British Columbia Hansard — Monday, July 15, 2013 (40th Parliament, 1st Session) (20130715pm-Hansard-v3n2) (20130715pm Hansard v3n2)

20130715pm-Hansard-v3n2

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

First Session, 40th Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (HANSARD) THE HONOURABLE LINDA REID, SPEAKER ISSN 0709- 1281 (Print) ISSN 1499-2175 (Online) Monday, July 15, 2013 Aft ernoon Sitting Volume 3, Number 2

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC First Session, 40th Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Linda Reid EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council .............................................................................................................. Hon. Christy Clark Deputy Premier and Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing ......................Hon.

Rich Coleman Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... Hon. John Rustad Minister of Advanced Education ............................................................................................................................................ Hon. Amrik Virk Minister of Agriculture ............................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Pat Pimm Minister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................... Hon. Stephanie Cadieux Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development ........................................................................................... Hon. Coralee Oakes Minister of Education ..................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Peter Fassbender Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review .....................................................................Hon. Bill Bennett Minister of Environment ..........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Mary Polak 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. Terry Lake Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for Asia Pacifi c Strategy and Multiculturalism ..................Hon.

Teresa Wat Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour ...................................................Hon. Shirley Bond Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business ....................................................................................................Hon. Naomi Y amamoto Minister of Justice ...............................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Suzanne Anton Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation..................................................................................................... Hon. Don McRae Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services ................................................................................... Hon. Andrew Wilkinson Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................Hon.

Todd Stone LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Offi cial Opposition ......................................................................................................................................................Adrian Dix Deputy Speaker .............................................................................................................................................................................Douglas Horne Assistant Deputy Speaker ...............................................................................................................................................................

Raj Chouhan Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ....................................................................................................................................... Marc Dalton 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 Anton, Hon. Suzanne (BC Liberal) .............................. Vancouver-Fraserview Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal).....................................................................Penticton Austin, Robin (NDP) ................................................................................ Skeena Bains, Harry (NDP) ....................................................................Surrey-Newton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal) ............................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Bennett, Hon.

Bill (BC Liberal) ...................................................Kootenay East Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal) ................................................... Peace River South Bing, Dr. Doug (BC Liberal) ................................ Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Bond, Hon. Shirley (BC Liberal) ........................... Prince George–Valemount Cadieux, Hon. Stephanie (BC Liberal) ................................Surrey-Cloverdale Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) .................................Vancouver–West End Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ...........................................................

Burnaby-Edmonds Coleman, Hon. Rich (BC Liberal) .......................... Fort Langley–Aldergrove Conroy, Katrine (NDP) .............................................................. Kootenay West Corrigan, Kathy (NDP) ..................................................... Burnaby–Deer Lake Dalton, Marc (BC Liberal) ............................................. Maple Ridge–Mission Darcy, Judy (NDP) ..................................................................New Westminster de Jong, Hon. Michael, QC (BC Liberal) ..............................

Abbotsford West Dix, Adrian (NDP) ............................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Doug (NDP) ......................................................................... Stikine Eby, David (NDP) ..........................................................Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP) ................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Mike (NDP) ............................................................ Port Coquitlam Fassbender, Hon. Peter (BC Liberal) ...................................

Surrey-Fleetwood Fleming, Rob (NDP) .......................................................... Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal) .......................................................Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Scott (NDP) ............................................................Alberni–Pacifi c Rim Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal) ............................................. Abbotsford-Mission Hamilton, Scott (BC Liberal) ...........................................................Delta North Hammell, Sue (NDP) ....................................................

Surrey–Green Timbers Heyman, George (NDP) .................................................... Vancouver-Fairview Hogg, Gordon (BC Liberal) ............................................... Surrey–White Rock Holman, Gary (NDP) .......................................Saanich North and the Islands Horgan, John (NDP) .......................................................................

Juan de Fuca Horne, Douglas (BC Liberal) ..............................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal) ....................................................Surrey-Panorama Huntington, Vicki (Ind.) ..................................................................Delta South James, Carole (NDP) .........................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Karagianis, Maurine (NDP) ........................................Esquimalt–Royal Roads Krog, Leonard Eugene (NDP) .............................................................

Nanaimo Kwan, Jenny Wai Ching (NDP) ........................... Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal) ........................................................................ Shuswap Lake, Hon. Dr.

Terry (BC Liberal) ....................Kamloops–North Th ompson Larson, Linda (BC Liberal) .........................................Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Richard T. (BC Liberal) ......................................................Burnaby North Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal) ........................................Kelowna–Lake Country Macdonald, Norm (NDP) ....................................Columbia River–Revelstoke McRae, Hon. Don (BC Liberal) ..................................................

Comox Valley Martin, John (BC Liberal) ..................................................................Chilliwack Morris, Mike (BC Liberal) ..................................... Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Michelle (NDP) ..........................................................Nelson-Creston Oakes, Hon. Coralee (BC Liberal) .............................................Cariboo North Pimm, Hon. Pat (BC Liberal) ...............................................Peace River North Plecas, Darryl (BC Liberal) ....................................................Abbotsford South Polak, Hon.

Mary (BC Liberal) .............................................................. Langley Popham, Lana (NDP) ...................................................................Saanich South Ralston, Bruce (NDP) ................................................................ Surrey-Whalley Reid, Hon. Linda (BC Liberal) ..................................................Richmond East Reimer, Linda (BC Liberal) ........................................

Port Moody–Coquitlam Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ........................................................................North Coast Robinson, Selina (NDP) .............................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Routley, Bill (NDP) .................................................................. Cowichan Valley Routley, Doug (NDP) ............................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, Hon. John (BC Liberal) ................................................

Nechako Lakes Shin, Jane Jae Kyung (NDP) ...............................................Burnaby-Lougheed Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ................................... Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Shane (NDP) ..................................................... Vancouver-Hastings Stilwell, Michelle (BC Liberal) ........................................ Parksville-Qualicum Stilwell, Dr. Moira (BC Liberal) ........................................ Vancouver-Langara Stone, Hon. Todd (BC Liberal) .........................

Kamloops–South Th ompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal) ..................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Sullivan, Sam (BC Liberal) ...........................................Vancouver–False Creek Sultan, Ralph (BC Liberal) ..................................... West Vancouver–Capilano Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal) ............................................................Fraser-Nicola Th omson, Hon. Steve (BC Liberal) .......................................Kelowna-Mission Th ornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) ..........................

North Vancouver–Seymour Th roness, Laurie (BC Liberal).................................................Chilliwack-Hope Trevena, Claire (NDP) .................................................................... North Island Virk, Hon. Amrik (BC Liberal) ............................................. Surrey-Tynehead Wat, Hon. Teresa (BC Liberal) .............................................. Richmond Centre Weaver, Dr. Andrew (Ind.) .......................................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wilkinson, Hon. Andrew (BC Liberal) ........................ Vancouver-Quilchena Y amamoto, Hon.

Naomi (BC Liberal) ................ North Vancouver–Lonsdale Y ap, John (BC Liberal) ......................................................Richmond-Steveston Vacant ...................................................................................... Westside-Kelowna LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission ......................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South ............................................................................Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West ...................................................... Hon.

Michael de Jong, QC Alberni–Pacifi c Rim .......................................................................... Scott Fraser Boundary-Similkameen ................................................................ Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake ................................................................... Kathy Corrigan Burnaby-Edmonds .........................................................................

Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed .............................................................Jane Jae Kyung Shin Burnaby North .............................................................................. Richard T. Lee Cariboo-Chilcotin ........................................................................Donna Barnett Cariboo North .................................................................... Hon. Coralee Oakes Chilliwack .........................................................................................

John Martin Chilliwack-Hope ....................................................................... Laurie Th roness Columbia River–Revelstoke .................................................. Norm Macdonald Comox Valley...........................................................................Hon. Don McRae Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .....................................................Douglas Horne Coquitlam-Maillardville........................................................... Selina Robinson Cowichan Valley ................................................................................

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

Jackie Tegart Juan de Fuca .....................................................................................John Horgan Kamloops–North Th ompson ............................................ Hon. Dr. Terry Lake Kamloops–South Th ompson ..................................................Hon. Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country ............................................................... 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 ........................................................ Dr. Doug Bing Nanaimo ........................................................................... Leonard Eugene Krog Nanaimo–North Cowichan .........................................................

Doug Routley Nechako Lakes ........................................................................ Hon. John Rustad Nelson-Creston ........................................................................Michelle Mungall New Westminster ............................................................................... Judy Darcy North Coast......................................................................................Jennifer Rice North Island .................................................................................. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale ........................................Hon.

Naomi Y amamoto North Vancouver–Seymour ................................................. Jane Th ornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head ...................................................... Dr. Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum .................................................................Michelle Stilwell Peace River North ...................................................................... Hon. Pat Pimm Peace River South ............................................................................Mike Bernier Penticton............................................................................................

Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam ..........................................................................Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam ................................................................Linda Reimer Powell River–Sunshine Coast ................................................. Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie ............................................................. Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ................................................... Hon. Shirley Bond Richmond Centre ......................................................................Hon.

Teresa Wat Richmond East ..........................................................................Hon. Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston ..............................................................................John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands .................................................... Gary Holman Saanich South ................................................................................

Lana Popham Shuswap ................................................................................................Greg Kyllo Skeena .............................................................................................. Robin Austin Stikine ....................................................................................... Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale ....................................................... Hon. Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Fleetwood ........................................................... Hon.

Peter Fassbender Surrey–Green Timbers .................................................................. Sue Hammell Surrey-Newton ................................................................................. Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ........................................................................... Marvin Hunt Surrey-Tynehead ......................................................................Hon. Amrik Virk Surrey-Whalley..............................................................................

Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ....................................................................... Gordon Hogg Vancouver-Fairview ..................................................................George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek ................................................................... Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview ......................................................Hon.

Suzanne Anton Vancouver-Hastings ....................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington .................................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..........................................................................Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara .................................................................Dr. Moira Stilwell Vancouver–Mount Pleasant .........................................

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan Vancouver–Point Grey .........................................................................David Eby Vancouver-Quilchena ................................................ Hon. Andrew Wilkinson Vancouver–West End ...............................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee ...............................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill .......................................................................Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake.........................................................................Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano .............................................................

Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ..........................................................Jordan Sturdy Westside-Kelowna ......................................................................................Vacant Party Standings: BC Liberal 48; New Democratic 34; Independent 2; Vacant 1

CONTENTS Monday, July 15, 2013 Aft ernoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members ....................................................................................................................................................... 455 Statements (Standing Order 25B) ........................................................................................................................................... 456 Parksville Beach Festival and sand sculpting competition Michelle Stilwell Use of local foods in school lunch program at Shoreline Community Middle School M.

