British Columbia Hansard — 1 March 2018, p.m., Issue 92 (41st Parliament, 3rd Session)

20180301pm-Hansard-n92

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Third Session, 41st Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday, March 1, 2018 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 92 THE HONOURABLE DARRYL PLECAS, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

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

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

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

Jinny Sims Minister of Education............................................................................................................................................................ Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources...............................................................................................Hon. Michelle Mungall Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.............................................................................................Hon.

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

Scott Fraser Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology............................................................................................................................ Hon. Bruce Ralston Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon. George Chow Minister of Labour...................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

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

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

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

Raj Chouhan Assistant Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................................................................... Linda Reid Deputy Chair, Commi ttee of the Whole................................................................................................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ....................................................................................................................................................Craig James Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Commi ttees.................................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Clerk Assistant — Commi ttees and Interparliamentary Relations ..........................................................................................Susan Sourial Sessional Law Clerk...............................................................................................................................................Loredana Catalli-Sonier, QC Sergeant-at-Arms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary Lenz

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal)........................................................................ Penticton Bains, Hon. Harry (NDP)...............................................................Surrey-Newton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal)................................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Beare, Hon. Lisa (NDP).............................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry (NDP) ..................................................................... Surrey-Guildford Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal).......................................................

Peace River South Bond, Shirley (BC Liberal)......................................... Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (NDP)..................................................................... Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal)....................................................... Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) ..................................... Vancouver–West End Chen, Hon. Katrina (NDP).....................................................Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ............................................................... Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon.

George (NDP)............................................... Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal)................................ Columbia River–Revelstoke Coleman, Rich (BC Liberal)...............................................................Langley East Conroy, Hon. Katrine (NDP)......................................................... Kootenay West Darcy, Hon.

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

Doug (NDP).....................................................................Stikine Eby, Hon. David, QC (NDP).............................................Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP)....................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (NDP) ...................................................... Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (NDP) .....................................................Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal)........................................................... Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Hon.

Scott (NDP) ................................................ Mid Island–Pacific Rim Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) ........................................... Cowichan Valley Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal)................................................. Abbotsford-Mission Glumac, Rick (NDP)........................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Heyman, Hon. George (NDP).............................................. Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon. John (NDP) ...............................................

Langford–Juan de Fuca Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal).......................................................Surrey-Cloverdale Isaacs, Joan (BC Liberal).........................................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain James, Hon. Carole (NDP)...................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Johal, Jas (BC Liberal)...............................................

Richmond-Queensborough Kahlon, Ravi (NDP)..............................................................................Delta North Kang, Anne (NDP)..................................................................Burnaby–Deer Lake Krog, Leonard Eugene (NDP) ..................................................................Nanaimo Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal)............................................................................ Shuswap Larson, Linda (BC Liberal).............................................Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Michael (BC Liberal)......................................................

Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (NDP) ....................................................Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (B C Liberal)............................................Kelowna–Lake Country Ma, Bowinn (NDP)................................................... North Vancouver–Lonsdale Mark, Hon. Melanie (NDP) ..................................... Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Martin, John (BC Liberal)...................................................................... Chilliwack Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal)....................................

Kam loops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal)..........................................Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Hon. Michelle (NDP).................................................... Nelson-Creston Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal)...........................................................Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (B C Green Party)........................... Saanich North and the Islands Paton, Ian (BC Liberal)......................................................................... Delta South Plecas, Hon.

Darryl (Ind.) ..........................................................Abbotsford South Polak, Mary (BC Liberal)............................................................................ Langley Popham, Hon. Lana (NDP)..............................................................Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce (NDP) .......................................................... Surrey-Whalley Redies, Tracy (BC Liberal)..................................................... Surrey–White Rock Reid, Linda (BC Liberal)................................................

Richmond South Centre Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ............................................................................ North Coast Robinson, Hon. Selina (NDP) ....................................... Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal)..................................................................................Skeena Routledge, Janet (NDP) .................................................................. Burnaby North Routley, Doug (NDP) ................................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, John (BC Liberal)..............................................................

Nechako Lakes Shypitka, Tom (B C Liberal).............................................................Kootenay East Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ........................................Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Hon. Shane (NDP)................................................ Vancouver-Hastings Sims, Hon.

Jinny (NDP) .............................................................Surrey-Panorama Singh, Rachna (NDP) ........................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal)................................................................Kelowna West Stilwell, Michelle (BC Liberal)..............................................Parksville-Qualicum Stone, Todd (BC Liberal)........................................

Kam loops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal).......................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Sullivan, Sam (B C Liberal)...............................................Vancouver–False Creek Sultan, Ralph (BC Liberal)......................................... West Vancouver–Capilano Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal)................................................................ Fraser-Nicola Thomson, Steve (BC Liberal).....................................................Kelowna-Mission Thornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal).............................

North Vancouver–Seymour Throness, Laurie (BC Liberal)..................................................... Chilliwack-Kent Trevena, Hon. Claire (NDP) .............................................................. North Island Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal)................................................Richmond North Centre Weaver, Dr. Andrew (BC Green Party) ......................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal).............................. Vancouver-Quilchena Yap, John (BC Liberal)..........................................................

Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission ..........................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South ..................................................................... Hon. Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West.................................................................... Michael de Jong, QC Boundary-Similkameen.....................................................................

Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake ...............................................................................Anne Kang Burnaby-Edmonds ..............................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Burnaby North................................................................................

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

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

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

Jackie Tegart Kam loops–North Thompson............................................................Peter Milobar Kam loops–South Thompson ................................................................Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country....................................................................Norm L etnick Kelowna-Mission.............................................................................

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

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

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

Jennifer Rice North Island............................................................................ Hon. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale................................................................. Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour......................................................Jane Thornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head..........................................................Dr. Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum .....................................................................Michelle Stilwell Peace River North..................................................................................

Dan Davies Peace River South............................................................................... Mike Bernier Penticton................................................................................................ Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam .................................................................... Hon. Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam .....................................................................Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast.....................................................

Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie..................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount.................................................................Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre ........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough.......................................................................Jas Johal Richmond South Centre........................................................................

Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston.................................................................................. John Yap Saanich North and the Islands............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap .................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena.........................................................................................................

Ellis Ross Stikine ..................................................................................Hon. Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale...............................................................................

Marvin Hunt Surrey-Fleetwood...................................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers ......................................................................Rachna Singh Surrey-Guildford....................................................................................Garry Begg Surrey-Newton.............................................................................Hon. Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama........................................................................... Hon.

Jinny Sims Surrey South...............................................................................Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Whalley........................................................................ Hon. Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock............................................................................. Tracy Redies Vancouver-Fairview ............................................................ Hon. George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek.......................................................................

Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview .............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings.............................................................. Hon. Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington ..................................................................... Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway ................................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara.............................................................................. Michael Lee Vancouver–Mount Pleasant................................................... Hon.

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

Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano................................................................. Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ..............................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC Liberal 42; NDP 41; BC Green Party 3; Independent 1

CONTENTS Thursday, March 1, 2018 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Point of Privilege (Reservation of Right)............................................................................................................................. 3029 E. Foster Introduction and First Reading of Bills................................................................................................................................ 3029 Bill 4 — British Columbia Innovation Council Amendment Act, 2018 Hon. B.

Ralston Orders of the Day Government Motions on Notice........................................................................................................................................... 3029 Motion 4 — Commi ttee of Supply to sit in two sections Hon. M. Farnworth Second Reading of Bills .......................................................................................................................................................... 3030 Bill 3 — Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act, 2018 Hon. S. Fraser D. Ashton N. Simons Hon. S. Fraser Bill 2 — Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2018 Hon. C.

James S. Bond J. Brar P. Milobar S. Gibson A. Weaver R. Sultan T. Stone C. Oakes Hon. L. Popham T. Redies Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room Commi ttee of Supply .............................................................................................................................................................. 3063 Estimates: Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Hon. M. Farnworth M. Morris C. Oakes T. Shypitka D. Barnett

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 The House met at 1:33 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Point of Privilege (Reservation of Right) E. Foster: Mr. Speaker, I rise on a pointof personalpriv- ilege and reserve my right. Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL 4 — BRITISH COLUMBIA INNOVATION COUNCIL AMENDMENT ACT, 2018 Hon. B. Ralston presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled British Columbia Innovation Council Amendment Act, 2018. Hon. B. Ralston: I move thatBill4, the British Columbia Innovation Council Amendment Act, 2018, be introduced and read a first time now.

I’m pleased to introducethe British Columbia Innovation CouncilAmendmentAct.This importantlegislation estab- lishes Innovate B.C., an innovation commi ssion to further develop British Columbia’s thriving technology and innov- ation sector, to help create more life-sustaining jobs and to furtherstrengthen ourdiverse economy. Establishing an innovation commi ssion is a key commi tmentmadeby this government and will provide broadersupport to British Columbia’s tech sector. [1:35 p.m.] Innovate B.C.’s mandate includesadvising governmenton science, technology and innovation policy.

Innovate B.C. will provide a singlepoint of contact for tech support and stream line servicesfor developing technologicalentrepren- eurs and businesses. Innovate B.C. willalso work to ensure that benefits of technology are felt around the province. Mr. Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Hon. B. Ralston: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day forsecond reading atthe nextsitting of the House after today.

Bill 4, British Columbia Innovation Council Amendment Act, 2018, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Orders of the Day Government Motions on Notice MOTION 4 — COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY TO SIT IN TWO SECTIONS Hon. M. Farnworth: I move the motion in my name underScheduleA on the orderpaper. I can readthe whole thing, butI believe thatthe opposition is fine with justthe motion. I see my counterpart….The motion willauthorize the Commi ttee of Supply to sit in

section A and

section B. [Be it resolved that this House hereby authorize the Commi ttee of Supply for this Session to sit in two sections designated

Section A and

Section B;

Section A to sitin such Commi ttee Room as may be appointed from time to time, and

Section B to sitin the Chamberof the Assembly, subject to the following rules: 1. The Standing Orders applicableto the Commi ttee of the Whole House shall be applicable in both Sections of the Commi ttee of Supply save and exceptthatin

Section A, a Ministermay deferto a Deputy Ministerto permitsuch Deputy to reply to a question putto the Minister. 2. All Estimates shall stand referred to

Section A, save and except those Estimates as shallbe referred to

Section B on motion without notice by the Government House Leader, which motion shall be decided withoutamendmentor debate and be governed by Practice Recomm endation #6 relating to Consultation. 3.

