British Columbia Hansard — H0307pm 09

H0307pm-09

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Fift h Session, 39th Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (HANSARD) THE HONOURABLE BILL BARISOFF , SPEAKER ISSN 0709- 1281 (Print) ISSN 1499-2175 (Online) Th ursday, March 7, 2013 Aft ernoon Sitting Volume 43, Number 9

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC Fifth Session, 39th Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Bill Barisoff EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council .............................................................................................................. Hon. Christy Clark Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Minister Responsible for Housing .............Hon.

Rich Coleman Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation ............................................................................................................ Hon. Ida Chong Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology and Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism and Minister of State for Seniors ........................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Ralph Sultan Minister of Agriculture ........................................................................................................................................................ Hon. Norm Letnick Minister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................... Hon. Stephanie Cadieux Minister of Citizens' Services and Open Government ........................................................................................................Hon.

Ben Stewart Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development ................................................................................................Hon. Bill Bennett Minister of Education ............................................................................................................................................................. Hon. Don McRae Minister of Environment .................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Dr.

Terry Lake Minister of Finance .................................................................................................................................................. Hon. Michael de Jong, QC Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations......................................................................................Hon. Steve Th omson Minister of Health .......................................................................................................................................... Hon. Dr.

Margaret MacDiarmid Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour ............................................................ Hon. Pat Bell Minister of State for Small Business ............................................................................................................................Hon. Naomi Y amamoto Minister of Justice ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Shirley Bond Minister of Social Development ...................................................................................................................................Hon. Dr. Moira Stilwell Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................Hon.

Mary Polak LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Offi cial Opposition ......................................................................................................................................................Adrian Dix Deputy Speaker ....................................................................................................................................................................................

Linda Reid Assistant Deputy Speaker ..................................................................................................................................................................Dawn Black Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole .......................................................................................................................................... Harry Bloy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ...................................................................................................................................................

Craig James Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees ................................................................................................................................. Kate Ryan-Lloyd Sessional Law Clerk ...................................................................................................................................................Roderick MacArthur, QC Clerk Consultant ..............................................................................................................................................E.

George MacMinn, OBC, QC Sergeant-at-Arms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary Lenz

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Abbott, George (BC Liberal) ................................................................. Shuswap Austin, Robin (NDP) ................................................................................ Skeena Bains, Harry (NDP) ....................................................................Surrey-Newton Barisoff , Hon. Bill (BC Liberal) ...........................................................Penticton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal) ............................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Bell, Hon. Pat (BC Liberal) ....................................

Prince George–Mackenzie Bennett, Hon. Bill (BC Liberal) ...................................................Kootenay East Black, Dawn (NDP) ................................................................New Westminster Bloy, Harry (BC Liberal) .....................................................Burnaby-Lougheed Bond, Hon. Shirley (BC Liberal) ........................... Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (NDP) ................................................................ Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Hon.

Stephanie (BC Liberal) .................................Surrey-Panorama Cantelon, Ron (BC Liberal) ............................................. Parksville-Qualicum Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) .................................Vancouver–West End Chong, Hon. Ida (BC Liberal) .................................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ........................................................... Burnaby-Edmonds Clark, Hon. Christy (BC Liberal) .................................Vancouver–Point Grey Coell, Murray (BC Liberal) ..............................Saanich North and the Islands Coleman, Hon.

Rich (BC Liberal) .......................... Fort Langley–Aldergrove Conroy, Katrine (NDP) .............................................................. Kootenay West Coons, Gary (NDP) .........................................................................North Coast Corrigan, Kathy (NDP) ..................................................... Burnaby–Deer Lake Dalton, Marc (BC Liberal) ............................................. Maple Ridge–Mission de Jong, Hon. Michael, QC (BC Liberal) ..............................

Abbotsford West Dix, Adrian (NDP) ............................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Doug (NDP) ......................................................................... Stikine Elmore, Mable (NDP) ................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Falcon, Kevin (BC Liberal) ...................................................Surrey-Cloverdale Farnworth, Mike (NDP) ............................................................ Port Coquitlam Fleming, Rob (NDP) ..........................................................

Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal) .......................................................Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Scott (NDP) ............................................................Alberni–Pacifi c Rim Gentner, Guy (NDP) .........................................................................Delta North Hammell, Sue (NDP) .................................................... Surrey–Green Timbers Hansen, Colin (BC Liberal) ........................................... Vancouver-Quilchena Hawes, Randy (BC Liberal) ..............................................

Abbotsford-Mission Hayer, Dave S. (BC Liberal) ................................................... Surrey-Tynehead Heed, Kash (BC Liberal) ............................................... Vancouver-Fraserview Hogg, Gordon (BC Liberal) ............................................... Surrey–White Rock Horgan, John (NDP) ....................................................................... Juan de Fuca Horne, Douglas (BC Liberal) ..............................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Howard, Rob (BC Liberal) ....................................................

Richmond Centre Huntington, Vicki (Ind.) ..................................................................Delta South James, Carole (NDP) .........................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Karagianis, Maurine (NDP) ........................................Esquimalt–Royal Roads Krog, Leonard (NDP) ........................................................................... Nanaimo Krueger, Kevin (BC Liberal) .............................. Kamloops–South Th ompson Kwan, Jenny Wai Ching (NDP) ........................... Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Lake, Hon. Dr.

Terry (BC Liberal) ....................Kamloops–North Th ompson Lali, Harry (NDP) ..........................................................................Fraser-Nicola Lee, Richard T. (BC Liberal) ......................................................Burnaby North Lekstrom, Blair (BC Liberal) ................................................ Peace River South Les, John (BC Liberal) ........................................................................Chilliwack Letnick, Hon. Norm (BC Liberal) ..............................Kelowna–Lake Country MacDiarmid, Hon. Dr. Margaret (BC Liberal) ..............

Vancouver-Fairview Macdonald, Norm (NDP) ....................................Columbia River–Revelstoke McIntyre, Joan (BC Liberal) .................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky McNeil, Mary (BC Liberal) ..........................................Vancouver–False Creek McRae, Hon. Don (BC Liberal) ..................................................

Comox Valley Mungall, Michelle (NDP) ..........................................................Nelson-Creston O'Mahony, Gwen (NDP) .........................................................Chilliwack-Hope Pimm, Pat (BC Liberal) .........................................................Peace River North Polak, Hon. Mary (BC Liberal) .............................................................. Langley Popham, Lana (NDP) ...................................................................Saanich South Ralston, Bruce (NDP) ................................................................

Surrey-Whalley Reid, Linda (BC Liberal) ............................................................Richmond East Routley, Bill (NDP) .................................................................. Cowichan Valley Routley, Doug (NDP) ............................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, John (BC Liberal) .......................................................... Nechako Lakes Sather, Michael (NDP) ......................................... Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ...................................

Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Bob (Ind.) .....................................................................Cariboo North Simpson, Shane (NDP) ..................................................... Vancouver-Hastings Slater, John (Ind.) .........................................................Boundary-Similkameen Stewart, Hon. Ben (BC Liberal) .......................................... Westside-Kelowna Stilwell, Hon. Dr. Moira (BC Liberal) .............................. Vancouver-Langara Sultan, Hon. Ralph (BC Liberal) ........................... West Vancouver–Capilano Th omson, Hon.

Steve (BC Liberal) .......................................Kelowna-Mission Th orne, Diane (NDP) .................................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Th ornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) .......................... North Vancouver–Seymour Trasolini, Joe (NDP).................................................... Port Moody–Coquitlam Trevena, Claire (NDP) .................................................................... North Island van Dongen, John (Ind.).........................................................Abbotsford South Y amamoto, Hon. Naomi (BC Liberal) ................

North Vancouver–Lonsdale Y ap, John (BC Liberal) ......................................................Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission .......................................................................Randy Hawes Abbotsford South .....................................................................John van Dongen Abbotsford West ...................................................... Hon. Michael de Jong, QC Alberni–Pacifi c Rim ..........................................................................

Scott Fraser Boundary-Similkameen .....................................................................John Slater Burnaby–Deer Lake ................................................................... Kathy Corrigan Burnaby-Edmonds ......................................................................... Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed ............................................................................ Harry Bloy Burnaby North .............................................................................. Richard T.

Lee Cariboo-Chilcotin ........................................................................Donna Barnett Cariboo North ................................................................................ Bob Simpson Chilliwack ............................................................................................... John Les Chilliwack-Hope ......................................................................Gwen O'Mahony Columbia River–Revelstoke .................................................. Norm Macdonald Comox Valley...........................................................................Hon.

Don McRae Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .....................................................Douglas Horne Coquitlam-Maillardville............................................................... Diane Th orne Cowichan Valley ................................................................................

Bill Routley Delta North ......................................................................................Guy Gentner Delta South ...............................................................................Vicki Huntington Esquimalt–Royal Roads .....................................................Maurine Karagianis Fort Langley–Aldergrove ...................................................Hon. Rich Coleman Fraser-Nicola........................................................................................

Harry Lali Juan de Fuca .....................................................................................John Horgan Kamloops–North Th ompson ............................................ Hon. Dr. Terry Lake Kamloops–South Th ompson ...................................................... Kevin Krueger Kelowna–Lake Country ..................................................... Hon. Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission .............................................................. Hon. Steve Th omson Kootenay East .......................................................................... Hon.

Bill Bennett Kootenay West ............................................................................ Katrine Conroy Langley.......................................................................................Hon. Mary Polak Maple Ridge–Mission ..................................................................... Marc Dalton Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ........................................................Michael Sather Nanaimo ......................................................................................... Leonard Krog Nanaimo–North Cowichan .........................................................

Doug Routley Nechako Lakes .................................................................................. John Rustad Nelson-Creston ........................................................................Michelle Mungall New Westminster ..............................................................................Dawn Black North Coast....................................................................................... Gary Coons North Island ..................................................................................

Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale ........................................Hon. Naomi Y amamoto North Vancouver–Seymour ................................................. Jane Th ornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head ............................................................ Hon. Ida Chong Parksville-Qualicum ..................................................................... Ron Cantelon Peace River North ................................................................................

Pat Pimm Peace River South .........................................................................Blair Lekstrom Penticton................................................................................... Hon. Bill Barisoff Port Coquitlam ..........................................................................Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam ..................................................................Joe Trasolini Powell River–Sunshine Coast ................................................. Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie .............................................................Hon.

Pat Bell Prince George–Valemount ................................................... Hon. Shirley Bond Richmond Centre ............................................................................ Rob Howard Richmond East ................................................................................... Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston ..............................................................................John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands ..................................................... Murray Coell Saanich South ................................................................................

Lana Popham Shuswap .........................................................................................George Abbott Skeena .............................................................................................. Robin Austin Stikine .......................................................................................

Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale ...........................................................................Kevin Falcon Surrey-Fleetwood ...............................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers .................................................................. Sue Hammell Surrey-Newton ................................................................................. Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ........................................................ Hon.

Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Tynehead ........................................................................... Dave S. Hayer Surrey-Whalley.............................................................................. Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ....................................................................... Gordon Hogg Vancouver-Fairview .......................................Hon. Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid Vancouver–False Creek ..................................................................

Mary McNeil Vancouver-Fraserview ........................................................................Kash Heed Vancouver-Hastings ....................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington .................................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..........................................................................Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara .......................................................Hon. Dr. Moira Stilwell Vancouver–Mount Pleasant .........................................

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan Vancouver–Point Grey ......................................................... Hon. Christy Clark Vancouver-Quilchena ................................................................... Colin Hansen Vancouver–West End ...............................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee ...............................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill .......................................................................Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake.........................................................................Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano ................................................... Hon. Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ........................................................ Joan McIntyre Westside-Kelowna ...................................................................Hon.

Ben Stewart Party Standings: BC Liberal 45; New Democratic 36; Independent 4

CONTENTS Th ursday, March 7, 2013 Aft ernoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members ................................................................................................................................................... 13391 Tributes ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13391 Stompin' Tom Connors S.

Chandra Herbert Introductions by Members ................................................................................................................................................... 13392 Ministerial Statements .......................................................................................................................................................... 13392 Business proposal for oil refi nery in Kitimat Hon. C.

Clark Introduction and First Reading of Bills .............................................................................................................................. 13393 Bill M207 — Cosmetic Use of Pesticides Control Act, 2013 R. Fleming Bill M208 — Carbon Neutral Government Repeal Act, 2013 B. Simpson Statements (Standing Order 25B) ....................................................................................................................................... 13394 International Women's Day M. Mungall D. Barnett Napoleon Gomez and mineworkers' rights in Mexico K.

Conroy Victims' rights and crime prevention initiatives D. Hayer Deaths of farmworkers in vehicle accident R. Chouhan Speed skating M. Dalton Oral Questions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 13396 Investigation into partisan activities relating to multicultural outreach strategy C. James Hon. C. Clark Hon. B. Bennett J. Horgan Premier's offi ce records and freedom-of-information requests D. Routley Hon. B. Stewart M.

Karagianis Pacifi c Carbon Trust operations and public relations contract B. Simpson Hon. T. Lake Inclusion of fi nancial instruments in government asset sale B. Ralston Hon. M. de Jong Reports from Committees .................................................................................................................................................... 13401 Special Committee to Inquire into the Use of Conducted Energy Weapons and to Audit Selected Police Complaints, report for the fourth session of the 39th parliament M. Coell K. Corrigan

Orders of the Day Second Reading of Bills ........................................................................................................................................................ 13402 Bill 11 — Criminal Records Review Amendment Act, 2013 Hon. S. Bond K. Corrigan C. Trevena Hon. S. Bond Bill 15 — Justice Reform and Transparency Act Hon. S. Bond K. Corrigan J. van Dongen Hon. S. Bond Bill 12 — Community Safety Act Hon. S. Bond K. Corrigan B. Ralston V . Huntington S. Simpson Hon. S.

Bond Committee of the Whole House .......................................................................................................................................... 13416 Bill 13 — Supply Act (No. 1), 2013 B. Ralston Hon. M. de Jong D.

Donaldson Report and Th ird Reading of Bills ....................................................................................................................................... 13420 Bill 13 — Supply Act (No. 1), 2013 Committee of the Whole House .......................................................................................................................................... 13420 Bill 3 — Destination BC Corp. Act (continued) S. Chandra Herbert Hon. P . Bell B. Simpson

THURSDAY , MARCH 7, 2013 Th e House met at 1:34 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Introductions by Members D. Horne: Joining us in the member gallery this aft ernoon is Mr. Ilias Kremmydas, the consul general of Greece in Vancouver. Th e consul general is here on the fi rst offi cial visit. He actually arrived here in Canada about three months ago, and it was a pleasure to have lunch with him today and speak about Greece and the opportunities between British Columbia and Greece. I'd like the members of the House to make him feel welcome. [1335] C.

James: I have two guests who are here in the gallery. Th ey live and are very active in the Premier's constituency of Point Grey. It's their fi rst time visiting the Legislature. First is John Y ano. John is an environmental and social justice activist with a particular interest in af- fordable housing and ethnic minority and immigrant rights. Th e second guest is a member of my extended family, an amazing activist in her own right, a volunteer extraordinaire and a wonderful grandmother and great- grandmother to my children and my grandchildren.

So would the House please welcome Mary Tenny and John Y ano to the gallery. Hon. D. McRae: I'm sure many members of the House are aware that our colleague the MLA for Chilliwack rises and talks about grandchildren many times in the House — I think 17 times. Well, I'm going to say that today I'm talking about grandchildren — not my grandchildren but one of my staff member's. On a happy note, many members of the chamber will know former press gallery president and Canadian Press correspondent Scott Sutherland, who several years ago made the sensible move to a communications post in the Ministry of Education.

Scott and his wife, Marcia, be- came grandparents for the third time last Friday, when their son Bart and their daughter-in-law Ciara celebrat- ed the birth of their fi rst child, an extremely healthy ten- pound baby boy, at Victoria General Hospital. Th e child does not have a name yet. I am advocating and lobbying hard for a great name, perhaps like Don. However, would the House please join me in wishing this brand-new British Columbian all the best. K. Conroy: I'd like to introduce two guests today in the gallery.

Don Foder is a constituent from Castlegar who has been a long-time supporter of both my husband, Ed, and myself and sits on my constituency executive. Don is retired aft er 32 years from Teck, where he worked in transportation logistics and was a really active member of Local 9705 from the Steelworkers. With Don is his niece Megan Foder, who has lived here in Victoria for six years, although she did come home in the summers to work in a place where I once worked, at the Celgar Pulp mill. Megan is doing her mas- ter's in dispute resolution at the University of Victoria, with a psychology undergraduate degree.

I think that some days in this House we could use someone with her skills. Would the House please join me in making them welcome. M. Mungall: I'd like to introduce the House to Brian Churchill. Th ere he is. In his previous life in the Peace country he was a school trustee, a city councillor and a candidate for the B.C. NDP . But he has seen the light and made his way to the best riding in the province and now resides in Creston. He's active in many groups, includ- ing the rod-and-gun club and the Nelson-Creston NDP Constituency Association. Please make him welcome. D.

Routley: Usually in the House we rise and intro- duce constituents or people who have come to lobby us. It's a real pleasure to introduce two friends. We follow our noses to this place through life experience. It's my pleasure and my pride to stand here every day, but es- pecially today as my two friends Ken Henn and Larry Hickman join us. Larry Hickman was 40 years a teacher in the Cowichan Valley. He's from Chicago originally and came to Canada when he saw the light in 1969. Ken Henn, my dear friend — we worked together in the schools as custodians. He moved to the Cowichan Valley when he was three years old.

He was a forest indus- try heavy-duty mechanic and later worked in the school district. What unites us all with the students that we serve was the weekly fl oor hockey games that we still, once in a while, manage to attend. Can the House please help me make welcome my two dear friends, Larry and Ken. Tributes STOMPIN' TOM CONNORS S. Chandra Herbert: Well, members of the House can join me to sing along if they know it. Tonight as I live in this crazy old world, if only the truth could be known. I dream of the days and the friendlier ways of my British Columbian home.

I lived in a town by the railroad tracks, where the trains all bid me to roam. My love she cried when I said goodbye to my British Columbian home. 13391

British Columbia Debates13392 Thursday, March 7, 2013 Th at would be Stompin' Tom Connors, hon. Speaker — Stompin' Tom, British Columbians, Canadians. [1340] We will miss your wit, your wisdom, your passion for Canada and for Canadian artists. May Th e Hockey Song play loud and long, and may you have a Sudbury Saturday Night. Rest in peace, Stompin' Tom Connors. Introductions by Members Hon. I. Chong: A rather hard act to follow, so I will just make the following introduction.

I want to off er a happy 80th birthday to my constituent Roberta Rockall, who is the mother of Barb Leyne, the mother-in-law of Les Leyne — yes, the very capable Les Leyne from the Times Colonist — grandmother of Mike and Andrew and great-grandmother of Olin Winter Leyne. Would the House please join me in welcoming a happy 80th birthday. Hon. C. Clark: If we're done with introductions, I rise to make a ministerial statement. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. Ministerial Statements BUSINESS PROPOSAL FOR OIL REFINERY IN KITIMAT Hon. C.

Clark: If we want to strengthen health care and education and other vital public services in our prov- ince, we of course fi rst must strengthen our economy. Y esterday the people of British Columbia were presented with a credible and a bold proposal to do just that. B.C. businessman David Black made a major an- nouncement with respect to his company Kitimat Clean and his proposal to build and operate a world-class pet- roleum refi nery in Kitimat. Now, Mr. Black needs little introduction. He's one of the most successful British Columbia entrepreneurs.

He built a newspaper empire at a time when newspapers around the world were going under. Th roughout his busi- ness life he has found success where others have found failure. He is not to be underestimated. Y esterday Mr. Black announced that he had found in- vestors willing to back his bid to invest $25 billion in his project. He proposes to build a $16 billion refi nery, $8 billion in pipelines and a further $1 billion in new tank- ers to carry the refi ned petroleum products to custom- ers in Asia. Th is is a credible proposal from a credible B.C. busi- nessman.

Without question, this would be the largest sin- gle, private sector investment in the history of our great province. It would be potentially a tremendous game changer for our children and their children. Six thousand new jobs during construction; 3,000 full-time jobs cre- ated once the refi nery is in operation. And importantly, Mr. Black's proposal would keep ownership of this pro- ject right here at home in British Columbia.

I have long said that British Columbians believe in the benefit of environmentally sound economic develop- ment and are fully supportive of getting higher value for B.C. and Canadian goods in markets outside of North America. Last July our government stood up and put fi ve con- ditions in place by which we would gauge support for any heavy-oil pipelines in British Columbia. Our fi ve conditions are the way to ensure the highest standards for environmental protection and First Nation involve- ment possible should any heavy-oil pipeline go through British Columbia. Mr.

Black has proposed a new pipeline across north- ern B.C. I want to be clear that the fi ve strict conditions that we have very clearly set out would apply to his pro- posal, as they would to any other. But the diff erence be- tween the fi rst pipeline proposal and Mr. Black's is that the refi nery in Kitimat could form part of the economic benefi ts needed to satisfy our fi ft h condition, although I do need to be clear that although it could form a part of that, it will not go all the way. Th ousands of jobs could create a signifi cant economic benefi t that does not exist under any current proposal.

