hon. Mitzi Dean Fraser-Nicola .........................................................................................

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

Renee Merrifield Kelowna West ..........................................................................................Ben Stewart Kootenay East.......................................................................................Tom Shypitka Kootenay West........................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Langford–Juan de Fuca .............................................................. Hon.

John Horgan Langley .............................................................................................Andrew Mercier Langley East....................................................................................Megan Dykeman Maple Ridge–Mission.............................................................................. Bob D’Eith Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows............................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim............................................................ Hon.

Josie Osborne Nanaimo.............................................................................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo–North Cowichan............................................................... Doug Routley Nechako Lakes........................................................................................ John Rustad Nelson-Creston ............................................................................. Brittny Anderson New Westminster.............................................................. Hon.

Jennifer Whiteside North Coast ........................................................................................... Jennifer Rice North Island................................................................................... Michele Babchuk North Vancouver–Lonsdale......................................................... Hon. Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour...................................................................Susie Chant Oak Bay–Gordon Head..................................................Hon.

Murray Rankin, QC Parksville-Qualicum........................................................................... Adam Walker 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..............................................Hon. Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie....................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ..................................................................

Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre..........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough..................................................................Aman Singh Richmond South Centre .......................................................................... Henry Y ao Richmond-Steveston ............................................................................

Kelly Greene Saanich North and the Islands .............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South .............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap...................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena........................................................................................................... Ellis Ross Stikine........................................................................................ Hon.

Nathan Cullen Surrey-Cloverdale .............................................................................. Mike Starchuk 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, QC Surrey–White Rock .......................................................................... Trevor Halford Vancouver-Fairview.............................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek...................................................................... Brenda Bailey Vancouver-Fraserview...............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ..............................................................................Niki Sharma 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 .....................................................................

Harwinder Sandhu Victoria–Beacon Hill............................................................................... Grace Lore Victoria–Swan Lake.................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano...........................................................Karin Kirkpatrick West Vancouver–Sea to Sky................................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC NDP 57; BC Liberal Party 28; BC Green Party 2

CONTENTS Thursday, March 18, 2021 Afternoon Sitting Page Orders of the Day Second Reading of Bills ............................................................................................................................................................ 863 Bill 10 — Supply Act (No. 1), 2021(continued) S. Cadieux J. Routledge I. Paton N. Sharma J. Sturdy H. Sandhu J.

Rustad Point of Order (Speaker’s Ruling) ........................................................................................................................................... 883 Second Reading of Bills ............................................................................................................................................................ 883 Bill 10 — Supply Act (No. 1), 2021(continued) B. D’Eith J. Tegart D. Clovechok

THURSDAY , MARCH 18, 2021 The House met at 1:32 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Orders of the Day Hon. M. Farnworth:I call continued second reading debate, Bill 10. Second Reading of Bills BILL 10 — SUPPLY ACT (No. 1), 2021 (continued) S. Cadieux:I am pleased to take my place to speak to Bill 10 today. A typical supply act passes without much debate, and the purpose is simply to allow government to continue to function and serve the necessary purpose. But things have been anything but typical this past year, and nothing these days is simple. [N.

Letnick in the chair.] The past three years, while juggling two simultaneous health crises, the government has slipped into an old pat- tern which we’ve all seen before: grow government, raise taxes, blame anyone and everyone and everything else for your broken promises. Now, those things I expected from government. The fact that they claimed to have all the solutions to all the intractable issues while they were in opposition only highlighted their naivety and lust for office that had been fueled by 16 years in the trenches of opposition.

But what really worries me is that this returning NDP government has, in their brief tenure, already stealthily reversed the safeguards that were in place to ensure trans- parency and responsibility around the budget in British Columbia — safeguards put in place by the previous gov- ernment, I might add, after a financially disastrous NDP era gone by. It should be no surprise to anyone that we’ve ended up here today. Most of the front bench were here for the notorious fudge-it budget.

The Premier and the chief of staff were all behind the scenes when an NDP Premier had to resign in disgrace, when the RCMP raided the Premier’s home. The current Minister of Health was forced to resign from his job in the Premier’s office for backdating a memo, yet he’s here today. Now we’ve got a Premier who calls a snap election in the middle of a pandemic. We haven’t had a proper quarterly report in a year. Recovery programs, one after another, are unworkable, edited on the fly and not getting relief where it needs to go.

And despite all of this, the Premier comes before this House and asks for $13 billion without telling us how it’ll be spent. It’s all a little familiar. This kind of irresponsible beha- viour is the very reason our government brought in the protections — the same measures that this government is currently trying to circumvent. [1:35 p.m.] What exactly did our government do when we were in office? Well, we brought in balanced budgets. That was a first.

We brought in fixed budget dates, we engaged an Economic Forecast Council, and we took all the steps that made B.C. the Canadian leader for sound, transparent fisc- al management. All of them were necessary to correct the mistakes of the previous NDP government. All of those things were lauded, and noted, and amp- lified by the previous NDP Finance Minister during their first couple of years in office as things to be proud of. Proud of British Columbia’s fiscal position. Proud of our leadership in Canada. Proud of our balanced-budget legis- lation. But the NDP have since dusted off the old NDP playbook.

History is now repeating itself. Now, just before me, and just before lunch, the Attorney General had the gall to suggest that he’s disappointed in what he deems to be hyper-partisan hyperbole. I hope he remembers that all of these debates are recorded and that he might watch himself. Because he certainly provided some great examples of hyper-partisan hyperbole in his speech. The Attorney General suggests that we are here to debate this bill because government needs more time to complete a thorough budget and include all of the impacts of the pandemic.

He says that revenues have been deeply affected, that we should be pleased that they’re going to take more time to figure things out and that we shouldn’t be asking for an earlier budget, that that’s somehow un- reasonable. But no, Minister, we don’t want an earlier budget. We want it on the already extended timeline you legislated yourself last year in preparation for a fall election. The AG fearmongers that were trying to make the situation like the U.S., where supply bills paralyze government services — that failing to pass a supply vote would lead to a U.S.-style shutdown.

What did he say exactly? “We see gamesmanship around supply bills in the United States. How does that end up? Government workers go unpaid. Essential ser- vices are shuttered. The only people who hurt are the people in the communities that don’t get the services. Nothing is gained by it. ” Well, it’s blatantly false. It’s true for the States, but here, if a supply bill fails, it’s a loss of confidence. And we go to an election. In that case, if a budget hadn’t yet passed, a special warrant would be jus- tified. Cabinet could pass an OIC and simply procure the money needed in the interregnum.

Section 24 the Finan- cial Administration Act sets that out. It’s not surprising that the Attorney General would sug- 863

gest something false, probably in error, all just to grand- stand and suggest that our debate of this bill is somehow a crisis for the province. So I’m happy to help the AG out with a little bit of parliamentary process. But, again, we know he’s quite often wrong in his

interpretation of things. So there you have it. No, it won’t be like that in British Columbia. It can’t be like that. Government will use their majority to ensure this bill passes and they give themselves a blank cheque. It also won’t happen because we don’t want government services to grind to a halt any more than the government does. What we are doing right now is simply our opposi- tion duty, to point out what government is doing, question their decision to keep B.C. in the dark, question their pri- orities and alert the public to the fact that this is anything but normal.

It signals a very, very arrogant government, prepared to treat the public purse like a private piggy bank, willing to change the law and obfuscate to do that. The minister stood here today and said that government needs more time to figure out what to do, so they can pres- ent a plan on time. Why should we be surprised? All we’ve seen from this government is plans to make plans.

But for the minister to suggest that a blank cheque should be given to his government — to his government — when his own government can’t provide education services to his own constituents…. [1:40 p.m.] The Education budget is the second largest in govern- ment. And we should just agree silently to keep throwing the money, at last year’s rates, for services that aren’t being delivered? His constituents should be worried about that. My constituents, in the largest district in the province, are getting their education. Why can’t his district do it? Why isn’t his government ensuring that it’s happening?

Those of us on this side of the House, many of whom were responsible for the positive practices that gave B.C. a glowing financial reputation, have had to listen to gov- ernment suggest that we’re asking too much and being unreasonable when we ask for a budget before we approve money. Facts never get in the way of an NDP narrative, just like good governance isn’t getting in the way for them now. How can the NDP possibly expect British Columbi- ans to sign over a blank cheque for $13 billion to a gov- ernment that gives no indication, no measure, around how they plan to spend that money?

When we look at what normally happens…. What’s normal? Well, government would present a plan through a throne speech. Then they’ d present a budget, which is like the how — how they’re going to implement all of those great things in that throne speech. Then a sup- ply bill, like this one, is put up against that plan — the budget — to hold over until we’ve done the line-by-line debate of the budget and the plan through the estimates. That’s what’s normal. That’s what governments have done for decades. That’s how a competent government presents its plan to the people and provides transparency into their actions.

That’s how oppositions are able to do their job — to hold govern- ment to account. This year it’s very different. As the Finance Minister said herself: “This bill is different from interim supply bills that are usually presented to the House each year. This inter- im supply bill is being presented before the main estim- ates have been presented.

Therefore, the calculation of the amounts required for government operations and services is based on the appropriations for the previous fiscal year, as this is considered a good approximation. ” This supply act is notable for that very reason and for the fact that the House is being asked for $13.4 billion based on appropriations from a budget from last year — which, the Premier admitted, not even a month after the budget was presented, really wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on because of the changes that were inevitable as a result of the pandemic. We have seen no update.

