Second Session, 43rd Parliament

Official Report

of Debates

( Hansard )

Monday, February 23, 2026

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 122

The Honourable Raj Chouhan , Speaker

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

Contents

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Statements

Cassie Sharpe Olympic Achievements

Brennan Day

Diego Cardona

Hon. Lisa Beare

Introductions by Members

Statements

Grayson Ritzand Athletic Achievements

George Anderson

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill 8 — Civil Forfeiture Amendment Act, 2026

Hon. Nina Krieger

Members’ Statements

Reconciliation and Residential School Denialism

Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat

Zest Commercial Food Hub

David Williams

Freight Transportation Industry and Supply Chain

George Anderson

War in Ukraine and Art Exhibition in Kamloops by Ukrainian Children

Ward Stamer

Vernon Winter Carnival

Harwinder Sandhu

Special Olympics Summer Games and Program in Prince George

Kiel Giddens

Oral Questions

Budget Provisions for Long-Term-Care Projects

Brennan Day

Hon. Brenda Bailey

Claire Rattée

Hon. Christine Boyle

Funding for Mental Health Services

Jeremy Valeriote

Hon. Josie Osborne

Budget Provisions for School Counsellors

Jeremy Valeriote

Hon. Lisa Beare

Burnaby Hospital Expansion Project and Cancer Care Centre

Misty Van Popta

Hon. Bowinn Ma

Affordable Housing and Community Housing Fund

Linda Hepner

Hon. Christine Boyle

Student Housing Project at University of Victoria

Korky Neufeld

Hon. Bowinn Ma

Child Care Plan and Access to Services

Reann Gasper

Hon. Lisa Beare

Funding for Autism Services

Rosalyn Bird

Hon. Jodie Wickens

Government Hiring of Ministerial Staff and Consultants

Trevor Halford

Hon. Brenda Bailey

Hon. David Eby

Petitions

Donegal Wilson

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate (continued)

Paul Choi

Lynne Block

Garry Begg

Bruce Banman

George Chow

Donegal Wilson

Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert

Gavin Dew

Hon. Jagrup Brar

Second Reading of Bills

Bill M226 — Motor Vehicle Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025 ( continued )

Monday, February 23, 2026

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Korky Neufeld : It’s always rewarding to welcome constituents into the House, but especially when

they’re also community leaders. So I’d like to welcome to the House Andrea Critchley,

CEO of Abbotsford Hospice and Grief Support; and Miriam Bozman, board member of the

Abbotsford Hospice Foundation.

Would the House make them feel welcome.

Susie Chant : Joining us in the members’ gallery this afternoon is His Excellency Jean Claude Kugener,

the Ambassador of Luxembourg to Canada, who is here on his official visit to B.C.

He is accompanied by Charles Andrianalizah, economic attaché at the embassy. They

are taking

part in many meetings with the government officials today and tomorrow.

Would this House please make them truly welcome.

[1:35 p.m.]

Scott McInnis : I just want to welcome newly elected Chief Justin Davis and the delegation from Doig

River First Nation. We had a good chinwag in the airport last night as well as a very

productive meeting this morning.

Would the House please make Chief Davis and the delegation most very welcome today.

Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert : Thanks to my colleague opposite. I too would like to welcome Chief Davis and the

whole group from Doig River.

I look forward to meeting with you tomorrow, and, of course, former member Dan Davies

as well.

I’ll give him a slight nod, but a bigger nod to the rest.

Thanks, everybody.

Statements

Cassie Sharpe Olympic Achievements

Brennan Day : With the Olympics wrapping up, I just wanted to give a big shout-out to Comox Valley’s

own Cassie Sharpe, an Olympic champion and Canadian half-pipe legend. After a recent

yard sale in Milan, her final run was sidelined, but this is her third Olympic appearance.

The whole Comox Valley and the entire country is behind you, wishing you a fast and

full recovery.

Diego Cardona

Hon. Lisa Beare : We are very sad today in my minister’s office. We are losing Diego Cardona. He is

moving on to work with IATSE, some of our wonderful film friends.

Diego started as an executive assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills Training in May 2019 and has gone through a number of ministries and a number

of ministers.

Myself and the Minister of Agriculture are particularly sad to see him go, as he’s

worked with passion and commitment in this building for years — helped with the film

tax credit, built the film file. He has worked with child care advocates to grow and

protect our child care system. We are truly going to miss him but are very excited

for his new opportunities.

Thank you, Diego.

Introductions by Members

Harwinder Sandhu : I just want to acknowledge our beloved community members and friends Ryan Michael

Sheepwash and Jeremy Robert Alexander. They just got married on February 14 in Puerto

Vallarta.

This wedding was so special because both of them overcame lots of hurdles, like discrimination.

Last year when they decided to get married, they got kicked out, facing homophobia

and discrimination. So the Hilton Vallarta Resort did the right thing. They stepped

in to show love over hate, and acceptance, and offered to cover their entire wedding.

Would the House please join me to wish Jeremy and Ryan a very happy a married life

as well as their safe return home from Mexico, along with other Canadians.

Kiel Giddens : My boys experienced their first big hockey heartbreak yesterday morning, and I told

them that they’d better get used to it, because we’re Canucks fans.

But I really want to give a huge congratulations to the men’s hockey team coach, Jon

Cooper, from Prince George, who led the team to such a strong performance, and I congratulate

all of the British Columbians who coached, who competed in this year’s Olympics, and

give them a big round of applause from the House.

Reann Gasper : It is always a joy when we have members from our community visiting. Miriam Bozman

wears many hats, but she is the executive director of the chamber of commerce in our

community, serving our business community very well.

Would the House just welcome her again.

Statements

Grayson Ritzand

Athletic Achievements

George Anderson : Today I rise to recognize Grayson Ritzand, recipient of the Junior Male Team Athlete

of the Year at the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards.

Apart from being 6’5”, not as tall as our Premier…. In 2025, Grayson delivered an

outstanding season, leading the Wellington Wildcats senior triple-A boys to the north

Island and Island championships and a fourth-place finish at the B.C. provincial championships.

His leadership and performances earned him MVP honours at north Island and multiple

tournaments across British Columbia, and he has been recognized as a provincial first-team

all-star. Grayson represents the dedication, discipline and excellence of young athletes

in our province.

Please join me in congratulating Grayson Ritzand on an exceptional year and a very

bright future.

[1:40 p.m.]