As well, Mr. Black has said that he plans to use greenhouse gas–reducing technology that would cut GHG emissions from his refi nery in half. [1345] Finally, Mr. Black's proposal radically reduces the en- vironmental risks associated with the shipping of oil off our coast to Asia. Because refi ned products are trans- ported in much smaller ships, refi ned products are much easier to remediate in case of an incident, and these prod- ucts are already very regularly moving up and down B.C.'s coast. I'd like to tell this House that our government has been working constructively with Mr.

Black in his quest to identify a suitable location on which to build a poten- tial refi nery. Our government wants to use every tool at our disposal to move the proposal forward where it can be judged on its merits by a robust, rigorous and, most importantly, independent environmental process, free from political infl uence. Like our potential with liquefi ed natural gas, these opportunities do not come around every day — oppor- tunities that can strengthen our economy, sustain public health care and education and put thousands of British Columbians to work at high-paying, family-supporting, long-term jobs.

Our government takes the view that we should work together to address legitimate environment- al and safety concerns and fi nd a way to get to yes on pro- jects that will grow our economy. Th is project and the LNG opportunity both require

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13393 leadership, and this is where my government stands. We are British Columbians. We are Canadians. We can grow our economy. We can make environmentally responsible economic development happen if we put our minds to it. If we are clear, if we are consistent, if we are strong- minded, we can make economic development happen. W e have to take a stand. W e have to make sure in- vestors have certainty, clarity and a fair process. And we have to do that not just for this generation but for future generations.

Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL M207 — COSMETIC USE OF PESTICIDES CONTROL ACT, 2013 R. Fleming presented a bill intituled Cosmetic Use of Pesticides Control Act, 2013. R. Fleming: I move that the Cosmetic Use of Pesticides Control Act, 2013, be introduced and read for a fi rst time now. Motion approved. R. Fleming: I am pleased to present this bill today to better protect the health of British Columbians by regu- lating, restricting and prohibiting the sale and use of pesticides for residential and cosmetic uses that threat- en our environment, waterways, children, pets and per- sonal health.

Government knows, through years of Ministry of Environment consultations and by a special legislative committee last year, that British Columbians overwhelm- ingly support adoption of cosmetic pesticide legislation. However, this has not happened — yet. So for a fi ft h time, New Democrats today introduce legislation to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides. Th is bill is consistent with what British Columbians want. It is consistent with legislation in six other prov- inces, representing nearly 20 million Canadians.

And it is consistent with the advice to government from the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Lung Association, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Parkinson Society and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Mr. Speaker, 39 local governments across B.C., gov- erning 2.8 million citizens, have bylaws to ban the sale of cosmetic pesticides. However, these bylaws remain ineff ective because the Community Charter act does not give communities the authority to ban the sale of pesti- cides. Th e Union of B.C.

Municipalities has repeatedly asked for provincial leadership and a provincewide law. Th at call has not been heeded. But today this bill will ad- dress local governments' longstanding concern. [1350] In protecting young children, this legislation off ers the promise, over time, of lowered costs of delivering health care services by reducing chronic disease. Th is legislation takes important steps to protect human health in our en- vironment. Th e time for strong legislative action is now. I ask that this bill be put on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House aft er today.

Bill M207, Cosmetic Use of Pesticides Control Act, 2013, introduced, read a fi rst time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House aft er today. BILL M208 — CARBON NEUTRAL GOVERNMENT REPEAL ACT, 2013 B. Simpson presented a bill intituled Carbon Neutral Government Repeal Act, 2013. B. Simpson: I move that this bill be introduced now and read for a fi rst time. Motion approved. B. Simpson: Th e European police force has estimat- ed that in some countries up to 90 percent of the car- bon off set market is a result of fraudulent activities.

A recent Australian report entitled Carbon Credit Fraud: Th e White Collar Crime of the Future warns Australian companies and regulators to prepare for potential mis- representation and fraud risks as they establish their car- bon off set scheme. Plenty of evidence already exists to suggest that British Columbia's carbon-neutral government claim is com- pletely unfounded, raising serious questions about the veracity of B.C.'s fledgling carbon offset scheme.

Therefore, this bill repeals the legislation that forces public sector agencies to take money out their operating budgets to buy carbon off sets so that the government can declare itself carbon-neutral each year. Th ere are three main reasons this bill is needed. First, the government is not carbon-neutral and will not achieve true carbon neutrality anytime soon. In order to justify declaring itself carbon-neutral, the government exempted from its calculated emissions B.C. Ferries, school buses, P3s, B.C.

Hydro's deforestation activities and emissions from not-for-profi ts and private compan- ies that deliver government programs and services. Second, the private sector off sets purchased by the Pacifi c Carbon Trust have not resulted in any incremen- tal or additional reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over business as usual. Th e third-party validators of these projects are the same companies that said fi nancial de- rivatives were legitimate too.

British Columbia Debates13394 Thursday, March 7, 2013 Th ird, the annual carbon-neutral government declara- tion gives a dangerously false impression that B.C. as a whole is actually reducing its GHG emissions, when the government's industrial strategy will ensure that we will not meet the legal requirements for total GHG emission reductions by 2020.

Repealing the carbon-neutral legislation will not only protect the public sector operating budgets; it will also refocus the eff orts of government on the 99 percent of B.C.'s emissions that, if not reduced, will prevent B.C. from achieving its legally mandated GHG reduction targets. I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House aft er today. Bill M208, Carbon Neutral Government Repeal Act, 2013, introduced, read a fi rst time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House aft er today.

Statements (Standing Order 25B) INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY M. Mungall: In 1898 B.C.'s MLAs first sat in this chamber. By 1915 — they did research in the library — none of these MLAs were women. We didn't have the right to vote. Under the law, we were not persons. Th ings have clearly changed, and for the better. Th is is why March 8 is an important day of celebration each year. It is International Women's Day, a day when we mark how women have changed the world and how we will change the world. In British Columbia some Caucasian women gained their right to vote in 1917.

In 1918 they headed to the polls and elected the fi rst woman to this House — Mary Ellen Smith — and 1939, '49, 1952, 1960 and '82 are all important dates that saw more women gain their right to vote. Race, ethnicity, ability and language profi ciency are no longer reasons to deny a woman her franchise. Along with the right to cast our ballots, many women have struggled over the centuries for things so basic to- day that we take them for granted — like wearing pants, to choose our spouse and get married or not, or to go to school — yet we have much to do. Violence against women persists.

We still make less money than men. We still struggle with access to reproductive rights. We are still under-represented in governments and board- rooms. And we still do more dishes and change more diapers than men. [1355] It is on International Women's Day that we take note that women are changing the world every day. D. Barnett: As my colleague across the fl oor just said, tomorrow we celebrate International Women's Day. On this day the citizens of the world will honour women's accomplishments and celebrate the great barriers women have overcome throughout the years.

Tomorrow we'll also take the time to acknowledge the challenges that many women continue to face in 2013. Although it is true that women have more opportunities now, especially in places like Canada, there are still many who suff er from gender abuse, work inequality and cul- tural marginalization. Women's challenges vary from country to country, but on International Women's Day we unite to express the urgent need to achieve gender equality as we move forward. To celebrate International Women's Day, many com- munities around the world organize events.

In Vancouver, Girls Rock Alliance shows girls how to boost their self- esteem by teaching them it play rock 'n' roll. In Kamloops women are encouraged to lin e up on the Overlander Bridge for the event Join Me on the Bridge, symbolizing the bridges of peace and hope for the future. In my con- stituency the Women's Contact Society will be holding a business fair, dinner and concert at Th ompson Rivers University campus in Williams Lake. Th ese are just a few examples of how communities are honouring International Women's Day in their own way.

Let's continue to celebrate women's strength and achievements with the hopes that the future will bring more equality to our world. NAPOLEON GOMEZ AND MINEWORKERS' RIGHTS IN MEXICO K. Conroy: In 2008 I made a statement in this House about Napoleon Gomez, the president of the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers, or Los Mineros as it is known in Mexico.

I spoke about the persecution of this man by the Mexican government, how every trumped- up charge against him had been dismissed and how aft er death threats he and his family had fl ed Mexico and were living in Vancouver with the support of the United Steelworkers. What happened to Napoleon's fi ght happened seven years ago in February, when 65 miners were killed in Grupo Mexico's mine No. 8. In comparison, the world remembers the Chilean success in October 2010 when 33 miners were rescued alive aft er the collapse of their mine. Th ey had been trapped 750 metres deep for 69 days.

In Mexico, though, the mine owners, Grupo Mexico, abandoned the 65 trapped workers at only 120 metres aft er only fi ve days of a minimal rescue eff ort and sealed the mine without knowing if the men were dead or alive. Th e government was complicit in turning a blind eye to this action, as well as hiding the true cause of the tragedy. Th is industrial homicide has still not been investigated, and none of the people responsible for it have ever been

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13395 punished. But today Napoleon still fi ghts for the rights of Mexican workers from his home in B.C. Because his ac- tivities threaten Mexico's export-driven, low-wage model, the Mexican government continues to target Napoleon and the union with a campaign of persecution, includ- ing criminal charges and imprisonment of union offi cers, declaring strikes illegal and repeated use of military and security forces to break strikes. Four union members have been murdered since 2006, with no investigations of the killings.

In 2011 Napoleon received Canadian permanent resi- dency and yet still has been unable to leave the country, due to false allegations from the Mexican government. He has grandchildren he has never held, family he hasn't been able to see and a union he runs from another coun- try. In Chile the miners were rescued. In Mexico they were abandoned. Th is tragedy should never have happened or be repeated.

In Napoleon's words: "Th at is why we need justice — to provide an example of dignity and good faith for the generations of today and the future." Napoleon has also written a book about his journey, Collapse of Dignity . I hope you all take the opportunity to read about this in- credible man's life and his commitment to the working people of Mexico. VICTIMS' RIGHTS AND CRIME PREVENTION INITIATIVES D. Hayer: Every year I have pushed long and hard to establish that in our court system and in our laws the rights of victims must take precedence over the rights of criminals.

Th is issue has always been fi rst and foremost for me, and I have worked diligently on behalf of victims. [1400] All levels of government must always work hard to im- prove the rights of victims. Our government has passed much legislation recently, including amending the justice system and focusing on crime, as well as the introduction of other bills such as the Community Safety Act. Th e important Criminal Asset Management Act pro- vides authority to dispose of property forfeited as a result of criminal prosecution or seizure investigations.

Civil forfeiture reduces the fi nancial benefi ts of crime and de- ters criminals by removing profi ts from illegal activity. It provides disincentives for youth to join in gangs, be- cause when they are caught, we will take away their fancy vehicles and other acquisitions gained illegally. Th e Metal Dealers and Recyclers Act helps to deter metal thieves and enhances public safety by reducing theft of copper telephone wire that interrupts 911 emer- gency service for families. Th ese thieves have been active in many cities, including Surrey, creating costs to our city and putting lives at risk.