Karagianis Alexis Creek Daze community event D. Barnett Options Community Services Society crisis line services S. Hammell Reopening of Frank Venables Auditorium L. Larson Memorial walk for Ramona Wilson and public transportation service on Highway 16 D. Donaldson Oral Questions ........................................................................................................................................................................... 458 Communications regarding government staff member and multicultural outreach strategy A. Dix Hon. T. Wat J. Horgan C. James J.

Kwan Employment status of government staff involved in multicultural outreach strategy B. Ralston Hon. M. de Jong L. Krog S. Hammell Orders of the Day Committee of Supply ................................................................................................................................................................ 462 Estimates: Ministry of Children and Family Development (continued) Hon. S. Cadieux C. James J. Shin A. Weaver

Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room Committee of Supply ................................................................................................................................................................ 478 Estimates: Ministry of Education (continued) Hon. P . Fassbender R. Fleming G. Holman Proceedings in the Birch Room Committee of Supply ................................................................................................................................................................ 501 Estimates: Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Hon. C. Oakes S. Robinson M. Mungall A. Weaver S. Fraser R. Austin D. Eby

MONDAY , JULY 15, 2013 Th e House met at 1:33 p.m. [Madame Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Introductions by Members Hon. S. Cadieux: Joining us today in the gallery are a number of fantastic people from my ministry. I'd like it if the House would please make welcome Corinna Filion, Sheldon Johnson, Lisa Leslie, Jeremy Uppenborn, Shawn Larabee, Darren Harbord and Francesca Guetchev. C. James: I have two guests in the gallery today. Th e fi rst is a constituent of mine, Marina Isadore, who is vis- iting with a very good friend of hers from Calgary, Sarah Fennell.

Would the House please make them very wel- come. Hon. S. Anton: I am pleased to introduce some mem- bers of my family here today, who are at the end of the gallery — Jerome Williams, my nephew, who was recent- ly the valedictorian at Mount Douglas High School and is on his way to McGill to study science; his sister, my niece Charlotte Williams, who is studying journalism at Concordia University; and her friend Antoine Muzard, who is a mechanical engineer from Montreal. Th is, Madame Speaker, is the Québécois branch of my family, and I'm very proud of them. I hope the House can give them a warm welcome. [1335] A.

Weaver: Today I'd like to introduce Paul Weaver, who's visiting here from France. He plays for the Toulouse Rugby Club under-16s, who are the French national champions. He was here attending a rugby academy at Shawnigan Lake School over the last couple of weeks. He's accompanied by his cousin and my son David, and by my father, John, up there. J. Tegart: I'm pleased to introduce my new constitu- ency assistant, Lori Pilon. Would the House please make her welcome. J.

Th ornthwaite: I am very happy to have my family here — my daughter Zoey Walter and my two favourite friends of hers, Megan Jang and Parmis Forouzandeh Bakhsh. I hope I got it right, Parmis. Please welcome them all to the Legislature. D. Donaldson: I'd like the House to make wel- come today the chief commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission, who's in the precinct today. I under- stand she'll be meeting with the Minister of Aboriginal Relations later on. I had the good fortune to meet with her on Friday, and we discussed the challenges and the hard work the B.C. Treaty Commission is doing.

Would the members please make her welcome. Madame Speaker: Member continues. D. Donaldson: I neglected to say that that's, of course, Sophie Pierre. Hon. P . Pimm: As everybody knows in this House, we have a fabulous tree fruit industry in the province. I had the opportunity to meet with this organization today. Joining us in the House today are Jeet Dukhia, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association, and Bhupinder Dhaliwal, vice-president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association. He's not in the House right now, but Glen Lucas, their executive director, was also with them ear- lier this morning.

I'd like the House to give them all a warm welcome. Hon. A. Virk: I have a number of guests in the House today. I'll start with a dear friend whom I met on the fi rst day of university. I won't say what year, in case some- body is doing the math. I have Laura Vishaspar, who has been more like a sister to me all of these years — a confi - dante, a businesswoman, a community activist and now a super mom. I have with her Annalise For, who is a national-level Irish dancer. As well, she was my youngest campaign vol- unteer.

Beside her here is Alexander Th omas, who goes to Western University, studying psychology and crim- inology. He hopes to be a lawyer someday and perhaps wants to work in this House as well. Behind them, a special welcome to Tan Barkley, 1984 Olympian in rowing. Now he teaches rowing, and many of his students have gone on to become Olympians. May the House welcome my guests. J.

Sturdy: I'd like to take the opportunity today to introduce some of my constituents from the Squamish area: the Harrison family, Mark and Satoko, with their children Erica, Sarah and Matthew, who are in the cap- ital regional district for a celebration of life. I wish you all would join me in making them welcome. Hon. D. McRae: I have several guests in the House to- day as well. Joining us today we have Susan Auchterlonie; her husband, Harvey McDougall; and her daughter Zoe McDougall, who attends Ecole Puntledge Park, which is the same school that my daughter goes to. Zoe is in grade 7 next year.

I'd like to introduce as well…. Behind them they have Commodore Bob Auchterlonie, who is the commander of the Pacifi c fl eet, and his son Michael Auchterlonie, 455

British Columbia Debates456 Monday, July 15, 2013 who is going into grade 11 at Esquimalt secondary. I'd also like to mention that the Auchterlonie family has been a huge pillar of Cumberland village in the Comox Valley. Not only have they been great community citizens, but they've provided bakery items for our com- munities for many generations. Would the House please make them so very welcome.

Statements (Standing Order 25B) PARKSVILLE BEACH FESTIV AL AND SAND SCULPTING COMPETITION Michelle Stilwell: For the past 31 years the Parksville beach and Parksville Community Park have played host to the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition. We call it Beach Fest for short. [1340] So this weekend, with my sand pail and shovel in hand, I hit the beach for the offi cial opening to watch the contestants from around the world. Th ey came from as far as the Netherlands, Latvia, Mexico, all over the U.S. and Canada.

We had 15 soloists and seven teams of two people creating their sculptures while vying for a spot in the world championships. Based on this year's theme of fairy tales, sculptors had 24 hours over a three-day period to create their sculp- tures from sand, water and imagination. Contestants were given fi ne-grain sand provided by a local importer and were judged on the wow factor, artistic merit, degree of diffi culty and the use of the sand that they were given. We know that volunteers are what make events in com- munities a success.

I want to send out a special thank- you to the 2013 board of directors for organizing such a fantastic event: Cheryl Dill, Penny Rutherford, Leslie Phillips, Joan LeMoine, Jim Hoff man, Judi Van Swieten, Sharon Franzen, Brenda Boyd, Kirsteen McLean, Julia Brown, Beth Ritchie and Trish Smith. Th e sculptures are just the beginning, as Beach Fest off ers many other events, like Art in the Park, the Lions International Kite Festival, the Oceanside Overdrive car show, the Quality Foods Festival of Lights fi reworks, KidFest, the weekly Summer by the Sea market.

And every weekend there's a summer concert series showcas- ing a variety of talent from country, comedy, blues, folk, Motown and even an Elvis tribute. Madame Speaker and members, if you haven't been to the Parksville Beach Fest, I invite you to drive up to Parksville and have a look at these whimsical sculptures or take in one of the multitude of other events running throughout the summer. It's a chance to release your in- ner child. USE OF LOCAL FOODS IN SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM AT SHORELINE COMMUNITY MIDDLE SCHOOL M. Karagianis: Local, organic, native and tradition- al.

Th ese are words that are not oft en associated with a school lunch program. But there's nothing everyday and usual in the school lunch program at the forward- thinking Shoreline Community Middle School in my constituency. Under the guidance of principal Kim Strom and her team, the school has started a lunch program that serves food grown within 30 kilometres. It's one of the very few schools in all of Canada that off ers students healthy, or- ganic meals prepared daily using fresh ingredients that are locally sourced.

For some of the students, lunch may be the only meal of the day, so the staff have decided that it must be healthy, nutritious and farm-to-table fresh. How fresh? Well, there's a container garden right on the school grounds, and a chicken coop. Students enjoy their lunch in what's called the dining room, not the cafeteria, and teachers eat with the students. Students can volunteer to help make soups and salads. Th ere are two diff erent soups every day, bread made right on the school grounds and salads with dressings that are also fresh-made. I'm told that the kids like to eat their greens.

Th ey are loving it every single day. The school has many First Nations students and a strong connection with the nearby Songhees Nation. The lunch team is planning to introduce students to some aboriginal cooking as well. A grant from the B.C. Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation helped get it started, and the students that can aff ord it pay $5 for a meal. Th e program's Facebook page is called "Shoreline food revolution," if anybody is interested, and that says a lot. It's revolutionary thinking on one level, but yet such a return to the basics.

Congratulations to the dedicated team at Shoreline Community Middle School. I hope members of the House will join me in thanking them for their fresh thinking and for implementing a school lunch program that is farm-to-table smart. ALEXIS CREEK DAZE COMMUNITY EVENT D. Barnett: If you are looking for some real excite- ment with down-home country fl air, follow Highway 20 through the beautiful Chilcotin to Alexis Creek on July 20 and enjoy Alexis Creek Daze. What is Alexis Creek Daze, you ask?

It's a day of fun, food, relaxation and good country fellowship with First Nations, ranchers, loggers, business people and children, and pioneers telling stories from now and then. Th ere are vendors with their wares, children playing games, horse- and-buggy rides and most things you will see and fi nd in

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 457 the good old country. [1345] One of the main events is the horseshoe competition. Th is started three years ago. I have a great partner by the name of Al Madley, who is a third-generation rancher, guide-outfi tter, trapper and community volunteer. We have won the prestigious title for the past two years. We know what tough competition we will have again this year, but we are ready. I invite all who would like to enjoy real living, real people and a great day of fun to come to Alexis Creek on July 20 and throw a shoe or two.

OPTIONS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY CRISIS LINE SERVICES S. Hammell: Imagine a time in your life when you felt down on yourself. Imagine a bad experience or a series of bad experiences — a real low point in your life. Now imagine not having anyone to turn to, no one to confi de in and no one to console you. For most of us in this House, it's simply unfathom- able to envision life without our loved ones or without the very support system we rely on, on a daily basis. Th e tragic reality is that hundreds and thousands of British Columbians battling depression or anxiety disorders feel this way.