Introductions by Members

Á’a :líya Warbus : I’d like to also welcome the B.C. Youth Council here, from our caucus. Members of

the B.C. Youth Council are visiting and making their rounds with MLAs and leaders

to ensure that youth voice is represented in democratic decisions.

Being involved with provincial and local politics to analyze and propose policies

really promotes that the youth are both learning and being participants in the work

that we do here as best possible and that we can understand some of the critical issues

that are facing young people in the province.

I just want to highlight that they’re here. We’re very excited to see and hear from

them and have the House give them a great welcome today.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

Bill 8 — Civil Forfeiture

Amendment Act, 2026

Hon. Nina Krieger presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor: a bill

intituled Civil Forfeiture Amendment Act, 2026.

Hon. Nina Krieger : I move that the bill be introduced and read for the first time now.

It is my pleasure to introduce Bill 8, the Civil Forfeiture Amendment Act, 2026.

Far too often, people are lured into gang life with promises of fast cars, glamorous

homes and luxury goods. By going after property owned by high-level criminal organizations

and individuals, B.C.’s civil forfeiture office undermines the profit motive behind

unlawful activity and sends a clear message to organized crime.

This bill makes practical changes to reinforce the province’s ability to disrupt organized

crime and money laundering. It strengthens litigation processes by requiring parties

to fully disclose their claimed interests and by creating a streamlined default judgment

process for uncontested cases. It expands timelines and dispute rules, enhancing response

periods, clarifying deadlines and allowing relief for mail delays to reduce errors

and improve access to justice.

The bill also introduces measures to lower costs and protect asset value, including

a presumption of vehicle depreciation to allow earlier liquidation.

Finally, this bill updates notice and information-sharing provisions, adds safeguards

for investigative powers and limits unnecessary discovery to prevent misuse of court

processes.

Together these changes make the law clearer, fairer and more efficient while reinforcing

the program’s role in disrupting organized crime and money laundering here in British

Columbia.

The Speaker : Members, the question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Hon. Nina Krieger : I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the

next sitting of the House after today.

Motion approved.

Members’ Statements

Reconciliation and Residential

School Denialism

Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat : Today I want to speak about a serious issue that threatens trust and reconciliation

in Canada, the spread of misinformation about residential schools.

Residential school denialism doesn’t usually deny the existence of these institutions.

Instead, it distorts history, downplays abuses and questions survivors to protect

the colonial legacies. This misinformation harms not only survivors and their families

but all of us by obscuring the truth and delaying the healing our country still needs.

To stop this, we need truth-telling at the centre of education, teaching the full

story, grounded in evidence and survivors’ testimony. Schools, workplaces and communities

must create space for honest discussions about the residential school system’s legacy.

We also need to support Indigenous-led education organizations that counter denial

directly.

Every person in Canada can play a role by challenging the misinformation when they

see it, by learning from survivors and by refusing to amplify denialism voices.

[1:45 p.m.]

Public institutes and media outlets must apply standards of accountability, ensuring

facts are protected from distortion. And as some have called for, we must consider

strong measures to protect survivors from hate and denialism online.

Reconciliation depends on truth. Confronting misinformation is not only about correcting

history; it’s about honouring those who lived it and ensuring their stories are never

erased again, like my mother’s.

Zest Commercial Food Hub

David Williams : Today I rise to recognize a visionary initiative in my riding of Salmon Arm–Shuswap

that contributes to our local economy and supports entrepreneurs. That initiative

is Zest Commercial Food Hub in Salmon Arm.

Zest was made possible through the leadership of the Salmon Arm Economic Development

Society in response to a very practical challenge facing many small food producers

— access to low-barrier pathways to start or grow a food business without taking on

unrealistic expenditures. Whether they are farmers adding value to their crops, small

processors testing new products or entrepreneurs launching a food business, those

barriers can be the difference between an unrealized goal or becoming a viable employer.

Zest addresses the challenge, providing access to a certified shared-use commercial

kitchen, processing space, storage equipment and a collaborative environment. It supports

food-makers at every stage, from start-ups to established businesses, allowing them

to focus on what they do best — creating quality products, building markets and contributing

to the regional economy.

The benefits of Zest extend well beyond the walls of the facility. It strengthens

local supply chains. It supports job creation and enhances food security and resilience

throughout the Shuswap and surrounding regions. We often speak in this House about

economic diversification; local food sustainability; and practical, community-driven

solutions. Zest is a clear example of those principles in action.

I ask all members to join me in recognizing the community leaders and the entrepreneurs

behind the Zest Commercial Food Hub for their contribution to regional food production

and the long-term economic health of our community.

Freight Transportation

Industry and Supply Chain

George Anderson : As Parliamentary Secretary for Transit, I recently convened a freight transportation

round table bringing together leaders such as Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, YVR,

SSA Marine and others from across British Columbia’s supply chain, ports, rail, trucking,

logistics, labour and industry.

What stood out was not just the challenge we face but the strength we have when our

sectors work together, because moving goods is not the work of one industry. From

longshore workers and truck drivers to mechanics, engineers, construction trades and

logistics professionals, our freight system runs on people. Their work supports families,

strengthens communities and sustains our economy, as I heard from the expertise of

British Columbia’s skilled trades and workers who keep our economy moving every single

day.

This is also a moment of growing uncertainty. Global trade is shifting. Protectionism

is rising. Decisions beyond our borders, particularly in the United States of America,

remind us that we cannot take stability for granted. If our supply chains are vulnerable,

our economy is also vulnerable. That’s why collaboration matters. The message was

clear that British Columbia must be more coordinated, more reliable and more resilient.

One year ago I called for a comprehensive port strategy, one that strengthens our

gateways, improves connections across the province and ensures we are ready to lead.

The work is central to our Look West approach, diversifying trade, strengthening our ties to Indo-Pacific markets and

positioning British Columbia as North America’s gateway to the fastest growing region

in the world.

[1:50 p.m.]

Resilience isn’t just about managing risk. It’s about building the foundation for

prosperity. Because when we prepare for this uncertainty, we make a choice — a choice

to build, a choice to compete, a choice to ensure British Columbia doesn’t just adapt

to the future but that we help shape it. So if we act with urgency and work together,

British Columbia will participate in the next century of trade and opportunity, and

British Columbia will lead it.

War in Ukraine and

Art Exhibition in Kamloops

by Ukrainian Children

Ward Stamer : On the anniversary of four years of war in Ukraine and the incredible harm and destruction

by Russia, today I rise to speak about The War Up Close and the children’s art exhibition,

an exhibition that, at its heart, is not only about conflict but about courage.