Th is act is valuable, too, to cur- tail that activity. I want also want to comment on the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act, which protects those who put their lives at risk to help us. Paramedics, fi refi ghters, police, peace offi cers and all other fi rst responders pro- tect and support us in times of emergency and tragedy. We need to ensure they are protected from communic- able diseases incurred in the line of duty. Please join me in thanking them for their dedication and service to our safety, our community, our province and our country. DEATHS OF FARMWORKERS IN VEHICLE ACCIDENT R.

Chouhan: Six years ago today a preventable road- side accident killed three women farmworkers — Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu, Sukhwinder Kaur Punia and Amarjit Kaur Bal — on their way to work. Several others were seriously injured. Th ese workers were going to work in a van which was not equipped with proper seats and had no seatbelts. It's needless to say how this tragedy has devastated the families of the workers. At the time of this accident, Sarabjit Sidhu's son, Sukhman, was just 15 months old. Her daughter Avnoor was three, and her other daughter, Avneet, was eight years old.

Police recommended 30 criminal charges against the owner of the vehicle. None were accepted. In a few months the harvesting season will be in full swing. Th ousands of farmworkers will again be taken to the fi elds in the labour contractor vehicles. In Abbotsford a memorial is being built to honour the three farmworkers. Th e families greatly appreciate the province's contribution to this memorial. Today, while we are remembering these and other farmworkers who were injured or killed in other tragic incidents, we hope that such a tragedy will never occur again. SPEED SKATING M.

Dalton: Action packed, fast and nerve-racking de- scribe one of winter's most exciting sports to watch or participate in — short-track speed skating. Canada has a great record in short-track at the Olympics, having won 25 medals, second only to South Korea. Skaters like Marc Gagnon, the Hamelin brothers, Sylvie Daigle and Mission's own Eden Donatelli Green are part of the Sports Hall of Fame. Eden medalled in ten world championships and earned silver at the Calgary Olympics. Th is past weekend I had the pleasure of joining her and many other short-trackers at the 2013 B.C.

Short Track Speed Skating Championships held in Mission. Th e championships featured B.C.'s fastest skaters, who vied for personal and provincial records and early identifi ca- tion as potential Canada Games athletes, to be held in Prince George in 2015. From Victoria to Vanderhoof there are 28 clubs across

British Columbia Debates13396 Thursday, March 7, 2013 the province that form part of the B.C. Speed Skating Association. In my constituency we have two clubs: the Ridge Meadows Racers speed skating club and the Mission Racers Speed Skating Club, which has a 35-year history. Th e clubs off er everything from "Learn to Skate" to "High Performance" and have skaters from four years of age to over 50. At the event I talked to coaches and skaters from all over the province, including Fort St. John, home of the world-champion skater Denny Morrison. Opened in 2009 in advance of the Vancouver Olympic Games, Fort St.

John boasts one of North America's top four speed skating ovals and is used day and night. [1405] British Columbia has many rising stars in the world of speed skating — talented, passionate and committed to their sport. I look forward to seeing them compete next year in the 2014 B.C. Winter Games to be held in Mission. J. McIntyre: I seek leave to make an introduction. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. Introductions by Members J.

McIntyre: I just hope the House will help me in say- ing bienvenue to a class from the beautiful school called Ecole les Aiglons — I hope I've pronounced it correct- ly — in the Garibaldi Highlands region of Squamish. Th ey're here visiting. Th ere are over 30 students from grade 5 visiting with their teacher and chaperones. Th e school started in 1996 with only 16 students and is now over 100 students. I hope that you'll make them all feel welcome and that we'll behave very well in question period. P . Pimm: I seek leave to make an introduction. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. P .

Pimm: Th is gentleman was introduced earlier to- day, and although our politics are certainly not the same, I served for six years on council with Mr. Churchill in Fort St. John. I'd like the House to help me bring him a fi ne, warm welcome. Oral Questions INVESTIGATION INTO PARTISAN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO MULTICULTURAL OUTREACH STRATEGY C. James: It's now been eight days since the Liberal plan to use taxpayer resources for partisan political gain was revealed by the opposition. Eight days later, and there's little to give the public any confi dence that they'll get answers.

Th e internal investigation appears to be all over the place. First, the Deputy Minister to the Premier is inves- tigating his own boss and her offi ce. Second, the Premier herself claims that she's checked with the Liberal Party and has been assured there's no problem. Third, the Liberal government caucus chair is also looking into things. It's not very comforting. My question is to the Premier. Given the events of this past week and the seriousness of this scandal, surely the Premier sees that it's time for an independent investiga- tion into this mess. Hon. C.

Clark: As I've said a number of times in the House this week, we intend to get to the bottom of this. We are getting there. I understand and I appreciate that the member would be happy to prejudge the outcome before we know all the facts. But I think it is important, in such a serious matter, to make sure that we have all the facts, and that is indeed what we are intending to do. Deputy Minister John Dyble has 20 years' experience in the civil service. He's one of the most highly respected non-partisan civil servants you'll fi nd anywhere in this country.

I have absolute confi dence in his ability to make sure that we understand exactly what happened. I do want to assure this House, the people of British Columbia, that once we have his conclusions, we will act. Mistakes are made — some of them are serious — and when we see those mistakes, we have an obligation to confront them head-on and deal with them. Th at is exactly what we will do. Mr. Speaker: Th e member has a supplemental. C. James: I heard the Premier say that we shouldn't prejudge the outcome. Well, in fact, the Premier has al- ready prejudged a great deal of the outcome. "Who was involved?" we asked.

Th e Premier says she knows that. She says: "Kim Haakstad was the senior per- son involved." We asked the question around: "Did the Liberal Party receive any names for their election data- base?" Again I quote from the Premier. She knows that too. "Th ey have not," she says. Th e Premier says all of this is going to be wrapped up soon. "Wrapped up next week," she said yesterday. So again I ask the Premier: will she commit today, so the public can have some faith in an independent investiga- tion of this scandal? Hon. C.

Clark: Th is is a serious matter, and it really does behoove the opposition to ensure that they are of- fering real, true characterizations of what I have said in the past. Th at member has not done that. [1410] What I have said is that this review is underway. It will be done fairly, it will be done as expeditiously as possible,

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13397 and it will be done independently. When the results of that report are known, we will all have the answers that we are seeking, and British Columbia will know that this government — my government — intends to act on those recommendations. Mr. Speaker: Th e member has a further supplemental. C. James: It's not simply the opposition that has con- cerns around the lack of independence of this investi- gation. It's very clear that the government's own caucus chair has no confi dence in this internal investigation.

It seems that he recognizes that the Premier's deputy min- ister has no authority or ability to investigate this scandal properly, so he's looking into the scandal himself, along with two of his caucus colleagues. Let's just review. Aft er eight days we have the chair of the Liberal caucus investigating the Liberal caucus activ- ities. We have the Premier apparently investigating the Liberal Party. We also have the Premier's deputy investi- gating his boss. Well, if this doesn't call for an independ- ent investigation, I don't know what does.

Th ere are more questions, there is more chaos, but most importantly, there are few answers for the public. So I ask once again: given the seriousness of this inves- tigation, given the seriousness of the allegations and the concerns, will the Premier fi nally concede that her offi ce investigating itself simply isn't independent and it's time for an independent investigation? Hon. B. Bennett: Th e program that the member is re- ferring to is called the multicultural grant program.

It's a $750,000 grant program that's used by government to celebrate B.C.'s cultural diversity through two streams — cultural expression and capacity-building. Each of the grants is up to $5,000, and the gaming policy and en- forcement branch administers that program, although staff in the gaming policy and enforcement branch work in the ministry that I'm responsible for. I've checked with them to determine how those grants were paid out. Th ere have been 141 grants paid out.

Th e way it works is that the professional staff and the public service — and I'm assuming no one on the other side is questioning the integrity of any of those public sector staff — look at these applications. Th ey adjudicate these applications, and they decide which of the applica- tions will be recommended. Th ey've recommended 141 of such applications. Interjections. Hon. B. Bennett: Hon. Speaker, the members on the other side may think it's funny to reach out to the multi- cultural communities in this province. We don't think it's funny.

We don't think there's anything funny about that on this side of the House. All of these grants, the 141 grants, were recommended by professional public ser- vice staff and were then approved by the deputy minister. J. Horgan: Well, eight years of question periods from this side of the House, and for the fi rst time ever I've seen a real left -fi eld answer.

We asked a direct question to the Premier of British Columbia, whose offi ce is at the epi- centre of a scandal that's rocking this government, and we get a response from the minister from the Kootenays about something completely unrelated to the question that was asked. If ever I've seen a "quick, look over there," that is it. So my question…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. J. Horgan: My question is to the Premier of British Columbia.

She said today that she didn't want to pre- judge the investigation. [1415] Can she confi rm — yes or no — that in response to a question from this side of the House last week with re- spect to the Liberal Party, she stood up in this place and said, "I talked to the Liberal Party. Th ere's nothing over there"? Y es or no? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Just wait, Minister. Hon. B. Bennett: I'm sorry that the fact that I come from the Kootenays off ends the member from Vancouver Island. He has three members from the Kootenays in his own caucus. I'm not sure how they're going to feel about his slight.

In any case, perhaps the member will think that this is more relevant. Perhaps the member who asked the question could tell us exactly who Gabriel Yiu is. Gabriel Yiu has collected almost $375,000 of public money since 2007, and what did he do? What was Gabriel Yiu up to? Well, Gabriel Yiu, according to his own website, was an adviser to the B.C. NDP opposition. He facilitated "unprecedented com- munication outreach into the Asian immigrant commun- ity at large, as well as cultivating…." Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. B. Bennett: But here's the thing.

Both sides of the House know that it's important to reach out to multi- cultural communities. We all agree with that. Everybody agrees with that. But this gentleman, this Gabriel Yiu, while he was collecting $372,000 of public money, of tax-

British Columbia Debates13398 Thursday, March 7, 2013 payer money, has run for the NDP party three times. So I wonder what the member would like to say to the House by way of explaining that. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. PREMIER'S OFFICE RECORDS AND FREEDOM-OF-INFORMATION REQUESTS D. Routley: Let's talk about a major commitment of this Premier upon taking offi ce. It's about the commit- ment to open government. We're just talking here. Y ou don't have to write anything down. Th e Premier said: "Open government…." Interjections. D. Routley: It's a quote. It's a quote. Interjections. Mr.

Speaker: Member, just take your seat, please. Members. Continue, Member. D. Routley: Th e Premier said: "Open government is about giving people a sense of confi dence that govern- ment is working for them, not just trying to do something to them." Th at's fi ne. It's a noble statement, to be sure. But how is it that a recent review of the Premier's offi ce by the independent information offi cer found a disturb- ing trend towards an oral culture of doing business? She uncovered an almost 50 percent increase in "no records" responses to FOI requests to the Premier's offi ce.