Today I rise in the House to speak about a great or- ganization in my community that helps relieve individ- uals from the burden isolation can infl ict on their lives. Options Community Services Society is a not-for-profi t and registered charity in Surrey. Th ey are committed to empowering individuals and promoting commun- ity health. Among the long list of services Options off ers is a 24- hour crisis line. Last year over 36,000 calls were made to the crisis line, which is staff ed by 200 community volun- teers. Volunteers logged an astonishing total of 23,400 volunteer hours, and each year these numbers grow.

Th e crisis line is urgently seeking volunteers who are willing to assist others to ensure that individuals have somewhere and someone to turn to and a place to feel heard. I would like the House to join me in congratulating the volunteers at the crisis line who provide this invaluable service to the people of the Fraser Health region. REOPENING OF FRANK VENABLES AUDITORIUM L. Larson: As many of you are aware, in September of 2011, while under renovation, the Southern Okanagan Secondary School and the attached Frank Venables Auditorium were completely destroyed by fi re.

Th e auditorium, which was not part of the original renovation of the school, had previously gone out to ref- erendum, and the people of Oliver and area C had sup- ported a $3.8 million renovation for the auditorium to coincide with the school rebuild.

Aft er the fi re the money was reassigned by the regional district to include the words "rebuild, not renovate." Frank Venables, who the auditorium was named aft er, moved to Oliver in 1920 and was one of the many returning World War I vets who were put to work by Premier John Oliver to complete his dream of bringing water to the South Okanagan and creating the farming community we have today. Frank was a school trustee for over 37 years and board chair from 1945 to 1970. He worked closely with the Osoyoos Indian Band and was the force behind having the fi rst aboriginal children attend the public school.

He would even personally drive them to school each day. Frank is the only non-aboriginal to be named an honor- ary chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band. He was instrumental in getting the fi rst high school built, including the iconic auditorium. Th is theatre be- came the centre for arts for the whole South Okanagan. Th e auditorium was named for him to recognize his con- tributions to the community. Th is fall the Frank Venables Auditorium will open again, and almost 60 years later a piece of history will remain alive with the name and legacy of one of our pi- oneers.

MEMORIAL W ALK FOR RAMONA WILSON AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICE ON HIGHW AY 16 D. Donaldson: On a sunny Saturday, June 15, if you were driving along Highway 16 just west of Smithers, you would have seen a large number of people walk- ing along the shoulder. Th ey were heading from Lake Kathlyn School to Y elich Road.

It was the 19th year for the Ramona Lisa Wilson Memorial Walk, and Y elich Road was where Ramona's body was found in April 1995. [1350] Ramona disappeared while hitchhiking in June the year before, a 16-year-old heading off to graduation par- ties — a young girl remembered by her mother, Matilda, as bubbly, very happy and full of plans for university. Th is is the real face of the Highway of Tears. As I walked with members of Ramona's Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan extended family, plus community members and RCMP , we had conversations about all of the young women we have seen hitchhiking along Highway 16.

As Matilda Wilson spoke at Y elich Road at the end of the walk, she said: "Some days are better than others, the pain of loss always lingering and the anger always some- thing to deal with." Th at anger is understandable. It has been seven years since the Highway of Tears Symposium in Prince George recommending a shuttle bus service along Highway 16.

British Columbia Debates458 Monday, July 15, 2013 It has been almost a year since the UBCM endorsed a similar recommendation. Aft er hearings that included the communities of Gitanyow, Gitanmaax, Moricetown and Smithers and Stikine in 2011, the Wally Oppal miss- ing women report from last year also made a public tran- sit system along Highway 16 a top priority, highlighted again last week by 20 advocacy groups dismayed by the lack of action. It's no wonder people are angry. As we debate about $6 million paid for Basi-Virk legal fees or $15 million for government advertising on the jobs plan….

Madame Speaker: Member, please take your seat. All members will know that these two-minute state- ments are to be non-partisan. Does the member wish to continue? D. Donaldson: Y es, hon. Speaker. We still see there is no shuttle service and no trans- portation system for Highway 16. So women hitchhik- ing are at great risk, as Matilda Wilson points out. Th at leaves people on the memorial walk and others wonder- ing about priorities and how much the lives of young women from the north are worth. Oral Questions COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING GOVERNMENT STAFF MEMBER AND MULTICULTURAL OUTREACH STRATEGY A.

Dix: Th ere is new evidence showing this govern- ment conspired to silence an unnamed employee whose work was part of the multiculturalism quick-win scandal revealed prior to the election. I refer specifi cally to an e- mail contained in the 10,000 pages released fi ve weeks ago by the government, subsequent to the election.

Th e e-mail details a plan outlined by now departed government staff er and Liberal operative, Brian Bonney, to silence an unnamed employee who had information that, if revealed — I'm quoting from the e-mail — "would damage the Premier and the party." The scheme was prepared for the former minister, the member for Richmond-Steveston, and also directs Harry Bloy, also a former minister, to "meet with her and explain how doing anything would damage the Premier and the party." To the Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism: what is the damaging information that is being hushed up to protect the Premier and the Liberal party?

Hon. T. Wat: Th ank you, Member of the opposition, for bringing up this question. I would like to start by saying that the outreach strategy draft document is wrong. Th e language and ideas con- tained in the draft document are all wrong. Our Premier has shown strong leadership and has taken responsibil- ity by ordering a thorough review of this incident. A full report was delivered, and the government has accepted all the recommendations. I think we have to move forward, put this aside and try to focus on multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism is our priority, and the diverse communities are our competi- tive advantage. Th ey are a bridge to the Pacifi c, and I'm going to engage them and work to the benefi t of British Columbia. Madame Speaker: Leader of the Offi cial Opposition on a supplemental. A. Dix: Well, to the minister, it's a very serious situa- tion that took place in her ministry that was not dealt with in any way in the reporting question. [1355] Th is information has been publicly available for fi ve weeks and available to the Premier's own deputy minis- ter for months prior to that.

Th e e-mail has another disturbing and separate ele- ment. It goes on to advise that if the initial eff orts of the former minister, the member for Richmond-Steveston; MLA Bloy; and partisan staff er Brian Bonney to silence the staff er were unsuccessful, there was a plan for money to be off ered. Again, let me quote from the government's document, one they chose not to release prior to the election.

"If need be, off er X dollars per month to do non-public work up to the election." In other words, this was a scheme to silence an employee by making an off er because she had information that, if revealed, would "damage the Premier and the party." To the Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism: why would the government do that? Why would the govern- ment off er a fi nancial inducement to silence a staff per- son who could damage the Premier and the Liberal party? Hon. T.

Wat: To the member of the opposition, as I stated in my earlier answer, our Premier has taken full re- sponsibility and ordered a full review of the incident, and the government has accepted all the recommendations. I have made it very clear to all my staff that they have to strictly observe the appropriate standard of conduct. As the Multiculturalism Minister, I am going to put this aside, and I'm going to move forward and engage our multicultural communities to work to the benefi t of British Columbia.

We are fortunate to have close family, cultural, business and government relationships with our priority markets. I'm going to leverage these connections and try to get our economy going. Madame Speaker: Leader of the Opposition on a sup- plemental.

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 459 A. Dix: I'm sure it will be news to the Liberal caucus and to the people of B.C. that the Premier took full re- sponsibility for an eff ort to silence an employee who would damage the Premier and the Liberal party before the election. She did no such thing.

Th e standards of conduct in force for the B.C. public service state that every employee has an obligation "to re- port any situation relevant to the B.C. public service that they believe contravenes the law, misuses public funds or assets." Th is code was in fact appended, by the Deputy Minister to the Premier, to the Dyble report. Th is e-mail was obtained by the Premier's offi ce as part of the early investigation into inappropriate activities undertaken by members of the Premier's offi ce, mem- bers of cabinet and partisan staff ers.

Th e e-mail that I have quoted from outlines a plan to try and silence an employee who has information damaging to the Premier, according to the document, including the off er of a fi nan- cial inducement. It only came to light now because the government de- cided to keep it silent, to keep it hidden before the elec- tion. Th e e-mail was in the Premier's offi ce's possession in early March. Madame Speaker: Is there a question? A. Dix: My question is to the acting Premier: was Mr. Dyble aware of this e-mail, and what did he do to inves- tigate the matter now, before the election or since the election? Hon. T.

Wat: As I told the member of the opposition earlier on, our government and our Premier have al- ready taken full responsibility and strong leadership by ordering a thorough review of the incident. A full report was delivered, we accepted all of the recommendations, and they're in the process of implementation. I have al- ready made it very clear to all my staff that they have to observe the standard of conduct. [1400] In my job as the Multiculturalism Minister, I have to continue to engage the multicultural community for the benefi t of our province.

Th is is our priority, and this will be the priority of our government. J. Horgan: If the Premier had taken full responsibility for this fi asco, these documents would have been released before the election, not aft er. Recommendation 4 from the Dyble report: "Th e legal services branch of the Ministry of Justice should take ap- propriate action to secure any government records in the possession of former public servants or caucus employ- ees named in the report" and seek an understanding that these records have not been used inappropriately.

We have, in the e-mail that's just been outlined by the Leader of the Offi cial Opposition, an opportunity to in- duce someone to change their behaviour — coming from a member of this place now, two former ministers — and now we have the current minister saying: "We're going to move forward." My question to the Minister of Justice: has the crim- inal justice branch looked into the proposal of an in- ducement for behaviour changes by the government of British Columbia? Hon. T.

Wat: As I told the member of the opposition earlier on, our government has taken full responsibility by ordering a thorough review, and 10,000 pages of the report are already posted on the website. I encourage the member of the opposition to go on the website and look at the full report. J. Horgan: Well, now we know that the new minister assumes that government information comes with big white patches right in the middle of it. Th at's not how it's created, hon. Member. It's created by having a whole comprehensive set of words so that we are able to read and understand what the intent of government was.

In that document, heavily redacted though it was, we had the following: "…would damage the Premier and the Liberal party." So my question is: what information would damage the Premier and the Liberal party? Why was that not released? Hon. T. Wat: I don't know how many times I have to remind members of the opposition that our govern- ment and our Premier have taken full responsibility by ordering a thorough review…. Interjections. Hon. T. Wat: Th is is nothing funny. Th is is very serious. We ordered a thorough review, and a full report was de- livered.

We recommended all the recommendations, and we made it clear to all our staff that they have to observe strictly all the standards of conduct. C. James: Th is e-mail involved the then Minister of Multiculturalism, a government caucus member and a partisan multicultural staff person that was appointed by the Premier. It included a scheme to silence an individ- ual who had information that could be damaging to the Premier and the Liberal party. Th e minister says that the Premier and this government have taken full responsibil- ity.