First, I want to sincerely thank the organizers, volunteers, sponsors, community partners

and every contributor who helped bring this exhibit to life in Kamloops last weekend.

Your work has created more than a gallery. You have created a space for healing, for

awareness and for hope. You have ensured that children’s voices are not overlooked.

For that, we are deeply grateful.

When we look at these drawings from children in Ukraine, we certainly see difficult

experiences. But even more powerfully, we see resilience. We see children who, despite

disruption and uncertainty, still choose to create. We see bright colours breaking

through black, dark backgrounds. We see hearts drawn beside family members. We see

flowers growing next to damaged buildings. We see the sun rising. We see hope.

Children process the world through imagination. Through art, they reclaim control.

When so much around them feels uncertain, a blank page becomes a place where they

can express fear but also hope. They can draw not only what happened but what they

believe is still possible.

Resilience in a child does not mean they have not felt fear or loss. It means they

continue forward anyway. It means they show up in new classrooms. They make new friends.

They learn a new language. They adapt and they grow.

Many Ukrainian families have found refuge here in Canada. In our communities, we have,

firsthand, the strength of these young people. They contribute to our schools, our

sports teams, our neighbourhoods. They carry stories of hardship, and yes, they also

carry determination, creativity and optimism.

This exhibit reminds us that children are not defined solely by what they endure.

These young artists are telling us: “We still are here. We still dream. We still believe

in peace. We still believe in tomorrow.”

Let us celebrate the courage of these children. Let us support their healing. Let

us be inspired by their ability to find light, even in difficult circumstances. If

children can hold on to hope, so can we.

Vernon Winter Carnival

Harwinder Sandhu : Today I rise to speak about community spirit, about coming together when it matters

most.

In the wake of the heartbreaking tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, our province is grieving,

families are facing unimaginable loss, and communities across our province are holding

one another a little closer. In moments like this, care and compassion must come first.

While some may use tragedy to deepen divisions, Canadians are stronger together. We

are at our best when we choose unity over anger, care over conflict, and love over

hate.

Similarly, earlier this month on a drizzly Saturday afternoon, I joined my community

at the 66th annual Vernon Winter Carnival parade. The community spirit of Vernon shone

brightly as families lined the streets. This year’s theme was “Canada goes for gold.”

Going for gold is about perseverance. It’s about teamwork. It’s about striving to

do our best, not just individually but together.

The Vernon Winter Carnival, one of the oldest and most beloved winter festivals in

our province, brings generations together to celebrate community and to create lasting

memories. That sense of togetherness matters now more than ever.

I thank the volunteer board, hundreds of volunteers and sponsors who make this tradition

possible, year after year.

The same spirit lives on in sports at the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Canadians once again rallied behind our athletes. From the slopes to the ice, Team

Canada showed resilience and heart, bringing 21 medals home.

Vernon proudly cheered on our freestyle skier Elena Gaskell, and we continue to support

Lucas Ball as well as Spallumcheen’s Ina Forrest, as she prepares for the Paralympic

Games. In living rooms and community halls across this country, we cheer as one team.

May we continue to go for gold not only in sport but in how we support one another.

May we continue to choose unity, care, compassion and love, representing everyone

equally by being there for all in a very non-partisan way when people need us.

[1:55 p.m.]

Special Olympics Summer Games

and Program in Prince George

Kiel Giddens : It’s a privilege to recognize 40 years of leadership, inclusion and community through

Special Olympics B.C. in Prince George.

Like several B.C. communities, Special Olympics programming came to Prince George

in 1986. Since then, this organization has created opportunities for athletes with

intellectual and developmental disabilities to grow, to compete and to belong.

Today the Prince George program supports 160 athletes across 16 sports, building confidence,

friendships and independence. This impact extends throughout the northern B.C. region.

The Mackenzie program, operating since 2014, has also become a source of pride in

our northern communities. We’ve seen extraordinary success stories, including Mackenzie

athlete Pierce Northcott, who lifted an incredible 451 pounds at the 2025 B.C. Summer

Games, breaking an unofficial world record in the deadlift. He was supported by his

proud coach, Bryce Surgenor. Pierce’s performance earned him a spot on the 2026 Special

Olympics Canada national team.

None of this happens without volunteers, coaches, organizers and families, who give

countless hours to ensure every athlete has a place on the team. Their dedication

over four decades is really the foundation of this success.

Last year Prince George hosted the Special Olympics B.C. Summer Games, welcoming 870

athletes from across British Columbia. Thank you to members of this House who did

attend that event.

I had the honour of walking in with the athletes at the opening ceremonies. The pride

and joy in that arena was something you could feel. Cheering on athletes and awarding

medals with high-fives was one of my favourite honours in my term so far as an MLA.

Now Prince George has been shortlisted to host the 2030 Special Olympics Canada Summer

Games, and our northern capital stands ready if awarded the bid.

To all the athletes who compete: you show us what courage looks like.

To the volunteers and families: this doesn’t happen without any of you.

Forty years strong and just getting started.

Oral Questions

Budget Provisions for

Long-Term-Care Projects

Brennan Day : The Minister of Finance said: “I think this budget is very supportive of seniors.”

She has clearly borrowed the Premier’s joke-writer, but this is no joke.

This government is making it more unaffordable for seniors to age in place by hiking

interest rates on property tax deferrals and expanding PST to include land lines and

basic cable, while simultaneously cutting 1,200 long-term-care beds. Seniors no longer

get to choose if they want to age in place in B.C. The government is making that choice

for them.

To the Minister of Health: will you admit that because your government cannot manage

its finances, you are now cutting long-term-care beds and home supports at the very

moment demand for seniors support is set to skyrocket?

The Speaker : Members, all questions and answers are through the Chair.

Hon. Brenda Bailey : Budget 2026 protects what is most important to seniors — health care services that

seniors depend on; investments to hire more doctors, more nurses. We’re making a $35

million investment over three years to continue to support independent living to help

low- and moderate-income seniors stay in their homes.

I have explained, and I’ll explain to the member again, that when we have long-term-care

beds coming in at an estimated $1.8 billion per bed, it is incumbent upon us to look

at how to do this differently, cheaper and in a way that we can build more beds faster.

That is the work that we’re doing to serve seniors.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Brennan Day : I’m glad you brought up aging at home. Again….

The Speaker : Through the Chair, Member.