We don’t know where the budget is at. We don’t have a clue where things are at from last year. We don’t know. Was it enough? Was it not enough? Where are they spending the money? Where are they not spending the money? We spent the estimates last summer trying to figure out where they were going to spend the $5 billion in COV- ID relief funds. It took all summer to find out that indeed, the money that had been promised to business was in fact not being spent on businesses. It was being moved to oth- er programs. I’m not saying some of those things weren’t necessary or essential.

But we had to pull it out of gov- ernment. They weren’t transparent about it. They weren’t upfront about it. They kept us in the dark about the last $1½ billion right through into September. Why did they do that? I wonder. Maybe it’s because they wanted to hold that money for an election promise. The fact that we don’t have a budget to hold this supply bill up to is an obvious problem for anyone who values government transparency. Generally, the problem is avoided because the budget has already been tabled. So we know what government plans to do with the money.

But as a result of the NDP’s snap election and their decision to delay the budget until April, British Columbians, and the opposition, are left in the dark. It’s not good enough, by my standards, or the standards of the constituents I represent. I believe in transparency.

I believe that this government’s financial decisions should be scrutinized. [1:45 p.m.] I’m the first one to admit that I don’t disagree with all of the decisions government makes or wants to make, but when I rise to tell this House and the people of this province that the legislation before us actually contains a workaround from the financial rules and the Financial Administration Act and that the NDP are legally supposed to present a budget first, clearly this is an issue. The members of this House and the people of B.C. want to know, and deserve to know, what the NDP is planning to do with the money.

Frankly, we on this side of the aisle 864 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

have no confidence that they’ll spend the money well or even in a way that they tell us they will. They argue that they aren’t ready and that they couldn’t possibly present a budget on time. Y et they can make a $400 million ongoing structural spending commitment. They’re ready for that. They’re hiding, though, from the public and the oppo- sition, how that’s accomplished. They’re taking the bows, but how do we know that the people of B.C. can afford the decision? We have no glimpse into the financial picture for the province.

We have seen multiple examples, in the past year alone, of this government requesting money, the members of this House agreeing in good faith, and then the NDP doing something different. One year ago, last March, the members of this House unanimously approved $5 billion for recovery. We took the government at their word when they said how they’ d use it, and we expected it would be put to use right away helping British Columbians through a difficult time. That’s what all legislators expected.

But instead of immediately using the money to provide relief, they sat on the money for months and, as I said, later decided to use it as a part of their elec- tion platform. Promises made and promises broken. That’s really what this government is good at. Lots of talk; very little action. Lots of big plans; then lots of blame every- where but on themselves, when they don’t deliver. I’ll go back again to the minister’s comments in her opening statement.

The minister said in her opening com- ments that we’ve been hearing from the tourism sector, that we’ve been hearing about the people that are strug- gling, that we’ve been hearing about the challenges in small business. Really? Are they? Well, what are they doing about it? We’ve been hearing these issues for a year. We’ve been raising the issues for a year. We’ve been making sugges- tions for a year — not suggestions on how to hold money but on how to spend it, how government should be helping at this time and not quibbling about the fact that it’s going to mean a deficit.

But in the election, when the NDP finally announced that small and medium-sized business recov- ery grant, support was delayed because of the election. In the more than six months since it has been announced, nearly a year after the money was approved, today they’ve only managed to get 25 percent of the funds out to busi- nesses. In over six months — over a year after we approved the spending of funds to support business recovery — only 25 percent of the fund has actually landed at a struggling business.

How can we trust a government, which can’t even get $300 million in promised funds out the door to businesses in need, to spend $13.4 billion responsibly and appropriately, when they can’t present a budget on time and can’t get proper quarterly reports presented? We have given the government ample opportunity to prove themselves in the last year. They sure haven’t risen to the occasion. We know they have no trouble raising taxes. They’ve done it 23 times. The newest are just settling in: Netflix and pop taxes. Making life more affordable, one little thing at a time.

Under the cover of the pandemic, they want you to forget that they promised you the moon. They promised to make life more affordable. I’ll give them a couple of things. For people who travelled over the Port Mann Bridge, the removal of tolls probably made life a little more affordable. I’ll give them that. But they promised everyone cheaper housing, and that’s a big fat no. Housing prices, overall in the Lower Main- land, are up 16 percent last year alone.

They promised renters rebates and cheaper rent, yet rent is up almost everywhere as people are fleeing the city of Vancouver. [1:50 p.m.] Car insurance — smoke and mirrors, up so much in the last three years that now they’re promising to give you a little of that back. And 10 percent more British Columbians are relying on income assistance than when the NDP took office. I don’t think life is any more afford- able for them. Now, none of us are naive. We know that government needs money and needs authority to spend it. We’re not saying that government doesn’t need money to contin- ue to flow after April 1.

But what is disheartening is that this government has so little respect for this House that they would come here, change the law, refuse to put in a budget but bring a supply act in and say: “Oh, by the way, we want $13 billion. Just sign off. ” I can’t do that. It’s not responsible. These are taxpayer dollars. We’re responsible for how they’re spent. I want to, and of course will, ensure that money continues to flow. People need to be paid, govern- ment services need to be delivered, and hospitals need to be open — all of those things. Of course.

It’s ridiculous for the NDP to even suggest that we would try to stop that. But this is a lazy government. All questions are met with an answer of: “It’s a pandemic; don’t you know?” All requests for clarity around programs or why decisions are made are: “Well, we can’t provide that. We’re just too busy with the pandemic. ” Y ou know what? It’s pathetic, and it’s disrespectful to voters. The government doesn’t have to like me, and they don’t have to like my questions. But it’s part of the deal. If they want to make the decisions and to govern, then they also have to answer the questions.

They are the questions I am obligated to ask by virtue of the fact that I was elected. That’s how it works. I come here to ask questions on behalf of my constituents. When emergency arose around the world last year, here in our Legislature, collectively, we did what was needed. We agreed to emergency spending of epic proportions, because we understood it couldn’t have been planned and needed to be flexible. But the government didn’t do what they said they would. They refused transparency. They held money back. They hid their plans, and they still Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 865

haven’t come clean or clear on where the money went or didn’t. They used money that was provided in good faith to support British Columbians through the pandemic as an election platform. Think about that. We’re still waiting for the accounting. Businesses are still waiting to see if that support will arrive, if their government will be there for them, to help them survive through this. Through debate, I heard a min- ister say he was concerned about what he thought the opposition was politicizing — some of the aspects of re- covery. What?

Because we’re pointing out problems, sug- gesting solutions, and asking for answers to questions? Are you kidding me? How can he say that with a straight face? We are asking the questions that the people of British Col- umbia are asking of us. The NDP called an election in a pandemic and used COVID recovery funds as an election platform. Who’s politicizing the pandemic? And now we’re debating a bill that changes the law around budgets and government fin- ances because they can’t be bothered to do their job. They can’t meet a deadline they set — well, that they moved and set six months ago.

Y es, I’m concerned about that. We’re concerned that government is asking for a blank cheque. Y et member after member of the government benches sug- gests: “Nothing to see here. It’s all good. All is normal. ” But it is not that. This is a self-serving group of people who chose to call an election and put governing aside, to halt the processes of government by thrusting it into caregiver mode.

Then they couldn’t get their act in gear, and they fumble around with relief programs and bungle the supports for people with disabilities. [1:55 p.m.] This bill is just another reminder of this government failing and flailing. We need a government that is open and honest about everything, from how they are spending our money to COVID-19 data and vaccine rollouts. We need a government that does what it says it will. But as far as I can tell, this bill just continues to suggest the opposite. I am deeply troubled by this bill.

I am deeply troubled that government can make spending decisions to the tune of $400 million for every year going forward without pres- enting us with a plan that says how they’re going to pay for it. I’m not arguing that the $400 million they’ve provided and announced as support for people on income assistance is a bad decision. I’m suggesting I want to see the books. Show me how this is going to be paid for. Where is it coming from? What’s got to give to make that happen? We need to know.

If government is so confident they can afford to spend $400 million a year in perpetuity, then clearly, they have enough information to be presenting their budget today. That’s the problem. This is a smoke-and-mirrors kind of decision on behalf of government to give themselves some flexibility to do some more things before they have to show the books. That’s a problem, because if it’s not that, then it’s incompetence. Either way, it’s not good enough for British Columbians. We deserve better. J.

Routledge:I’m speaking to you from the traditional, unceded territory of the Coast Salish people: the Mus- queam, the Squamish and the Tsleil-Waututh Nations. I do acknowledge that I’m here as their uninvited guest. It had not been my intention to rise to speak to Bill 10. It is, after all, an interim supply bill meant to provide bridge funding between the end of the fiscal year on March 31 and the passage of a new budget a month from now. I wasn’t going to speak, because I thought it was a no- brainer and it would pass quickly. I didn’t think Bill 10 needed defending.

Then I started listening to the high drama unfolding during debate, and I realized it did need defending. We’ve been living in unprecedented times. It has been a year since the World Health Organization declared COV- ID a pandemic. Who knew a year ago what that even meant in real terms? Who knew a year ago how it would change our lives, our daily practices, our customs — yes, even our legislative timelines? It has even affected the way we govern ourselves. So many things have been slowed down, been put on hold, resources redirected, while we took stock and asked ourselves: “What is safe to do?