Th en could the minister responsible please tell us who exactly was involved in executing this scheme? Hon. T. Wat: In my fi rst answer to the member of the opposition I already stated very clearly that the out- reach strategy draft document was wrong. Th e language and ideas contained in the document were also wrong. Th at's why our government and our Premier ordered a

British Columbia Debates460 Monday, July 15, 2013 thorough review of this incident, and that's why a full re- port was delivered. Our government has accepted all of the recommendations, and they are now in the process of implementation. [1405] Let me emphasize, once again, that as the Multiculturalism Minister, I'm going to take multicul- turalism as my fi rst priority, and this is a priority of our government. We are going to engage the diverse and multicultural community to work for the benefits of British Columbia. Th ey are our competitive edge, and they're our bridge to the Pacifi c Ocean.

We are going to leverage all of these kinds of family, cultural, government connections to increase trade and our export markets, to attract investment and to create and protect jobs for British Columbians. Madame Speaker: Victoria–Beacon Hill on a supple- mental. C. James: I'd like to remind the minister and remind the government that taking full responsibility means pro- viding answers — not brushing the issues aside, as we're seeing. Th e scheme outlined in this e-mail contemplates including an off er of "X dollars a month" as a fi nancial inducement to try and silence an individual.

Again, to the minister responsible, a very specifi c ques- tion: who authorized the fi nancial inducement to be of- fered, and was this money to be paid by taxpayer dollars or private interests, like the B.C. Liberal Party? Hon. T. Wat: I don't know how many times I have to keep on telling members of the opposition that our gov- ernment and our Premier have taken full responsibility by ordering a full report, a thorough review. Th e full re- port was delivered, and 10,000 pages are already posted on the website. I urge members of the opposition to take a look at those 10,000 pages of the report. J.

Kwan: For the minister to keep on repeating her message box does not mean to say that the govern- ment actually took responsibility. Th e truth of the mat- ter is that in that 10,000 pages there's new information that has been reviewed — disturbing and serious in- formation. Th e e-mail involving the then Minister of Multiculturalism, a government caucus member and a partisan multicultural staff er appointed by the Premier included an off er of "X dollars per month" as fi nancial inducement to try to silence that individual. My question to the minister is this.

How much was that amount, how much was the fi nancial inducement, and who was ultimately to make that decision on the amount? Hon. T. Wat: I think I have to emphasize, once again, that I already told members of the opposition that the outreach strategy document was wrong. Th e language and ideas contained in the document were wrong. Th at's why this government, not the opposition, took the full responsibility and ordered a thorough review, and the report was delivered. I don't know how many times I'll repeat myself to make the members of the opposition understand. J.

Kwan: If the minister admits that what the gov- ernment did before the election on their multicultural strategy was wrong, does the minister then agree that a fi nancial inducement to silence someone is also wrong? And can the minister confi rm today that the employee who was being off ered the inducement, the fi nancial in- ducement, both worked for Christy Clark's leadership campaign and had been employed in the B.C. Liberal caucus? [1410] Hon. T.

Wat: I want to make it very clear, once again, that as the Multiculturalism Minister, my priority is to engage our diverse and multicultural community to work with us, with all British Columbians, and work with the government to bring benefi ts to all British Columbians. Th ey have strong family, cultural, business, government relationships with our priority markets, and we've got to take advantage of the competitive edge. Also, they are our bridge to the Pacifi c-Asia region, and we work with them together to increase our trade, to diversify our export markets and to attract investment to British Columbia.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF GOVERNMENT STAFF INVOLVED IN MULTICULTURAL OUTREACH STRATEGY B. Ralston: On June 19, 2013, the Premier signed an order-in-council rehiring Fiera Lo, the former execu- tive assistant to the former Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism. Th e Dyble report said this about Ms. Lo: "E-mail records show that Fiera Lo sent three pack- ages of lists of individuals who had been attending events with Minister" — and it gives the surname of the mem- ber for Richmond-Steveston — "to her personal e-mail account on March 4, 2013." In case the B.C. Liberal government has forgotten, that was aft er Mr.

Dyble's investigation had started. It was the very same day the Premier stood in this House and said: "What happened was wrong." Ms. Lo violated the standards of conduct for the public service. My question is for the minister responsible. Why was Ms. Lo rehired? Hon. M. de Jong: I'm hesitant to repeat some of the answers that members have already heard. If the mem- bers, in their desperation to try and re-create an issue that they spent 28 unsuccessful days campaigning around…. If they sense a reluctance on the part of ministers to ac-

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 461 cept at face value their reference to e-mails that they have yet to provide to the minister responsible, it's because we have had too many experiences in the past of members of this opposition mischaracterizing what is contained within the e-mail information. Th e Premier stood up, as my colleague has said, and accepted that what took place was wrong. Th e language used was wrong. Th e methods proposed were wrong. I believe that the people of British Columbia accepted at face value that admission and provided their judgment on the leadership she demonstrated.

Madame Speaker: Th e member for Surrey-Whalley on a supplemental. B. Ralston: Well, the Premier accepted the Dyble re- port and agreed that what took place was wrong. Ms. Lo was specifi cally named in the Dyble report as engaging in activity which violated the public service code of con- duct. So what is the reward for that misconduct? Being rehired? Is that the message the minister wants to send to the public of British Columbia? Hon. M. de Jong: Well, the member is a lawyer. He's not the Finance critic anymore. He must have more time on his hands.

If he has an assertion to make about whether some guideline within the public service has been violated, he should stand in this place and make that assertion. [1415] But he should do more than that. If he wants to make that assertion about an individual in this House, he should have the courage to make it outside as well. L. Krog: Well, it's not just Ms. Lo who's been rewarded for her behaviour. In addition to misusing tax dollars while building a partisan website and acting as B.C. Liberal caucus research director, Blair Phelps was deeply involved in the quick-win scandal.

He was listed as lead- er on two aspects of the quick-win scandal. He abused taxpayer resources, not just once but on two occasions, and now we see that Mr. Phelps has been rewarded with a promotion. Now, the Minister for Multiculturalism went on at great length today to talk about how we're moving for- ward. Well, we're certainly moving forward. Mr. Phelps has now been hired as her communications director. Does the minister think that behaviour is appropriate? Hon. M. de Jong: I want to make sure that I properly understand the nature of the opposition's outrage on this one. So an incident occurs.

Th e Premier steps forward, accepts responsibility, commissions the deputy to com- plete an exhaustive report — releases 10,000 pages of ma- terial. Th ere is a hiring process that is completely public. And now, weeks aft er the fact, the opposition stands in this chamber and purports to be outraged? Boy, I want to talk to their research department, because these are issues that have been raised in the public, have been discussed in the public and have been dealt with by a re- spected member of the public service in Mr. Dyble.

What we have here is an opposition that is so bankrupt of ideas, they're trying to reignite old issues that didn't serve them well for 28 days. Madame Speaker: Th e member for Nanaimo on a supplemental. L. Krog: Well, we certainly know that over there the vault of arrogance is full to the brim. Th e minister can yell all he wants. Th e fact is that two Liberal staff ers who were involved in the quick-win scan- dal don't get fi red, don't get disciplined and don't meet the new standard of morality emphasized so repeatedly in this chamber by the Minister for Multiculturalism.

In fact, they both get rewarded by a promotion and a pay increase. My question is to the Minister for Multiculturalism. How is it that she can explain to this chamber, to the people of British Columbia — to the honest, hard- working taxpayers — why if you're a B.C. Liberal and you do wrong, you get a promotion? Hon. M. de Jong: Well, humility almost prevents me from answering, but let me try. As I understand it…. And I do want to ensure that I understand. I'm not sure if the member is most off ended by the fact that the Premier stood up and accepted responsibility for what took place.

I'm not sure if he's off ended by the fact that a respected public servant, John Dyble, completed an exhaustive analysis of what took place and included recommendations that have been accepted and are being executed upon. I'm not sure if he's off ended by the fact that there were ramifi cations, that people did lose their jobs without any severance provisions. [1420] Or maybe what he's most off ended by is that having done all that, having proceeded along that line, having said to the public that a mistake was made and we're tak- ing steps to correct it, the public said on May 14: "Premier, you and the B.C.

Liberal Party are going to be re-elected as a free enterprise government." S. Hammell: When Premier Clark was confronted with the quick-wins document, she said: "Th is govern- ment is accountable for what happened because it was wrong, and I'm going to take action to make sure we ad- dress those problems." What happened was wrong. Th e Premier admitted it. Th is minister just admitted it. Th is second minister just admitted it. Y et rather than being disciplined, staff in- volved were promoted.

British Columbia Debates462 Monday, July 15, 2013 Th e question is of judgment. Is this how the Liberal government punishes staff who act wrongfully? Hon. M. de Jong: Th e real issue here — and it has been the case throughout — is leadership and accepting re- sponsibility when an error is made. An error clearly was made here. It is about ensuring that sanction is imposed, and in this case, sanction was imposed. I'll tell you what it's not about.

It is not about satisfy- ing the desire of an opposition, which apparently, in the midst of a session, has nothing more to talk about, no more ideas to pursue, than an issue that has been fully canvassed, for which the government and the Premier have accepted responsibility and for which sanction was imposed. It is unfortunate that in the aft ermath of the people of British Columbia having made a choice, that is all this op- position has to off er in this chamber.

We're going to get on with governing British Columbia, growing the econ- omy and creating jobs in British Columbia now. [End of question period.] Orders of the Day Hon. M. de Jong: In this chamber , Committee of Supply, the estimates of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. In Committee A, Committee of Supply, the estimates of the Ministry of Education. And in

Section C, the Birch Room, Committee of Supply, the estimates of the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. [1425] Committee of Supply ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT (continued) Th e House in Committee of Supply (Section B); D. Horne in the chair. Th e committee met at 2:28 p.m. On Vote 16: ministry operations, $1,345,039,000 (con- tinued). Hon. S. Cadieux: At the beginning of our meeting last time I was having a little trouble remembering who worked in my offi ce.

I will correct for the record and for the member opposite that there are currently fi ve staff members in my offi ce — not six, as I stated. It's a reduc- tion of 0.5 over last year. To be clear for the member, they're the chief of staff , ministerial assistant, executive assistant, administrative coordinator and administrative assistant. I do actually know who they are. We've had a few changes of late due to some members of my staff being off on sick leave and such. So thank you very much for that. C. James: Th anks to the minister for that correction.