Brennan Day : Mr. Speaker, the press release that was sent out last Friday was a direct cut-and-paste

of the ministry’s 2024 press release, almost verbatim. That funding is federal, as

you well know. There is no new funding in this budget for seniors home care supports,

just more broken promises.

It’s obvious to British Columbians that your government is out of ideas and out of

our taxpayers’ dollars.

How can this government claim to have a plan for seniors when all it offers are recycled,

two-year-old press releases, while cutting the care seniors actually need?

The Speaker : Through the Chair, Member.

[2:00 p.m.]

Hon. Brenda Bailey : We had a choice when putting this budget together to protect services or to make

deep cuts that would hurt seniors, that would hurt British Columbians by cutting health

care.

We know that that’s what the other side would do. How do we know that? Because the

member for Fraser-Nicola said….

Interjections.

Hon. Brenda Bailey : Oh, I will read the quote.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members, shhh.

Hon. Brenda Bailey : “Health care, along with education, would have to take the brunt of these cuts.”

We know what the other side would do.

On this side of the House, we are protecting services for British Columbians. We’re

protecting health care. We’re protecting education. Budget 2026 does just that.

Claire Rattée : The Kitimat Valley Housing Society, which is run entirely by seniors, has spent over

a year trying to build seniors housing in a community with no long-term-care capacity,

where seniors are trapped in homes that are too large to manage or apartments that

they physically cannot access.

They had to spend $18,000 on the mandatory audits that were required just to qualify

for the community housing fund, not to mention all of the other money that’s already

been invested into this project. They were relying on that funding to make the project

viable. Now this government has cut $1.4 billion from that fund, effectively killing

the seniors housing project.

Why did this government decide that housing for seniors in northern B.C. wasn’t a

priority this year?

Hon. Christine Boyle : I want to start by thanking the member opposite. We had a good meeting at the end

of last year, speaking about the important housing needs of her community. I know

what a champion she’s been on that front, and we’ve been working together on solutions.

I am happy to have the opportunity to speak to the community housing fund, to be clear

that the community housing fund hasn’t been cancelled. We continue, as a government,

to do important work with housing providers and communities all across the province

under that fund. Last year’s intake we have cancelled, and I understand the frustration

of folks who applied for funding under that intake. But there will be future intakes.

There are, as we speak, 4,000 units under construction across the province that we

as a government have invested in, working with providers and communities across the

province, 2,000 homes and shelter beds opening just in the next three months. We as

a government continue to take housing seriously and will continue to work with communities

and partners to deliver.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Claire Rattée : Effectively what I just heard is it’s not a cut, but it is a cut. It says right in

the budget that $1.4 billion is being reallocated from the community housing fund.

This is money that non-profits and municipalities were relying on to be able to build

housing, which is this government’s priority. It’s a provincial responsibility. This

government hasn’t been keeping up with it, so now that work has fallen on others.

So $1.4 billion that was promised to all of these groups that they were relying on.

Like I said, lots of money has been invested into these projects already. They were

strung along, and now that money has been cut.

I am glad that the minister brought up the meeting that we had in December. We met

personally about this project specifically because there had been months and months

of delays on it, and this group was wondering when they were going to hear something

back, like I’m sure many of them throughout the province have been over the last year.

The minister assured me at that meeting that a funding decision would be forthcoming.

Weeks later the entire community housing fund is scrapped.

I have to ask: did the minister know in December that this funding was about to be

cut and choose to string these hard-working volunteers along, or does she expect British

Columbians to believe that she doesn’t know her own budget?

Hon. Christine Boyle : I will stand up in this House any day and defend the serious work that we as a government

have done on housing.

Mr. Speaker, 95,000 units delivered or underway in communities all across this province,

where we’re supporting….

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh. Members, the minister has the floor.

Hon. Christine Boyle : Building women’s transition housing, community housing, seniors housing, supportive

housing….

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members, please.

Hon. Christine Boyle : That is housing that continues to be delivered. There are projects, as I said, across

the province, under construction, homes that people will move into in the next months

and beyond.

[2:05 p.m.]

The members opposite have been clear that they would cut funding to housing. I know

that because when they were on this side, they did just that — massive cuts to publicly

funded and supportive housing.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members, order.

Hon. Christine Boyle : Members opposite have opposed supportive housing projects and shelters in their communities,

badly needed projects.

We take this seriously, and we will continue to deliver in this budget and beyond.

Funding for Mental Health Services

Jeremy Valeriote : We desperately need to talk about our society’s mental health. For centuries, as

we know, a conversation about mental illness was silenced by stigma. Of late, this

conversation has been reconstituted so that when we talk about mental illness in this

chamber, we’re often talking about involuntary treatment, incarceration and public

safety.

True health comes from preventative care and proper diagnosis. True safety comes when

all of us have access to the care we need and deserve — family doctors, specialists

and psychologists, not just for those who can afford to pay out of pocket but for

all British Columbians.

In 2025, this government promised in writing to expand coverage for psychologist visits

under our public health system. The agreement, endorsed by the entire government caucus,

stated that “this investment will benefit all British Columbians, including youth

and children.”

My question is to the Minister of Health. When will this government break through

the minor bureaucratic barriers and deliver on this major promise?

Hon. Josie Osborne : Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Mental health care is health care.

This government is making record investments in early intervention, in prevention,

in supporting children and youth in our schools and home settings.

This is the work that we were doing with the Green Party. Unfortunately, that agreement

came to an end, and we no longer have the opportunity to continue to discuss the work

that we have been doing to integrate mental health supports into our primary care

system.

Already over 355 full-time-equivalents are embedded throughout the primary care system,

because team-based primary care, including mental health supports, is part of the

holistic care that people deserve. They deserve it when they want it, when they need

it and to get it close to home. This government remains committed to that work.

We will continue to work with the B.C. Psychologists Association, and we will do that,

unfortunately, with or without the Greens.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Budget Provisions for

School Counsellors

Jeremy Valeriote : Thank you to the minister for the answer. I would argue that leadership and follow-through

on child and youth mental health is lacking, and our children are paying the price.

In their 2024 election platform, this government promised a mental health counsellor

in every school and an educational assistant in every K-to-3 classroom. This year’s

budget includes a $167 million classroom enhancement fund that, while welcome — I’ll

be fair — on closer inspection, only reflects caseload pressure from pre-existing

obligations to teachers; is discretionary funding for school districts; and, sadly,

is insufficient to match the size and the gravity of the problem.

In B.C., we have only one counsellor for every 700 students.