No written records — how does that square with this Premier's words when it comes to open government? Hon. B. Stewart: To the member opposite, I do want to thank him for the question, fi rst of all, about the fact that this government, in its promise in July of 2011, promised to make certain that we were going to be the most open government. Th e fact is that we have been recognized across the country by Stanford for the actions that we've taken.

We've published on line, as I mentioned previously, 3,105 data sets and over 30,000 downloads of information that government didn't previously provide. [1420] I think it's easy to be critical of the fact that in a discus- sion…. Y ou know, somebody in a particular ministry that might have 57 draft s of a particular memo might want to discard those. Th e fact is that the fi nal one becomes the government record, and that's exactly what we do. Th e IAO produces that information when requested by a re- quest for freedom of information. Mr. Speaker: Th e member has a supplemental. D.

Routley: Well, this government made a lot of prom- ises that went straight to the shredder. In fact, this gov- ernment was rated as last place in the country by the journalists of this country when it comes to FOI per- formance — last place.

When the information officer interviewed the Premier's former deputy chief of staff , she was told: "Th e general practice of the Offi ce of the Premier is to com- municate verbally, in person." She was told: "Most e-mails are transitory in nature and are deleted." How is it possible that the Premier, so committed to open government, could allow this oral culture to de- velop in her offi ce? What else is she hiding? Th e Premier told the people of B.C. that she would "make sure that open government is a reality, not just something we talk about." Well, it appears that's all the Premier's offi ce does. Th ey talk.

Th ey don't write things down. Nothing goes down on paper — no records. "Don't write anything down." How does this square with the Premier's words when it comes to open government? Hon. B. Stewart: Well, surely if he looked at the re- port, he would see that the commissioner looked at the Premier's offi ce, as well as the IAO, and said: "I'm pleased that…." She fi nds that the duty of the government com- plying to assist applicants is something that we do in each and every case. She found no examples of any abuse or anything where information was being withheld. I do want to point out on another matter….

Th e fact is that the request numbers have grown by 20 percent in just the last 12 months. And the reason for that, Member, is because we made open government a priority. We made it easy for you to select all the diff erent ministries within government to be able to access where your re- quest could go. Th e Premier's offi ce happens to be where a lot of people think that information is, and frankly, it may not be there. An example would be: what happens if it's something that's a Justice request about something that the Premier really had nothing to do, and you click on that? Y ou get a "no records" response. M.

Karagianis: Th is is a Premier who said she want- ed to be the most connected and accessible Premier in British Columbia history, but here's the reality. Th e opposition asked for briefi ng materials related to the Premier's promised citizen engagement challenge. No records found. We asked for records related to the fed- eral shipbuilding contract. No records found. We asked for work-related documents produced by Jim Shepherd. No records found. Th e Information and Privacy Commissioner was crystal- clear.

She said: "Th e lack of documentation undermines the ability of citizens, journalists and the public to under-

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13399 stand the basis for government's actions on any particu- lar matter." So will the Premier tell the House how operating with- out creating records squares with her declaration to be the most connected, accessible Premier in history? Hon. B. Stewart: To the member opposite: you bring up a really good point about the government and the con- sultation. Y ou bring up a couple of points about citizen engagement.

Well, I want to direct you to govTogether, a website that's on the government website where you can go and see, currently, four diff erent consultations: Th inkHealthBC, healthy families, the Columbia River treaty. Th e fact is that that's where the citizen engage- ment part of things is. Y ou mentioned shipbuilding. I think the Minister of Jobs and Tourism would be happy to answer the ques- tion, because that's most likely where that is.

It's not in the Premier's offi ce. [1425] Frankly, there are many, many requests that come to the Premier's offi ce that have no business being requested there, because the Premier's offi ce has a small staff . It is not a repository of all the government information. It's where decisions get made. Th e ministries are where the information is. Mr. Speaker: Th e member has a supplemental. M. Karagianis: Y ou'd think when the Premier has claimed credit for shipbuilding where none actually oc- curred, at least there would've been some shred of paper somewhere in her offi ce to document it.

Th e reality is that since this Premier was sworn in, the increase in "no records" responses from her offi ce has increased by 45 percent. Th e lack of records only serves to make British Columbians more suspicious about what their govern- ment is doing and why it is so secretive in hiding infor- mation through the back channels. Now, how does the lack of recordkeeping and the in- creased number of private e-mails in her offi ce stand with her long-stated claim to be open, accountable and access- ible? How does it? Hon. B.

Stewart: I want to thank the member oppos- ite, again, for another comment about something that's benefi ting the constituents in Esquimalt: the shipbuild- ing contract which we successfully landed, an $8 billion contract. I know that the Premier of British Columbia is one of the best salespeople out there, and she worked hard on that. But the bottom line is that the Minister of Jobs and Tourism made the pitch and made certain that we land- ed that contract. More importantly, you talk about the…. Y ou want to make certain that….

Y ou know, when you talk about the increase in FOI requests and the "no records" response, that's across government. We've made it so it's possible that people who are looking for that information…. Th at probably explains why the number of requests has gone from 8,000 to over 10,000 in the last 12 months. Th at's because of requests that come in — multiple ministries. And the Premier's offi ce is no diff erent. As I mentioned, they're not the repository of information for every min- istry in government. PACIFIC CARBON TRUST OPERATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTRACT B.

Simpson: Over $50 million has now been clawed back from public sector operating budgets and given to the Pacifi c Carbon Trust. Th e Pacifi c Carbon Trust then gives that money to the private sector in order for this government to declare itself carbon-neutral. Public scru- tiny of the Pacifi c Carbon Trust private sector projects has revealed that there's been no incremental reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of carbon off sets. I actually got some documentation from an FOI re- quest.

Th at documentation shows that the Pacifi c Carbon Trust has now started spending money on criticism off - sets — over $100,000 to Deloitte and an undisclosed amount to PricewaterhouseCoopers, with contracts specifi cally designed to off set media criticism and to neutralize the Pacifi c Carbon Trust in advance of a yet- to-be-released report from the Auditor General. My question is to the Minister of Finance, who is the sole shareholder of the Pacifi c Carbon Trust.

Does he believe it's appropriate that the Pacifi c Carbon Trust is spending public money to off set criticism and to neutral- ize a yet-to-be-released Auditor General's report? Hon. T. Lake: Th ank you to the member for the ques- tion.

It sounds like he is aligning himself very much with his former colleagues in terms of being opposed to pro- gressive climate action policies, where this side of the House is recognized as world leaders on taking action on climate change. [1430] I fi nd it interesting to note that the member opposite has been critical of Pacifi c Carbon Trust, yet a very ro- bust supporter of the Carbon Off set Aggregation Co-op, which is exactly the kind of off set that we are looking for in British Columbia to have innovation, to see fuel sav- ings and that helps rural British Columbia.

Th at member supports that kind of off set. I wish he would be consist- ent, at least, in his criticism of our carbon-neutral gov- ernment, the fi rst jurisdiction in North America to take responsibility for its own carbon emissions. Mr. Speaker: Th e member has a supplemental. B. Simpson: Th e one legitimate project that the Pacifi c

British Columbia Debates13400 Thursday, March 7, 2013 Carbon Trust has on the go does not excuse the rest of the projects the Pacifi c Carbon Trust has put public sec- tor money into. Over $50 million gone to the trust should have been spent on teachers. It should have been spent on nurses, and it should have been spent on care aides — not bogus carbon off set projects that the Pacifi c Carbon Trust is involved in.

In the FOI documentation a senior staff er at the Pacifi c Carbon Trust states that the Deloitte contract is "rich" but then goes on to state: "However, with the Hoekstra arti- cles and the Auditor General's upcoming audit, I think we need to get this contract signed ASAP ." Th ere is a statement by another staff er at PCT in the FOI documentation that states that the Auditor General's report "is called carbon-neutral government.

Th ey are looking at more than just the PCT, although obviously spending way more time on the PCT part and glossing over the rest." In addition to spending money to try and off set criti- cism, I've come across what appears to be an orchestrated attempt on the part of the Pacifi c Carbon Trust to under- mine the Auditor General's upcoming report, including an active letter-writing campaign. Th is whole activity begs the question of what it is the Pacifi c Carbon Trust is truly trying to off set.

My question, again, to the Minister of Finance, who is the sole shareholder of this Crown corporation: is it ap- propriate for a Crown corporation to spend public money engaging in activities to off set public criticism and to off - set or neutralize an upcoming Auditor General's report? Hon. T. Lake: I understand the inconsistent approach to looking at projects that the member has voiced here today — certainly consistent with his inconsistent ap- proach, as in 2009 he vociferously campaigned against a carbon tax, one that is supported by the majority of British Columbians.

The reality is that we are showing leadership on carbon-neutral government. We are showing leadership on climate action. We take responsibility for our own greenhouse gases, and through that process, we have in- vested in public sector organizations all over this prov- ince with energy-saving initiatives that save each one of those organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every year. INCLUSION OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN GOVERNMENT ASSET SALE B.

Ralston: Th e government has claimed since Feb- ruary 2012 that it will support the deficit budget it tabled this year by selling over $800 million worth of government-owned real estate. Despite their best eff orts, it has now become public that the B.C. Liberal government also plans to sell $125 million of fi nancial instruments. Will the minister ad- vise the House what fi nancial instruments are for sale? Hon. M. de Jong: Well, the question has changed a little bit in the intervening 48 hours.

A few days ago the member stood in this chamber and attempted to sug- gest that I had purposely withheld information or tried to mislead people. I hope, and I would have hoped — and he still has an opportunity — that in his supplementary he will correct the record, because I am certain that he has had an op- portunity since posing that question to know that I was very specifi c in addressing the issue in the presence of a couple of hundred people, including 100 journalists or so. [1435] I guess it was our little secret that the government pro- poses to — having identifi ed surplus property, assets....

But included in that was $125 million dollars relating to fi nancial instruments. I made it clear at the time that be- ing more detailed about what those specifi c types of in- struments are may impact the market in a way that would negatively impact the interests of British Columbians. So I would hope, in the time he has available now in pursuing this line of questioning, that he would correct the impression he tried to leave a few days ago that I tried to withhold information when, quite clearly, I did not. Mr. Speaker: Th e member has a supplemental. B.

Ralston: Page 57 of the 2011-2012 Public Accounts shows a portfolio of fi nancial instruments owned by the government. Those listed include pooled investment portfolios, provincial government bonds issued by other provinces, equity investments, and commercial loans and investments valued at approximately $2.6 billion. To the Finance Minister: are any of those fi nancial in- struments for sale? Hon. M. de Jong: In the over 19 years I have been here, I've occasionally made a mistake and at times felt obliged to come into the House and withdraw a remark or make it clear to members that I have misstated the facts.