What is no longer safe to do?” Our answers to these questions have been evolving as we learned more about the virus itself, how it’s trans- mitted, how we behave collectively and as individuals, and in the face of this crisis, how we protect ourselves and each other. Who would have imagined a year ago that I would be speaking to the chamber by Zoom? I’m not sure a year ago I really even knew what Zoom was. Now I find out that not only am I an MLA, but today, I’m a Zoom LA. Thank goodness we in British Columbia have such an experienced, calm, compassionate public health officer to lead us through this crisis.

Thank you, Dr. Bonnie Henry. And thank goodness we have a Premier and a Minister of Health who had the humility and integrity to let a medical expert lead us and let medical science, not politics, shape our response. [2:00 p.m.] In light of the aspersions that have been cast on their characters during this debate, I want to make a special point of thanking the Premier and the Minister of Health for being such positive and dignified role models. Not all jurisdictions have been as fortunate as British Columbia, and that cost lives and livelihoods unnecessarily.

But Brit- ish Columbia is not an island unto ourselves, and in spite of our efforts, our excellent leadership and social solid- arity here, too many lives have been lost, either directly from COVID or indirectly due to the disruptions that led to skyrocketing overdose deaths. We mourn their loss, and our hearts go out to their loved ones. The pandemic disrupted life as we know it, life as we 866 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

expect it, and that includes the presentation of the 2021 provincial budget. Hence, today, we find ourselves here debating an interim supply bill. Why? Because the pan- demic not only disrupted lives, it disrupted the business of this House, and the 2021 budget was delayed.

The Minister of Finance is asking for bridging funds so that we can continue to pay the people that keep our schools open, to pay the people that provide health care, child care workers; so that we can continue to build more child care centres, more hospitals, new hospitals, new schools; so that we can fund homeless shelters; and so that we can fund second- and third-stage housing for women and their children fleeing violent relationships, continue to open more urgent and primary care networks, reduce wait times for surgeries and life-saving tests. Blank cheque? I don’t think so.

In spite of the repeated claims to the contrary, the oppo- sition speakers know exactly that these are the kinds of critical, community, nourishing expenses that the interim supply bill will fund, yet they dismissively call it an NDP piggy bank. The government is doing good work for the people of British Columbia, work that is too important to be disrup- ted. The interim supply bill should have been a no-brain- er, yet here we are, still debating it. I’m puzzled by the high drama being played out by opposition members.

As this debate has gone on and on, I am becoming ever more shocked and disappointed to hear members opposite use this debate as an opportunity to try to undermine social unity and try to plant seeds of distrust in the government, to try to drive a wedge between the government and the people we are working so hard to protect today and into the future.

So, yes, I do feel compelled — during a pandemic that isn’t over yet, during a time when we need to trust each other and depend on each other as British Columbians to survive this pandemic, both in body and economically — to rise and respond to the smear campaign being launched from across the aisle. I feel compelled to set the record straight. When I was a newly minted MLA, an experienced opposition member volunteered the information that what was said in the chamber was all theatre. She advised me not to take it seriously. Well, I rejected that advice. I do take it seriously. This is not theatre.

It’s real life. And real people in our communities can become collateral damage of overheated rhetoric. I listened to the debate on Tuesday. I think I heard every single speaker from the opposition benches toss in the phrase “fudge-it budget” at least once. Again, I heard it this afternoon. Well, what does that even mean? It’s clearly code. It’s clearly supposed to trigger some vague impres- sion of government corruption and deceit. It’s clearly meant to make our government look bad and call our integrity into question.

It’s clearly meant to undermine trust in the government that is leading us out of this pan- demic. [2:05 p.m.] Few British Columbians will know or remember what “fudge-it budget” means. They just know it’s bad. So I decided to look it up to remind myself, and I am so glad I did. The first thing that came up was this. This is a newspa- per

article from July 12, 2010. I’ll just read the first couple of sentences. “Released on Thursday, B.C. ’s public accounts for the fiscal year 2009-2010 conclusively prove that the pre-election fiscal plan fois- ted on British Columbians by Premier Gordon Campbell and his B.C.

Liberals on Feb 17, 2009, was the worst, the most egregious, the most deceptive fudge-it budget in provincial history. “The public accounts show that Campbell Liberals inflated rev- enues in Victoria’s main operating account, the consolidated rev- enue fund by a stunning $2.558 billion” — and I’m still quoting — “yes, billion, with taxation receipts alone overstated by $2.1 bil- lion.

Even under the broader GAAP , generally accepted account- ing principles, presentation, the Campbell government exagger- ated last year’s expected revenues by a whopping $1.3 billion. “The result: a gargantuan shortfall of $1.779 billion for fiscal 2009-2010, nearly four times higher than Campbell’s oft-repeated pre-election pledge of a deficit no bigger than $495 million. ” Billions. We are talking billions. Now compare that with the so-called fudge-it budget that they want to invoke. Compare that with the $703 million that the Glen Clark government was accused of miscalculating. It pales by comparison.

The members opposite may be regretting that they read out their talking points with such gusto. Maybe they should have checked their facts first. Maybe the next speaker might want to think twice before they remind the public about fudge-it budgets and government piggy banks. Glass houses. During the debate on Bill 10, the B.C. Liberals have been engaging in the worst form of dog whistle politics. It feels like déjà vu. They are trying to rewrite history and paint a distorted picture of the present. Why? Because it worked for them before. What won’t they do or say to get back into power?

They are past masters at tricking people into voting against their own best interests. I want to add my voice to the voices of my colleagues who have been rising one after another to answer the dis- tortions, distractions, and disinformation perpetuated by speakers from the official opposition. Here are some truths I want the people of my community of Burnaby North to remember. Let’s look at our job numbers. One year into this pan- demic, British Columbia has returned to 99.4 percent of pre-pandemic employment levels.

B.C. ’s economy remains one of the strongest in Canada, having created jobs in each of the past ten months. The labour force survey for Feb- ruary shows B.C. added 26,600 jobs, with the majority of those jobs going to women. This dropped B.C. ’s unem- ployment rate to 6.9 percent from 8 percent in January, the month before. Employment in parts of the province is Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 867

above pre-pandemic levels. In Prince George, it’s at 106.7 percent. In Kamloops, it’s at 103.3 percent. [2:10 p.m.] We know that not all sectors are back to full strength. We know they continue to need our support to thrive. We know that child care plays a huge role. According to the Conference Board of Canada, for every dollar that we spend on child care, $6 are returned to the economy. Since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has inves- ted more than $320 million to support 4,500 child care centres. Close to $600 million has gone back to parents in reduced fees and benefits.

More than 36,000 children are receiving $10-a-day child care. More than 13,000 early childhood educators are receiving wage enhancement — and that’s in Burnaby alone. In Burnaby alone, our government has invested almost $24 million in child care. More than $7 million has been returned to the pockets of parents — $7 million that they can spend in their communities and help keep struggling businesses open. And 41 local early childhood educators have received almost $300 million in wage enhancements. Affordable housing is something that matters to my community as well.

I live in a community that wants everyone to have a roof over their heads and a door that locks. We have already built 52 units of supportive hous- ing and another 43 are on the way, as well as 45 new shel- ter spaces. Construction has started on a brand-new Burnaby North Secondary School. It will make a big difference when it is built and operational. Once complete, it will provide students with a modern facility designed for the 21st century — learning, for generations to come.

The re- placement will also feature a new neighbourhood learn- ing centre that will offer adult basic education as well as a stand-alone child care centre funded through the child- care B.C. new spaces fund and the city of Burnaby. Togeth- er these facilities will create more than 120 new licensed child care spaces, including before- and after-school care. Members opposite keep complaining that they don’t know how we will spend the funds we’re requesting in the interim supply bill. Well, I think they do. I think the com- plaints are all part of their theatre.

But if they don’t remem- ber, if it doesn’t come to mind, I hope that these examples will help refresh their memories. In the course of debate over the last few days, I’ve heard members opposite say that government needs to get out of the way. I find those chilling words. That’s more dog whistle politics. It’s code for letting the market do our thinking. It’s code for survival of the fittest. That was a statement first coined by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan about 50 years ago and repeated more recently by the likes of Donald Trump.

It is code for an ideology that has crippled public services, destroyed lives and turned thriving communities into ghost towns all around the world. There is a direct line between that statement, first made 50 years ago, and the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. I would urge opposition debaters to be careful about what they may be unleashing with their overheated, repeated rhetoric. The people of British Columbia soundly rejected that kind of thinking in the last provincial elec- tion. They chose a government that will act proactively to make life better for even the most marginalized and vul- nerable.

Y et I heard opposition members state earlier in this debate that the B.C. NDP bought the election. Those are dangerous and hateful words. They insult the intelli- gence and the integrity of voters. [2:15 p.m.] The people of British Columbia freely chose a govern- ment that will say yes to the following kinds of questions. Does everyone have the right to a job that pays a living wage? Y es. Does everyone have the right to quality health care and social supports when they need it? Y es. Does everyone have the right to a complete education? Y es. Does everyone have the right to affordable housing? Y es.

Does everyone have the right to a clean environment? Y es. Does everyone have the right to a secure retirement? Y es. Those are the principles that my government stands for. We know that we are far from realizing them all, but we are working hard to get there. Some would say we aren’t mov- ing fast enough. Well, anyone watching this debate will appreciate what one of our biggest obstacles has been. The interim supply bill is part of keeping up the momentum in the right direction. Those are the principles we stand for. After listening to the smear campaign and vicious hysteria that made up the B.C.