The Speaker : Question, Member.

Jeremy Valeriote : The North American average is one counsellor for 250 students. We’re not meeting

the moment, and it’s harming our children and communities. British Columbian children

deserve, at minimum, the continental average for school counsellors.

Budget 2026’s workplan includes scant details on how the classroom enhancement fund

will be spent. What is the Minister of Education’s plan?

Hon. Lisa Beare : I want to thank the member for the question, because, year after year, our government

has demonstrated how much we support our public education system through continued

investments.

In light of very fiscally difficult times and a very difficult budget, our government

made the commitment to the public, to our students, that we would continue to not

only support public education but to increase our investment.

We continue to work with our partners all throughout the K-to-12 system on our commitments

regarding education assistants and counsellors. We have a K-to-12 workforce table

where we sit down with all our partners and plan that out.

That work is ongoing, and I thank the member for the question.

Burnaby Hospital Expansion

Project and Cancer Care Centre

Misty Van Popta : It’s not just long-term care on the chopping block with this budget. With ER wait

times over 12 hours at surrounding hospitals, the government has labelled the Burnaby

Hospital phase 2 project “TBC” — to be confirmed, to be continued, to be cancelled.

If you don’t build the hospital, you don’t have to worry about keeping it open.

[2:10 p.m.]

Due to this government’s fiscal mismanagement, the urgently needed Burnaby Hospital

redevelopment, phase 2, and B.C. Cancer Centre have been delayed indefinitely.

Why doesn’t this Minister of Infrastructure stand up for patients in B.C. and demand

that this project get reinstated and give us a date?

Hon. Bowinn Ma : We’re proud of the investments that we have made in major capital infrastructure

projects in the health care sector across the province. We have implemented and built

and have underway the most number of hospital projects ever conceived in B.C. history.

That being said, there are projects that need more work done, and the Burnaby Hospital

project is actually one of them. The project came in significantly over budget. We

are wanting to work with the Fraser Health Authority to get those costs down so that

we can continue to deliver the important infrastructure projects that British Columbians

need, in a sustainable way.

Affordable Housing and

Community Housing Fund

Linda Hepner : The community housing fund was designed to deliver below-market homes. The minister

is cutting thousands of those planned affordable housing units that are needed in

a time when people can’t afford to pay for rent.

To the minister, how many low-income British Columbians and their families will be

forced, god forbid, to seek out single-room occupancy to put a roof over their heads

because of her cut?

Hon. Christine Boyle : Again, the community housing fund continues. Thousands of units are being delivered

this year under that fund.

There was one intake of the fund that was cancelled, but the larger fund continues.

We continue to do that work, including in projects in ridings of members across each

side of the floor here. We are investing in affordable housing. We’re investing in

social and supportive housing. We’re investing in women’s transition housing and more.

It’s true that there are some projects that are being re-paced. Some of them weren’t

ready to go on the timelines they had initially planned. Some of them are longer conversations

with local governments or the providers. We’re looking at that to protect the investments

that have been made while we continue to deliver on our housing commitments.

Student Housing Project

at University of Victoria

Korky Neufeld : It’s not just housing. It’s not just health care. It’s not just seniors getting mothballed

in this budget. It’s students as well. A student housing project at UVic originally

set to be completed in three years has been postponed indefinitely, at least until

The housing crisis is a major problem for students here in Victoria. Rental prices

are so high, many students have no option but to commute from Nanaimo every day just

to attend classes.

Can the Minister of Post-Secondary explain why she has allowed the Finance Minister

to cancel desperately needed student housing here in Victoria?

Hon. Bowinn Ma : We are proud of the $2 billion that we have committed to building student housing

at post-secondary institutions across the province so far.

So far, 7,300 student housing beds have been built, with thousands more underway,

including a project that we just recently completed in partnership with the University

of Victoria as well.

We understand the disappointment that the University of Victoria may have on their

second project, but we remain committed to working with partners to build student

housing, and we look forward to doing that work.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Korky Neufeld : Well, here are some numbers. At UVic alone, the number of requests for student housing

exceeds the amount available as spaces by 2,000 each year. That’s each year. This

government thinks it’s acceptable to postpone the project.

To the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, what does she have to say to the parents

and students at UVic who will not be able to find housing due to her government’s

fiscal incompetence?

[2:15 p.m.]

Hon. Bowinn Ma : The interesting thing about talking about student housing is that in the same amount

of time that our government has built over 7,300 student housing beds across the province,

the previous government built less than 100.

The idea that our government has not been champions of student housing over the last

nine years is absolutely false. There have never been more student housing projects

underway or completed in this province.

Child Care Plan

and Access to Services

Reann Gasper : Lisa Kemp, a mother, told CBC in the summer that she pays $1,900 a month in child

care for her two kids.

But according to the minister, there are more than 17,000 $10-a-day ChildCareBC spaces,

and we are on track to meet our spring 2026 target of 20,000 spaces. “On track to

meet our target,” says the minister. “A three-year pause in enrolment,” says the budget.

This is just one of many families being cut out of the chance to receive $10-a-day

child care by this government.

Will the Premier admit that, due to his government’s incompetence, he has failed to

deliver what he has promised to B.C. parents?

Hon. Lisa Beare : The member is just simply incorrect about everything in her question.

We have over 17,500 $10-a-day spaces that we are supporting in this province, and

we have 156,000 other spaces that are part of our fee reduction programs. The level

of investment that our government has put into child care is significant. We are supporting

171,000 families through one of our programs, either through free reduction, $10 a

day, pilot programs, operating funding, you know…. The $10 a day is just one tool

in the toolkit.

We have been hearing from our families, from our providers, from the sector and our

stakeholders that there are structural challenges with the $10-a-day program. We know,

in talking with our federal government and our provincial and territorial partners,

that these same challenges are faced all across the country. The system has become

inequitable. There’s a structural deficit in the funding formula, and it’s not reaching

the families who need it the most within that program.

We have put a temporary pause on the entrance to $10-a-day programs. The families

who are currently receiving or are enrolled in a $10-a-day program will stay in that

program while we take a stabilization period, work with our partners and work with

the federal government to develop a system that will meet families’ needs all across

this province.

The Speaker : Member has a supplemental.

Reann Gasper : There are a lot of promises being touted by this government.

The money that is given from the federal government to fulfil the promise of $10 a

day that was promised to B.C. parents…. The reality of it is that it is not being

fulfilled.