Th e member, regrettably, has chosen not to do that, de- spite levelling a specifi c assertion and making a specifi c accusation against me. So I regret that he hasn't taken advantage of the opportunity today to do that. Th e member also knows that the government holds, on behalf of British Columbians, certain fi nancial in- struments, whether they are debt instruments or bond instruments. He knows that they are marketed and that transactions occur relating to them.

I am acting on the advice of senior offi cials who say that it would be unwise and improper in a way that would negatively impact the interests of British Columbia to say more about specifi c instruments that are involved. Th e member made an assertion a few days ago that was wrong. He and his colleagues have opposed a budget

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13401 that is balanced. He wishes to be taken seriously in a dis- cussion where he and his colleagues steadfastly, despite the passage of now two weeks, to reveal that secret plan that they have tucked away somewhere…. So if he wants to be taken seriously, release the NDP's plan if indeed it actually exists. [End of question period.] Reports from Committees M. Coell: Mr.

Speaker, I have the honour to present a report of the Special Committee to Inquire into the Use of Conducted Energy Weapons and to Audit Selected Police Complaints for the fourth session of the 39th par- liament. I would move that the report be taken as read and received. Motion approved. M. Coell: Mr. Speaker, I ask leave of the House to suspend the rules to permit the moving of a motion to adopt the report. Leave granted. M. Coell: I move the report be adopted, and in do- ing so, I would like to make some brief comments.

Th is report, entitled Progress Reported in Implementing the 2009 Braidwood Report Recommendations and Processing Police Complaints , summarizes the work of the special committee from July 2012 to February 2013.

The special committee had a dual mandate to con- duct a follow-up review of the implementation status of the 19 recommendations arising from the June 2009 report of the Braidwood Commission, Restoring Public Confi dence: Restricting the Use of Conducted Energy Weapons in British Columbia , as well as to review sci- entifi c research into the medical risks to persons against whom conducted energy weapons are deployed. The second part of the committee's mandate was to conduct an audit respecting the outcome or resolution of ran- domly selected complaints and investigations under

part 2 of the Police Act. On behalf of the committee members, I am pleased to report that satisfactory progress has been made in implementing all 19 recommendations of the June 2009 Braidwood report. In addition, the complaint pro- cess in place at the B.C. Offi ce of the Police Complaint Commissioner is addressing complaints in compliance with

part 2 of the Police Act as well. [1440] I would like to thank all the committee members and our staff who gave their time to contribute to the produc- tion of this report. K. Corrigan: I want to start by thanking the mem- ber for Saanich North and the Islands for chairing the committee and to thank all the other members of the committee. It was a hard-working committee. We met literally dozens of times from the beginning of the summer through till very recently. I also want to thank Committee Clerk Susan Sourial and committee research- er Josie Schofi eld for the wonderful work they did on this committee.

I'm proud of the extensive work that was done by the committee. It was done in a collegial manner, but it was very important work. It was work that was reviewing whether or not the recommendations of Mr. Justice Braidwood — in his inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski in 2007 — had been implemented. So it was very important to check back. In fact, it was statutor- ily mandated that this Legislature should look back and check and see whether those recommendations had been implemented.

Th ere were 19 recommendations, and they were very detailed and extensive, outlining the appropriate use of conducted energy weapons, more commonly known as Tasers, and many recommendations about the training of the offi cers. As well, as has been mentioned by the mem- ber, we looked into whether or not there is new scientifi c research into the medical risk to persons against whom conducted energy weapons are deployed.

Th e committee was somewhat surprised that there wasn't more of a public response to our invitations to sub- mit, but I think the reason that that was the case is that for the most part, very substantially, the recommenda- tions have been implemented to the satisfaction of every- one involved. I think it's good for this province that those recommendations have been implemented, and I think we can rest more easily that the use of Tasers has been carefully looked at. With regard to the second part, the audit.

I'm pleased that we are doing a good job with regard to police com- plaints in most areas — apart from the fact that there is some amount of time that the investigations are being reviewed. It's 45 percent that are not completed within the expected six-month time frame. I'm pleased with the work of the committee. I con- gratulate all members and congratulate the government for the work that has been done. Mr. Speaker: Seeing no further speakers, does the member for Saanich North and the Islands wish to move adoption of the report? M. Coell: Mr. Speaker, I move adoption. Motion approved.

British Columbia Debates13402 Thursday, March 7, 2013 Orders of the Day Hon. M. de Jong: I call second reading of Bill 11. If and when that is complete this aft ernoon, the next order of business will be second reading of Bill 15. Second Reading of Bills BILL 11 — CRIMINAL RECORDS REVIEW AMENDMENT ACT, 2013 Hon. S. Bond: I move that the bill be read a second time now. Mr. Speaker, amendments to the Criminal Records Review Act recognize government's appreciation of the invaluable work provided by volunteers and non-profi t agencies to children and vulnerable adults in British Columbia. [L.

Reid in the chair.] Certainly, British Columbia is the only province in Canada that protects the vulnerable sector by requiring people who work with children or vulnerable adults in publicly funded or regulated sectors to undergo crimin- al record checks. Amendments to the Criminal Records Review Act will allow our government to extend this program to volunteers and the non-profi t sector free of charge. Th is includes volunteers working for organ- izations currently covered by the act, like hospitals and school districts.

Non-profi t agencies will have the option of opting into the government's program for criminal record checks or to continue using their local police agencies for screen- ing. Individuals who are identifi ed as having a relevant criminal record will undergo a risk assessment by pro- gram experts to ensure our vulnerable sector is protected. [1445] Amendments will also require volunteers to update their criminal record checks every fi ve years. Th ese re- quirements parallel the existing requirements of those working with children and vulnerable adults.

Another very important aspect of this act is actually the issue of portability of criminal record results. One of the things I know that I've heard in my community and that many other MLAs have shared with me is the fact that volunteers and employees are oft en asked for a second criminal record check if they're volunteering for a second specifi c organization. It's an incredibly important step in this amendment to actually allow consent for the sharing of that criminal re- cord between organizations.

It means that if you want to volunteer with the Salvation Army and then another or- ganization, once you've gone through the criminal record check process, the review process, you can then request having your information shared with another organiza- tion that you may want to be involved with. Certainly, we know that parents are very busy and vol- unteer for, in some cases, several of their children's ac- tivities. Th ose parents currently would need a criminal record check for each sporting organization, school or other non-profi t club their children attend.

So the abil- ity for parents and others to share their criminal record results between agencies will save them both time and, importantly, the cost. Th e amendments that support the sharing of criminal record results are important in streamlining the criminal record process in both the non-profi t and employment sectors while, importantly, continuing to protect the safe- ty of our most vulnerable citizens. Because the statute is very procedural, and it is divided into repeating sections for diff erent employment-related sectors, amendments were required throughout the bill. It does, I admit, make it very lengthy.

But it's important to point out that it is actually replicated in sections. In closing, I would like to say that we are very proud to demonstrate our commitment to supporting the import- ant services provided by volunteers and the non-profi t sectors in our communities. With that, Madam Speaker, I look forward to hearing comments of other members in the House. K. Corrigan: I'm happy to rise and speak on Bill 11, the Criminal Records Review Amendment Act, 2013.

Since this does deal with volunteers, it's important to note that there are thousands and thousands of volun- teers in this province that do very important work, and our society could not function without the many hun- dreds and thousands of hours that people volunteer in British Columbia. So our hats-off to the volunteers today. Some volunteers deal with people who are vulnerable — people who are very young, people who are ill, people who have disabilities. It's very important, when you have volunteers working with people who are vulnerable, that we ensure, as a society, that those people are protected.

It's an important thing to do. One of the things that hap- pens in this province — and I'm not sure that it happens in every province; I do think we have been a bit of a lead- er in this — is that people are required, if they're going to volunteer, particularly with vulnerable people, to get a criminal records check. When I first saw this bill, it looked pretty innocu- ous and straightforward, although it's very important. I certainly agree that it's straightforward.

But in that, the proposed changes will allow volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults to receive free criminal re- cord checks, provided the non-profi t sector organization they work for has opted into the new provincial program. I saw that in the press release that the government did at the time the bill was introduced. It was very positive and talked about a couple of organizations that had ex- pressed their support for the bill and were appreciative

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13403 of that — viaSport B.C., for example. I was pleased with that, and I thought: "We will support this bill." [1450] We will continue to support this bill, but there was a little bit of a glitch, and there was some homework that I believe that government did not do. So I did a bit of it for them. What I did was I contacted AVRBC, which is the administrators of volunteers in British Columbia. It's the organization that is administrators of volunteers, and Administrators of Volunteer Resources of British Columbia is the name.

AVRBC represents well over 100 organizations in the province. Th ey are very well respected. In fact — a little plug for AVRBC — they are having their 2013 conference coming up very soon, I think in the month of May. I at- tended their conference last year, and it was very worth- while. I really appreciated the invitation, and I hope they invite me again. Th ey're having things like coaching and sharing our own work and diversity workshops and so on.

I mention them because I have followed the work that they do, and I've been appreciative of the work that AVRBC does and the fact that it represents administra- tors from well over 100 — I think it's 170 or 180 — or- ganizations in this province who are very professional. I contacted them about this bill and asked whether or not they were supportive. In addition, I spoke to leadership of Volunteer B.C. Now, Volunteer B.C. represents literally hundreds and hundreds of organizations across the province.

So I thought that it was important to speak to Volunteer B.C., as well, to make sure that Volunteer B.C. was support- ive of Bill 11. I'll give you an example of some of the members of Volunteer B.C.: the Campbell River Volunteer Society, Deltassist Family and Community Services, Hope Community Services, Volunteer Burnaby, Volunteer Chilliwack, volunteer organizations from all around the province, SUCCESS, Boys and Girls Clubs — hundreds and hundreds of members, associate members or affi li- ate members. So I thought it was important to talk to Volunteer B.C. as well.

Th e leadership of both of those organizations, to my surprise, responded that they were concerned about the bill. Th e reason they were concerned about the bill was they were concerned that the criminal record checks that are done by the provincial government do not in- clude crucial information. Th e crucial information that is not included is information that comes from federal databases. Th ey're particularly concerned, for example, about the fact that pardoned criminals who have been convicted of sex off ences were not being….

Th ose lists were not being checked as part of the criminal record check that was be- ing done by the province. Both of those organizations, of course, between them, recognize literally hundreds and hundreds of volunteer organizations and therefore refl ect the will of literally tens of thousands of volunteers in this province. Th e leadership of both those organizations at that time en- couraged us to take a good look and, in fact, to not sup- port Bill 11, which I found to be surprising. However, this story has a bit of a better ending to it.