Liberal debate points, one wonders what they stand for. I. Paton:I’m not sure if I’ve been up before to actually thank the citizens of Delta South since the election, to say thank you so much for getting me back here. I did very well, and I certainly appreciate all their support. As my colleague from Surrey-Panorama recently said, sure, we’re debating Bill 10, but it’s our job. It’s what we do in opposition. From the last speaker, it sounds like they’re absolutely terrified that they’re going to lose this vote. I’m not sure if that will happen.

But boy, they’re pretty worried right now about possibly losing the vote on Bill 10. But I would like to thank the people of Delta South. Boy, it’s so important to me: our Delta Hospital; our Delta Hos- pice, which is going through some real changes right now; and lots of other things that are very important to me in Delta, including dredging, farmland and, of course, pro- tecting Brunswick Point, which is 600 acres of prime farm- land that is still owned by the Crown.

We really need to figure out how we can get that back into the hands of the former families that owned those properties before they 868 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

were expropriated in 1969 for the expansion of the Roberts Bank coal port and terminal port. They never did need that 600 acres. I’m here today, and I rise to speak to Bill 10, although I should note that normally, these supply acts pass with little debate because of the nature of them. They serve a neces- sary purpose and simply allow the government to continue to function. Normally, it wouldn’t attract much attention. But as we know too well, very few things in the past year have unfolded as they usually do. Now, I had a very interesting note dropped to me yester- day morning by a good friend.

It really sums up — in the words of, actually, a very seasoned media person — what’s happening with Bill 10. It goes like this. He sent me this note yesterday morning. He said that theVancouver Sun columnist, Vaughn Palmer, gets it. He gets it. He calls it brazen, as the Premier and his Finance Minister ignore the very budget laws, brought in decades ago, to stop the fin- ancial shell game perpetrated against the taxpayers by the NDP in the 1990s from happening again. Y et as the member for Abbotsford West stated in the House last week, here the B.C. NDP go again.

The NDP have delayed the introduction of our provincial budget that usually takes place in February. While taxpayers have no idea what our current provincial finances are, the NDP are tabling a request for a blank $13 billion cheque. And furthermore, to do this before actually introducing a budget, the B.C. NDP have given themselves an exemption to another provincial statute, the Financial Administration Act, to get the funds. [2:20 p.m.] The request is a major departure from the usual practice in the B.C. House since budget legislation and accountab- ility were tightened two decades ago.

Usually the govern- ment introduces a budget and spending program in Feb- ruary, well before the April 1 start of the financial year. It then seeks approval to spend a quarter of the money in advance, while MLAs spend several months scrutiniz- ing spending estimates for individual ministries. But this year the New Democrats delayed the budget until April 20, while bringing in a $13 billion supply bill, with next to no detail about how it will be spent. Pushing back, we have pointed out how the budget law now being trampled was enacted in response to NDP budgetary shenanigans of the 1990s.

Over the past three years, amidst two simultaneous health crises, we’ve watched as this government has re- turned to a familiar pattern — no accountability, no trans- parency, fixed election dates that have been changed, fixed budget dates that have been changed. Little by little, it has undone a number of the safeguards put in place by the pre- vious B.C. Liberal government to ensure transparency and responsibility around the budget. I’ d like to tell a story about my dad, who is no longer with us. I became a partner with my dad in the farm auc- tion business and the farm cattle business.

We would buy and sell cattle. We exported cattle around the world. My dad always told me that if you can’t shake a farmer’s hand and make a contract with a handshake with that farmer, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. I can remember deals we made with people where we’ d go in and buy $75,000 worth of cattle and say we were going to pick those cattle up in three weeks, because they were going to go to Mexico or they were going to go to Saskatchewan or wherever. Or we’ d make a deal on milk quota. We used to buy and sell milk quotas for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I can always remember shaking a hand with a farmer in the Fraser Valley or whatever part of the province it was, and that was a deal. Y ou shook his hand, and you didn’t have to write it down on paper. What I’ve learned as an MLA, coming here to Victoria, representing Delta South…. I have seen so many things since the election on May 9 of 2017, where this govern- ment changes the rules. There’s no such thing as a hand- shake, where a deal is a deal. No transparency. No account- ability. What about fixed election dates? What happened to fixed election dates?

What happened when they suddenly said to us, “There’s going to be an election on October 24, ” a year in advance of what was to be a fixed election date? I’ d watch TV every night. I always remember the Pre- mier saying: “We’re really not sure. Jeepers. We just don’t know if we’re going to do this or not. It’s pretty tricky. We’re in the middle of a pandemic. ” Suddenly he said: “Y eah, let’s go ahead. We’re going to have an election on October 24. ” Well, isn’t it funny how, almost immediately, we saw television ads?

So you’ve got to believe that somebody was making television ads and radio ads well in advance of this date, where they said: “Jeepers, we’re not sure if we’re going to have an election or not. But we’ve got all sorts of ads on television that are ready to go. ” What about fixed budget dates? That’s supposed to be down as legislation. I don’t see that happening. What about the deal with the Third Party? Y ou know, I thought: there’s a handshake deal. There’s a deal that’s writ- ten down on paper. That was a solid deal with the Third Party, the Green Party, and they broke that agreement.

There’s No. 3 of agreements that they broke, among other things that I’ve witnessed since I’ve come here. Instead of transparency, we see delayed budgets and quarterly reports. We see an expansion of the use of special warrants. We see various methods and ways of bypassing transparency, which is extremely disappointing. Let’s talk about the delayed budget. I came over here in December, just before Christmas. I think we were all kind of excited about the Christmas season coming. We had gotten through the election. Some of us weren’t overly happy with the way things turned out.

We certainly weren’t happy with the fact that the election was called in the middle of a pandemic, one year before the deal, the hand- shake deal, the written contract that said: “There will not be an election until the fall of 2021. ” [2:25 p.m.] Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 869

Back in December, we were brought back here. I came over here in December, and we thought we were here simply to debate one of the gifts. It was a Christmas gift — with the election. Out of the $5 billion, the NDP gov- ernment suddenly had a bunch of that $5 billion saved. They hadn’t spent it. They saved it up. So just before the election, let’s get some ads in the newspaper. Let’s get ads on TV . Let’s get ads in the media. We’re going to give away to every family in this province $1,000, just before the election. Does that sound like electioneering? Does that sound like a gift, a handout?

Every single person in this province is going to get $500, but every family is going to get $1,000. Y ou’ll get it before Christmas. What a Christmas present. An election. We’ve got a whole bunch of money we saved up. We threw it out at you during the election to make sure we got elected during a pandemic. We said we’ d get it to you before Christmas. Well, guess what? People all over this province are still waiting and figur- ing out how they can get their $500 or $1,000. Another bungled situation. They can’t seem to get it right. They can’t get it right with campsites.

They can’t get it right with vaccination rol- lout. They can’t get it right with the money. They can’t get it right with the $300 million that was going to go out to businesses and, of course, only 25 percent of that has even gone out so far. I think $87 million out of $345 million has actually gotten out the door to all these small businesses and tourism outfits that really, really need that money. We came here in December. We thought we were debat- ing the $1,000, the Christmas gift, the election gift. However, we were told on December 8 that a bill passed called Bill 3. It was a bill to delay the budget.

We were quite shocked by that — delay the budget. The budget is supposed to happen in early February. So a budget delayed is help denied to those who need it the most. A budget delayed hurts small businesses that are looking for help to keep the doors open. A budget delayed hurts the tourist sector, which is still waiting for any assist- ance from the NDP . The NDP had no reason to delay introducing a budget for four months. The NDP already passed legislation giv- ing themselves an extra 30 days following an election.

Now they are getting even more time — more than what they originally had brought forward as legislation to take it all the way into April. Well, there was one reason for the delay — so the NDP can avoid scrutiny on spending and their lack of a coherent plan. About the delayed budget. We all thought to our- selves…. We debated this Bill 3 back in December. We debated, because what about government programs? What about grants? What about different user groups that were waiting to find out about the money that was going to come to them with a budget that was going to come down in early February?

What about programs such as agricultural programs for weed control, for crop insurance, for risk manage- ment, for the damage from wildlife, the tree replant pro- gram, farmers markets, the coupon program? What about fairs and rodeos? We just had a great conversation yesterday with the Rodeo Association of B.C. These small-town rodeos are the lifeblood, the economic dri- vers of small towns all over this province. They are des- perately waiting for word, for grant money to upkeep their infrastructure of their rodeo grounds, but also to get word of how they can move forward.

They don’t need word two or three weeks before the date of the rodeo. They need word now so they can plan and get the wheels moving to get going with their rodeo, which is so important to our small towns throughout British Columbia. Sadly, it reminds us of a troubling time in B.C. ’s history, a time when the then NDP Premier had to resign in dis- grace, a scandal that saw the RCMP raid his house while our current Premier’s chief of staff looked on, at a time when another minister was forced to resign from his job in the Premier’s office for backdating a memo.

I’m talking about the notorious fudge-it budget fiasco of the 1990s, which saw the same Premier claim the budget was balanced before the election. But then, after all the votes were counted, surprised everyone with the news that it actually wasn’t. [2:30 p.m.] Fast-forward to today, and we have a Premier who called a snap election back in the fall in the middle of a global pandemic that set in motion another series of unfortunate events. [S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.] We haven’t had a proper quarterly report.

Recovery pro- grams that are supposed to help British Columbians have been bungled over and over, yet the Premier comes before the House to ask for $13 billion without a budget and without telling us how it will be spent. Again, I reiterate how disappointed I am about the things I have witnessed since coming here as an MLA — of broken deals, broken legislation, broken acts that said there would not be an election until the fall of 2021, fixed budget dates that have been broken. This kind of behaviour is the very reason our previous B.C. Liberal government had to bring in protections in the first place.