To the minister, she can paint the brush about the different programs, but we are

talking about $10-a-day child care in B.C. that is not serving nearly a decade since

this government announced the program, and a whopping 10 percent of spaces in B.C.

currently offer $10-a-day child care.

The suspension of the program comes just months after the Canadian Centre for Policy

Alternatives found, on child care: “B.C. is the worst performing province or territory

in the entire country.” Former NDP Minister Katrina Chen says she believes that a

three-year delay to the program would be too long if the government hopes to revive

it.

To the minister, with little success over a decade, is a $10-a-day child care still

a priority for your government, or can we expect it to be cut and become another broken

promise by this government?

[2:20 p.m.]

Hon. Lisa Beare : Again, the member is just simply wrong in all her assertations.

There is no three-year pause. Obviously, budgets are done in a three-year cycle. I

think that’s, maybe, where the three-year number the member is trying to find…. But

no, we are putting a temporary pause while we reassess our child care sector, work

with our partners…

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh.

Hon. Lisa Beare : …and continue to develop child care in a sustainable way across this province.

Our vision has not changed. We have always said that we want to provide quality, affordable,

reliable child care for families all across this province, and that’s what we’re doing.

We have families who pay zero dollars a day through our fee-reduction programs, those

families who need it most. We have 171,000 families who are averaging savings of around

$7,000 a year. That is significant. Only the Conservatives would take $7,000 a year

back in the pockets of families across British Columbia and try to turn it into a

bad-news story.

Our goal is to protect child care, to continue to invest in it, to work with our partners

to find a sustainable model that works for all British Columbians and continues to

support kids in every corner of this province, and we’re going to do that.

Funding for Autism Services

Rosalyn Bird : This government’s reckless spending and incompetence has led to yet another broken

promise. We have parents and families all over this province upset about the cuts

to autistic funding. We have had multiples make quotes in the news, including: “It

is going to be a choice between feeding my family or accessing therapy for my kids.”

This government is going to cost families across this province thousands of dollars

a year and not being able to access therapy for their families.

To this Premier, how does he sleep at night knowing he’s responsible for stripping

the funding away from 10,000 families with diverse needs?

Hon. Jodie Wickens : I thank the member for the question. The transformation that we announced just a

couple of weeks ago is a net-new investment of $475 million of new money to ensure

that we are building a stronger and fairer system for children and youth with disabilities

in this province.

I am a mom of a child with needs, an aunt of a child with significant disabilities.

I have worked with hundreds of families in this province. There is a saying in the

autism community, and it goes: “When you’ve met one child with autism, you’ve met

one child with autism.” There are no two children in our province that are the same.

No two children need the same types of supports.

These changes did not happen in a vacuum. They happened because of years of engagement.

We invested $4 million to speak to experts, to parents and to service providers who

told us that there were far too many children being left behind by the previous system.

This is an investment in our children and our youth and in their future. We are building

a stronger, fairer system, and I’m happy to provide all the information to the members

opposite.

Government Hiring of

Ministerial Staff and Consultants

Trevor Halford : To the Minister of Finance, how many political staff are currently in her office?

Hon. Brenda Bailey : I’ll be happy to get the exact number to the member following question period, but

I think where the member is going is a question in regards to the GCPE. I know that

this is an area that’s really important for us to talk about.

The GCPE is under fire right now from the other side, but, in fact, it’s really important

to note that, first of all, levels are at the same level or lower than they were when

the member’s previous government was in power and, secondly, that we have seen the

importance of communication.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Member, please take a seat.

Minister continues.

[2:25 p.m.]

Hon. Brenda Bailey : We have seen fragmentation in the media landscape and the importance of us to continue

communicating properly to British Columbians who need to know about the programs and

services that are important for them.

The Speaker : Member, supplemental.

Trevor Halford : Oh, I don’t even know where to start. I’ll start right now.

I asked the Minister of Finance a very simple question: how many political staff does

she currently have in her office? She thinks I’m talking about GCPE. We do need to

talk about GCPE, but we’ll do that later.

Mr. Speaker, I can tell her that she has a chief of staff, a ministerial adviser,

another ministerial adviser, another ministerial adviser and an executive assistant.

No wonder the minister did not want to answer that question. I’d be embarrassed to

answer it as well.

The fact is this. It’s not just the Minister of Finance that is entitled to her entitlements;

it’s the person sitting next to her. It’s the Premier. If you look at the pattern

of behaviour, and let’s spell this out….

Penny Ballem — $158,000 in consulting contracts in 2025, after she served as CEO of

the Provincial Health Services Authority.

Craig Jones — special legal adviser, whose salary, after four years, we can’t even

find out.

Larry Campbell — the Vancouver mayor, hired to investigate solutions on the city’s

Downtown Eastside, at a cost of 100 grand for six months of work. That was done to

replace Michael Bryant, who was fired after the Minister of Social Development didn’t

even know a contract was executed in her ministry, for as much as $300,000 for six

months of work, after he was fired from Legal Aid B.C.

We can go even further. Jim Sinclair, former head of the B.C. Federation of Labour,

oversaw one of the worst times that we’ve ever had at Fraser Health — no health experience,

yet he is chair of Fraser Health Authority. Go figure that.

Lisa Helps, former mayor, is then hired into the Premier’s office for the Premier’s

housing solutions adviser.

Charlie Demers — $165 an hour to write jokes for the Premier.

We’ve got a Finance Minister who doesn’t even know who’s in her office politically,

and we’ve got a Premier who will just hire his friends and insiders. No wonder this

government wants to shut down the Merit Commissioner. I would be embarrassed too.

My question to the Premier is a simple one. How does the Premier look kids in the

eyes when he’s cutting their autism funding, yet he holds himself to a different standard?

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh, Members.

Trevor Halford : You’ll be sitting in this desk one day, too, so don’t worry about it.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh, Members. Members.

Interjection.

The Speaker : Member.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members, shhh.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Member. Leader of the Official Opposition.

The Member for Richmond Centre.

Interjections.

[The Speaker rose.]

The Speaker : Members, what part of the instructions do you not understand? You have asked the

question.

Interjections.

The Speaker : The question has already been asked, so stay quiet.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Are you interested in an answer or not?

[The Speaker resumed their seat.]

The Speaker : Mr. Premier.

Hon. David Eby : Thank you, hon. Speaker. I think the member, as a former political staffer, understands

the crucial role that these staff play in government. Now, he wouldn’t have taken

the job if it were a nonsense job.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Shhh. Shhh.