When we left , Minister, we were discussing the poverty reduction plan and the ministry's direction around the pilots. I just want to go back over a couple of the specif- ics, if we can, on that section. The minister had said that in the seven pilots that were in place over this last year, there were 72 families who took

part in those pilots and 61 families that had moved on from those pilots. I'd just like the minister to clarify that. [1430] Does that mean there are only families left from the 72? Have they taken in new families? Is there any kind of tracking going on with those 61 families who, the minis- ter said, have left the program? Hon. S. Cadieux: It is a little confusing to explain. We've got the seven pilot communities that we were working in and had assigned staff to work specifi cally with those communities and with families who came for- ward voluntarily to be part of a pilot process.

Th rough that process, 72 families in the last year were working with the community liaison offi cer, and 61 moved off , in the sense that they achieved the goal that they were work- ing with that consultant on.

As a result of that work, in the seven communities on the poverty reduction strategies with the families, work- ing on direct service to those families, we found a lot of valuable information in terms of what the ministry could be doing diff erently, which is why we've embedded into practice the work that the community poverty reduction teams were doing in those communities, and we've em- bedded it into the practice around the province so we can help more families.

We aren't tracking them, as such, in relation to their outcomes on an ongoing basis and relating it back to the poverty strategies, because those families wanted to remain anonymous and came forward in that fashion. Th at said, where they are receiving services from gov- ernment as a result of that action, those things are, of course, tracked. [1435] Just to show the impact, there was a single mother of two children that came forward in one of the commun- ities who identifi ed that lack of employment was a barrier.

Th e consultant worked with the woman in that commun- ity, and as a result, the woman is now employed full-time, supporting her kids. C. James: Are the seven pilots, then, wrapped up? If so, are the strategic plans, the measurable plans that the

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 463 ministry said they were going to prepare in those seven communities done? If so, when will they be released? Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e community poverty reduction strategies that are being developed in the seven com- munities remain ongoing. Th e way it is structured is that those plans are developed by and owned by the com- munity tables, the poverty tables in those communities, which are a mix of members from the municipal gov- ernment, our ministry, as well as community agencies. Th ey're unique to each community.

Th ey are continuing to work on those, and we continue to sit at the table in those communities. As well, we did a forum with those communities and the ministry in February, at their request, to discuss sort of the ongoing work and where we were at. It is through the work that we've done with these seven communities and the poverty tables that we've come to understand some of the ways we can work better in the ministry to support families that are struggling with issues of pov- erty, which is why we have now embedded that work into all of our offi ces.

As it relates specifi cally to plans developed in each community, I have a meeting scheduled, coming up later this summer, with UBCM to discuss the next steps. C. James: Th ere was a piece in the ministry's strategic plan previously about putting together measurable plans in each community. I understand the minister is meeting with the communities and UBCM. Will those be released, then, aft er those meetings have occurred? Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e reports of those community tables will be released in the fall. C.

James: It was mentioned in the very beginning, when the plans were put together, that there would be a provincial steering committee. Has that provincial steer- ing committee met? If they have, have they reported out, or have they done reports on each of the seven pilots as well? [1440] Hon. S. Cadieux: Th ere had been a steering committee proposed. When it was brought up to me newly as minis- ter last fall, I thought that it may be adding another level of bureaucracy that wasn't required. I spoke with UBCM, the committee, about that.

In light of our decision internally to be embedding into practice the work that had been identifi ed through the work with the seven communities, at the same time as UBCM was recommending not moving forward with additional communities until we had had an opportun- ity to look at the work that had gone on in the seven and have the forum, and so on, we agreed that we would not move forward with the steering committee at that time. But it was open to be rediscussed in future if either my- self or the UBCM thought that it was necessary. C.

James: Just so I'm clear, if there isn't a provincial steering committee and the individual communities haven't done strategic plans — the work is just being em- bedded — how is UBCM or how are the broader com- munity or the broader province going to be able to learn from the work that is occurring in these pilots? Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e reports of the seven commun- ities and the work to date in those communities is going to be made public in the fall for that purpose. C.

James: One of the other announcements that was made when these pilots were chosen was that once the project had been implemented and it got started in the seven communities, it would be expanded to include 20 more communities each year for the next two years. Could the minister give me some progress on that state- ment? [1445] Hon. S. Cadieux: We had quite a discussion here, so I hope I can answer the question for you, hon. Member.

Th e decision in the spring was to not move forward with adding additional communities at this time and to in- stead look at the work to date — look at what was com- ing out of the community poverty tables and their plans. As I mentioned, those plans will be available in the fall. In the ministry we had decided to embed the work that the poverty consultants had been doing in the sev- en communities into the practice of our ministry around the province to see how that looked moving forward.

We will be looking to include, in our performance manage- ment report, which we spoke of earlier in estimates, some measurements, as well, to the work related to the poverty reduction strategies. Th ere is no decision at this point not to move forward with that in communities. So if there are additional com- munities that wish to work on poverty reduction strat- egies with us, we certainly would be welcoming those. But as I said, I have not yet had a follow-up meeting with UBCM post-forum. Th at will happen in the next couple of months. C.

James: Well, I certainly think that communities, when they heard that the government was taking on these pilots to deal with poverty, were taking on pilots and that the program would be expanded. A pilot, by def- inition, is the beginning of something that is then carried on. I think communities will be surprised, and I think the public will be surprised, to fi nd out that in fact, it's not going to be carried on and that the 20 more commun- ities per year for two years are now no longer planned. Here the minister is shaking her head. I just want to

British Columbia Debates464 Monday, July 15, 2013 be clear from the minister. Th e minister said, "We are not continuing on with the 20 communities per two years," so I just want to be sure I'm clear. Did I hear correctly? Hon. S. Cadieux: What I said was we were not…. Th e decision was made in February, aft er consultation with UBCM, to not move forward at that time with additional communities. We've now just looked at how we're embedding that work into the ministry on an ongoing basis around the province, not just in pilot communities.

So we will have ministry staff around the province working in all of our offi ces on these family development responses, working with families in all of our offi ces in a more structured way. And we'll be looking to include outcome measures for that work in our performance management report. I haven't had an opportunity to meet yet with the UBCM, following our forum that was held in February, to discuss where their individual plans are at and to dis- cuss next steps. I'm not saying we're not moving forward with additional communities. I'm saying we haven't yet had that discussion with UBCM. [1450] C.

James: Each of those seven pilots had one staff per- son, as the minister described in our last go-round on estimates. Th ey were called consultants to the projects. If additional communities come on, will they have those consultants in each of the additional pilots as they're added? Hon. S. Cadieux: Just confi rming, but yes, absolutely they would have. Th at is the work that we're embedding in the ministry. Th e work of the poverty consultants as they were working in those pilot communities is the work that is now embedded into the ministry provincewide. C.

James: Again, to be clear, embedded in the min- istry means this will be done off existing ministry staff within the ministry. Hon. S. Cadieux: For clarity, if we identify or if UBCM identifi es other communities that wish to work in a struc- tured way around this going forward, we'll certainly dedicate staff to work with them. But at the same time, the reason for embedding the work in the ministry is to ensure that communities — and families, more import- antly — are not left out of the work and the success that we're fi nding in some of those communities.

Th at's why we have embedded it into the work in all of our offi ces. C. James: Could the minister tell me if there's any additional budget put aside for the expansion of these pilots or the existing pilots? Hon. S. Cadieux: No. C. James: I want to summarize. I think it's important because of the issue of poverty in this province and the issue of children, in particular, living in poverty. As we all know, children don't live alone in poverty. Th ose are families living in poverty.

Th e ministry, over this last year, then, has had seven pilots with one staff person who's been allocated from the existing ministry, and they have managed to meet with 72 families. Th at's been the extent of the government's poverty reduction plan. When we have 97,000 children living in poverty in this province, I have to say it's shameful. I don't know any other way to describe it. Th at is not a poverty reduc- tion plan. Th at does not address families and children living in poverty.

While I appreciate the minister saying that this will be embedded in the ministry's work, I would expect this is part of the ministry's work already. I would expect that that's already part of a social worker's job — to try and address families living in poverty, to try and provide sup- port to them. Certainly, the social workers that I know in commun- ities already do that work. Th at's already part of their job. Th at isn't a poverty reduction plan. Th at's asking staff to already do their job. Th en the ministry is trying to take credit for it instead of putting together an actual poverty reduction plan.

So I have to express my frustration to the minister that we still don't, aft er all of these years, have a poverty reduction plan in place in this province that ac- tually is going to address the issue. Now, I've heard the minister talk…. We saw it again in a letter to the editor that the minister has put out. Th e government argues and the minister argues about sta- tistics, around the measures that are used to measure poverty.

My question to the minister would be: does the minister plan to undertake a discussion with the com- munity about what measure, if the minister isn't happy with LICO, would make sense to measure poverty in this province? Hon. S. Cadieux: As the member will be well aware, we certainly have had many conversations in this House and outside this House on the diff erence between our approach to poverty reduction and the opposition's ap- proach. We certainly believe that you have to create jobs and build an economy.

I know that we agree on both sides of the House that children are not in poverty alone, that their parents are in poverty. Certainly, we have the plan to work on and continue to work on reducing child poverty in the prov- ince. Th at plan is our jobs plan, but it is also very much the targeted supports that we provide to families. [1455] I'm going to, for the member's information, explain why I believe that that's working and, in fact, why the work that the poverty consultants that we are now em- bedding in the ministry — and certainly, it is the work

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 465 of social workers — is working. A lot of the families that have come forward, that the social workers have been working with and had success assisting this year, all required supports that govern- ment already provides, but they did not know how to access them. In some circumstances that was access to low-cost housing. Th ere was a circumstance where a man had been given custody of his children, but he had lost his housing and didn't know how to access the programs and services that he needed.

With the help of a consultant, they made a concerted eff ort to connect him with the housing pro- viders in his area, and he now lives in low-cost housing with his family. In another circumstance a single mother had concern about her child being left home over the summer while she was at work. Th e consultant helped the mother con- nect with community programs where the child was able to attend free day camps for the summer.

Th ere are all sorts of programs and services off ered both in communities around the province and by this government — things like housing, child care subsidies, dental subsidies and other programs. In many cases the issues facing families in this prov- ince are not as simple as the member would like them to be and don't require measuring against a number of sta- tistics but in fact require people working on the ground, providing the supports that are already in place through many, many government programs through many min- istries and in the community. C.

James: While the minister talks about the plan al- ready working, let's remember that StatsCan numbers show that 6,000 more children lived in poverty in 2011 than the year before — 6,000 additional. I don't know how the minister could say the plan is working when we know those numbers continue to rise. I also think it's interesting that the minister raises the jobs plan when we know, one, that we're losing private sector jobs since the jobs plan came out and, two, that we have also seen a large number of these children and families living in poverty actually employed. Th ese are families that are employed.