So what did we do? We brought in balanced- budget legislation. We brought in fixed budget dates, and we cemented the use of the Economic Forecast Council. These were all steps that made B.C. the national leader for sound, transparent, responsible fiscal management, and it was all necessary in order to fix the numerous mistakes of the previous NDP government. More than two decades later, we can’t help but be reminded of the old NDP playbook secrecy that plagued the previous NDP government and nearly brought this 870 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

province and its finances to the brink. We cannot let that happen again. I have to ask how the NDP expect British Columbians to trust a government that wants a blank cheque for $13 billion without giving any indication how they plan to spend that money. Let’s look at the overwhelming number of taxes that have been added, through legislation, since I came here in May of 2017. I’m astounded that we have a government that thinks we can move our way into eco- nomic prosperity by taxing the people of British Columbia in 23 new and different ways to create income in this province.

Let me read some of them: the employer health tax — I’ll get back to that, as far as how our farmers and our agri- cultural sector handle the employer health tax; the Vic- toria gas tax; the Vancouver gas tax; the Airbnb tax; the tobacco tax; the foreign buyers tax; the additional school tax; the speculation tax; photo radar; carbon tax; park- ing sales tax; development cost charge increases; property tax; cannabis tax; income tax; corporate tax; ICBC unlis- ted driver premium and ICBC learner premium; the hydro crisis fund tax. I go across the page, and we’re just coming to this.

Wow — the latest one, the newest, the latest. Do you like Netflix? I guess we all do, because during the pandemic, pretty much all we have to do at night is try and find a new series we haven’t yet seen. But it’s on Netflix, and we’re going to have to pay a tax to watch television now, at night. Then, if your kids want to have a sugary drink, which I don’t think they should have…. I think they should have milk, because I was a dairy farmer for a great part of my life. There is a tax now on sugary drinks. So we’ve pretty much hit everything we possibly can, as far as taxes go.

I want to talk for a minute about agriculture, which is very dear to me, and how delaying the budget and throw- ing at us $13 billion worth of spending that nobody seems to know…. There are no lines that say, “This is how we’re going to spend this money in the first quarter, ” because generally, that would come out after the budget is done. As a farmer, I’m thinking of analogies of how crazy this is. Would you go to the bank as a farmer and say: “I’ d like to borrow $1 million, because I’m going to expand. I want to increase my milk quota. I want to buy some more cattle. I need to build a new barn.

I need a couple new tractors”? And the banker says: “Well, you want $1 million. Okay, so tell us what you’re going to spend it on. Tell us if you have some sort of a financial plan in place, and give us, line- by-line, how you’re going to spend this $1 million so, as a bank, we feel safe by lending you this money. ” [2:35 p.m.] But the farmer says: “Well, I don’t really know. I haven’t really thought about it. I just think I need $1 million. ” Well, the bank says: “Forget it.

We’re not going to give that to you. ” If you were a bank, and the farmer wanted to borrow some money, they would say: “Well, do you have a bud- get?” All businesses, including farms nowadays, would have a budget they could present to the bank so the bank could see exactly where this money is going to be spent.

If you were a rancher, and you were waiting to find out about tenure or lease on some ranchland for grazing cattle, would you go out and purchase 100 bred cows — put the money down and purchase those cows — not knowing if you’re actually going to get that tenure because you’re wait- ing to find out if that tenure is going to be given to you? That’s kind of what’s happening here.

If you were a farmer, would you purchase your seed and your fertilizer, and have it all stockpiled, if you didn’t know for sure that you were getting the land that you were plan- ning to rent from a neighbour down the road — an extra 100 acres? Y ou wouldn’t do that. That’s what I see with this $13 billion. It’s not accounted for. There’s no line-by-line item to say: “This is where we’re planning to spend this money. ” As far as government programs, there have got to be government agencies scratching their heads, going: “What is happening here? Why aren’t we seeing a budget?” The Agricultural Land Commission.

The provincial lab in Abbotsford that is so important to the livestock and fishing industry in this province. The Farm Industry Review Board. There’s another program. The Investment Agricul- ture Foundation. The SPCA. They’re all wondering and waiting. I’m so attached to all these good rural things that we have in the way of fairs and rodeos. The Pacific National Exhibition is not a rural thing by any means, but I’ve been on a committee, on a board of directors for agriculture at the PNE, for in excess of 30 years now.

It’s so important for our young people throughout the province to come to the PNE with their 4-H projects. It’s one of the most exciting weeks of their entire year — to come to the PNE with their 4-H project and experience the big city, the excitement of the PNE. The PNE is slowly dying. These poor folks in there…. I’ve been so involved with the PNE for so many years. They’re waiting to find out if there is going to be any money coming through to them. All the little fairs all over this province. The Armstrong fair — the IPE, as it’s called. The Cloverdale Fair. The Chil- liwack Fair. The Abbotsford fair.

The rodeos all over this province, in Falkland, in Williams Lake, in Fort St. John. All these different rural economic drivers are waiting to find out if there is going to be money for them, yet no budget. No budget until the middle of April. That leads me to something that got brought up just today in question period. I think of the mandate that has been handed down to our…. I digress. I’m sorry. I’m going off topic a little bit. I’ll just quickly talk about a little lake called Tachick Lake just up by Vanderhoof.

First Nations want to deal with addiction and the issues of people, and they found this great little old resort on the Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 871

side of Tachick Lake. Can you picture it? These cabins are 60 years old. And just today in question period, we said: “What is going on with the mandates that you’ve given to the Agricultural Land Commission where they would turn down a piece of land on the side of a lake that hasn’t had any farming on it in history — turn that down as an applic- ation to put in an addiction and treatment centre by the Carrier-Sekani Family Services organization?” We simply don’t have any faith that the NDP will spend this money well. Their track record speaks for itself.

Last March, all parties came together — I remember that; I was actually asked to come over here as one of the three of us, I think, that came over here last March — to approve $5 billion in COVID recovery aid. We did that in good faith. They sat on the money for months, using as part of their election platform the $1,000 Christmas present that still is not complete. [2:40 p.m.] Then we saw a series of delays and bungling by the gov- ernment. We’ve seen very few dollars actually get into the hands of British Columbians who need it.

The small and medium-sized business recovery grant program has been botched from the start. Just yesterday there was an announcement that only…. After all this time, I cannot believe this. Y ou know, what’s the easiest thing anybody could do? How about at Hal- loween? The easiest thing to do is give away candy to the kids when they come to the door. But this government has only been able to hand out $87 million, out of $345 mil- lion, in COVID recovery money for small businesses and non-profits in this province that need that money.

They’re still trying to figure out how to get it, because it’s the most complicated system anyone has ever come across. In my riding, people constantly come to me. “How much money do I have to put out to a lawyer, an account- ant or someone who can figure out the paperwork for me to actually apply for this money?” Only 25 percent of $340 million has been handed out so far. It had to undergo mul- tiple changes due to complaints from businesses and com- munities, because this government cannot get it right.

One thing I’ve noticed since I came here to Victoria is that as opposition, we have pounded away and pounded away on issues that we thought needed to be fixed. Surpris- ingly, it’s amazing how many times the NDP has picked up on what we’ve said and actually fixed the situation. Here’s one of them, where they made a fix, just the other day, to extend the period of time — beyond March 31, I think it was — for people to still try and figure out the red tape and the paperwork to get their portion of the $345 million. Still, today, only a fraction of the funds has gone out the door.

Meanwhile, we have more and more busi- nesses being forced to close their doors because they can’t afford to wait any longer. It’s shameful, and it’s embarrass- ing. The NDP government has yet to prove it can manage important programs like these, and the significant dollars behind them. One other thing I’ d to bring up while I’m here. It’s kind of something I’ d like to get into question period or a two- minute statement, but I’ve got to do this. It has to do with money going out. The NDP government, just about a year ago, said that they were going to shut down the Delta Hos- pice.

They were going to take over, through Fraser Health, to run the Delta Hospice. I’m good with that. We had a board that wasn’t really working out for us, a society. We’re kind of happy that this is going to happen. But I cannot get anyone — as an MLA for Delta, my office is a two-minute drive from the Delta Hospice — to tell me what is going on. On February 25, the funding ended to the Delta Hospice, and we’re all wait- ing to find out what’s going on. When can we get people that are in dire need going into this wonderful hospice?

Please, can someone from the ministry or from Fraser Health get in touch with me so that I can let my people know what is happening with the funding and with the employees that are going to go back to work at this Delta Hospice? In closing, I want to reiterate that it was a B.C. Liberal government that put in a number of precautions that were necessary because of the former NDP government’s incompetence and secrecy around finances.

The current NDP administration is trying to skirt the rules, find work- arounds and leave everyone in the dark about the current financial picture and about its plans for the huge amount of money it’s now asking for. The last time this government spent public funds with- out a proper budget was back in the 1990s, a fudge-it budget era, a dark

chapter indeed. We saw it happen once, and we cannot let it happen again. N. Sharma:I’m happy to rise today to speak in support of Bill 10, the interim supply bill. I’m on the unceded tra- ditional territory of theLək̓ ʷəŋin̓ əŋ people, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, and I’m very grateful for that. Over 12 months ago, COVID-19 came into B.C. and changed everything for families, business and govern- ment. What was clear was that government had to act quickly to support people, invest in health care, and keep people safe.