Hon. David Eby : He understands that ministers attend multiple public events. He understands that

there are significant demands on that role that require additional support, because

he did that job.

I want to thank not just political staff from both parties that do that hard work,

but I also want to thank the special advisers that have assisted this government in

addressing some of the biggest challenges we’ve faced.

When you’re talking about someone like Penny Ballem, she is recruited by other provinces

to assist them with their health care challenges. She has worked under both governments.

She has run health authorities. She is the example that they use to denigrate the

work of people who come in and work for government. I think it’s a mistake. Bringing

in experts and asking for assistance will assist us in moving through these challenges.

But, hon. Speaker, I cannot forgive….

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members.

Hon. David Eby : I cannot forgive the ahistoric perspective of the other side of the House. As senior

B.C. Liberals line up to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, let me

remind this House of the record of when they sat on this side of the House.

[2:30 p.m.]

With respect to student housing, in the same amount of time….

Interjection.

Hon. David Eby : Oh, sure you are.

In the same amount of time that we built 7,500 student housing units, they built 100.

They are upset with us ensuring that when we build long-term-care homes, they are

built efficiently and effectively, but when they were on this side of the House…

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members.

Hon. David Eby : …seniors couldn’t even get one bath a week. They did not meet those care standards

again and again. One bath a week for a senior, and they’re upset with us for driving

down the cost of building new long-term-care homes.

Let me tell you about child care.

Interjections.

The Speaker : Members. Order, please.

Shhh.

Hon. David Eby : Parents were left to themselves on child care. It wasn’t seen as an economic program.

We brought it in. More women than ever before in the history of the province returning

to the job market, able to work, driving economic growth here. Doubling the number

of child care spots, over 100,000. Parents getting — never mind $10-a-day child care

— free child care in our province that never had access to it, because they didn’t

care.

I tell you, if they get on this side of the House, they will not care about parents

or seniors or health care or anything because they have told us that what will bear

the brunt is health care and education. They will bring those cuts as sure as I’m

standing here, and we will protect British Columbians.

[End of question period.]

Petitions

Donegal Wilson : I rise today to table a petition on behalf of 754 residents of the South Okanagan.

The petition respectfully calls on the Legislative Assembly to urge the government

of British Columbia to prioritize improvements to drinking water infrastructure in

the South Okanagan.

Orders of the Day

Hon. Mike Farnworth : I call continued debate on the budget.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

Budget Debate

(continued)

Deputy Speaker : Thank you, Members. We’ll bring the chamber back to order, where we will continue

our budget debate.

Paul Choi : I would like to first acknowledge that I’m speaking on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking People, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

I would also like to take this opportunity to stand in this House for the first time

this session and extend my deepest condolences to the people of Tumbler Ridge, who

have faced unimaginable tragedies. My heart goes out to everyone, and my heart breaks

for those families who have lost loved ones, who have lost friends, who lost neighbours.

I want to thank the dedicated officers of the RCMP and many others who are on the

ground and responded immediately, without hesitation, to save lives. It is bravery

in the purest sense of the word.

My thoughts are with Tumbler Ridge. We are with you, and we will continue to support

you.

[2:35 p.m.]

I am pleased to speak today in support of Budget 2026.

This is not a budget written in calm waters. It is a budget written in a world of

instability, tariffs, global uncertainty, high costs and economic pressures that are

not unique to B.C. This is a budget about securing B.C.’s future. This is a budget

that protects the services that British Columbians rely on while setting out a responsible

path to declining the deficit.

As Chair of the Finance and Government Services Committee, I can say that this budget

was not one of easy decisions. Our government is making careful choices to safeguard

the things that matter most to British Columbians, like health care and education.

But global uncertainty has introduced challenges here in B.C. and across Canada. This

instability and the tariffs imposed by the American administration have put pressure

on public finances.

The seriousness of this global situation demands a serious provincial budget that

will deliver stability to British Columbians. This is what this budget represents.

Before I was elected, I served as a law enforcement officer. When police respond to

a crisis scene, we don’t panic. We assess, we prioritize, and we protect lives first.

This too is a budget that takes a deliberate, carefully considered approach. We hear

time and time again how much British Columbians value and defend and depend on public

services. That’s why we are protecting these services.

As Chair of the Finance and Government Services Committee, I have had the privilege

of hearing directly from British Columbians in communities across this beautiful province

— small business owners, seniors worried about long-term care, families concerned

about child care costs, construction workers asking what their next project will be.

What they told us was clear and simple: protect health care, protect education, protect

affordability, use public funds responsibly. This budget reflects that.

Budget 2026 is a budget based in the difficult reality that B.C. is facing. We are

forecasting declining deficits over the fiscal plan so that we can protect these services

for the next generation. This will be achieved through targeted reductions in spending,

as well as strategic re-pacing of capital projects. This is what fiscal discipline

looks like. Every dollar is scrutinized.

In addition to protecting our valued public services, we’re keeping taxes low for

working families. B.C. remains one of the provinces with the lowest tax for those

working and middle income families. With increases to the B.C. tax reduction credit,

more than 40 percent of the taxpayers will be paying lower taxes this year.

We are making further investments in core services. Budget 2026 is investing an additional

$2.8 billion in health care over three years, including $2.3 billion to increase capacity

to our health care services and systems, $131 million to support mental health and

addiction treatment and $185 million to strengthen seniors care.

In our education system, we are investing $634 million in K to 12 over three years,

including $167 million for the classroom enhancement fund to put more teachers, special

education teachers and counsellors in B.C. classrooms.

We are absolutely committed to making our neighbourhoods and communities safer. That’s

why we’re investing $139 million over three years in public safety measures. This

includes $42 million towards initiatives to target repeat violent offenders and the

new chronic property offenders initiatives. We are investing $73 million in our courts

to support timely access to justice, recruit and retain sheriffs and move cases through

the justice system faster.

These critical investments across health care, education, public safety and more will

make a real difference in my riding in Burnaby South–Metrotown and across B.C.

These are investments that will help hire more doctors, nurses and health professionals

in our hospitals and long-term-care homes. Investments that will put more teachers

in our schools and help deliver a quality education to our kids. Investments that

will double the amount of skilled-trades training in this province to provide new

opportunities and good-paying jobs for young people. Investments that will help increase

the sense of safety in our neighbourhoods so that B.C. residents and businesses have

confidence and peace of mind.

[2:40 p.m.]

Not only are we investing in public services, but we are also investing in the projects

that will continue to deliver results for British Columbians and the people of Burnaby.