Section A shall consist of 17 Members, being 8 Members of the New Democratic Party and 8 Members of the BC LiberalParty and one memberof the Green Party. In addition, the Deputy Chairof the Commi ttee of the Whole, orhis orhernominee, shallpresideoverthe debates in

Section A. Substitution of Members will be permitted to

Section A with the consentof thatMember’s Whip, where applicable, otherwise with the consent of the Member involved. For the third session of the Forty-FirstParliament,the Members of

Section A shall be as follows: the Ministerwhose Estimates are underconsideration and, Jagrup Brar, Mitzi Dean, Bob D’Eith, Mable Elmore, Anne Kang, Rick Glumac, Rachna Singh, Simon Gibson, Jane Thornthwaite, Peter Milobar, Coralee Oakes, Joan Isaacs, Mike Morris, Teresa Wat, Ellis Ross and Sonia Furstenau. 4. At fifteen minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for adjournmentof the House, the Chairof

Section A willreportto the House. In the eventsuch reportincludesthe lastvote in a particular ministerialEstimate, aftersuch reporthas been madeto the House, the Government shall have a maximum of eightminutes, and the Official Opposition a maximum of five minutes, and all other Members (cumulatively) a maximum of three minutes to summ arize the Commi ttee debate on a particular ministerial Estimate completed, such summ aries to be in the following order:

(1) Other Members;

(2) Opposition; and

(3) Government. 5.

Section B shall be composed of all Members of the House. 6. Divisions in

Section A will be signalled by the ringing of the division bells four times. 7. Divisions in

Section B will be signalled by the ringing of the division bells three times atwhich time proceedingsin

Section A will be suspended until completion of the division in

Section B. 8.

Section A is hereby authorized to consider Bills referred to Commi ttee after second reading thereof and the Standing Orders applicable to Bills in Commi ttee of the Whole shall be applicable to such Bills during consideration thereof in

Section A, and for all purposes

Section A shallbe deemed to be aCommi ttee of the Whole. Suchreferrals to

Section A shallbe madeupon motion withoutnotice by the Minister responsible for the Bill, and such motion shall be decided withoutamendmentordebate. PracticeRecomm endation #6 3029

relating to Consultation shall be applicable to all such referrals. 9. Bills or Estimates previously referred to a designated Commi ttee may at any stage be subsequently referred to another designated Commi ttee on motion of the GovernmentHouse LeaderorMinister responsiblefor the Billas hereinbefore provided by RuleNos.2 and 8.] Motion approved. Hon. M. Farnworth:I call, in this chamber, second read- ing of Bill3. If thatis dealtwith this afternoon, then we will be followed by the second reading of Bill2. In Commi ttee A, the littleHouse, I callthe estimatesforthe Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Second Reading of Bills BILL 3 — TLA’AMIN FINAL AGREEMENT AMENDMENT ACT, 2018 Hon. S. Fraser: I move thatBill3 be now read a second time. I am pleased to introduce the second reading of Bill 3, the Tla’amin FinalAgreementAmendmentAct.This billwill provide the ProvincialCourtwith the authority to issue an enforcement order or orders related to convictions under Tla’amin law enacted in accordance with the Tla’amin fore- shore agreement.

The Tla’amin Nation is supportive of the amendment.The orders wouldbe in respectof paymentfor damages, costsassociated with investigations and prosecu- tions ordeclarations prohibitingororderingspecificactions. The amendmentsin this billare equivalent to the provi- sions for local governmentssetout underthe Comm unity Charter and the Local Government Act. The province and the Tla’amin Nation signed the foreshore agreementin April of 2016. The foreshore agreementis a sideagreementto the Tla’amin final agreement.

The foreshore agreementdelegates comparablelocalgov- ernment law-making authority to the Tla’amin Nation for foreshore areas adjacent to Tla’amin treaty lands. This is done to provide continuity of governancebetween Tla’amin treaty lands and the adjacentforeshore. In 2015, this Legis- lative Assembly approved a similar amendment act to the Maa-nulth FirstNations FinalAgreementActin respectto the Maa-nulth Nations foreshore agreement. The amendment to the Tla’amin Final Agreement Act provides the statutory provisions that will make specific clausesof the Tla’amin foreshore delegation agreementoper- able.

Amendments like this remind us of the enduring natures of treaty and thatreconciliation does notend when the treaty comes into effect. [1:40 p.m.] We have a strong, ongoing government-to-government relationship with the Tla’amin Nation, based on rights, respect, recognition and reconciliation. This government’s relationship with allIndigenous nations is grounded in these principles: recognition of rights and title and building powerful government-to-government relationships and partnerships. [L.

Reid in the chair.] Reconciliation is a cross-governmentpriority, anchored by the adoption and implementation of the United Nations declaration on the rightsof Indigenous peoples,the Truth and Reconciliation Commi ssion’s calls to action and the Tsilhqot’in decision. We are commi tted to an approach thatrespectsthe priorities of Indigenous peoples,one that fundam entally redesigns the Crown-Indigenous relation- ship and m akes a clean break from colonial m odes of thinking and doing. I’m proud thatwe are making choicesthatare grounded in true recognition and respectand thatmake life betterfor Indigenous peoples.

D. Ashton: I wouldlike to thank the ministerforhis very good remarks. Itis my greatpleasure to rise in the House today to speak in favourof this importantpiece of legislation — Bill3, the Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act, 2018.

The Tla’amin Nation is located just north of the city of PowellRiverin British Columbia,along Highway 101, and is one of many Indigenous CoastSalish Tribes inhabiting the PacificNorthwestCoast.The Tla’amin Nation is one of rich heritage and history, and archaeologicalevidencehas shown there has been occupation by the Tla’amin people in that region, which dates back almost 4,000 years. This bill will provide the Provincial Court with the importantpowerto issueand enforceorders and convictions underTla’amin laws.

The orders that are referred to under this amendmentare in respectforpaying fordamages; costs associated with investigations, prosecutions and declara- tions; prohibiting or ordering specific actions. Three years ago, in 2015, the previous governmentmade the very same amendmentsto the Maa-nulth FirstNations agreementact,and I’m proud to say thatamendmentpassed this House unanimously. Overthe last20 years, the Tla’amin Nation has been nego- tiating a fair treaty settlement with the province of British Columbia. Bill 3, the Tla’amin Final Agreement Act, is the fourth, final agreement under the framework of the B.C.

Treaty Commi ssion process. The treaty removed the Tla’amin Nation from the federal Indian Act,and I have a question: why do we try and nego- tiate treaties? Because itis one of the rightthings we should do. Treatiesare away forFirstNations to getoutfrom under the burden of the Indian Act and to once again have self- government. This has provided the Tla’amin Nation with autonomous authority thatwillallow them to conceptualize, design, shape and deliver programmin g in a way that best supports the Tla’amin comm unity and their families.

This treaty converted the uncertainty of the Tla’amin Nation’s Aboriginal rights and titles into defined treaty 3030 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

rights. The treaty established ownership, m anagement of the lands and resources within the Tla’amin traditional territory, and it provided land and financial resources so thatTla’amin can create economic opportunities and jobs for their families. As we are allaware, the treaty process can be terribly slow and sometimes incredibly frustrating, but we are actually seeing progress. The treaty will bring many benefitsto the Tla’amin Nation in future generations and willdramatically alter the status of the nation in a very encouraging way.

I’m honoured to support, in this House, Bill 3, the Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act, 2018, as we move forward to a more justand inclusive future for allin our province. In closing, m any in this House have heard m e say that my dadalways toldm e: “Neverwalk behind anybody. Nev- er walk in front of them. For a better future for all, walk besidethem.” I, myself, and allof us in this House, cannot change the past. Butwe can have an effecton the present and on the future.

I know — and I know this with the utmostsincerity — the minister and his thoughtsand the direction that he would like to see itgo are a very good indication, which we should allthink aboutin this province, of how we can try and rectify some things that did happen in the past. Madame Speaker, thank you very much for allowing me to speak to this today. N. Simons: It’s a pleasure to be ableto stand and support Bill 3, the Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act.

I thank the Minister of Indigenous Relations as well as the memberforPenticton fortheirwords aboutthe importance of this amendment. [1:45 p.m.] I think it’s justanotherstep thatdemonstrates how work- ing togetherin partnership, we can help rectify some of the pastinjusticesand continue moving towards asystem where we allwork really welltogether. I think this is justone more step in that direction. I congratulate ChiefClintWilliams of the Tla’amin Nation and the elders and allthose who have continued to push for a fair resolution to outstanding issues. This is, I think, an important step in that direction.

I thank the minister, and I support this bill. Deputy Speaker: Seeing no furtherspeakers, the minister closes debate. Hon. S. Fraser: Before I ask to move second reading on Bill3, I’d like to justthank my criticopposite forhis support of this and his kind words, the memberfor Penticton, and also my colleague and friend from Powell River–Sunshine Coast for his words in support.

I wouldalso like to acknowledge and thank Chief Clint Williams and the Tla’amin peopleforthe hard work and per- severance thatthey have shown, leading to the pointwhere they have madeand are making life betternotjustfor their people, the Tla’amin people, butforthe peopleof the region and the peopleof the wholeprovince. It’s an honour to be standing here today with Bill 3. Then, I’d also like to finish by noting that my colleague from Powell River–Sunshine Coast has been a strong sup- porter of the Tla’amin people inside and outsideof this House, and those relationships will last forever.

With thatin mind, I wouldlike to move second readingof Bill 3. Motion approved. Hon. S. Fraser: I move that the bill be referred to the Commi ttee of the Wholeto be considered atthe nextsitting of the House after today. Bill 3, Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act, 2018, read a second time and referred to a Commi ttee of the Whole House for consideration at the next sitting of the House after today. Hon. C. James: I’d now like to callsecond reading of Bill 2. BILL 2 — BUDGET MEASURES IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2018 Hon. C. James: I move that Bill 2, the BudgetMeasures Implementation Act, be now read a second time.

This billamends 21 statutes in orderto implementmany of the tax measures in Budget 2018. The Income Tax Act is amended, and I willtake the time to go through each of the pieces, each of the amendments,and just give a quick description. I know we’ll have more opportunity as we get into commi ttee stage — but a quick description of each of the pieces. The Income Tax Act is amended to expand, extend or eliminate several tax credits. The first is the caregiver tax credit and infirm dependent tax credit. They are replaced with a new B.C. caregiver credit for 2018 and subsequent tax years.

This is going to increase support for peoplewho providecare to relativesin need, and it’s also goingto simpli- fy tax administration because itwillharmonize with feder- alcredits.So itwillbe easierforpeopleto apply for, and it’ll provideincreased supportforindividuals who are caring for relatives in need. When the previous government tabled Budget 2017, included in that budgetin 2017 was the elimination of the education tax credit,as of January 1 of this year.

In Budget 2018, we’ve delayed the elimination of the creditto 2019 to continue the benefitfor one more year, justto look athow best to support post-secondary students in B.C. Peoplemay remember…. I know the criticcertainly does. In September, we hada numberof measures where the fed- eralgovernmenthas eliminated a credit.B.C. had matched Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3031

up ataxcreditand now is coordinating those taxcreditsand eliminating them as the federal government is in place. This is a very similarone. The federalgovernmentas well as Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick have already eliminated the education credits.As I said, the previous gov- ernmentbroughtitforward in theirbudgetas well, in 2017. So we are continuing it until 2019 to give some time for transition and to be ableto look athow betterto supportour post-secondary students. The education tax credit wasn’t based on income and provided very minimal support when studentsneed it the most.