Th e reason is that within a day or so of when I contacted both AVRBC and Volunteer B.C., they had a meeting with the provincial government, with the ministry folks, and they were told that the record checks that have not previously been done and are not presently being done — which would include, for example, as I said earlier, the records of those that have been pardoned of serious sex- ual off ences, including sex off ences against children — would now be checked. [1455] So that very serious gap, I'm told by the volunteer organizations, is going to be closed.

In addition, those checks will be funded, they are assured. I particularly wanted to mention this because I wanted to make sure it was on the record that that was a concern and that the government has assured those organizations that those criminal record checks will include that information that is so critical to getting a really good idea of who it is that you're having come to volunteer.

It seems to me that in the past, that has been a critical gap, to the point that those organizations, AVRBC and Volunteer B.C., in their criminal record checks, when it dealt with vulnerable people like children, some elderly people who may have challenges or people with disabil- ities, those people would in fact have…. Th ose checks would include what the present checks don't include.

Th ese organizations actually did not get their crim- inal record checks done through the province of British Columbia and instead opted to pay for their own crim- inal record checks — the more extensive criminal record checks that included this important federal information. I'm going to assume that AVRBC and Volunteer B.C. are comfortable. Th ey've told me that they are. Th ey're pleased that government is now going to fund, is going to do that as part of the criminal record check and that those checks are going to be funded by the provincial government. One of the things that I'm concerned about….

It seems to be a pattern with regard to Bill 11 and Bills 15 and 12, which we're going to be dealing with later today — Bill 15 being the Justice Reform and Transparency Act and Bill 12 being the Community Safety Act. In many cases — in fact, I think in all three of those cases — promises are being made, plans are being put into place which in- volve costs. Th ey involve costs to government. It is very much a concern to me that we are having fu- ture promises made which do not have budgets associ- ated with them.

When we get to the committee stage of Bill 11 and Bill 15 and Bill 12 — if we get there — I am certainly going to be asking about what the expected

British Columbia Debates13404 Thursday, March 7, 2013 costs are. I've asked in briefi ngs whether or not, in the costs as- sociated with Bill 11 and the other bills, there's anything in the budget for it. And there's nothing in the budget. Promises are being made. In fact, in the case of these bills, commitments are being made by the taxpayers of British Columbia, because we're going to have to pay for it. If it's in a bill, it has to be done. When you actually have a law, when you have a statute that says this is what's going to happen, when in fact it hasn't been paid for, it hasn't been budgeted for….

What we have, when we have claims of a balanced budget, is we're going to have some examples here of things that have not been budgeted. I've asked. Th ey're not being paid for. We supposedly have a balanced budget. Well, here are going to be several examples of things that are being promised by this government now without having any budget to cover it. It's a real concern that this is part of a pattern. I be- lieve the promise that was made….

It was going to be, starting in November, that these criminal record checks were going to be free — nothing in the budget for it, but they are going to be free starting in November — for the volunteers and the volunteer organizations, which are required to and should do criminal record checks in British Columbia. Th is is a good thing, but it is unfortunate in a time when we have claims of a balanced budget, which we all know is very suspect, that things like this…. Th is is not probably a huge item in terms of costs.

But it is my understanding — I've been told by ministry staff — that it is not covered in the budget. So I'm not sure where the money is going to come from. [1500] On the spirit of the bill, I'm certainly supportive. I'm pleased that this is going to provide a further check and further access. Y ou know, we have so many small non- profi ts and large non-profi ts. But particularly the smaller organizations were fi nding the costs of the required crim- inal record checks, which they did not disagree with, in some cases to be oppressive.

So not only is it nice to hear that the cost is going to be covered now but that, in addi- tion, there is going to be more effi ciency. As the minister stated in her statement, it will allow for more effi ciency in that a person will be able to get a crim- inal record check at one place, and if this organization has signed on to being part of the system that shares the information, the record checks can be shared with other non-profi t organizations, which means that people are not going to have to go and regularly get and seek crim- inal record checks. It can be centrally located.

In addition, there is going to be a risk assessment. Th ere's going to be an adjudication process which pro- vides expert, consistent risk assessment when a check identifi es a criminal record containing relevant off ences. I think it does make sense and is a good piece of legisla- tion in that regard. I think it would have been better if the government…. It seems like there's quite a rush to get out some bills that this government can go to the hustings with.

I would say that's why this fl urry of bills and promises and plans is coming out right now, many of which — almost all of which — are not funded in any way. In its haste, I think it would have been better if the government had contacted AVRBC. Th ey didn't, unless they talked to somebody other than the leadership.

Both AVRBC and Volunteer B.C. had not been contacted, had not been told that there was going to be a change — I don't know if it had been planned or not before the meet- ing happened — to include this very important informa- tion that the federal databases were going to be checked and that that information was going to be included. When we go to committee stage, I hope that the min- ister will be ready to provide an estimate of how much it is going to cost taxpayers and can tell me if it's not, you know….

I've been briefed that there is no money in the budget for it, but I may get information that's contrary to that from the minister when we go to the commit- tee stage. Overall, we're sorry that AVRBC and Volunteer B.C. were put in a bit of a…. Th ey were surprised, not par- ticularly happy. But I think the result of this in a way has actually been good for AVRBC, Volunteer B.C. and volunteers all around the province because it may have forced or moved forward a commitment that the extra information that has not previously been provided in the provincial criminal record checks will be provided.

Of course, that was information that was of such con- cern to the major volunteer organizations around the province that they made the choice that they would pay for their own criminal record checks. As I said earlier, it is pretty costly to volunteer-reliant organizations, non- profi t organizations in this province. When you think about it, it's things like hospitals and immigrant-serving organizations, children-serving or- ganizations — every type of volunteer organization that you can imagine around the province.

Y ou can imagine that there have been, up till now, hundreds of thousands of dollars that individuals and volunteer organizations have had to spend because they have felt that the prov- incial record check was not suffi cient to protect the vul- nerable children or adults that they were serving. So I'm glad to see that that's going to be covered. I'm looking forward to fi nding out from the province how much it's going to cost taxpayers to do this and get- ting a confi rmation of whether it is or isn't included in the budget. With that, Madam Speaker, I'm going to take my seat. [1505] C.

Trevena: I'm happy to stand and support this bill. I think that we all have contacts with the non-profi t organ-

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13405 izations in our communities who have faced problems in trying to ensure that there are criminal record checks — the cost of this and access to it. I know that I've actually written letters to the Solicitor General, the Minister of Justice, on this when we have problems about it, so it's good to see that there is something moving forward. I think the fact that these are going to be free for those people working with children and vulnerable adults is very important — as long as, obviously, the organizations opt in to this program.

Th e fact that there is going to be the ability to share the information — I think it really is going to be a useful piece of legislation. It is going to help those volunteer organizations in the community which we really so much depend on. Th e bill proposes that changes are going to allow vol- unteers working with children or vulnerable adults to have these free checks, provided that the non-profi t sec- tor organization worked for has opted in to new provin- cial program. I'm sure we're all going to be dealing with this in our constituency offi ces, about the opting into the program and how that works.

Hopefully, our constitu- ency assistants will all be briefed on how this is all go- ing to work before we start getting the phone calls into our offi ces. Volunteers and publicly funded employees covered by the act will be able to have record checks shared with other non-profi t organizations. Again, I think this is very useful in that it is going to allow for a greater fl exibility for the non-profi t sector. Th ere is an increasing reliance on the non-profi t sec- tor in all our communities.

Whether that's good or bad, I think, is a philosophical discussion that we can have separately, but the reality is that we do need to have vol- unteers who are willing to work in our communities, volunteers who are working with children and vulner- able adults. Y ou do want to ensure that they are going to be okay — basically, safe — to work with these people. I think it's very important that we are trying to streamline that and trying to make it available and accessible. B.C. was the only province to require criminal record checks for employees working with vulnerable adults two years ago.

Th ere have been thousands and thousands of checks on this. So again, I think that as we move forward, it will make the situation much more streamlined. Unlike with the bill that I was speaking on earlier to- day, the result of this is because there have been consul- tations. My colleague from Burnaby–Deer Lake did talk about some gaps in consultations. It seems that has been resolved, and it seems that most people are on board with this, which, as I say, is very comforting.

One of the things that I think is also useful is that there is going to be an adjudicating process so that if there is something that comes up on the screen, something that is fl agged, it's not immediately saying: "Th at's it. Y ou're out." Th ere is going to be the opportunity to have some adjudication. Th ere will be a criminal records review program, an adjudication process which is supposed to provide expert, consistent risk assessment when a check identifi es a criminal record containing relevant off ences. However, non-profi ts that opt out can fund their own screening approaches.

I think it's very important that we have that adjudication process, that extra screening there. It's a matter of fairness, I believe, and that really is very important in legislation such as this — that there is the fairness and the accountability. [1510] Th e minister, when she tabled this, in speaking to the media said she hopes to have it up and running by the end of November. Again, I have to echo the comments from my colleague from Burnaby–Deer Lake. At present it doesn't seem to be….

While this is a good framework and will really encourage and assist those organizations in our communities that rely on volunteers, I think that with no budget line specifi cally for this, there is a red fl ag. To be honest, one does start to get rather cynical at this stage in the legislative session, so close to an elec- tion. How much of this is good window dressing ahead of the election, and how much is it real policy that will help our non-profi t sectors with a matching budget line? As I say, from what we understand, there hasn't been a budget line for this. We're already facing a defi cit budget.

Th is is obviously going to cost more because it's going to provide free checks for the non-profi t sector. So if we can get that clarifi ed and fi nd out where the money is com- ing from…. I think that would be our one great concern. I know that my colleague from Burnaby–Deer Lake will be following up with that, but I know that the non- profi t sector and volunteers will be very happy to see this piece of legislation. With that, I'll take my seat. Deputy Speaker: Seeing no further speakers, the min- ister closes debate. Hon. S.

Bond: I certainly do appreciate the member's comments on what is an important piece of legislation. One of the comments I'd make, and I look forward to the chance to discuss this more in committee…. I would hardly suggest that anyone would suggest that, as a gov- ernment, we actually rushed this bill. Th is has been a conversation that we've had for a very long time. In fact, I think a promise was made to do this. Of course, we're concerned if there are organizations that feel they haven't been properly consulted.

But I can assure you that the response to the decision that we made to move forward with an opportunity for volunteers to, fi rst of all, receive their criminal record review checks without cost has been fantastic. Secondly, perhaps the more troublesome issue for many people has been the need to have more than one criminal record review done. Certainly, from our perspective it is fantastic news. I am completely humbled when I look at the work that vol-

British Columbia Debates13406 Thursday, March 7, 2013 unteers do in British Columbia. One of the purposes of this bill is to ensure that there are not barriers or impedi- ments, while at the same time being sure that we're keep- ing our children and vulnerable adults as safe as possible. I can assure the members opposite — and I look for- ward to committee stage — that the review check that is being off ered certainly will include the federal pardoned sex off ender database. Th at is referred to as the vulner- able sector check. Th at was made clear to AVRBC when our ministry staff did call them.