Th ese oft en are two-parent families that are employed and continue to live in poverty. The minister mentions the importance of services. Well, in my community we have a two- to fi ve-year wait- list for low-cost housing. So it's all well and good to say that low-cost housing is the solution. I would certainly agree. I think it is a huge solution. But if you can't get af- fordable housing, if you have a wait-list for aff ordable housing, then it's awfully diffi cult to say to that family that you're going to be able to address poverty. Th e minister says that it's not as simple as some may believe.

Well, I would say to the minister that I have never said that this is a simple process. Th is is a complex pro- cess. Th is needs a comprehensive plan that goes across ministries. It isn't simply the Ministry for Children and Families' responsibility. Th is is an issue that is a responsibility across govern- ment, which is part of the reason I believe a comprehen- sive plan is the only way we're going to begin to address the issue of poverty. Th e minister mentions the jobs plan. Well, we start measuring jobs, and then we start addressing some of the issues in the same way that we can start addressing pov- erty.

Again, I've expressed my frustration on this issue. I think it's important to make sure we register it. Th ese are not statistics. Th ese are children and families who have been struggling for a large number of years and, I think, deserve better than they have been getting. To move to residential services for a moment, one of the big challenges that I know the ministry faces, and that certainly we know of in this province, is the issue of chil- dren with complex care needs who aren't able to fi nd a specialized residential care home or a residential care bed.

People and young children, and youth in particular, have oft en been placed in inappropriate settings — have been placed in youth custody centres, sometimes in hospitals — because of the inability to fi nd a care home. [1500] We've seen custody used in that circumstance, and of course, we saw that outlined in the representative's report, Who Protected Him: How B.C.'s Child Welfare System Failed One of Its Most Vulnerable Children . As we know, that report studied the tasering of a young boy in Prince George.

One of the key fi ndings in that report was that the ministry needed to develop a robust plan to address the defi ciency in matching children in care with a care home with complex needs, with trained caregivers, properly staff ed and properly equipped and resourced be able to house them. My fi rst question to the minister, then, is: has the min- istry developed that comprehensive plan to develop a continuum of residential services for children and youth with complex needs? [1505] Hon. S. Cadieux: When this report was made public, I made a number of commitments.

One of those com- mitments was to report to the representative in October — not my commitment but the ministry's commitment — on our plans to develop both the tertiary unit for chil- dren with complex needs at the Maples Centre that I announced would be moving forward as well as the out- reach and the ongoing planning for fi ve regional com- munity resources to support that plan over the next year and a half or so. Th eir work is well underway. Th ere's an interim execu- tive director working on the development of the project and the plan for that.

We are keeping in touch with the representative's offi ce on that plan in advance of a full

British Columbia Debates466 Monday, July 15, 2013 plan being available to her in October. C. James: Just to ask a few more questions about the specifi cs. I understand the report is going to the repre- sentative. Th e minister mentioned fi ve regional resources. Could the minister expand a little bit on the recommen- dation on that specifi c action? Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e new treatment centre at the Maples that we announced will be the hub, so to speak, for the assessment and stabilization of kids with complex needs.

Th en the opportunity to plan to develop an addi- tional fi ve resources out in the regions is so that there is a place for kids who require these specialized services to not have to be moved far away from their home area and so that if there are circumstances where children are needing to be stabilized at the Maples, there's some- where for them to go back to that is adequately staff ed and supported with the right interventions and the right supports for those children. C.

James: Could the minister tell me what additional resources are being put in the budget to address both of these recommendations? [1510] Hon. S. Cadieux: At this time there are no additional dollars allocated to this. It is part of our due diligence and eff orts at the moment, as a part of the planning, to take a look at all of the circumstances around the province where we have — and there are many — one-off circum- stances where we have homes for one child, perhaps, and where those circumstances might be shared if we better used our existing resources in a more cohesive, planned way.

It is also a part of our residential redesign process as a whole to look at how we better support the other resi- dential resources in foster homes and so forth around the province to ensure that the supports are where they need to be around the province. In many cases, when we have one of these one-off situ- ations — I'm sure the member can understand — the big- gest expense of doing that is actually the staffi ng costs of that. It is believed that we have an opportunity to better utilize the resources if we take a cohesive look, and that is certainly what we're doing.

Th at said, we are at the early stages of doing that work as a part of this plan. If, at the end of it, we determine there are more resources needed, then it is my job to advocate for them. C. James: Th anks to the minister. I think we'll keep track of those items that are going to need additional resources, because I think we've already got a long list just from a few hours of estimates. I like the model of looking at regional resources.

I think it's the right direc- tion to go, but I think it's awfully tough, as many other things are in this ministry, to do it without resources and to try and stretch existing resources. So I worry. I worry that we won't see the kind of training, the specialized staff , the specialized services that are going to be needed for, I agree, not a huge number of children but certainly enough children that need specialized supports, that it's going to be very diffi cult to do with the existing budget.

I think the other piece I worry about, and it's similar to the poverty reduction plan, is the $8 million-plus that has to come out of contracted services that, again, pro- vide those services for those families. With the $8 mil- lion that they then have to cut to fi nd the wages, again, we could be looking at fewer resources. The minister mentioned the residential redesign. I understand there was a public consultation process that occurred with that residential redesign.

Could the min- ister tell me where that project is, how it's been going and what was gained or learned during the consulta- tion process? [1515] Hon. S. Cadieux: Th ere was an extensive consultation, and well over 1,400 participants were involved in dis- cussing and sharing their ideas on how we can improve the current system of care. Th e consultations resulted in a three-year approach to strengthen the system and im- prove the outcomes that it provides.

Th e fi rst phase will involve creating a hub of commun- ity support for all the caregivers, whether they are birth parents, relatives, foster families or adoptive families, to help them provide for the needs of children in their care in their community. Th e ministry is currently in the pro- cess of fi nalizing or establishing where the pilot com- munities might be for launching the model. We certainly don't want to disrupt the system any more than is neces- sary and, as such, want to do this in a very coordinated and planned fashion. C.

James: Th e minister described the hub for care- givers as one piece of the approach. Is that similar to a peer-support kind of approach? Is that what's being looked at in these pilot hubs, and is there anything else that the minister wants to outline within that three-year approach? [1520] Hon. S.

Cadieux: What I have just described in terms of the initial pilots would include creating a hub model where there's sort of a lead foster parent — somebody who's very experienced, who is able to provide the peer support component and assist with the other families and support — or staff ed residential, with access to ministry staff support specialists. So things for behavioural sup- ports, mental health supports, parenting supports, youth consultants, and so on, that will all be working as part of a team to support that team. It will involve additional training to caregivers, res-

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 467 pite support opportunities as well, and link from the low end of the care spectrum in some of the foster settings or kinship settings to the high-end needs at the Maples Centre and so on. We want to create a continuum that is linked and works well together, which currently, I think, is strained. C. James: Will there be performance measures put in place for these pilots? Hon. S. Cadieux: Certainly, there will be performance measures to ensure that this is having the desired out- come.

Some of those will be things like the average length of stay in care residences, a reduction in the number of moves, a reduction in the length of time to adoption — I think there's another way to say that — just a fewer num- ber of children coming into care at all and an increased number of out-of-care placements, placements with family. As well, once we've been able to put in place the new system, or the communities of caring, then the aud- its that the ministry will do will also involve this system. [1525] C. James: Th e audits, then, are published on the min- istry website?

I'm just trying to get at how this informa- tion and the pilots and the evaluation and the reporting out will become public. Hon. S. Cadieux: Y es. Th e performance management tracking that will be done will be made a part of our per- formance management report that'll be made public on a regular basis. Once the audits are undertaken, they, too, will be provided in

summary form on the website. C. James: Moving on to another recommendation within the report on the tasering incident. Th ere was a recommendation related to the need for the offi ce of the provincial director to develop policies and standards to ensure that oversight was in place in each region, which would then provide accountability when it came to plan- ning and delivering services for children with complex needs. I wonder if the minister could tell me what work is be- ing done in this area. [1530] Hon. S. Cadieux: When this report came out, it was obviously very diffi cult for all of us to read.

Th e circum- stances weren't acceptable. In my response I did explain that a number of things had already been put in place since the point in time that was referenced in this report. Th e fi rst thing was the re-establishment of the offi ce of the director of child welfare, to strengthen our over- sight for kids, and increasing the reporting of incidents to the director and the representative to improve mon- itoring as well. As well, we had undergone the complete review of the foster home and group care services that support chil- dren in care in the province.

And we've introduced a new child protection assessment planning process to ensure that their safety and well-being is certainly paramount in any decision. All the staff have been trained on that. In addition, we have a new placement-tracking report that was put in place in October of last year. It tracks the number of moves and then reports that to senior man- agement so that we can fl ag, certainly, circumstances we are not comfortable with. As well, there is a tracking system for children with complex needs. Senior staff in the service delivery areas….

When a new child or a child with complex needs comes to their attention, they then consult with the provincial offi ce and ensure that there is an integrat- ed approach to making sure that all of the needs of that child are being met. As well, as a result of this report, we did put in place a director of guardianship. Th at person is now in place with a mandate. C. James: Just so I'm clear, the director of guardianship now will have responsibility for the issue of residential care for complex needs? Th e second question would be…. Th e minister mentioned reporting standards, which I think are important.

I think it's all good work that's be- ing done, but that is a little bit diff erent than policy and standards being put in place for each region. I just won- der whether the reporting also included policies and standards for each region to follow, as was recommended in the report. [1535] Hon. S.

Cadieux: Just aft er this report, the provin- cial director issued a practice directive called "Clinical Consultation and Support in Complex, High-Risk Child Protection Cases," which is allowing us to clarify the work while we do a full review of the policies relating to residential care in the province as a part of the residen- tial redesign. We want to ensure that all of the policies also line up with our new audit procedures so they can be evaluated on an ongoing basis. As well, that will allow us time to ensure that the policy in the directive is implemented on a go-forward as well. C.

James: Th e process around the residential redesign. Th e minister mentioned a three-year approach to that residential redesign. I understand that guidelines are out. Where is the priority around the policy? Is that coming somewhere in the three years? [1540] Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e work on the policy review is underway, and a revised set of residential standards and

British Columbia Debates468 Monday, July 15, 2013 policies will be in place by the end of the fi scal year. C. James: Another recommendation that was within this report was related to the discontinuation of the use of isolation and restraints as behaviour management. Has that been done? [1545] Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e ministry has stopped all use of locked safe rooms in British Columbia. Th at was a dir- ective.