So our hope is that we’ll be able to look at further opportunities there. [1:50 p.m.] The mining flow-through share tax creditis extended for another year, to the end of 2018. Certainly, we recognize that the mining sector is a vital part of our economy. This extension will continue to encourage investment in British Columbia in mineral exploration and in development. The farmers food donation tax creditis extended for one more year, to the end of 2019. Again, this extension reaffirms ourgovernment’s commi tmentto supportB.C. agriculture, while providing food banks with local, nutritious food.

The interactive digitalmediataxcreditis extended forfive years, to August31, 2023. By expanding this credit,the gov- ernment ensures continued support for B.C.’s dynamic and growing tech sector. I think we just heard an introduction around innovation and looking atinnovation. This certainly continues to provide ourgovernment’s supportfor innova- tion and for B.C.’s tech sector to be a high priority when it comes to our economy, and a growing part of our economy. I certainly have to say, as an almostlifetime Victorian, I’m amazed to see the kind of expansion thatwe’ve seen around tech in the lastnumberof years.

I think peoplewillbe sur- prised to know the kinds of dollars that are coming into oureconomy, even here in Victoria. Peoplepicture itin the LowerMainland, butin fact,it’s allacross the province. Itis one of those sectors that, as long as there are connections, can locate almostanywhere in British Columbia. So itreally continues to be a growing part of our economy. We’ve continued the book publishing taxcreditforanoth- erthree years, to March 31, 2021. The extension of this credit certainly continues ourgovernment’s supportto book pub- lishers in British Columbia.

We know we have a thriving book publishing industry here in ourprovince. We certainly hope thatthe extension of this creditwillcontinueto see that industry grow and provide support. The Film Incentive B.C. tax credit is also expanded to include scriptwriting expenditures for B.C.-based writers. There has certainly beenapush to make sure thatwe provide incentives and supportforB.C. writers, forfilm producers to use B.C. writers, to give them the experience, to be ableto expand the B.C. film industry. A strength thatwe have here….

The reason peopleoften talk aboutcomingto BritishColumbiais thatwe have awell- trained, well-experienced workforcehere in the industry. We wantto make sure thatB.C. writers also getthatopportunity. Taking a look atthe incentive and expanding thatis another opportunity to encourage that. As the House will know, we’re also looking a numberof areas and changes to areas related to combatting tax avoid- ance. This is a criticalmeasure, criticalpiecesand a critical agendaforus as government— to make sure thatthere’s fair- ness in ourtax system and thatpeopleare paying theirfair share of taxes.

I think itis an issue of fairness thatallBritish Columbians agree with. We are making a numberof changes to be ableto look at bettertracking of information, betterreporting of informa- tion, which then gives us the ability to auditand gives us the ability to enforcewhen peoplearen’tpaying theirfairshare. The Income TaxActis amended to addareportabletransac- tion ruleand to strengthen the existing generalanti-avoid- ance rule. The Income Tax Act, the Land Tax Deferment Act and the Home OwnerGrantActare amended to allow taxpayer information to be shared between the Income Tax Actand the Land Tax Deferment Act.

This is going to, again, as I said, enhancetaxenforcementby allowing administrators to ensure thatonly B.C. residentscan benefitfrom property tax defermentand, also, to verify thatresidentialinformation is being reported consistently. Again, the biggest,mostimportantpiecewhen we’re look- ing atdealing with enforcementor dealing with auditing is getting the information and making sure we have the infor- mation. That’s what many of these changes relate to.

Both the Income Tax Act and the Logging Tax Act are amended to no longer require preapproval from the Lieu- tenant-Governor-in-Councilpriorto entering into informa- tion-sharing agreementsunderthatact.These actsnow fol- low the same procedure forinformation-sharing agreements as B.C.’s othertaxation acts.So this is acleanup, making sure that there is consistency across our tax acts. The Property TransferTax Actis amended to increase the transfertax rate on residentialproperties to 5 percent,from 3 percent,forthe assessed above $3 million, effective Febru- ary 21, 2018.

I think it’s importantagain to state thatthis is on the value of the property above $3 million. That’s where the tax applies. [1:55 p.m.] We believe, again, in looking at a fair tax system, that people who have been able to see value in their homes provide a little bit more towards supports that all of us, including those individuals, enjoy in British Columbia. The Property Transfer Tax Act is amended to exempt transfers of the bankrupt’s principalresidencefrom atrustee in bankruptcy to the bankrupt or the bankrupt’s spouse or formerspouse.

This is goingto providethe bankruptcy trust- ee with greater flexibility in trying to find solutions which benefitboth the creditor and the bankrupt,so this provides supportfor both and ensures the flexibility is there to look at all opportunities. The Property Transfer Tax Act is also amended to strengthen audit and enforcement powers. 3032 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

There are a totalof five administrative amendmentsalso made to the act. First, the limitation period for property transfer tax assessments is extended to six years. That matches with the limitation period for transactions with an additionalproperty transfertax liability — again, coordina- tion, cleaning up, making sure thatthere are similarkinds of provisions. Second, the collection of additionalinformation on trans- actions through property transfertax returns is enabled — again, getting back to making sure we’ve gotthe information to do audits, to do enforcement.

Third, an administrative monetary penalty is introduced to increase enforcement powers and deter non-compliance. Fourth, the general anti-avoidance rule is extended to coverthe entire act,insteadof applying exclusively to trans- fers with an additional property transfer tax liability. Fifth, the act is amended to enableaccess to additional information on property transactions, including informa- tion contained in a Multiple Listing Service database. The SchoolActis also amended to increase the schooltax on assessed valuesabove $3 million on high-valued homes.

I think it’s importantto state — itsaid itclearly in the budget butjustin case peopledidn’thave a chance to see allof the details — thatthis includesdetached homes, stratified con- dominiums, townhouses and vacantresidentialland outside the agricultural land reserve, which will be subject to the additional school tax. The higher rate does not apply to non-stratified apart- mentsor rental buildings with four or more units.I think that’s important to state, because there was some concern that this wouldinclude rental buildings.

There is no intent forthis to includerentalbuildingsor, as I said, non-stratified apartments. About 2 percent of people are looking at the numberof homes that have a value over$3 million. You’re lookingatabout2 percentof homesin British Columbiathat will be subject to this additional school tax. The tax rate is going be 0.2 percentof any value of resid- entialproperty between$3 million and $4 million, and arate of 0.4 percentwillbe applied on any value over$4 million. This increase starts in the 2019 tax year. The School Act is also amended to include a new rental revitalization exemption.

Again, peoplewillhave heard the discussion in the budget,as a partof our30-pointplan, that one of the things that we are looking at is ensuring that we have partners to come to the tableto supportaffordable housing in ourprovince. Addressing the issue and the crisis thatwe’re facing around the lack of affordablehousing is not something that is going to be solved by government alone. It’s going to be solved in partnership with the private sector, with municipalities, with First Nations, with other partners. We are bringing in an amendment on the revitalization exemption — new rentalrevitalization.

This exemption will be availableon newly builtor substantially renovated rental properties which have more than four units and receive a municipal revitalization exemption certificate. Rightnow there’s a toolfor municipalities to take a look atgiving a municipalrevitalization exemption certificate to provide a break for the building of rental housing. What we are saying is we are also stepping up to the plate as a province, and we willwaive the schooltaxin those areas. We willgive an exemption on the schooltax. It’llbe effective in 2019 and subsequenttax years.

That,again, supportsmuni- cipalitiesand the work thatthey’re doingto come to the table and partner. You will, hopefully, spurand encourage muni- cipalitiesto take alook attheirrevitalization agreementsand for developers to look at that as well, to provide the support. [2:00 p.m.] The SchoolActamendmentsI’ve listed also require con- sequential amendments to a number of acts.

Assessment Authority Act, British Columbia Transit Act, Hospital Dis- trict Act, Indian Self Government Enabling Act, Islands TrustAct,LocalGovernmentAct,LocalServicesAct,South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act, and the VancouverCharter. Allof those actswillsee consequen- tialamendmentsto ensure thatwe’ve madethe changes that I listed previously. Effective April 1, 2018, the Tobacco Tax Act is also amended to increase the tax rate on cigarettes to 27.5 cents percigarette from 24.7 and to increase the tax rate on loose tobaccoto 37.5 centsfrom 24.7 centspergram.

I think all of us know that British Columbia is well known for doing everything we can to decrease the rates of smoking. Cer- tainly, highertobaccopricescan be avery effective deterrent to those who are looking atstarting to smoke — for young people, in particular— and also an incentive to quitforcur- rentsmokers. So we believe this is notsimply a change in a taxmeasure but,in fact,ahealth measure, if we look atBrit- ish Columbia.

The MotorFuelTax Actis also am ended to increase the fueltax rates on gasoline and dieselin the capitalregional districtto 5.5 centsperlitre from 3.5 cents.This has been a longtime requestby the transitcouncilhere in the capit- alregionaldistrict.They have requested this increase to be ableto provide support for expanding transit services — increasing buses, dedicated bus lanes. So this willprovide an opportunity for the region. All the additional revenue willgo directly to the Victoria RegionalTransitCommi s- sion forthe Victoria regionaltransitsystem.

This is, again, a requestthatcam e forward thatwe believe provides that additional support. We’ve also amended, in this bill, the Carbon Tax Actand the MotorFuelTaxAct.They are amended to clarify thatfuel sales between refiner-collectors are exempt from security. This, again, simplifiesadministration and avoids the poten- tial for the double taxation of fuel. Bill2 also includesseveralamendmentsto the Provincial SalesTax Act.This actis amended to enableon-line accom- modation platforms to registerto be collectors of provincial salestaxand the municipaland regionaldistricttax.You will remember, hon.

Speaker, thatwe talked aboutthis in relation to Airbnb coming to the table. We certainly hope that you willsee otheron-line accomm odation providers come to the Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3033

tableto work outsimilar kinds of arrangements,to provide thatsupportto municipalitiesthrough whatis known as the hoteltaxbutotherwise known as the municipaland regional district tax. The actis also amended to increase the luxury surtaxrates on passengervehicleswith a purchase priceof $125,000 and above. We believe, again, this is going to improve the fair- ness of the tax system and also help provide funds for ser- vices and supports that every British Columbian receives. The governmentis also making three amendmentsto the Provincial SalesTax Act to clarify and simplify provincial sales tax administration.

First, the software provided and optional as-needed maintenance agreements are now tax- able. This actually justclarifiesthe long-standing interpret- ation of the act.Thatis the

interpretation, and thatis what people were following. We’re ensuring thatthatclarification is there in the actfor people. Second, servicesare now permitted to be included in the tax paymentagreementsbetween the provinceand rail- way companiesthatoperate across jurisdictions. Again, this is goingto simplify theirremittanceof provincialsalestaxon services.Third, cruise ship retailoperators willno longerbe required to collectprovincialsalestax on salesmadeduring scheduled sailings. The Carbon TaxAct,the MotorFuelTaxActand the Pro- vincial SalesTax Act are also amended.