To suggest that we needed to be forced to consider that is inaccurate. In fact, it was perhaps a matter of communication that could have been done much better. But we recognize how important that is. Th is is an important piece of legislation. I do appreciate the input provided by the members opposite. With that, Madam Speaker, I move second reading of Bill 11. Motion approved. Hon. S. Bond: I move that the bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House to be considered at the next sitting of the House aft er today.

Bill 11, Criminal Records Review Amendment Act, 2013, read a second time and referred to a Committee of the Whole House for consideration at the next sitting of the House aft er today. Hon. M. Polak: I call second reading of Bill 15, intitu- led Justice Reform and Transparency Act. BILL 15 — JUSTICE REFORM AND TRANSPARENCY ACT Hon. S. Bond: I move that Bill 15, Justice Reform and Transparency Act, be read a second time now. Th is new legislation is a foundational piece to achieve our vision of a timely, transparent and balanced justice system.

We know that a well-functioning and accessible justice system is an essential component of all democratic societies. Certainly, despite how challenging it might be, it is the responsibility of those who lead and manage the justice system to make changes that focus on modern- izing it and meeting the needs of the people who use it. It is imperative that British Columbians have confi - dence that our justice system works to keep families and communities safe and, most importantly, that it is time- ly, that it ensures accessibility and fairness and that it is managed within available public resources.

Th is legislation actually aligns with and enhances the recommendations from Geoff rey Cowper's review of the justice system. [1515] We asked Geoff rey Cowper to do a review and come back to us and bring us a series of recommendations. At the time, there were many people who were skeptical and cynical and simply pointed out: "It's another report. It's going to sit on the shelf and gather dust." I can assure you that the work that Mr. Cowper did for us has done anything but gather dust.

Th is legislation actually establishes the governance framework for a well-functioning, transparent justice system that is strengthened by greater collaboration amongst all the participants. It will also bring amend- ments to the Provincial Court Act and the Supreme Court Act to support court reforms. Th e legislation will foster collaborative leadership by the province's justice functions in statute by creating a new justice and public safety council. Th at was a direct recommendation in the Cowper report.

Th e council will set the strategic direction and vision for our justice system and will guide the way to an open, transparent and accountable leadership. To begin with, the council will be made up of senior leadership in gov- ernment, although in the longer term the act does allow the Minister of Justice to appoint others to that council. Th e council will be required to develop a strategic vi- sion and an annual strategic plan for the justice system. Th e plan will develop clear performance goals that will be publicly reportable.

Th e council will be required to report on progress through an annual report within six months aft er the end of a fi scal year for which that report is prepared. Th is annual report will also be made public. Th e council will collect and share information and work to promote cooperation and collaboration across the justice sector. Input from all areas of the sector will be important for reform to actually take place. Th e act allows the minister to establish advisory boards as need- ed to provide expertise and advice to support the coun- cil's work.

One of the things we want to do is encourage innova- tion and facilitate cross-sector collaboration. Th e act re- quires the minister to convene a justice summit, and the summit will be held at least once a year. Th e summit will be a forum for open discussion and to discuss how the system is working and how it continues. Could it con- tinue to improve? It was very interesting to note that recently one of the most recent appointees to the Supreme Court of Canada actually spoke about the need for a national justice sum- mit.

It was fantastic for us to see that kind of validation in the work that we're doing here in British Columbia — knowing that there is a call for a national justice sum- mit when, in fact, this legislation will bring to statute in our province the need to have a provincial annual jus- tice summit. As we all know, the judiciary plays an important and critical role in B.C.'s justice system. Th e act provides the framework for government to enter into a memoran- dum of understanding with the B.C. Court of Appeal, the

British Columbia DebatesThursday, March 7, 2013 13407 Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Provincial Court on matters relating to the administration of the courts. A memorandum of understanding will identify roles and responsibilities, include provisions governing how the parties will share information, promote and measure eff ective court administration, and report to the public. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to the chief justices and chief judge in the province. It has been an interesting discussion.

We have had, I think, a very cordial and constructive working relationship, rec- ognizing, and always being very careful to recognize, the constitutional independence the judiciary has in our province, in our system. I do want to express my grati- tude for the constructive advice and discussion that we have held. It's been very helpful as we've looked at the issue of justice reform. We know that not only is the justice system about the judicial side; it is also about the police side. In this act we look at the Police Act.

Th is bill will amend the Police Act to provide the director of police services the author- ity to set standards respecting the collection, disclosure and analysis of information regarding the administration and management of policing. Th e information collected will be needed by the justice and public safety council to carry out its mandate and prepare its annual plan. Th is change does not relate to individual cases but aggregate descriptive data. [1520] One of the things we know is that you can't improve something until you can actually measure it.

We are working — through this bill and through other reform initiatives, including our recent white paper — to look at how we can build in the measurements necessary to give British Columbians confi dence, fi rst of all, about the outcomes in our justice system but also to look at the issue of cost. Th e member opposite — the public safety critic, actually — in her comments on the previous bill talked about cost. In fact, when we look at justice funding in British Columbia, the budget for this ministry went up this year. British Columbians today invest well over $1 billion in the justice system — $1 billion.

Before we start looking at how we're going to add more money to the system, it's my view, and certainly that of our government, that we actually need to make sure the money we're investing on behalf of taxpayers is working as eff ectively as it can. Y es, as we move forward there may well be need for new investment in the justice system. But fi rst we're go- ing to contemplate and tackle the issue of reform. I'm very pleased to say that on the national stage, British Columbia is a leader in this initiative.

In fact, when I meet with my colleagues from across the coun- try — federal, provincial and territorial — they look to British Columbia because of the work we've done and, in particular, because of the work that Geoff rey Cowper has done. We've spoken together across the country on this topic. Th e last area of the bill proposes amendments to the Provincial Court Act and the Supreme Court Act to help the chief judge and the chief justice better manage the administration of the courts. Amendments will clarify and enhance the administrative roles and powers of the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court.

We will also be clarifying and setting the term of the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court in statute. Th e term will be set at seven years. While appointments have typ- ically been for fi ve years, this change will give the chief judges appointed in the future enough time to develop and implement longer-term planning and administra- tion. Further amendments will allow for a realignment of the regional organization structure to support the chief judge's ability to exercise more eff ective and effi cient ad- ministration.

Another recommendation made by Geoff rey Cowper, through the work that he did, was to provide for a speci- fi ed, stable judicial complement for the Provincial Court. Amendments will provide the authority to establish the criteria for determining the judicial complement of Provincial Court judges. Th e government will work with the judiciary to develop these criteria. Th at's an import- ant point, because constantly we hear the cry for addi- tional judges in our province. Recently, as Madam Speaker would know, we ap- pointed nine new judges, bringing the total to 32 over the last number of years.

But we need to actually be able to assess when one might need a new judge, not simply by looking at: "Well, this is the highest number we've ever had, and we think that's the number we need." Th ere needs to be an ability to look at what is essential in de- termining the judicial complement. I look forward very much to continuing to work with the judiciary as we move forward with this kind of thinking. Finally, there are other amendments that allow the Supreme Court to reassign judges to areas where they are needed. This bill is an important piece of legisla- tion.

It is about tackling the issues that were referred to in Geoff rey Cowper's work. He talked about a culture of delay in the system. He talked about the need for access- ibility, for transparency, the ability to measure the eff ect- iveness of the system. We know this — that it is a fundamental component of our democratic system to ensure that our courts are timely and accessible. Nothing troubles me more than when I look at the circumstances where a family or an individual has been a victim of some form of crime.

Y et months and sometimes, tragically, years later they con- tinue to wait for some form of resolution or consequence. We can do better than that in British Columbia. I am very pleased today to introduce a piece of legislation that does refl ect the initial steps in a reform agenda that will

British Columbia Debates13408 Thursday, March 7, 2013 help us create a timely, transparent and balanced justice system — the system that British Columbians deserve. With those remarks, I'd be happy to entertain com- ments by other Members of the Legislative Assembly. [1525] K. Corrigan: I am pleased to rise on Bill 15, Justice Reform and Transparency Act. Th ere are many things in this bill that are good things. I think some of the provi- sions related to transparency in the court, complements of judges, and so on, are good additions to our justice system.

But you will forgive me and other people in this province for being a little bit cynical about the timing of the fl ood of suggestions and plans that the government is making about reform of the court system without any money attached to it. Aft er all, this government has had the ability to reform the justice system for 12 years. Where we are at the mo- ment, where we actually are aft er 12 years of Liberal gov- ernment, is a court system which is in chaos.

Just today we had another example, two police offi cers who had been accused of assaulting a Surrey senior hav- ing the charges stayed because their case had been de- layed for 22 months. It was a year ago that the Premier was telling us that we were still seeing increases in the number of cases delayed and stayed and admitting that this tells us that systemic changes are needed. Th e timing is quite breathtaking.

We've had 12 years of neglect, years of chaos, dozens of cases — many, many times very serious cases — where criminals have been let off scot-free because the court system is so overloaded and in such disarray that their cases have not come to court for months and months and even years. So it is fi ne that we have a plan here, but we have a plan which seems to be timed perfectly for just before an elec- tion, where we have grandiose plans on all sorts of fronts. I do credit government for coming up with some plans, but no money — no money whatsoever — is attached to most of these plans.

Th e budget this year has cuts. Th is is where the rubber hits the road. Th e plans are great, and we've spent, now, years — literally months and months — coming up with plans. But what we have, and this is what matters, is cuts to justice services for this year. We have cuts to prosecution services. We have cuts to court services, cuts to legal services, cuts to victim ser- vices and cuts to crime prevention.

So the government can plan all it wants and talk about the wonderful things that are going to happen, but in the budget that they set, that this government set, there is no money, it appears, for almost anything that they are plan- ning or talking about doing. I think that the people of British Columbia have a right to be a little bit cynical about this last-minute presenta- tion of a fl urry of bills, a fl urry of ideas, a fl urry of white papers that this government has no plans to spend any money on.

On the other hand, going to the content of what's in the bills, there are some things that are good, and we will be supporting them. Th ere's some work that's been done that's good. Th e problem is: how can any govern- ment follow through on these things at a time, particu- larly, when this government has claimed that it's got a balanced budget? Well, I'll be interested in adding up the things that are not in this budget that this government obviously wants to run on and says it's going to do. But it has not actually put any money into the budget for it. Th is is the Justice Reform and Transparency Act.

As I said, there are some things that are good in this bill that we'll be supporting. But it does seem, as I said earlier…. Th e minister said that it was not rushed, but if not rushed, then certainly the timing is interesting. [1530] As Rob Gordo

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	H0307pm-09
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	H0307pm 09
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	1f6f515a6f5c381bccccd8fd9aaefd06433251b9

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