What has also been clear over these last 12 months is that B.C. can count on their government. [2:45 p.m.] We’ve invested over $10 billion in COVID-19 relief and recovery measures, contributing more per capita to busi- nesses and people than any other province. These meas- ures have focused on protecting people’s health and liveli- hoods through support of workers, businesses, communit- ies, health care and other critical services. British Colum- bians can know that their government is looking out for them — all of them, not just the people on top.

One of these programs is the small business grants, unique in all of Canada. Not long ago, I had the chance 872 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

to connect with small businesses in my riding and speak with them about the grant program. I heard from a hair salon owner who was so grateful for the grant program that would help them build a bridge across this pandemic. It’s one of the many examples of government supports that have been supporting people through this recovery, including the pandemic relief payment, which is not a gift. It’s badly needed for people that are going through the worst outcomes of this pandemic, and we’ve heard nothing but great stories about its impact in people’s lives. But it doesn’t stop there.

We’ve made investments to support child care, build up our health care response to COVID, and they’re just some examples of the choices that we’ve made at the time of this pandemic. We know we have more work to do, and we will do it. But there are signs of hope. One year into this pandemic, British Columbia has returned to 99.4 percent of pre-pandemic employ- ment levels. B.C. ’s economy remains one of the strongest in Canada, having created jobs in each of the ten past months.

The labour force survey for February shows B.C. added over 26,000 jobs with unemployment rates to 6.9 percent from 8 percent in January, the month before. Employment in some parts of the province is above pre- pandemic levels. In Prince George, it’s at 106 percent, and in Kamloops, it’s 103 percent. We know that we’ll take time to recover, especially for those hardest hit during the pan- demic, like the tourism and hospitality sector. But these signs of hope are a sign of the choices that our government has made to be on the side of people as we move towards a pandemic recovery.

This interim supply bill is a continuation of our com- mitment to British Columbians. It’s bridge funding until we get to the budget just a month from now. This interim supply agreement will help our government do two things: ensure that people, businesses and communities know that support will be there for them regardless of the timing of the budget. Despite the opposition characterizing this as a unique practice, it’s very common to have an interim supply bill. The province passes an interim supply bill to ensure that current supports and services can continue while the new budget is debated in the Legislature.

That will be only a short month away. It allows for robust estimates debate at the time of the budget and the transparency that British Columbians expect of a budgetary process. It also gives us greater time to connect with businesses and people and develop an effective long-term plan that builds on all of our current supports. I can assure you that Budget 2021 will continue to focus on keeping people safe through the pandemic. It will con- tinue to be responsive to the needs of people, businesses and communities to see them through this pandemic and into a strong economic recovery that supports us all.

During this debate, we’ve heard a lot from opposition, from the other side, on this bill. Quite frankly, I’m con- fused why anybody would oppose a bill that will ensure that vital programs and services will continue. Essential workers need to be paid. People delivering our vital vac- cine program need to be supported in their work, now more than ever. The opposition seems to be against sup- porting these people as we move towards a transparent and open debate when the budget is introduced. During this debate, I’ve also heard talk about what happened in the ’90s. Now, I wasn’t there in the ’90s.

I’m sure I was busy listening to boy bands and doing the things that people did in the ’90s. What I can say is that I am proud to be in a government that is focused on the time we are in right now and responding to the needs of British Columbians at their highest need in this unpre- cedented time. [2:50 p.m.] While the opposition remains focused on the past — bringing up terms like fudge-it budget that, quite frankly, I’ve never heard of before — we will remain focused on the needs of British Columbians today.

I’ll just end by saying that this government, in its response to the pandemic, has been relying on British Col- umbians working together. We’ve made it this far through this difficult time by all of us working together to keep each other safe, to invest in the things that we need, to support our front-line workers and to bridge our economy through the recovery. I’m so proud of the work that this government has done to get us there, and I’m looking for- ward to a budget that continues to address the needs of British Columbians. J. Sturdy:I am pleased to take my place in the debate on Bill 10, the Supply Act.

An interim supply act is gener- ally a pretty mundane affair, as I think we all understand. It provides an opportunity for government to continue to operate and function in the first quarter of the year. But like many pieces of legislation, or certainly this year, it’s notable in many ways. One of those ways is that in this case, I think virtually for the first time ever, there is, frankly, no explanation of how the billions and billions and billions of dollars that are being asked for are intended or planned to be spent.

The response from government seems to be: “Just trust us. ” “Trust us, ” they say. “It’s all going to be fine. Just trust us. ” But there’s no submitted spending plan, no budget. I think we all understand that the usual process would be throne speech — we saw a throne speech of sorts in December — then budget and then interim supply request. Then, of course, into estimates, where we go into the line-by-line details of a multi-billion-dollar budget. It’s a complicated operation. That would be the usual process.

This provides clarity to the public and understanding of where we’re going and what the intention of government is. It provides clarity and understanding to the members of this Legislature — not as we’re seeing right now. I was going to call it a blank cheque, but it’s not a blank cheque. It’s a cheque for $13.4 Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 873

billion with no invoice, with no details, with no context. It’s a trust-us thing. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll all work out. ” It should be alarming. It should be concerning to all of us in the House. It includes workarounds to avoid the rules, to avoid the regulations, to avoid the constraints that are put in place by the Financial Administration Act, which legally requires government to submit a budget in advance of an interim supply bill. This should be concerning to all of us.

Some of these rules and policies and processes were put in place some 20 years ago in response to what the previous member referred to, in terms of some of the terrible untruths of the 1990s, as the big fudge-it. If the member for Vancouver- Hastings hasn’t heard of the fudge-it budget, she may well want to look it up and understand what that term means and who was involved. [2:55 p.m.] The B.C.

Liberal government that came after those NDP governments of the ’90s put in place policies and laws to ensure that there was transparency, to ensure that gov- ernment was responsible and was accountable for these budget numbers, for the expenditures. And while the Attorney railed on earlier about a number of the decisions that were made…. Well, that’s fair. Y ou don’t have to like the decisions; you don’t have to agree with the decisions. But at least they were written out. They were on paper.

They were accounted for, unlike what is being proposed right now with an interim supply bill without any account- ability, without a budget associated with it. The previous Liberal government of the early 2000s also put in place requirements for balanced budgets. I recog- nize that this year is an exceptional year and that’s not going to be the case. But certainly that was something that earlier governments put in place — and the require- ment for quarterly reports. These, I think, were very pos- itive things. They were positive actions. They served the public, and they held government accountable.

They have stood the test of time until recently, where there seems to be an initiative, a desire, to dismantle them — actually, frankly, at a bit of an alarming rate. In this case, we’re talking about a requirement to put in place a budget and then request this interim supply bill, but this government doesn’t want to do that — no budget, an unprecedented amount of money without accountability. Avoidance and delay really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It really began….

Well, it began a number of years ago, but certainly last year we saw a request by the previous Finance Minister, last summer, to delay a budget submis- sion by a month in a year after an election. That was at the NDP’s request, and I believe we all, essentially, agreed to it at the end of the day. Y ou’ d have to wonder why we would agree to it. This was really about a delay of a month in the case of an election year to recognize that there’s a possibility of a transition.

There’s often a transition of government to a new government, and it takes time to understand what’s in the books, what the situation looks like and what the cur- rent state of affairs is and move on to put forward anoth- er budget. So it didn’t seem unreasonable to look at a one- month delay. But in the case of a fall election — you know, that fall election — well, this is what caused the whole thing in the first place. The NDP changed the fixed election dates from a date in…. Typically, ever since the 2000s or before, it was a fixed date, put in place by the B.C. Liberals for early May.

That had been the practice for a long time. But there was a desire to change those election dates to the fall. The rationale, theoretically, was around the Auditor General’s report being made available in the summertime. So going into an election with a clear third-party assessment of what the financial situation was — that was the rationale around the change in the election date. There was some speculation in some part, in some places, that it was more about UBC students being in class in a traditionally tight riding, but no evidence of that. Be that as it may, the dates were changed.

I think the point is that this is not a new government. [3:00 p.m.] We had a fixed election date, which, frankly, wasn’t lived up to. But we had a fixed election date and a fall election, a request to extend the date to submit a budget. This is a continuation of the existing government. This is not a new government. This is a government that should have been able to hit the ground running. In December, the NDP decided they needed another month.

They really shouldn’t need any amendment to the time, because this, as I say, was a government that was a continuation of an existing one and should have really been able to hit the ground running. Then we were brought back to the House late. Normally we come back in early February. That didn’t happen. It was the beginning of March. We needed a delay, and then we get called back late. Then we see we have, really, a pretty darn light legislative agenda, and now no budget but a request for an awful lot of money. Budgets really are where the rubber hits the road. It’s the plan. It lays out the path.

In this case, we don’t have one. We just have a request for $13.4 billion. By the time we do get around to a budget — two months late for a govern- ment that’s been around for four years and can’t get it in even remotely on time. But hey: “Trust us. Trust us. ” No budget, $13.4 billion, but: “Trust us. Trust the Premier. ” This is where the member for Vancouver-Hastings may want to pay attention. Trust the Premier. Trust his chief of staff, Geoff Meggs. Trust his current Health Minister. All intimate insiders in the fudge-it budget and memo-gate. But: “Trust us.