It will allow a fee to be charged to taxpayers to recovercostsassociated with out-of-provinceaudits.Auditsare needed to ensure compli- ancewith and the fairness of ourtaxsystem. There are some taxpayers who keep theirbooks and keep theirinformation, their records, outside of British Columbia. We are collecting a tax to be ableto enablethe auditors to do theirwork thatthey need to do. Of course, taxpayers have the opportunity to bring those books and those records into British Columbia. Then, obviously, there wouldbe no fee charged.

This is simply a charge, forthose who wish to keep theirbooks and theirrecords outsidethe province, to enableus to be ableto have access and to be able to do the audits. The Hydro and PowerAuthority Actis also am ended to clarify that B.C. Hydro’s school tax liability is limited to land it owns in fee simple and its improvements. Again, this is a clarification of the long-standing

interpretation of the legislation. [2:05 p.m.] This clarification doesn’t affect Nisga’a lands or taxing treaty First Nations lands. It doesn’t impact, as well, B.C. Hydro’s ability to pay grantsin lieufor itsholdings on their lands. So no changesto those pieces.It’s simply aclarification on the long-standing

interpretation of the legislation. Finally, the Petroleumand NaturalGas Actis amended to improve administration and information-sharing by allow- ingforthe collection of oiland gas dataunderthe petroleum information network, which is also used by Alberta and Saskatchewan, and forthe information collected to be shared between relevant ministries. I know that’s a long list of changes. I appreciate the opportunity to listen to other speakers who m ay wish to speak to this bill. S. Bond: I appreciate the opportunity to getup this after- noon and make some comm entsaboutthis bill.

I think the comm ents made by the Minister of Finance certainly are probably aperfectexampleof the numberof changesthatare being madein this bill. Itis alengthy bill. Itis, I think, about 62 pages long. When you look atlegislators in this placeand the kinds of things we have debates about, this is probably not the bill that springs to mind for most peopleand that would generate an energized discussion. It is an absolutely essential bill, and that’s why it’s called the Budget Measures Implementation Act.

When I think about it, it’s the framework on which government’s policy decisions, theirtaxation decisions — those piecesof policy thatthey’ve announced in theirbudget….This is the frame- work which brings those pieces to life. I view itas the black-and-white version. This is the tech- nicalinformation thatis required to bring budgetdecisions to life. Itis, in essence, a fundamentalbillin this House.

In fact,some wouldsuggestthatitis absolutely criticalto the confidenceof the government.I think you can tellfrom the very long list:21 actsthatare impacted by the decisions that were announced by the government in their recent budget. As I said, if this is the black-and-white version, what’s missing from this piece of legislation — and rightly so, because the nature of the billis such thatit’s technical— is the colourversion — whatthose policy decisions make, the changes thatthey make in people’s lives.

We listoff 21 acts thatwillhave some implication, some change as a resultof the budget.What we need to be careful about is what the implications are for British Columbians. I wantto spend justafew minutes talking aboutsom e of those. I can imagine that m ost British Columbians today aren’t (

a) tuned into Hansard to listen to our comm ents and (

b) will probably likely never in their lives have the opportunity or the desire to look at the Budget Imple- m entation Act. That’s why it’s important that m embers of the opposition and the Green Party will stand today and ask som e questions. Today is justthe overview of the direction we’re going to take. In commi ttee there will be some very specificques- tions aboutthe legislation thatis in frontof them.

We have to rememberthatthe legislative piecethatwe see in frontof us doesnotlay outthe details around some of the more signific- antpiecesof legislation, some thathave already caused Brit- ish Columbians concern. Those are additionaltaxmeasures, and I’m going to have something to say about those shortly. Some of the amendmentsin this billwouldbe considered minor, and legislation doesthat.There are placeswhere there are, in essence, housekeeping measures taken to correct something. The ministervery clearly articulated whatsome of those are.

When the federalgovernmentmakes changes, the provincial government needs to align their taxation 3034 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

measures or programs with federal government change. There are sections here which dothat.They align federaland provincial programs. There are things that were clearly laid out by the gov- ernmentand, in fact,by the previous governmentin term s of the elimination of the education tax creditand a variety of otherthings. There are som e very m atter-of-factthings contained in this bill, and I’m sure that when we go through commi ttee, they willtake less time than som e of the other pieces. [2:10 p.m.] The minister mentioned a number of acts that will be modified to look atthe issue of information-sharing.

Obvi- ously, whenyou wantthe governmentand the ministriesand the branches of governmentto work more efficiently togeth- er, you do want to be ableto share information. But I can assure you thatBritish Columbians are as concerned about the protection of privacy as they are aboutthe freedom-of- information side of this. As we getinto commi ttee later, we will be talking about what kind of information is being collected and for what purposes. Those are important details, as we look at the implication of the collection of new taxes, the collection of information aboutproperty taxes and those kinds of things.

I think British Columbians willwantto know exactly what information they will be asked for. When I look atone of the things…. I can remember…. I think itwas particularly the memberforNanaimo. When we were in government,he wouldconstantly remind us thatwe shouldn’tbe doing…. Why dowe doso many thingsin gov- ernment by regulation? Well, interestingly enough, one of the sections that is added in regard to the Property TransferTax Actis “Minis- terial regulation-making power.” In fact, it says, “The min- ister may, by regulation, require additional information to be provided under

section 12.13 on returns that must be filed….” In essence, this authorizes the minister, by regula- tion, to require information. We’re goingto be askingexactly whatkind of information and in whatcircumstances,by reg- ulation — thatmeans itdoesn’ttake placein this House, and there isn’t debate — information would be collected from British Columbians.

There are, though,importantareas where information will be shared between agenciesto allow foramore efficientpro- cess for both the taxpayerand for governmentagencies.So there are both positives and, obviously, some concerns about some of those potential implications. We also note that there are a significant number of tax measures. As I said earlier, notallof them are even reflected in this pieceof legislation. I think, from ourperspective, one of the most significant concerns we have is the confusion that has been created regarding some of the new taxation measures.

When you think about the kinds of comm entary that we’ve heard from notjustbusiness in British Columbia but from owners of houses, from employers and from employ- ees, there seems to be agreatdealof confusion and concern. In ourview, itis absolutely incumbentupon the government, notonly through this pieceof legislation butotherwork that they do, to explain exactly what the implications of those tax changes are. We’re going to pursue a line of questioning related to some of those pieces as well. We also have to take into account the fact that….

There were tax measures contained in the September budget update, and we hada fulsome discussion aboutthat.Butwe wantto actually look atthe discussion aboutwhetherBritish Columbians are goingto be betteroff afterthese taxchanges. Or is there an unfair tax burden being placed on business and individuals in this province? I think one of ourmostsignificantconcerns is thatthere seems to be a lack of connectivity. When you adda tax bur- dento businesses, ithas atrickle-down effectto the employ- eesand, thus, BritishColumbians in this province. We’ve had a very vigorous debate, although, as I said, clarity….

Appar- ently, it’s very difficult for people to understand. When you talk about eliminating MSP premiums, as an example, and say thatit’s going to bring abenefitto employ- ers, we need to have an accurate description of what’s hap- pening. We’re eliminating MSP premiums, and we’re repla- cing itwith a new tax. In fact,we are looking atone year— and the ministerhas been forthrightaboutthat— where the 50 percentreduction of MSP premiums does bring a bene- fit.Butwe shouldbe extremely clear thatin the subsequent years there are impactson businesses in British Columbia.

Ultimately, thatwilltranslate and willimpactconsumers and employees in this province. [2:15 p.m.] Why don’twe, justforamoment,think aboutwhatexactly is expected of business as a result of this budget?Well, we have a new employerpayrolltax — technically, $4.2 billion. The carbon tax is up 16.7 percent. Yes, we see those acts being amended in this bill. The minimum wage is up by 11 percent, and the corporate tax rate is now at 12 percent. In essence, this budget, this framework that’s being put in place, is actually being funded by businesses in British Columbia.

The members of the government seem to think thatyou can layerthaton to businesses in British Columbia and somehow itwon’tbe feltby British Columbians, by con- sumers orby employees in those businesses. We know that’s simply notaccurate. We have been deluged by stories from family-supportingbusinessesthatcreate well-payingjobs for British Columbians. Whatare they saying to the members of the opposition? They are deeply concerned. Every day those concerns are brushed off by members of the governmentsimply saying they’re going to geta benefit by reducing MSP premiums by half.

They neglect to finish the restof the story, to addthe colour. The black and white in this billlays outthatframework, butwhat’s missing is the trickle-down effecton those businesses. Ultimately, thatwill affect British Columbians far more broadly. When you look at recent articles….Let’s be clear here: when ourcomm entsor thoughtsare simply setaside, often Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3035

it’s not the voices of MLAs on this side; it’s the voices of business owners. We shouldbe clear. These are notbusiness owners who are million-dollar CEOs. Here’s a summ ary of the fiscalplan unveiled by the Fin- ance Minister, not in my words but in a recent

article in Business in Vancouver. “Massive new spending and balanced budgets.Butitonly accomplishes thatbalancethrough more than $5 billion worth of new taxes or tax hikes over three years.” While many businesses welcome the government’s $1 billion childcare plan, because of lack of access to afford- ablechildcare, “they were blindsided” — notmy words — “by the employerhealth tax,which willreplaceMedicalSer- vices Plan premiums.” Let’s be clear.

Whilethe governmentwantsto celebrate the elimination of MSP premiums, they also need to stand up and reflecton the factthatthey are replacing those premi- ums with another tax. It’s not quite as simpleas “it’s going to be really good foreveryone,” because there are subsequent years which will have ongoing impacts. Thatis an enormous concern formembers of the opposi- tion, and we continueto hearfrom business owners — large, medium and small, allacross this province — who have no idea how they are going to manage those changes. Not to mention the complexity now. Whataboutthose publicser- viceorganizations?

Whataboutschooldistricts?Whatabout hospitals? If you dothe math, if you’re looking atabudget,you can’t simply say, “Ourbudgetis based on this income” and then incrementally start to exempt groups. “Oh, we’re going to take care of this one.” “We’re going to make sure that one is heldwhole.” “We’re going to look atthis.” “We’re going to discuss this.” Very, very quickly the credibility of a budget begins to disappear. You can’t create a budget that makes assumptions aboutrevenue and then startto minimize that revenue by exempting people.

From ourperspective, there are significantconcerns about a plan that,firstof all, ignored the advicethatwas given to this minister, notjustby herown MSP Task Forcebutalso by the Canadian Federation of IndependentBusiness. They say thatthey warned the FinanceMinister, in aprebudgetmeet- ing, thatsmalland medium-sized businesses donotsupport using a payrolltax to replaceMSP premiums. You can ima- gine why they might not. Whilewe’re simply talking about,in my comm entsatthe moment,the employerhealth tax, let’s talk aboutthe other thingsthatare impacting those businesses.