As it relates to restraints, there is a policy in place that if they must be used for some reason, the resource must report that that had been used, and the manager of the region then must determine if that's reportable. If it is, that report must be sent to the director of child welfare. C. James: Could the minister tell us how many other children are in the situation of being in a place of complex needs, not having a proper placement?

Th e representa- tive's report said it could be as high as 30, but I wonder if the minister had any numbers around how many other children are in that kind of situation currently in British Columbia. [1550] Hon. S. Cadieux: Following the report and the re- establishment of the director of child welfare and the in- tegrated team looking at kids with high complex needs, there were 15 children where we determined additional supports were required and have put those in place. C. James: Th ank you for that.

I understand you can't give specifi cs, but just from a human perspective, I won- der how the child is doing, from the report, and whether they're in a stable home situation, whether residential service has been found for the child and whether they're now settled into a residential home? Hon. S. Cadieux: On the same grounds, I'd off er the member a private briefi ng aft er estimates. C. James: Th anks to the minister. Now , moving on to the area of youth mental health, I have some questions to kick it off , and then I have a couple of members who want to ask some questions, as well, in this section.

I think, similarly to the child poverty area, there are probably a couple areas that we hear the largest number of concerns about. It would be the area of youth mental health and the challenges that are being faced by fam- ilies and by youth themselves. We certainly saw that in the representative's report that came out in April, where there were concerns aft er concerns raised around lack of supports.

Lack of service, lack of coordination, the dif- fi culty of navigating the system are constant complaints that we hear. [1555] I think one of the things that was so powerful about that report was the fact that it also included youth voices. I think that's really important.

Just to quote from the re- port, one of the youths said: "I'm tired of asking for help because I don't get help or I don't get a response." One of the parents quoted in the report says: "We had to wait until my daughter became violent before even a sem- blance of help appeared." I wish I could say that those were rare stories, but they're stories that I hear consistently as an MLA, so I'm certain that other MLAs, including the minister, have probably heard these concerns being raised as well.

Th ere were a number of recommendations in the re- port, and I wondered, just to start us off , if the minister could tell us if they've accepted all of the recommenda- tions that were made in the report by the representative. Hon. S.

Cadieux: While we agree with much of the information found in the report relating, certainly, to the circumstances families were fi nding themselves in — having diffi culty accessing the system and with wait-lists and various other aspects, we had actually been doing work in the ministry already and reviewing the services that the Ministry of Children and Families provides through our community mental health services.

Our immediate focus moving forward in our two-year action plan is to improve access to services, manage wait- lists, provide additional supports to families who want to receive services and improve the transitions that need to happen much more fl uidly between community and youth and adult services. [1600] We are continuing to work with our Ministry of Health partners and the health authorities to ensure better co- ordinated access to services.

Much of what was discussed in the report the repre- sentative put out is actually in the purview of the Ministry of Health, and as such, the Ministry of Health was the lead to respond to this particular report. C. James: I appreciate that mental health obviously goes over both ministries. I think what the minister has referred to is exactly the frustration that many families feel, which is that they will go to the Ministry of Health and ask for supports. Th ey'll be told to go to the Ministry of Children and Families. Th e Ministry of Children and Families tells them to go over to the Ministry of Health.

So while I understand the minister's answer, I think it is exactly the kind of frustration that families are feeling. I have to say, as critic, that I'm reading through the report, and I'm reading through the strategies around mental health and the ministry. We see that the ministry has a fi ve-year plan, the Ministry of Health has a ten-year plan, and then the ministry has a two-year strategic plan. I wonder if the minister could tell us how those plans all

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 469 work together and how we actually get action out of those plans and not simply more planning based on these plans. [1605] Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e member has a point. Th ere is a plethora of plans. What we want to see is change on the ground for families, certainly. I will clarify, however, that the fi ve-year plan of the ministry and the ten-year plan dovetail and are inclusive of one another and that the two-year strategic plan is operationalizing much of what is in the ten-year plan.

Since this report, and certainly since so many concerns were raised about access over the last year, our ministry has spoken with our staff on the front lines to discuss the realities of problems of access and ideas for how to change that or make that better. We have been working with the Ministry of Health and health authorities to im- plement transition protocols between the youth and adult mental health services to develop and implement tran- sition protocols between the community, mental health services and hospitals. Again, where there are challenges, we need to fi nd ways to do that better.

We have developed local management tables in communities to look at those transitions and dispute resolution to ensure that, indeed, the people are getting the support they need and that we are not dir- ecting them back and forth. C. James: I'll come back to this issue, but as my col- leagues have to go off somewhere else, I'll turn it over to the member for Burnaby-Lougheed. Th e Chair: Member for Burnaby-Lougheed, and I be- lieve leave has been given to sit in other spaces, so go ahead. J. Shin: Th ank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to congratu- late the minister and her staff for returning to this very special portfolio. Just recently I met with the Burnaby– New Westminster Task Force on Sexually Exploited and At-Risk Y outh. Th e members who joined us from this committee for the meetings were Burnaby school dis- trict 41; St. Leonard's; and Odyssey, the substance abuse services for youth and families. Th e meeting was chaired by our Burnaby city councillor, Colleen Jordan, and all Burnaby and New Westminster MLAs were present at that meeting.

I'm sure the minister is aware, seeing as there was a representative from MCFD that's a part of that commit- tee…. Admittedly, there are some very disturbing statis- tics that were shared with us at that meeting. Th ere was a count that was conducted this year in February of the exploited and at-risk youth, and the number was 217. Compare that to last year. In 2011 the number was 146, so there is a signifi cant increase in the number there.

What's more disturbing is that there is a very real trend going away from street prostitution to the Internet and boyfriend/pimp sort of sexual exploitation that's going on, which indicates that youth sexual exploitation is be- coming more and more underground and less visible. Th e task force is ringing the alarm bells on this par- ticular issue and calling it to the ministry's attention. Th ese agencies and organizations are, obviously, pains- takingly splitting the little resources they do have avail- able.

Th ey're pretty much volunteering everything else in order to look into this issue, to assess the situation and to come up with recommendations. [1610] I was hoping that the minister would please iden- tify how MCFD is addressing this particular issue, if it's aware of it. What are some of the funding fi gures and al- locations of the resources that you can share? [1615] Hon. S. Cadieux: To the member: welcome to the es- timates.

While it would be very diffi cult to parcel out specifi c programs without a lot more detail, what I can tell you right here is that our budget for youth support services and agreements is $36.7 million this year. Th at's an in- crease of about $11 million since 2001. Th at funds a range of youth services, including outreach workers, youth sup- port workers, youth and family mediation, safe-house and emergency shelter beds, transition housing, youth agreements, support services to sexually exploited youth and agreements with young adults. Th at would also pro- vide….

In a programmatic way to explain that, one of the things that is funded there is the I-RAYL program, which you may or may not be aware of, in the Lower Mainland. It's a joint project between the Ministry of Justice and our ministry to provide youth workers to specifi cally work with sexually exploited youth, or youth that are at risk of sexual exploitation, via the SkyTrain system in the Lower Mainland. Of course, as with any complex service, the services span many ministries in what is available to youth.

Th ere would be services available through the Ministry of Justice victim services or the offi ce to combat human traffi cking as well as a variety of services available to these youth through the Ministry of Health. As it relates specifi cally to the table that the member has talked about, we will follow up with our executive director that was at that meeting and provide you with more information specifi cally about Burnaby. J. Shin: Th is is on a separate note.

I noted on page 8 of the revised service plan for MCFD that it reads: "Th e child and youth population in B.C. is forecasted to grad- ually increase each year, producing a greater demand for services." I was hoping to some get clarifi cation on that. Has the ministry identifi ed which segments of the popu-

British Columbia Debates470 Monday, July 15, 2013 lation in particular are increasing? If so, the demand for which specifi c services is the minister expecting to in- crease accordingly? Hon. S. Cadieux: Th at growth rate is looking particu- larly large in the younger segment of the population and, most specifi cally, in First Nations and aboriginal com- munities. Th e demand for services is expected along those lines — the aboriginal, First Nations lines — but across the service lines of the ministry. A.

Weaver: Th ere's been signifi cant coverage lately about the long wait times and gaps in crisis care associat- ed with adolescent mental health on southern Vancouver Island. Indeed, throughout B.C. families have reported that their children have been discharged from local hos- pitals that are unable to provide the type of care that is needed yet have been required to wait three to four weeks, on average, for a bed at Ledger House, the only facility of its kind on southern Vancouver Island and residing in Oak Bay–Gordon Head, my constituency.

What steps does the budget take to reduce times for Ledger House and to enhance the quality and access to care for adolescent mental health? [1620] Hon. S. Cadieux: Questions related to Ledger House would be best directed to the Ministry of Health, as they have responsibility for that particular resource.

However, I can tell you that our work in the ministry around our residential redesign and the development of the new re- source at the Maples Centre, and the development of community-based resources around that as we move forward, will help to provide additional opportunities to support kids in their communities. It is a component of our two-year strategy to improve, along with the Ministry of Health, the transitions to and from acute care. A.

Weaver: Th en I'd like to seek what new funding and initiatives are being taken with this budget to en- hance cooperation and information fl ow between the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Health, particularly on this issue of adoles- cent mental health. Hon. S. Cadieux: Th e ministry invests $94 million annually to address child and youth mental health chal- lenges in British Columbia. Th ree-quarters of that fund- ing, or $70 million, is spent on our community-based mental health services.

Th e remainder of that is spent on specialized services like, as I mentioned in the previous answer, the Maples Centre. Th ere are no new dollars in this budget year for the work with the Ministry of Health on enhancing our cooperation and information fl ow, but there are a num- ber of structures that are in place whereby we can have those discussions and make those changes.

Th ey are the Healthy Minds, Healthy People ADM action committee; the Healthy Minds, Healthy People cross-government implementation team; Healthy Minds, Healthy People directorate, which are senior managers from MCFD and Health meeting monthly.

Th e Ministry of Health, MCFD and health authorities have a mental health and substance use planning council, which meets every two months. [1625] As I explained in a previous answer, there is ongoing work between MCFD and the health authorities to imple- ment transition protocols between the youth and adult mental health services, to implement protocols between child and youth mental health community services and hospitals. We've developed local management tables to aid in those transitions. A. Weaver: Th ank you, Minister.