Trust us. ” No quarterly reports — there was an interim quarterly report — but expanded use of special warrants. Then, of course, we’ve got the snap election, in the middle of a pan- demic. The Green Party has certainly described their con- cern with that, that basically we’re getting stabbed in the 874 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

back. There was a coalition, a confidence and supply agree- ment. Government was operating. There was cooperation, and then treachery. This was purely political opportunism. But, “Trust us, ” they say. “Trust us, ” even though there was what looks like a demonstrable disregard for public health. I think many members will have seen a graph of the fall, where there is the election call, and a week to two weeks after the elec- tion is called — after the writ is dropped — COVID infec- tions just spike. Correlation? Absolutely. Causation? Okay, I get that correlation is not causation. But it’s more than coincidence.

More than coincidence. This was just a cynic- al grab for power with a disregard for the public. But: “Just trust us. ” Well, why? Let’s look at some other examples. Program mismanage- ment. The B.C. election benefit bribe — or the B.C. elec- tion benefit? What? Like: “Vote for us, and we’ll give you $1,000. ” Whatever it was called. “Vote for us, and we’ll have $1,000 in your stocking for Christmas. ” But I have reports of constituents in my constituency who still haven’t got the money. Maybe they didn’t vote for them. [3:05 p.m.] What about the small and medium business recovery grant?

Twelve months — no delivery. Twelve months ago, in a cooperative fashion, we were, as the member again…. The previous speaker was talking about all of us cooper- ating and working together. That was, in fact, happening, starting in March. We put aside…. We all agreed on it. I think it was a $5 billion fund, of which $1½ billion was going to small and medium businesses or to business, recognizing that this is a catastrophic situation. That was supposed to…. That was in March. And what happened in April? Well, nothing. May, nothing. June, July, nothing. August. Businesses are reeling, and no support.

So then September rolls around, and there’s an an- nouncement. Ah, yes. There’s finally going to be a business recovery grant made available. And was it the next day the election was called? This was simply an election…. The government used this fund, that we all agreed to, all parties in the House agreed to…. I think it was a unanimous vote. The government used it as an election campaign carrot while we have the tourism and hospitality industries reel- ing. Just as an aside here, my wife’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago.

We went to Whistler, which is just down the road from where I live, by the way, so I wasn’t travelling. We went to Whistler for dinner for her birthday, and walk- ing around in the village, it was eerie. There was nobody there. The patios, which would normally be packed…. The village stroll, which would normally be shoulder to shoulder, was empty. I said to her that it reminded me very much of what it was like in the ’90s in November, when there was no shoulder season. There was nothing. There was nobody there. It was eerie, frankly. And this is an international destination. The international border is closed.

Y ou know, papered windows like I’ve never seen before. This is cata- strophic. And the money was put in place to support busi- nesses like these in March. And you know what? It still hasn’t essentially been delivered. What did I hear today? Twenty-four percent of the $300 million has been allocated so far. The program parameters have been changed. The deadlines have been extended. It’s just a disaster. And a year later…. We’re a year into it, a year after the money was approved, and it’s still not in the hands of the businesses and the families that need it. So a promise made, a promise not delivered.

Sound familiar? A $400 renter rebate. Does that remind anybody of anything? Well, it should. “Trust us, ” they say. Trust. “Nothing to see here. ” Dismantle accountability, use spe- cial warrants, rule by fiat — that certainly seems the inten- tion. And then we have to listen to NDP backbenchers heap scorn on B.C. Liberals. For what? For bringing in bal- anced-budget legislation and then actually balancing the budget. For fixing budget dates. Whoa. Terrible thing. For the Economic Forecast Council. For enhanced transpar- ency through quarterly reports.

Combined, all of these initiatives made B.C. a leader for sound, transparent fiscal management. We’re the envy of the country. All, frankly, initiatives necessary to repair British Columbia’s damaged reputation from the ’90s. [3:10 p.m.] By the way, I think I mentioned we put in these fixed election dates — dates that we lived with, that B.C. Liberal Premiers lived with and that the NDP ignored at the first possible opportunity. In fact, they couldn’t even get through one election cycle — not one — before breaking that fixed election date. They couldn’t even live with their own legislation rules.

It’s phenomenal. “Trust us, ” they say. “Trust us. ” Well, $13 billion is what they ask for now. Frankly, that’s a whopper, especially when we have to listen to NDP backbenchers rail on — when we met our responsibilities. We presented lawfully, we fully disclosed annual budgets and quarterly reports, and we balanced the budgets. We paid down the debt, eliminated the operating deficit. Members across the aisle might want to understand what that is, as well. We were not borrowing to do daily operations. We reduced the debt-to-GDP , which reduces borrowing costs.

This government has simply coasted on the foundations that B.C. Liberals built: a record investment in infrastruc- ture. “Terrible, terrible, terrible” is what the NDP back- benchers — and, frankly, some of the frontbenchers — would say. “They gutted everything; they gutted it. They gutted education, gutted health care, gutted it, ” they say. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard them say that. Well, how about some facts? One day, when a budget gets presented, eventually, there will be accompanying estimates books. Well, the previous ones are online. They might want to look it up.

Some of these backbenchers might want to pay attention and look it up. Pull up the Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 875

budgets; pull up the estimates — which I did last night, just because this is particularly irksome. The health care budget, 2002-2003, of $10.2 billion; 2017 budget, submitted in February of 2017, $18.8 bil- lion. So 2002-2003, $10.2 million; 2017-18, $18.8 billion. That does not sound gutted to me. Let’s talk about edu- cation, because that is the favourite one: “Education gut- ted. ” Budget 2002-03, $1.9 billion. I think I had K-to-12, $1.9 billion, 2002-2003; ’17-’18, $5.8 billion. So $1.9 mil- lion to $5.8 billion — what’s that? It’s pretty much a trip- ling of the budget.

That is what these backbenchers call gutted. It just seems to me that they’re so lazy that they just believe everything that they hear. Just because you say it, it doesn’t make it true. Facts don’t lie. Deputy Speaker:Member, if I might…. J. Sturdy:I just read them out, so…. Deputy Speaker:Member for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky. J. Sturdy:So if facts don’t lie, who is? But “Trust us, ” they say. “Trust us. ” Deputy Speaker:Member for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky. Member? J. Sturdy:No budget…. Deputy Speaker:Member. Member, the Speaker is try- ing to get through to you. J. Sturdy:Give us the money.

Deputy Speaker:Member for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, please listen to the words of the Speaker. I’m trying to reach you. I understand the temptation to target certain members within the House and call them names if you disagree with them. I would ask the member to withdraw. I don’t believe any member in this House is lazy, and I would ask the member to withdraw that statement. J. Sturdy: Fair enough, Mr. Speaker. I withdraw the accusation of laziness, although I would point out, Mr. Speaker, that the accusation that an education budget was gutted when it was in fact….

Deputy Speaker:I’m not interested in having a debate with the member. I asked the member to withdraw his statement. That is what I requested. J. Sturdy:I believe I did withdraw the statement, Mr. Speaker. I withdraw the accusation of laziness. [3:15 p.m.] Deputy Speaker:Thank you. Please proceed. J. Sturdy:We have a request — an interim supply bill request. “Just give us the money, ” is what it comes down to. “Trust us, ” they say, “What have we ever done?” Well, we have seen this movie before, and it doesn’t end well. I don’t believe the trust is justified. H.

Sandhu: Before I speak to Bill 10, I would like to acknowledge that I am joining this session virtually, from the unceded territory of the Okanagan Indian Nations. I thank them for their stewardship of this land. I wholeheartedly speak in favour of Bill 10, Supply Act, as I am confident and assured that this much-needed money will help British Columbians to thrive during and after the pandemic. I would like to make one thing very clear to the members of the opposition — that I am speak- ing to this bill by carefully reading and re-reading this bill, as I always do my research.

I am an educated and well-informed adult, so I am aware about my decision to support what I strongly believe in, as this bill is solely meant to help British Columbians. As an elected representative for people in Vernon-Mon- ashee, who put their trust and support behind me, it mat- ters to me to do my research behind every bill in order to see if this will benefit my constituents. I am also a mother of three children in university to high school, one getting ready for elementary school. I can appreciate the sincere efforts and improvements our B.C.

NDP government has made in order to support people during the pandemic at every front, whether it was health care, keeping schools safe, helping individu- als by giving them the B.C. recovery benefit — plus a one-time $1,000 to many British Columbians who had lost jobs in 2020 when the pandemic started — small and medium-sized business recovery grants, and addi- tional mental health and recovery beds. Our govern- ment also made the single largest investment in the housing sector, and much more.

It is important for people, businesses and communities to know that this support will be there, that it will be there for them, regardless of the timing of the budget. We’ve come a long way together, but the road to recovery is still ahead of us. Our support will continue for British Col- umbians. We need to address the pandemic, as this is the biggest challenge and reality that the entire world is facing. I’m not sure why some members of the opposition are expressing their concerns when we mention that we are dealing with the pandemic.

We have to mention that, because every decision we are making, every action we’re taking, is linked to the pandemic. So I’m not sure what the reluctance is of accepting that — that we shouldn’t men- tion it or we’re making an excuse. No. It is a serious reality that we all have to deal with. 876 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

We all know that it is a common practice every year that the province passes an interim supply bill to ensure that current supports and services can continue while the new budget is debated in the Legislature. We always have inter- im supply, well past the end of the fiscal year, to allow for a robust estimates debate. As previously mentioned by our hon. Finance Minister, moving the budget to April gives us greater time to connect with the businesses and people and develop an effective long-term plan that builds on all our current supports.