We’ve mentioned some of them already. [2:20 p.m.] The corporate tax is going up. There’s an 11 percentmin- imum wage increase. There’s a 16.7 percentincrease in car- bon tax.The comm entary goes on to say: “The one bitof tax relieffor business is the elimination of PST on electricity.” I seem to recall that, as government, we actually introduced that initiative. From my perspective, there needs to be a thoughtfuland thorough dialoguethat explains the entire story to British Columbians. It’s not enough to stand in question period every day and simply say: “This is fantastic.

It’s great for employers because they’re going to get a benefit.” Yes, they’re going to have a year where they will benefit from a 50 percentreduction in MSP. Butwhatis completely missing from the dialogue— and I think thatis very unfair to British Columbians broadly — is the factthat,yes, MSP premiums willbe eliminated, butthey are being replaced by anothertax. To suggestthatthatwillnothave implications forbusinesses of any sizein British Columbia,in my view, is just simply not accurate.

I do want to spend a couple of minutes talking about some positive things.As I noted in my initialcomm entsafter receiving the budget,when itwas tabled…. Whileeveryone’s here in the Legislature, we’re in alittleroom. Peoplecome in and drop the budgetbooks on a table, and they say: “Here they are.” Then, loand behold, you arrive in the Legislature to provide remarks about that budget. In those opening remarks I made, we didcomplimentthe government. We did recognize that important investments were being madein areas like childcare and housing.

But what’s important is that the rest of the story be told, that British Columbians understand whatwas required in order to make those investments. As we have heard from busi- nesses…. Whileit wouldbe convenient to be ableto characterize businesses in British Columbia thatwillbe impacted by the budget as the rich, the exclusive — all of those kinds of descriptors — the vast majority of businesses in British Columbiaare smallbusinesses.The definition of “smallbusi- ness” is 50 persons that are employed. That hardly reflects the view of a million-dollar CEO.

Whenwe make these kinds of decisions based on how you pay for whatitis you’re going to announce, you need to be ableto lay outthe entire story for British Columbians, and we certainly willbe lookingforward to continuingto dothat. We willdothatthroughaskingquestions as we work ourway through this bill in commi ttee. I also want to reflect on another concern that we have. Though ourbriefing was short,questions like when you look at how assessments will be done for taxation purposes…. The bill speaks to fair market value. Well, it will be very importantto clarify forBritishColumbians whatthatmeans.

At what point is fair marketvalue determined, and how does that impact homeowners? There are few things in a family’s worldthat have more value — literally, financially and from a quality-of-life perspective — than theirhome, and we are very concerned aboutsome of the implications of the housing strategy that’s been laid out. I do wantto look ata coupleof new initiatives thatwe were very pleased to see. We’re looking at the extension of the book publishing tax credit.Whilepeoplethink that that might be just a small sector, it is an important one.

The m easure was firstintroduced by ourgovernment,and I am very pleased to see that the minister has chosen to extend the book publishing tax credit for three years. It 3036 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

will give certainty. The book publishing tax credit, for example, primarily appliesto book publishing corporations thatcarry outbusi- ness primarily in B.C. ItmightinterestMadame Speakerto know that British Columbia is home to the second-largest English-language book publishing sector in Canada. [2:25 p.m.] Amongstallof the changes thatare being made, there are things that we are very supportive of. Ironically, many of them didn’toccurovernight.Many of the initiatives thatare contained both in the budgetand in this billrelate to initi- atives thathave been undertaken aftera lotof work overthe last decadeor so.

The book publishing sector is incredibly importantin British Columbia, so we were very pleased to see that included. As I listened to the minister’s listtoday, when we look at things like the interactive digital tax credit, that is also an importantpartof looking atbuilding on the success of our film industry, ourtech sector, celebrating some of the fant- astic work that’s done in British Columbia in television and film and in digital. Having worked with thatsector, itis an incredibly important one.

The mining flow-through tax credit.Allof those kinds of things are important.It’s greatto see them being continued, butitis so importantthatwe take the time necessary to look atthe BudgetMeasuresImplementation Actin the contextof whatitmeans related to the budget,whatitmeans to every- day British Columbians. It’s hard to argueagainstclosing loopholesthatare related to tax avoidance.

It’s hard to argue against enforcement measures and looking at how we dealwith audit in British Columbia, finding a betterway to do that.I think everyone in this House wantsto ensure thatthere is a fairand appro- priate process forpayingthe taxesthatare required. So those are important measures that are included in this bill. Anothertax measure where the implications are signific- antis the carbon tax.We’ve haddiscussion aboutthatin this House before. We know from the Septemberbudgetupdate, and now confirmed in the budget, that the carbon tax is going up.

Ourbiggestconcern remains thatthe carbon taxis no longerrevenue-neutral. Again, itjustbuilds on the nar- rative that while announcing important investments…. No one deniesthat making sure there’s affordablechild care, making sure that British Columbians can afford a home, making sure thatthose peoplewho struggleare sup- ported…. Butithas to be presented in the contextof: how are we going to pay for those things? Whatwe’ve discovered and whatwe have certainly heard from many British Columbians over the last week or so, since the budgetwas tabled, was that businesses are going to bear the bruntof budgettax hikes.

The very peoplewho are responsiblefor creating jobs, supporting familiesin this province, making sure we can have a strong and growing economy, are the peoplewho are going to carry the burden to pay for all of the announcements that have been made. The carbon tax is no longerrevenue-neutral. There is less publicfocus. There is nota sense of imm ediate accountab- ility about what those dollars are going to be used for. We were very disappointed to see the loss of revenue neutrality in terms of the carbon tax.

In fact,ourgovernment,as has been said before, won awards forthe very progressive nature of that carbon tax. Partof the responsibility of governmentis to explain to British Columbians…. If you’re going to take additional dollars atthe gas pump and peopleare going to be paying m ore to fillup theirgas tanks, they deserve to know where that m oney is going, not simply: “It’s going into general revenue to pay for a variety of other things.” We are very disappointed at the loss of revenue neutrality when it com es to the carbon tax.

With those comm ents,I wantto simply remind and urge the Ministerof Finance to rememberthatthis is the black- and-white version and the framework on which the policies that her government has decided are priorities…. The implications of those tax changes, of the amendmentsof all of the acts,really, when you listall21 of them, mostBritish Columbians…. It’s probably not on theirradar screen or a high priority for them to understand that. Whatthey do deserve to know is exactly how they willbe impacted.

In fact, we know there will be impacts. [2:30 p.m.] We will very likely see coststhat are being downloaded on employers. They willbe transferred in a numberof ways. Eitherthe servicesthatare provided…. You’re going to see them become more expensive. Or, in the case of many of the peoplewho have contacted my office, you’re going to see them considerwhether or not they require staffing reduc- tions, whetherornotthey willconsiderexpanding. There are significant implications. I appreciate the Finance Ministerlaying outthe actsthat we’ll be discussing in commi ttee.

I look forward to a very constructive commi ttee discussion. I am sure there willbe a lotof questions. And I wantto thank you, Madame Speaker, forgiving me the opportunity to providesome remarks this afternoon. J. Brar: I’m very excited to stand up in this House today to speak in favour of Bill 2, the BudgetMeasures Imple- m entation Act, 2018. Before I say anything, I would like to say thank you to the m ember for Prince George–Valemount for her very thoughtful comm ents, because that’s what this House is for. We debate the issue when it com es in front of us. [R.

Chouhan in the chair.] This bill proposes a number of changes to a number of existing acts.That will provide us with the kind of frame- work that will allow us to make decisions for new invest- ments, for new taxation — the promises we made to the peopleof British Columbia. So I am very excited to stand in this House to supportthis bill, introduced by the Ministerof Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3037

Finance and the Deputy Premier of this province. I supportthis billbecause, after16 years of neglect,British Columbians finally have a budgetthatis notonly balanced butabudgetthatputspeoplefirst.We live in aprovincerich in people, resources, natural beauty and opportunities. Yet those opportunities have become furtherand furtheroutof reach fortoo many people. Familiesare workingharderthan everand can’tgetahead. Young peoplecan’tfind affordable housing, and seniors can’tgetservicesthatthey depend on. It’s time foratotally differentapproach.

That’s why I support this bill, Bill2 — because peopleare at the centre of every choice that we have made in this budget. Bill2 opens the doors wideopen to share prosperity in the province of British Columbia, to make life more affordable, to improve the servicesthat peoplecount on and to build a strong, sustainable economy that supports jobs in every part of the province. With this bill, we are charting a path to a more affordable, balanced and hopeful vision for B.C. For 16 long years, the previous governmentworked for the top 2 percent — wealthy British Columbians.

Our govern- mentwantsa betterB.C. for each and every person in this province. I come from Surrey, and I support this bill because this bill is good news for the peopleof Surrey — the news the peopleof Surrey have been waiting for, for 16 long years. I have received a numberof phone calls and emails from the peopleof Surrey, and they’re allhappy with the new invest- mentsthis governmentis making to builda new infrastruc- ture and to improve services for the people of Surrey. The city of Surrey is the fastest-growing comm unity in the province. We welcome over1,000 newcomers every month.

Ourgreatcity has led the provincein population growth and in building new homes. Clearly, we have been paying our dues to the provincial coffer, but the previous government madebad choicesand completely ignored the needs of our growing comm unity for16 long years. Peopleare paying the price for those bad choices. [2:35 p.m.] Housing affordability is in crisis. Every year 4,000 kids are born atSurrey MemorialHospital, butparentscan’tfind childcare spaces,and 7,000 children in the city of Surrey don’t have real classrooms.

Patientssuffer in pain over six longhours atSurrey MemorialHospital, butthe Liberalgov- ernmentsoldthe land which was purchased by the previous governmentto builda new hospital. There were no plans to replacethe PatulloBridge, which is completely unsafe atthis point in time. People are paying more but getting less. That’s what the peopleof Surrey got underthe previous government’s so-called good economy. They leftourcity in a big and ugly mess, and we need to fix that.Bill2 offers con- crete steps to fix those problems thatpeoplein Surrey have been facing fortoo long.

I wouldlike to talk aboutwhatthe bill offers to the people of Surrey. We are making historic investmentsfor affordablehous- ing. Whilethe B.C. Liberals ignored the housing crisis for16 long years, we have taken boldsteps to begin to tacklethe housing crisis. This includesourcommi tmentto the largest investment in housing in the history of our province. Our investment will support almost 34,000 units of affordable rental, supportive and studenthousing.

Ourgovernmentis also going to permit colleges and universities to borrow to buildmuch-needed student housing, and together, we will help finance 5,000 new student housing beds under this bill. I supportBill2 because itis a path to help build114,000 affordableunitswhich we promised to the peopleof British Columbia during the last election. The city of Surrey will receive capital funding of approximately $13 million for three modular housing projects, totalling 160 supportive housing units for people who are homeless and at risk of being homeless. B.C.