In the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Health plan, as previously mentioned — Healthy Minds, Healthy People: A Ten-Year Plan to Address Mental Health and Substance Use in British Columbia — the ministries distinguish between prevent- able and non-preventable mental health issues. My question to the minister is: what percentage of your budget is allocated to preventative supports for adoles- cent mental health, and what percentage of the budget is allocated for treatment of existing but otherwise pre- ventable mental health issues?

As a supplemental to that, does the ministry have an estimate of how much overall funding could be saved in the medium or long term by increasing investments in preventative supports for ado- lescent mental health? Hon. S. Cadieux: MCFD's child and youth mental health budget funds both direct ministry staff and con- tracted services. Our staff respond to the needs and de- mands in their communities performing a number of roles, including family counselling, outreach and com- munity development. Staff respond to individual needs as they present.

It's not possible to allocate their time dir- ectly towards prevention versus treating mental health issues. With regard to contracted services, during the fi ve-year mental health plan the ministry had an expectation that 15 percent of the child and youth mental health budget would be allocated to reducing risk and 15 percent to- wards building capacity. Many of the activities that were funded in those areas were directed towards prevention activities. An example is the Friends program, which is fund- ed to the tune of about $550,000 per year.

As well, the Strongest Families program with the Canadian Mental Health Association also looks at prevention and early intervention.

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 471 It's acknowledged, certainly, that prevention is an im- portant part of the continuum for child and youth mental health services.

Given that mental health issues are not always the result of a direct causal relationship but, rath- er, have a correlation of multiple factors or activities, it's not possible to accurately predict direct impact or savings that prevention activities have in the future. [1630] Th at said, academic research does, of course, acknow- ledge the importance of prevention programs and the importance that they play in the continuum of child and youth mental health services that we provide to the pub- lic. We look for opportunities to promote and support child and youth health prevention activities where pos- sible.

Th at's why there were those funding targets in the fi ve-year plan — the 15 and 15 percent. A. Weaver: Finally, what external and independent audits or evaluations are planned for measuring ministry performance in regards to the delivery of eff ective ado- lescent mental health programs? [R. Chouhan in the chair.] Hon. S. Cadieux: We are not aware…. At this point we don't have any external, independent audit processes of our child and youth mental health services. Th at said, they do arise from time to time, as we saw in the spring with the representative's report on child and youth men- tal health.

As for our own ministry work, the director of child welfare has a case review function which provides integrated and comprehensive reviews of reportable cir- cumstances, which would also pertain to any reportable circumstance for child and youth mental health. [1635] Each review has an action plan and recommendations associated with it, and our enhanced process, which is being developed through the ministry at this point in time, will have a child and youth mental health compon- ent. We estimate that that will be up and running by the next fi scal year, and it will be on a three-year cycle with our other audits.

C. James: Just to get into a bit more specifi cs around the program areas in the area of mental health. One of the real concerns that we hear and that was certainly out- lined in the representative's report as well, is the shortage of supports in communities — community-based treat- ment programs, community-based supports. I wondered if the minister could let us know specifi cally what's being done to expand those services and provide opportunities for families to be able to access those services. Hon. S.

Cadieux: Our focus over the next two years is on four things: improving access to service and manag- ing, reducing wait-lists; improving support for families who are having diffi culty navigating the system; ensur- ing that our ministry and the Ministry of Health have a consistent approach as children move between the com- munity health services and hospitals; and improving the transition process as youth move to adult mental health services as well. We are also reviewing our intake function to stream- line and simplify it. Frankly, it's obviously too complex for families, and we need to make that simpler.

Th ey cer- tainly don't need added complexity when they're already dealing with a child who needs service. C. James: Just, I guess, to continue to boil down a little bit. Th e minister says that the ministry is looking at how it helps people navigate the system. Could the minister give me some specifi c examples or programs that are be- ing looked at to be able to ease the complexity in the sys- tem for families? [1640] Hon. S.

Cadieux: In regards to improving navigation and supports for parents that are trying to navigate the system, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and health authorities, the Ministry of Children and Families is building an e-service map to provide families with easy access to information on community and provincial child and youth mental health services. In addition, we'll be de- veloping a toolbox of local and provincial resources that practitioners can provide to children, youth and families until they receive services, while they may be waiting.

In addition, as another example, 19 of our child and youth mental health teams around the province have a Parent in Residence that is provided in partnership with FORCE — which is the Families Organized for Recognition and Care Equality, I'm sure the member is aware — who are there to also assist in supporting par- ents who are dealing with child and youth mental health issues in their family.

Another example is that we've partnered up with the Canadian Mental Health Association to deliver Strongest Families and to continue to work with them to improve access to support for families in training parents or work- ing with coaches over the phone to help them acquire the skills that they need to assist their children in the early preventative stages. C. James: One of the other large concerns in the report spoke to wait-lists and the signifi cant barrier that wait- lists create for families and, in particular, for the youth who are waiting for the mental health services.

As the minister, I'm sure, knows, we certainly have heard from families — I meet with families and met with families just a couple of weeks ago — who oft en have six- month waiting-time periods aft er their child has gone through a crisis, has been in an emergency ward, is given medication and sent home and then told to wait for ser-

British Columbia Debates472 Monday, July 15, 2013 vices, which I think all of us would agree is unaccept- able for a child who is going through crisis and certainly for a family. Could the minister tell me how many people — and whether the ministry keeps track — are currently on wait-lists and what program area in youth mental health they're waiting for? Hon. S. Cadieux: Hon. Chair, if you would indulge me with a fi ve-minute recess, we'll be right back with the answer to that. Th e Chair: Th e committee is in recess for fi ve minutes. Th e committee recessed from 4:45 p.m. to 4:51 p.m. [R.

Chouhan in the chair.] Hon. S. Cadieux: Th ank you for that brief recess, Mr. Chair. Wait-lists are obviously critical in terms of monitor- ing the need for services and determining where and when they need to be provided. Th at said, urgent cases, of course, are always dealt with on an as-needed basis and are not on a wait-list. Cases are prioritized, and cir- cumstances like acute psychosis or risk of harm to self or others are dealt with immediately and are not wait-listed. Th ere are a number of things we do to provide services and assistance to families while they may be on a wait-list for other services.

Many of those things we have already talked about today, like connecting families with infor- mation for parents on diff erent areas of concern, access to diff erent websites for information and so on in the meantime. But clearly, this is one of the areas that needs the most work, which is why it's listed as one of the pri- ority areas for work over the next two years. At this point in time we believe there are about 1,000 around the province on a wait-list for community men- tal health services. Th at said, we can't, from that, deter- mine for what service specifi cally. It's clearly an area that needs work.

Up till now wait-lists have been managed individually by regions, and there hasn't been a central way of managing that. One of the things we are moving to late this summer and early this fall is a provincial-wide system that will en- able us to track it better. It is clearly a circumstance that is a priority for us in the ministry, so we can really make sure we know where what services are needed. C. James: Could the minister tell us what the aver- age wait time is for those 1,000 children who are on a wait-list? Hon. S.

Cadieux: Going from the same data that I just mentioned on 1,000 children, the average wait time would be 149 days at this point. C. James: Th anks to the minister for that. I think the defi nition of what's urgent and what isn't urgent still leaves a lot to be desired, because certainly in the families that I talk to, many urgent cases are on wait- lists. Y ou talk to families that spend a couple of days at a hospital bed in emergency, who are then given medi- cations for their child to go home and told: "Now you're on a wait-list." Th at's an urgent case.

Th ey're medicated in order to keep them under control until the situation is able to be addressed. I certainly think that those continue to be crisis cases — many cases that aren't being addressed right away, that still have to be on wait-lists. [1655] Just to speak a little bit about the residential care. My colleague asked some questions around Ledger House here on the Island. I hear a lot of valid issues raised by families about the lack of youth mental health beds in hospitals.

I under- stand that that is an issue for the Ministry of Health, and I understand there is, again, the diff erence between the two ministries, but I'd like to ask the minister: what has the Minister of Children and Families done in discus- sions with the Ministry of Health and with the health authorities to talk about the lack of youth mental health beds in hospital settings, currently? Hon. S.

Cadieux: Certainly, it is a discussion that is had at all levels, because child and youth mental health, and mental health overall, is an issue of urgency — ur- gency required. [1700] I certainly know that the new deputy of Health under- stands the challenge well, and I expect we'll be having some very fruitful conversations in that regard, given his background with this ministry.

As well, we do have an acting ADM lead within child and youth mental health who is facilitating forums be- tween MCFD and Health Ministry staff and health au- thority staff to consider ways of improving services, where they look at more responsiveness and acute care beds in hospital settings. For example, he met two weeks ago in Kelowna with Interior Health and in Nanaimo with VIHA. As another example, there is a model in Nanaimo for the province, I feel, in that the health authority and MCFD work together quite closely to triage the acute cases to ensure a coordinated response.

I think they've got a very good working model there that I would like to see expanded. C. James: Just continuing on with this discussion. One of the areas that I would hope — because I think there is an opportunity — is the discussion that's going on right now with the Comox and Campbell River hospitals and the building of those two hospitals.

British Columbia DebatesMonday, July 15, 2013 473 Currently there is not a youth mental health bed as part of that hospital plan. Th e health authority has said that they don't believe they need a separate bed. I cer- tainly would encourage the ministry, in those discus- sions — as you are looking at them — to add that to the list of health authority discussion issues to be had. As I said, there's an opportunity, obviously, with the building of two new hospitals, much more than there is to recon- fi gure existing hospitals. I would hope that that would be added. I think it makes good sense to look.

When you're talk- ing about the entire north and centre of the Island, I cer- tainly think there are plenty of cases to provide use of a dedicated youth mental health bed. I know there are oft en discussions about sharing beds or segmenting or having dividers put aside for youth beds. I understand the need for that, but it's certainly not an ideal situation. Th e families that I've talked to — and I'm sure the minister will talk to as well — would say that it provides less than satisfactory support for both the people in the adult beds as well as for the youth.

It's not a good situation for either, to look at that mix. I think it's something that certainly could be discussed. Th e minister answered some questions earlier about Ledger House and mentioned Maples and the expan- sion of beds at Maples. I wonder if the minister could give a little bit more detail about what the expansion is at Maples. Are there any other residential care beds, in- cluding Ledger, that are being looked at for any expan- sion in this upcoming year? Hon. S. Cadieux: Well, I can't comment on any plans that Health may have. I would recommend the member bring that up in Health estimates.

With relation to the Maples, we're looking at having

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20130715pm-Hansard-v3n2
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20130715pm Hansard v3n2
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	1fa3f70e5a49b4605990c3f77b9df2e3afcfb3a5

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