I am confident that Budget 2020 will continue to focus on keeping people safe during the pandemic. We will do this with an eye to how we position our province to seize the opportunity that recovery will offer. [3:20 p.m.] It was heartwarming for me to walk into my office at the Legislature on March 8, the first day of me being there, and see a beautiful thank-you card from one of my con- stituents, thanking our government for the B.C. recovery benefit. I’ll quickly read that beautiful sentiment. “Greet- ings from Vernon. Recently I received my B.C. recovery benefit.

I was able to share that money with my daughter and her young family. I am sure they can put that money to very good use in these unusual and difficult times. Thank you very much for all your efforts. Happy new year. ” I won’t mention names, as I haven’t asked their permis- sion — if I was allowed to do so. There were several other emails, and also, I personally talked to the small and medi- um-sized business owners here in my community when I went there to share the business recovery grant. Everybody is so appreciative. Not only that; I have been regularly get- ting some cards here in Vernon.

I come from the health care sector and worked at the front lines, even shortly after my election. My husband is also working in health care, and we talk often, since COV- ID started. We don’t even want to think or imagine what we would have done if we had the B.C. Liberal government in power. These same sentiments are being shared by many health care workers in the staff and break rooms. We are so grateful for the work that the B.C. NDP government has done, and we are grateful that they are in power. I’m not saying the previous government. I am saying the B.C. Liberal government.

Given what we have witnessed over 16 years of experience in a variety of health care set- tings and with two health authorities, you cannot find a better person to contrast than the ones who faced these challenges and witnessed the direct effects of the cuts and addition to the services. So we can contrast it really well. We don’t need to read any books. We have lived through this and are still living through this. One can desperately run around to search for the quotes, trying to relate.

I would suggest to the members of the opposition: rather than speaking to the people who have been away from health care for over a decade and are out of touch, go talk to the ones who have lived through your government’s cuts and austerity, and even lost loved ones, clearly due to the lack of resources, like I did — my late husband. This bill will help to continue the efforts of B.C. ’s recov- ery. We can come out of this pandemic stronger, and it will help us with the transition. If members of the opposition want to talk to people at the front lines, I have hundreds of names.

I can connect you with those people so you can clearly know what it meant — all the supports that the B.C. NDP government has added since COVID started or since they were made government. This money will help the health care sector, the mental health and addiction crisis, housing, much-needed child care centres, infrastructure, our schools and teachers. I am so proud of our B.C. government’s commitment and work every day to reduce poverty, to make life more affordable, and for fulfilling more than 79 percent of our promises within 3½ years. We continue to do so.

A few examples are: eliminating the MSP premiums; freezing rental rates; large cuts to ICBC rates, despite hav- ing to fix the dumpster fire that was created by the B.C. Liberal government; the largest increase in the disability benefit for the first time since 1987; and making the largest investment in student housing in B.C. to help our students to succeed. I am proud to share that, in the Okanagan, we just received $66 million for the Okanagan College campuses in Vernon, Kelowna and Salmon Arm, where 276 beds are being added. This is the first time in B.C. ’s history for Ver- non to receive student housing.

This will help to free up the rental housing in the community. Students will be able to save time and money, as these rental rates are going to be 25 to 30 percent lower than the rental market. [3:25 p.m.] One year into this pandemic, British Columbia has returned to 99.4 percent of pre-pandemic employment levels. B.C. ’s economy remains one of the strongest in Canada, having created jobs in each of the past ten months. The labour force survey in February shows that B.C. added almost 2,700 jobs, with the majority of those jobs going to women.

This dropped B.C. ’s unemployment rate to 6.9 percent from 8 percent in January and the month before. I don’t know why members of the opposition don’t see those facts. We’re not making stuff up. These are the facts. These are everywhere. If you do your research, you’ll find them, and you’ll be happy to know that. Employment in some parts of the province is above pre- pandemic levels. Prince George, for example, is at 106.7 percent, and Kamloops is at 103.3 percent.

While this does not mean that all sectors are back to full strength, it does mean that even as our tourism and hospitality sectors con- tinue to struggle, our economy is growing. It also means that our approach is working — to support businesses, to operate safely. It means that businesses have stepped up to this challenge with hard work and dedication. This pandemic has affected every British Columbian, Thursday, March 18, 2021 British Columbia Debates 877

but we recognize that some people and businesses have been impacted more severely than others. People of colour, especially, continue to experience higher rates of unem- ployment. We are committed to addressing the needs of the hardest hit and ensuring recovery works for everyone. A couple of days ago I heard from a member of the opposition that the B.C. Liberals left us with the surplus budget. I chuckled at that statement, because I don’t agree with this statement. As the majority of British Columbians now know, that so-called surplus budget was not a surplus budget. It was the biggest deception. How?

Let me clarify and explain it to you: by taking mil- lions of dollars away from Crown corporations like ICBC, mismanaging B.C. Hydro,money laundering, clawing back the disability bus passes and privatizing many services to avoid taking responsibility. It’s not a surplus budget. I am amazed by the audacity of the members of the opposi- tion talking about transparency, given their very own track record. It is a big deception. Why do members from the opposition forget to men- tion or highlight the $72 billion debt that was acquired under the B.C. Liberals’ government? Let me remind you of some of those numbers.

Total provincial debt was around $45.2 billion when Ms. Clark took office in 2012. That was swollen to $65.3 billion. Then, according to the quarterly report at the time, it reached $72 billion in 2019. Talk about fiscal responsibility. B.C. Liberals also completely gutted — yes, they gut- ted…. I’m sorry some members think these words are harsh, but that was the reality. I just can’t help it, not to mention…. Health care is the sector you don’t touch, or you shouldn’t touch, because people’s lives depend on how it is budgeted. So, yes, B.C.

Liberals also completely gut- ted the health care system by laying off many — largely female — health care workers. Making the fewest build- ings, having no staff and cutting existing health care staff is not called improving the health care services. How would opposition members justify that so-called surplus budget that they’re referring to, to many of the health care colleagues who struggled financially due to the large 10 percent wage rollbacks under the B.C. Liberals?

And many job losses with the privatization of services, like long-term care centres, food services and laundry — that was a recent one, especially in Interior Health, as well. Laundry was privatized and sold to one of their biggest donors from Alberta. [N. Letnick in the chair.] I was so relieved that big money is taken out of politics, which helped us to remove a reputation of the wild west of Canadian political cash, where people were totally for- gotten and the top 2 percent were the influencers on B.C. Liberals’ government’s decision-making. It is a harsh reality.

I’m sorry I have to mention it, but it’s good to contrast once in a while so voters know. To be clear, I’m not saying previous government. I am saying B.C. Liberals, as I’m more than happy to remind people of B.C. Liberals’ track record. [3:30 p.m.] Members from the opposition are also stuck in the ’90s and are so obsessed with the ’90s, yet they don’t like it when we mention 2016 to contrast. Let me remind you of the impact of the B.C.

Liberals’ cuts and the con- sequences we have faced — as a young parent whose kids are in the education system and, as I mentioned, as health care professionals — in the delayed diagnosis and the error. Their direct impact was placed on kids seek- ing, like my daughter…. She had to wait for six to seven years for the service that she needed for her learning dis- ability because those current services were cut. Finally, in 2017, some of the resources were added, and that’s when she accessed those services. But by then, it was too late. She was ready for high school.

Again, to the previous member, we don’t need to read any books if you are going through those lived exper- iences. If the member wants to discuss the ’90s track record, then I don’t think it’s unfair to reflect on the Social Credit’s history, where only the party name was changed but some cases remained the same. There should be no need to change party names to hide the track record in order to mislead voters. It is so disappointing to hear the members of the oppos- ition calling the recovery benefit “vote by money” .

By mak- ing such statements, you are questioning the integrity of our voters and pretty much saying that British Columbians sell their votes. This is such a shame for any elected official, including myself, to make such statements or allegations. There was also a comment made during a media inter- view, after the elections, from one of the B.C. Liberal can- didates, saying that people were confused between the fed- eral Liberals and the B.C. Liberal government, and that was the reason for losing some seats. Again, questioning voters’ intelligence and IQ level — I can’t even imagine. Voters and longtime B.C.

Liberal supporters who talked to me — yes, talked to me — were so frustrated and disap- pointed at such statements. Wow. Just wow. I want to remind the members of the opposition that when you baselessly point a finger towards others, three fingers get pointed at you. The B.C. NDP presented three consecutive balanced budgets until February 2020 and maintained a triple-A credit rating. This was achieved des- pite heavily investing in public services like health care, mental health, child care spaces, education, housing, elim- inating the MSP . The list is long.

I know that there is much more to do, and it will take a while to fix and address 16 years of neglect. Y es, 16 years of neglect. I’m not going into the ’90s, just the recent 16 years before 2017. There is a reason I am proudly standing on this side of the House and continue to be part of the B.C. NDP . Even before, despite knowing the odds of my victory, there was no way, after witnessing and having to 878 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 18, 2021

live through the hardships and seeing the direct impact on many of my patients due to the B.C. Liberals gutting the services that would be able to support them, that I could stand on that side. It is no secret that when the pandemic struck, B.C. was an economic leader. We were one of Canada’s fast-growing economies with one of the lowest unemployment rates. Our strengths remain. We still have a skilled workforce, vast natural resources and our gateway to Asia. We are still committed to unlocking the huge economic potential of reconciliation and tackling the climate crisis. We were already making great progress on keeping life afford

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20210318pm-Hansard-n35
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20210318pm Hansard n35
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	15ccd41064510747ca530e7fc29ba5a86aa8e3ae

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).