Housing is going to provide $15 mil- lion in capitalfunding to Surrey for50 transitionalbeds and 50 shelterbeds formen and women who are homeless orat risk of becoming homeless. I supportthis billbecause this also allows us to take action to stabilize the housing market. We are taking steps to countertax fraud and money laundering. Itstartswith clos- ing loopholesand ensuring thatwe can crack down on tax frauds. That’s what this bill is all about. This billalso includesthe largestinvestmentforchildcare in B.C. history.

Whilethe previous government said no to peoplewho are in need of childcare, this budgetoffers the largestinvestmentin childcare in B.C. history, with a$1 bil- lion childcare investmentoverthree years to lowercostsfor parents,increase the numberof childcare spacesand make sure those spacesmeetthe higheststandards forquality care. The plan startswith the new affordablechildcare benefit starting in September. It will provide up to $1,250 each month per child.

It will lower fees for an estimated 86,000 families per year by the end of 2020-21. [2:40 p.m.] Also, startingApril1 of this year, achildcare fee reduction program willprovide funding directly to licensed care pro- viders. It will provide up to $350 a month for a childcare space. These fee reductions willbenefitan estimated 50,000 families per year by 2020-21. Together, this is the largest investment government has madeto reducechildcare fees everin the provinceof British Columbia. It’s good news for the people of B.C. It’s good news for the peopleof Surrey.

I am proud to say that this marks the beginning of a made-in-B.C. universalchildcare plan. That’s why I’m excited to support Bill 2. Nothing is m ore important than our children’s educa- tion. Investing in our education m eans investing in our future. Today, young peoplewillgraduate into a globaljob m arket,and we willneed to m ake sure thatwe have a pub- liceducation system that will help them compete in the global market. The resultof 16 years of the B.C. Liberals’ neglectis that we have 7,000 students in Surrey who have no real classrooms, and we can do better.

Aftera long time, this bill of ourgovernmentwillprovideabout$200 million of capit- alfunding to buildnew schools and forseismic upgradesto 3038 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

ensure ourkids are safe. These investmentsinclude the fol- lowing new schools. They’re going to build Grandview Heights secondary, a new secondary school to provide 1,500 student spaces; Burke RoadElementary, anew elementary schoolto provide 605 studentspaces;RegentRoadElementary, anew element- ary schoolto provide 655 studentspaces;Salish Secondary, a new secondary school to provide 1,500 student spaces; Edgewood Drive elementary, a new elementary school to provide655 studentspaces;and PacificHeightsElementary, a 12-classrooms addition to provideup to 300 more student spacesin Surrey.

In addition, BearCreek Elementary willget a seismic upgrade. Mary Jane Shannon Elementary willalso receive a seismic upgrade. That’s a huge investment.It’s a historic investment,which the city of Surrey got after a long, long time. Transportation is anotherareawhich is achallenge forthe growing comm unity of ourcity with a growing population. This billalso providesa significantnew investmentto build transportation infrastructure for the growing city of Surrey. Our government has already eliminated the tolls on the PortMann Bridge and the GoldenEars Bridge as of Septem- ber 1.

It is free to cross the Port Mann and GoldenEars bridges. These were unfairtolls put,by the previous govern- ment,on the peopleof Surrey, particularly on the peopleof Surrey and PortCoquitlam. A driverwho comm utes to and from work each and every day on the PortMann Bridge will save approximately $1,500 a year, and that’s a huge savings for any working family. So we are making life more afford- able for people who cross the Fraser River every day.

In addition, our government has made a new, exciting announcement to replacethe PattulloBridge, and that is a $1.3 billion announcement.A new investmentto replacethe oldbridge thathadbeen, actually, replaced a long time ago, and the completion date forthatone is 2023. It’s good news for the people of Surrey as well. [2:45 p.m.] There’s also $19 million in funding for south of Fraser’s effort, funding early work. That funding will be spent on thatone, and thatincludesthe widening of the Bear Creek Bridge and utility relocation, as well as upgradesto transit exchanges at future LRT stations. As you know, Mr.

Speaker, we have madethe commi tment to provide 40 percentfunding to LRT in Surrey, which the previous governmenthadconstantly refused to do. Now that projectis going to go aheadbecause we have given them the initialfunding. I hope thatwe willsee thatprojectmoving forward soon. This bill, the BudgetMeasuresImplementation Act,marks a new direction in ourprovince. Itputsus on a path where peopleare put at the centre of the government’s decision- making.

Budget2018 takessignificantsteps to help ourbusi- nesses getthe workforcethey need by addressing childcare and housing affordability issues.There are many more items in this bill that I won’t have time to go into today. A key announcementto serve….

Itwillinclude building more schools and more hospitals; improving access to team- based care forpeoplewho donothave afamily doctor; help- ing seniors live at home longer and access the quality staff they need in residentialcare; improving access to the justice system through family justicecentres, legalaid and reduced courtdelays; and investing in building a strong, sustainable economy, which includes making a record level of invest- mentin capitalprojects,including, as I said earlier, schools and transit.Thatwillcreate 50,000 directand indirectjobs throughout the province for the people of British Columbia. Mr.

Speaker, I support this bill, as I said to you earlier. This bill is good news for the people of Surrey. With this bill and with this budget, we are focused on making life more affordable, improving the servicespeopledepend on and, of course, developing a sustainable, strong economy thatprovidesgood, meaningfuljobs to the peopleof British Columbia. With that,I willconclude my comm entsby saying thatI fully supportBill2. With that,I willtake my seat.Thanks for giving me the opportunity. P. Milobar: Itgives me pleasure to rise today to speak to Bill2.

I wish itwas less of a tax-intensive bill, though, thatI was rising to speak to. When I was listening to the Finance Minister speak to open up this debate, I noticed thatthere was a reference to 21 differentamendmentsneeding to be made.

I losttrack of how many statementsstarted with: “With this amendment, we will be increasing this tax.” “With this amendment, we willbe increasing this fee.” Butit’s safe to say thatnotonce did I recognize or hear — and I couldhave missed it — a statement saying: “With this amendment, we will be redu- cingand lowering….” That,I think, is the fundamentalprob- lem with the overallBill2 and the amountof amendments needed to be able to bring forward the budget. This is — let’s be very clear — a budgetthat has record levels of taxation.

We can talk about individual ministries and record levels of this investment or that investment.

Frankly, alotof those already allotted funds were in previous budgets.This is the three-year working forward and previ- ously announced spending prioritiesand spending amounts withinthose ministries.Butwhatwe didn’tsee in those pre- vious budgetswere record levels of taxation, and thatis very clearly what this budget is. [2:50 p.m.] Whatthis billwillbring forward, with theiramendments, is a cavalcade of tax increases across the board, touching almostevery type of taxand fee you can imagine as acitizen, allunderthe guise of the marketing slogan of the NDP say- ing “making life affordable.” Only underthis government’s watch does a $5.5 billion record-level-setting tax increase equate to making life affordable.

We’ve heard loud and clearfrom the business comm unity. That’s notus fabricating, on this sideof the House, people’s concerns. People have real-life concerns about their own individualbusinesses. It’s nota calculation that’s difficultfor Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3039

somebody that is in business — to be ableto look at their payrolland figure outwhatthis payrolltaxcostis goingto be as an increase. Every time we raise thatwe getlaughed atby the other side. They’re laughing at business people in our com- munities. They’re laughing atemployees in ourcomm unit- ies that are legitimately worried about their jobs, about theirlivelihoods and abouttheirbusiness operations, with a very clear understanding that their costs are going to increase.

Instead of a Finance Minister acknowledging that,whatwe hearis thatsom ehow they are m agically see- ing costsreducebecause there’s an extra$5.5 billion of tax- ation. It doesn’t stand the test. As we heard from the previous speaker, governmentsare elected to make those priority choices. I have no problem with that, and I think everyone fully expects that. Let’s take everyone back, notto Bill2. Let’s take every- one back, allthe way back to Aprilof lastyear, ten m onths ago, when every one of us was outon the election trail.

In every election forum I went to, I heard very clearly from the NDP candidate running in my riding thatnotonly was everything in the NDP platform fully costed against B.C. Liberalnumbers. Itwas deliverableunderthose numbers, and it was a simple case that we were too m ean-spirited to implementthose m easures underour currentfinancial playbook that we had. Let’s go forward ten months. Whathave we seen in those ten months? We’ve seen nothing but a string of broken promises.

We’ve seen $8 billion added to taxation, when you look atthe lastbudgetupdate plus this budget.Now we have Bill2, which has 21 differentamendmentsneeded to try to raise and amend fees and charges and taxes on people, all under the guise of making life affordable. It seems the only promise the government kept was the marketingslogan. They didn’tactually follow throughon any one of their promises. We’re hard-pressed to find any one of theirpromises in this book that has actually been fully implemented with this budget. We heard a lotof greattalk.

We heard a lotof greattalk abouthousing, 114,000 units,during the election. Thathas now changed to 30,000 unitsand dropping. In fact,they’re double-counting a lotof unitsthatwere already announced and being built by the previous government and saying: “Well, if we top them up with an extramillion dollars, we get to countthose extra100 units.” Well, in the realworld, hous- ing costs more than $1 million to build100 units. I guess once they crash the real estate market, perhaps not.

Whatwe see rightnow with Bill2 is awholelotof amend- mentsto make life totally unaffordablefor the average per- son in British Columbia. The sad part about that is most people won’t actually start seeing the full impact of these amendments until it’s too late, until they’re already seeing their lifestyle impacted.

Seniors who have had the audacity to live in the same home for the last30, 40, 50 years, especially in Metro Van- couver, and have a huge amountof equity builtup are now being told:“You know what?Maybe you shouldpay an extra $12,000 a year in tax because you hadthe audacity to work hard, to save, to provide for yourfamily, to live in the same house for 30 or 40 years. Because all of your neighbours’ houses have gone up in value, and yours has as well, we think, as the government, you shouldpay us more money now than you have been paying.

It doesn’t seem right that you shouldbe allowed to actually retire with yourretirement plan thatyou’ve dutifully budgeted for through yourwhole working life.” That’s one of those amendmentsin here that gives me great, great concern. Then when you look at the other am endmentsthat are needed to try to fund things, it’s very interesting. Frankly, it was a little disconcerting — not that the Green Party decided to vote lockstep with the government. I think we allknow they operate as one and the sam e, so that’s nottoo surprising. Whatis surprising is…. The Green Party is still in opposition.

One wouldthink thata Green Party who is in opposition, whose wholebase is built around protect- ing the environment,wouldatleasthave spoken outabout certain components of this budgetwhere you see a Min- istry of Environment that is actually seeing a net cut, a loss, in their operations. [2:55 p.m.] Yes, it looks very fancy. It looks like there’s $6 million beingadded to the budget,butthat$6 million is beingadded to the specialparks fund, which means increased salesof the B.C. Parks licence plates, which means increased revenues from B.C. Parks. When you actually look at the realnumbers, they’ve cut B.C.

Parks by $9 million. Nine million has come outof B.C. Parks. I don’t hear that in these amendments.I don’t hear thatbandied aboutby the government— thatthey’re proud that they have actually cut $9 million out of B.C. Parks. I don’t hear them say that they’re very proud that environ- mentalprotection is flatfrom lastyear, thatthey’re notput- ting any new money into environmental protection. The environmentalassessmentofficeis flat.No new money there.

One would have thought the Green Party would have at least read the line items within the Ministry of Envir- onment budget and not just gone to the big number at the bottom and seen where the realnumbers were within thatbudget.Itis aboutpriorities, in term s of m aking sure where the m oney gets m oved around within a budget. That’s how you live within your m eans. I can understand thatthings getm oved around, butit’s a littledisconcerting thatthe Green Party didn’tlook to see whatwas going on within Environment. Let’s look atenvironmentalsustainability. True, thatwent up by $1 million.

Now let’s look atthe climate action section. Thatwentdown by $1 million. It’s very interesting thatwith- in the Ministry of Environment’s budget, which was built and, we established in estimates lastyear, was the exactsame numbers thatthe B.C. Liberalgovernmenthadputinto the Environment budgets…. The outcry from members opposite in the Green Party 3040 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

and in the NDP about how underfunded the environment was forallthese years underthatdastardly B.C. Liberal…. I think itwas 16 years, was it?Was it16 years? I’m justcon- firming how many years itwas. Overthe 16 years of under- funding, supposedly…. Nota word. In fact,they’re praising this Environmentbudgetwhen it’s the exactsame numbers as the B.C. Liberals. Actually, it’s not the exact same numbers. It’s a cut. In those numbers, there’s $7 million in wages,a$7 million wage increase, which means there’s actually anetdrop in services. Otherthan the conservation officers at$3 million….

I’llbe generous and say that the $3 million for conservation is actually in the wages and salaries. Thatmeans there’s stilla $4 million cutto programmin g and services,overall, within the Ministry of Environment.They have no new staff. It’s the same amount of staff doing the same amount of work. Let’s look at those priorities a little bit closer, shall we? Climate action was a $1 million drop. You know whatwent up by $1 million, when you’re digging through allthe lines in the budget?I’m a bitof a numbers wonk, so I like doing thattype of thing in my spare time.

You know whatwentup by $1 million at the same time that the climate action was dropping by $1 million? The government comm unications department. There’s a good priority use of taxpayer funds. Let’s drop climate action by $1 million, whileour Green partners are propping us up in government, and increase government spending on government comm unications by the same amount of money. That is a bit of a flawed priority, if you ask me as the Environmentcritic.I wish my Green partners would have at least pointed this out. Interjection. P.

Milobar: I getthatabudgetis asum of many parts.You couldstillvote for a budget.You couldstillvote for the bill amendmentswhileopposing certain parts— at least voice concern aboutcertain parts.Butthat’s notwhatwe’ve heard with this. That’s the problem with this bill amendment. All it does is addmechanisms to raise taxes and to link more personal information, which, again, I find interesting, given the back- grounds of members opposite — how they used to be very worried about government having too much insight into people’s dealings and civilliberties and those types of initi- atives.

Yetwe see a wholelot of amendments in here that are allaboutlinking people’s financialand personaland real estate information all together in one big bundle. Why is that?Because thenitmakesiteasierto keep layeringtaxeson yearafteryearafteryear, to increase tax rates yearafteryear after year, to actually add things in. Let’s look at why they wouldneed to keep raising some taxes as much as they are. I wentinto the Advanced Ed line items and started to look around. There’s been a lotof talk about supporting university students.

The millennials out there need all the help they can get.Certainly, there must have been good news in there, with allof the tax hikes, for the students out there. [3:00 p.m.] Well, what we see, actually, is the student services pro- grams have actually been cut.They’ve been cutforuniversit- ies by $2 million. Whatdoes thatpay for? Itcovers scholar- ships. Itcovers bursaries. Itcovers loan forgiveness. I don’t understand why they need so many tax increase amend- mentswhen they’re cutting servicesto university students.

We heard overand overand overagain how they were going to support and how they were going to make universities more affordable for students. That’s not what we’ve seen. No, we’ve seen a $2 million cut in program s around scholarships, bursaries and loan forgiveness. Then I go to education. That’s obviously been pretty top- icalin the lastfew days, so I thought:“Well, let’s take a look atsome of the otherline items in there.” Yes, there are some increasesin some areas, mostof which hadalready been, as I said, announced in previous budgetsand have justbeen car- ried forward at the same dollar figures.

I thought: “Well, let’s take another look.” There’s been a lotof discussion around supporting K-to-12 education, the publiclibrary system, early learning and literacy programs, a lotof focus in recentdays around that.So let’s look and see whatpriority this new governmenthas put,withtheir21 tax- ation amendmentsto increase taxes for everyone, on those types of services:the publiclibrary, early learning and liter- acy, K-to-12 education supports. You know what it says to me in the budget book?

A $10 million cut.A $10 million cutto publiclibraries in this budgetdocument.Thatis astounding to me when we’re talk- ingabout21 amendmentsto donothingbutraise taxes.They found away to cutpubliclibrariesby $10 million. Thatis just incredible. Then, surely, with all of these taxation amend- mentsto increase people’s taxations and theircostof living and their affordability…. We’ve heard a lot of talk about making sure that there’s a reinvestment into the Mines Act — reinvestment into enforcementand reinvestmentinto really holding industry’s feetto account and making sure things are done to a high level.

Well, if we look atthe environmentalprotection sideof itwithinthe Ministry of Environment,thatfunding is actu- ally flat.There is no new money outof these 21 amendments to raise people’s taxes. If we look atthe mines, there is a slightincrease butonly $1.5 million. If you think of how big this province is geo- graphically and think of how many minesites there are out there and how huge of a problem we kept hearing from members opposite, for16 years, I believe itwas…. They keep referencing 16 years, so I’ll go with that. They keptsaying we need m ore m oney into mine over- sight.They’ve putin $1.5 million.

That’s theirpriority. Out of 21 am endments that do nothing but raise taxes on people, they could only find $1.5 million. I think when they started looking at it, m aybe it wasn’t as bad as they Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3041

actually thought it was. Then we think: “Well, they’re partnering with the Green Party. They’re kind of one and the same. Notin name butin action, they’re certainly one and the same.” Let’s look atthe innovative clean energy fund. There must be some money being spentoutof that,especially as we’re trying to transfer off of acarbon economy, as we’ve heard so many times.Heck, we’ve even heard thatthis governmentwillbe broughtdown if they dare to promote LNG, notmake sure thatwe’re trans- ferring to the new world economy…. Surely, the innovative clean energy fund….

With 21 taxa- tion amendmentsthatdo nothing butraise taxes forpeople and make theirlives more unaffordable, the innovative clean energy fund musthave asubstantialliftin theirfunding. But you know what we find? No new spending. None. Again, notpointed outby the Greens atall, thatI’ve heard. A little disappointing. They could have still voted for the budget.

One wouldthink they woulddo their job as true opposition, if they are trying to be opposition and notgov- ernment, and actually point out some of these things that you wouldthink wouldbe concerning to them as a Green Party, especially to theirGreen Party members. One would think they assume they’re here fighting the good fight on behalf of the environment. We’ve heard a lotaboutsupporting technology.

In fact,I think that the Finance Minister, in her speech around the amendment,referenced technology, if I’m notmistaken, and how greatand how much growth we’re seeing in technology and how it’s agood way forward and it’s spreading across the province. I’m paraphrasing herwords a littlebit,I know, butthat was the generaltheme. And I agree. We’re seeing greattech growth. I’m from Kam loops. We’ve seen growth in tech go from a few companies. Now we have severalhundred. We have close to 2,000 peopleworking in tech.

There are a few other big announcementsthatwe hope to see in the near future. [3:05 p.m.] Tech definitely is growing. It’s a good way to expand and broadenyoureconomy, and I think everyone can agree with that. Certainly, with 21 amendments that do nothing but raise taxes, one wouldthink thatthere’s going to be a pretty good chunk of money in there for technology, innovation and economic developmentaround it,because thatis, after all, as the Green Party likes to say, the new economy.

Well, unfortunately, there wasn’t anything for the innov- ative clean energy fund to getus to the new economy, so I’ve got high hopes for this tech innovation and economic developmentfund. Alas, when I look atit,there’s a $9 mil- lion cutoutof technology, innovation and economic devel- opment.With that,we justheard a FinanceMinistersaying how they’re supporting technology and innovation, how they’re trying to expand technology and innovation. Yet they’re cutting $9 million from itsbudgetwhileraising taxes with 21 different amendments.

Thatdoesn’tsound to me like a priority that’s in line with what’s actually in the document. That sounds to me like a great marketing ploy. Perhaps they’ve already hired some of those people in their new comm unication department for thatmillion dollars, and that’s where they’re getting the speaking notes from. To me, whatthatsays is thatthe priorities are a littlebit out of whack. The publicis getting solda marketing piece which does not come even close to aligning to what their platform — theirplatform, theirwords, theircosting — only ten months ago said was going to happen if they became government.

Now, I know that they became government in a fairly unconventional way in British Columbia, but they are the government.So one wouldthink thatthey woulddeliveron — or at least attempt to deliver on, reasonably close to — theirpromises.Now, we know allthe time thatwhengovern- mentschange, they getin and look atthe books. They have to maybe reprioritize theirpriorities.They have to repriorit- ize theirpromises thatthey madewithin an election. That’s understandable.

One wouldhave thought, though, that that wouldhave resulted in eitherworking in the same fiscalframework that they said they coulddelivertheirwholeplatform on and just explain to people, “Sorry. We actually don’t have as much money as we thought,so we’re goingto scalethingsback and we’re going to addthings in overthe nextcoupleof years,” or thatthe governmentwouldsay: “Sorry. The books aren’t quite whatwe thoughtthey were, so forus to implementour fullplatform, we’re going to have to addan extra$8 billion worth of taxation in the next eight months.” No, that’s notwhatwe have.

Whatwe have with these 21 am endments,which do nothing butraise taxes for people and m ake life unaffordablefor people, is 21 am endments thathike taxes by that$8 billion overthe lasteightm onths and stilldelivernothing close to whatthe promises in the platform were. Talk about an overpromise and an under- delivery. No wonderthey don’tunderstand why the business tax is going to hurt businesses, because if you ran a business that way, you wouldn’t be in business for very long with that type of promise, with that type of underdelivery.

I wouldshudderto think what the Yelp reviews and other on-line reviews would be of that type of promise-and- broken-promise scenario. Those are some of the things that,as I look through this book, startto give me concern. As I say, it’s notso much that governments aren’t and shouldn’t be reprioritizing where previous budgetshadmoney and previous governmentshad money. That’s totally understandable. Butit’s whenit’s almost like a bait-and-switch…. It’s like: “Don’t look over here. Don’t look where all the real cuts are coming, because we only want you to think aboutthis stuff.

Butallthe stuff thatwe used to railagainst notbeing funded enough — you know what,folks? — we’re actually cutting dollars out of.” MSP has come up quite abit.There’s some verbiage in the 3042 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 1, 2018

amendments around MSP. So let’s take a look at the MSP budget, shall we? Miraculously, while we’re being told it’s being eliminated and, miraculously, whilewe’re being told that everyone is going to have these massive savings this year because it’s being cut in half, they’re actually budget- ing an extra$250 million of MSP premiums coming into the budget. It’s going from about $4.5billion to $4.8 billion.

In a time when they’re admonishing us for daring to question on behalf of businesses and non-profits and school districtsand universities and municipalities about these increased costs they’re going to face, and we hear back: “Oh MSP is getting cheaper….” When you actually look at the number in the book, it went up by almost $300 million this year. [3:10 p.m.] I don’t understand how that is remotely a cheaper MSP program, when itactually is budgeting to collectmore rev- enue than it collected last year. That is the problem. When you look atthese numbers….

When you consider the non-profits,the school districts,the municipalities, the regionaldistrictsand the universities, you think of the level and the calibre thatallof those institutions have, working in theirfinance departments.To a person, to an organization, they have allsaid thatthere willbe a netincrease in costto theirhealth care benefitswhen this new employerhealth tax is in. That’s noteven counting the double-dip days thatare coming forthem. That’s justlooking atitas a true outward- looking budget.

The government only wantsus to focus on the one year of that.I noticethat’s the only partof the budgetwhere the governmentonly wantsus to focus on one year. Every oth- erannouncementin this budgetis talking aboutathree-year program — a three-yearthis, a three-yearthat.YetforMSP, we’re only supposed to focus on this one year. That’s the only year you need to worry aboutif you’re a business, as if the future years magically don’t matter, as if your bank doesn’t care about that. Well, they do.

The factis thatwe have a governmentwilling to stand up in this House and, flat out, not just tell myself, or my col- leagues who ask the questions, that they don’t understand how this tax works, thatthey’re misinterpreting itand that life will be cheaperfor businesses and organizations under this tax. They’re telling allthe professionalaccountantsout there, allthe publicsectorfinancepeopleoutthere, thatthey don’t understand how to do a simple payroll calculation. That, to me, is stunning — the arrogance, frankly, that it’s turned into. Business owners who, noton theirown….

Many of them have gone to their accountants. It is tax season, after all. Do you notthink thata business ownergoing in to talk to his or heraccountantabouta year-end tax situation would be bringing up the payrolltax? Do you notthink thatthey wouldbe wondering: “How is this going to impactmy busi- ness? How am I going to try to keep undera half-million- dollarpayroll, if I’m close to it?How am I going to manage it if it’s over?” Of course they’re doing that.

I guess what the government is saying to us is that all the partners atallthe big accounting firms, allof the other accountantsfrom the small independent accounting firms, allof the governmentfinancepeople, who spend theirwork- ing lives working in financeand understanding how govern- mentbudgetpolicy impactstheirindividualbudgets,are all wrong. They’re all completely wrong. This is going to be nothing but sunshine and roses for them, and they’re going to be thanking everyone after the factbecause life justgotso much cheaperfor them. They’re notgoing to have to lay peopleoff.

They’re notgoing to have to raise prices, if the government is talking about poten- tially renegotiatingcontractsormakingpeoplewhole, if they work with the government.Yetsomehow in the private sec- tor, there’s no actual impact to them. They talk aboutthis smallbusiness tax being cut,butthe payrolltax is going to chew into the bottom line for a com- pany, whichmeans there’s less income to tax.This means that the cut, at the end of the day, really means nothing.

When peoplewere happy to see a cut in the corporate rate, they didn’tthink itwas going to be followed up with a series of other taxes and fees like we see in these 21 amendments thatare going to do nothing butincrease the costto them, increase the costto theiremployees and increase the costto life overall. That, fundam entally, is the biggest problem with this. There seems to be alack of wanting to acknowledge, on the government’s part,thatthere are very real-worldconcerns aboutthis budget.It’s notcoming from yourtypicalstake- holders.

One wouldthink thatthe schooltrusteeswouldhave been jumping for joy with the change in government, with the way the war on education was, from the members opposite towards us, overthe lastseveralyears. Butwe even see the trustees association acknowledging that there’s a very real cost.

So perhaps maybe all of those elected trustees don’t really understand how government works and how their own budgetswork within schooldistricts.Perhaps allthose municipalities with allthose elected councillors and mayors don’treally understand how budgetswork and how govern- mental downloading doesn’t affect them. [3:15 p.m.] I can tellyou, as aformermayorfornine years, thatevery time there’s a governmentdecision, we instantly go to try to figure out:whatis the impactto us, ornot?There was appar- ently no thought given whatsoever to RCMP contracts. Here’s a news flash for the government:the RCMP don’t pay MSP.

They don’tqualify forMSP. They’re underafederal health plan. For every single RCMP member that is on a municipal police force — the vast majority, in British Columbia, is on thatpayroll— they’re stillgoing to have to pay the administrative health tax to the federalsystem, and they’re goingto have to pay apayrolltaxbased on the payroll of the RCMP thatthey have, which willsee tons of money added to the list. Municipalities are scrambling, trying to figure this out. Thursday, March 1, 2018 British Columbia Debates 3043

The reason I’m tying the RCMP into this at this point is because atthe beginning I said thatbusinesses are also talk- ing to theiraccountants,trying to figure outhow to poten- tially keep their payroll under half a million dollars. There are a few things with that.If you’re somebody who has staff that aren’t making in the $12-to-$14 range, you’re notmaking enough to be paying MSP rightnow, as itis. But thatbusiness, if you have enough employees, willtriggerthe tax. They’re looking atthat,and they’re considering that.It’s a very real implication. We see that on the municipal side.

When municipalitiesin B.C. getclose to 5,000, they actu- ally appeal their census to try to get under5,000 because theirpolicing rate goes up substantially if theirpopulation goes over 5,000.

If municipalities are doing it around the number of people living in their town — appealing that numberso thatthey don’thave to pay added policing costs on a federalcensus — don’tthink businesses aren’ttrying to figure outhow to keep underthe half-million-dollarlimitas they see new wage increases coming, making sure thatthey could still have a business and still provide for their own families,as wellas allof the employees’ familiesthatearn a good living with them. I couldgo on foreveraboutBill2, butI see my lightis on.

With that,I think I’ve madeitfairly clearwhy there are more than 21 reasons to be opposed to these 21 amendments, which are going to donothing butadd$5.5 billion to the tax burden of British Columbians. Thatwillcertainly make life much more unaffordable for people in British Columbia. S. Gibson: Whata privilege itis to be here in the people’s House today to speak on Bill2, the BudgetMeasures Imple- mentation Act.It’s a pretty technicalbill. I wouldcharacter- ize it as ominous. A littlebitof the philosophicaldimensions to government today.

I think if there’s anything that we have in comm on, whether it’s small business or individuals, it’s that we don’t like surprises. As a matterof fact,business thrives on con- sistency and security. I hadthe privilege of owning asmallmanufacturing com- pany, a plastic fabricating company. I had a payroll of 13 employees.Forthose of you who have nevermetapayroll— particularly, I’m addressing my comm entsto the otherside of the House — letme say that having a small business is a challenge. But it’s worth it, because small business is the heartbeat of our province.

When I hearmy colleaguesand others talk aboutsome of the ominous legislation that’s forthcoming, I suddenly real- ize why it is that so many business peopletoday fear this government.It’s achilling document.I wantto acknowledge my colleaguefrom Kam loops who spoke justbefore me, and some of the items that he enumerated. [3:20 p.m.] Also, if I may talk to a sense of security, I believe thatthe past16 years of the B.C. Liberalgovernmentprovided secur- ity to ourcitizens. There was a sense of comfort.There was a sense of trustthatthe governmenthadtheirbestinterests in mind.

Indeed, that’s why electoral success was repeated a numberof times. But today, as I talk to my constituents, particularly business people, they’re alarmed. We’lltalk a bit about that. The phrase “tax-and-spend budget” has been used quite often, and I think ithas some currency. I wantto particularly address my remarks to the Third Party. I realizethat the Greens and the governmenthave an alliance, butI can’thelp but wonder if the Greens, if their leader, are totally com- fortablewith the trajectory that’s being announced here and being revealed in Bill2.

I mightsay thatI have Green Party supporters who live in the riding of Abbotsford-Mission, and they’re sharing some of theirconcerns with me. So I’m sure they’re getting back to the leader. The budgetalone introduces$5.5 billion of tax increases. Now, I mentioned, earlieron, surprises. If I talked to folks in my riding of Abbotsford-Mission who decided to vote with the governmentteam, I believe mostof them wouldnothave anticipated increased taxes of $8 billion, $5.5 billion of those in this budgetalone. Nobody likes tax increases.

As a mat- terof fact,we do need to tax peopleto provide services— the quality servicesthatwe alldesire forourconstituentsand our province — but this was alarming. We have shared in this House, and I’ll be sharing next week, some of ourlamentsby ourbusiness peoplewho say to me: “We can’tbelieve this is happening. It’s such a shock.” This goes back to my comm entthatbusiness requires secur- ity. They don’t like surprises. These taxes coverawidevariety of areas. Ourgovernment was innovative with the carbon tax,revenue-neutral— con- troversialbutvery wellreceived internationally and nation- ally.

But this government is changing the paradigm, and familieswon’tsee thatmoney returning. Rather, it’llgo into increased coststo families,small business men, farmers — the backbone of our province. Income tax is increasing by nearly $1 billion a year. Hard to believe — $1 billion a year. We have such a buoyanteco- nomy leftoverfrom the good administration of ourgovern- ment. Some of the statistics I’m hearing from our govern- mentmembers are really representative of the legacy of what we left behind. That’ll mean an extra $1,000 per year. I wouldlike to share something a littlebit personal.

My wife is aschoolteacher, teaches littlefirst-graders in Abbots- ford, has done for many years and now has actually taken retirement. When our two daughters were born, my wife decided to stay home with them to provide care until they gotin school, and then she wentback to teaching. We cer- tainly appreciated her income for our family. I can tellthis House thatwhenmy wife was home withour two daughters, itwas tightfor us financially. Itwas only on my paycheque. So $1,000 ayearwouldhave hurtus. I’m sus- pecting this is going to hurt a number of families. [3:25 p.m.] There’s the real estate speculation tax.

I think it’s a mis- nomer. I don’t know whether the word

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20180301pm-Hansard-n92
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20180301pm Hansard n92
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	1fe4db0a606aa457874047c37638e784d90e875a

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