Across the province, we are building what communities need to grow: hospitals, schools,

transit, roads and bridges. The capital plan invests $37.7 billion over three years

and supports approximately 130,000 jobs.

In Burnaby, one of B.C.’s most diverse and dynamic cities, we are investing $68 million

for a new, expanded Cameron Elementary to create 770 new student spaces and over $40

million for a brand-new francophone elementary school. We are making schools seismically

safer and adding capacities at Brentwood Park, Stride Avenue and Kitchener Elementary.

And we are incredibly proud of the seismically safer, $101 million Burnaby North Secondary

replacement school that recently opened to 1,800 students.

Burnaby is a hub for the talent that drives B.C.’s economy. At BCIT, we’re investing

over $150 million in the new trades and technology complex, adding 1,200 student seats

and generating over 1,100 construction jobs. We also recently completed BCIT’s $144

million Tall Timber Student Housing project.

Over at SFU, we’re delivering phase 3 of the student housing, a $197 million mass

timber building providing 445 beds and 160 child care spaces. This builds on the beautiful

First Peoples gathering house. These projects take pressure off of Burnaby’s private

rental market, helping everyone find an affordable place to live.

Finally, I want to highlight the monumental transformation of health care in our city.

The Burnaby Hospital redevelopment and the new B.C. care centre represent a multi-billion

dollar commitment. With two new patient care towers, a modernized emergency department,

399 beds and a state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre, people in Burnaby will get

the care closer to home. This massive project is expected to create over 17,000 direct

jobs and 8,500 indirect jobs. These are meaningful investments that British Columbians

have been asking for, that British Columbians expect, and we are delivering.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, I have spent many of the past months engaging

with B.C.’s businesses, big and small, to hear from them directly about what they

need. This work is practical and focused on key terms and goals: enhancing B.C.’s

trade diversification strategy and our Look West goals to export around the world, engaging industry about real-world opportunities,

deepening ties with key partners across the Indo-Pacific and supporting the people-to-people

connections that make trade work.

Trade is one of B.C.’s great strengths, but we also know the risk of overreliance

on a single market. In 2023, about 54 percent of B.C.’s goods exports went to the

U.S. Tariffs and tariff threats on aluminum, steel, softwood lumber, autos and other

goods have created unacceptable uncertainty for B.C.’s employers and workers. Our

response is targeted and long term. We need to diversify markets, reduce barriers

at home, move faster on major projects and back small and medium-sized exporters with

hands-on support.

We are working every day to help B.C. businesses export their goods and services around

the globe. B.C. has an abundance of what the world needs — from critical minerals,

clean energy and sustainable forestry to world-class tech talents and innovations

that can solve global challenges.

We have a global network of more than 50 trade and investment representatives in 14

key markets, including new representation in Mexico, Taiwan and Vietnam. These teams

connect B.C. companies to buyers and investors every day.

We also have opened Forestry Innovation Investment offices in Vietnam and England

to grow B.C.’s market share beyond traditional destinations. We have renewed and signed

cooperation agreements that position B.C. in strategic sectors, with Gyeonggi province

in South Korea, KOMIR on critical minerals, Japanese partners in clean transportation

and a letter of intent with Karnataka, India, on life sciences and tech.

[2:45 p.m.]

Interest in B.C.’s advantages continues to rise, and trade missions are essential

to capitalizing on this. These missions are absolutely crucial. They are sales calls

for Team B.C.

Over the past two years, our delegations have showcased clean energy tech in Germany

and Norway; focused on food security and critical minerals in Japan, Malaysia and

South Korea; put B.C.’s tech on major stages in Europe; promoted life sciences in

Boston; and positioned B.C. for investment at Climate Week in New York City. In January

2026, we led a mission to India to strengthen ties in responsible mining, forestry

and tech.

The benefits of these relationships are practical. As part of our Look West goals to double exports to non-U.S. markets over the next ten years, companies get

B2B meetings they cannot get on their own, and they build long-term relationships

that turn into procurement and inward investments.

In Mexico, we are building relationships with aerospace, ICT and clean tech. In Taiwan,

we are positioning B.C. as a low-carbon supplier. In Vietnam, our presence is opening

doors for B.C. wood products and agrifood. These are new customers for B.C. exporters

and new jobs right here at home.

Trade is not an abstract; it is about supporting businesses to reach new customers.

This is why programs like export navigator matter, providing free one-on-one advisory

support. In 2022, we added a technical specialist pilot so businesses can access the

logistical and cross-border legal expertise that makes a first export deal possible.

We’re also expanding proven partners like the trade accelerator program. The goal

is simple: more B.C. firms exporting to more markets faster.

As B.C.’s representative at Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, I spent time speaking

with American legislators and business leaders. Let’s be very clear. Tariffs are not

theoretical. They are not a threat. They are real. I have sat across from state elected

officials who agree that these tariffs benefit nobody. They harm working people and

businesses on both sides of the border.

While diplomacy continues, our responsibility is here, right here at home. That’s

why this budget invests $283 million in new funding to support our new Look West strategy for jobs and prosperity, doubles funding for SkilledTradesBC and establishes

a $400 million B.C. strategic investment fund. This is not reactive budgeting; this

is strategic positioning. We are diversifying markets and identifying new opportunities,

and we are reducing our dependency on an unstable trading partner.

We are strengthening internal trade and breaking down interprovincial barriers. At

PNWER, I have heard the same thing many times. Canada must knock down its internal

trade barriers. Economic analysis suggests mutual recognition, where we agree to allow

the sale of goods that are permitted to be sold in other provinces and territories,

could increase Canada’s GDP by up to 7.9 percent. This is transformational.

In this, B.C. continues to be at the forefront of that work. We led the establishment

of the Canadian mutual recognition agreement, and we continue to push for further

reduction in trade barriers. We are advancing direct-to-consumer alcohol sales. Since

the new B.C.-Alberta program launched in 2025, nearly 100 B.C. wineries have joined,

and interprovincial wine shipments have grown sharply, proof that cutting internal

barriers helps businesses grow.

Budget 2026 does three things. It protects core services, it keeps taxes among the

lowest Canada-wide for working and middle-income families, and it sets B.C. on a disciplined

path towards deficit reduction. It invests in skills, infrastructure, major projects,

trade diversification, health care, seniors, children and working families, and it

acknowledges uncertainty but does not surrender to it.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, I will continue working to open new markets

and create new opportunities for B.C. businesses. As B.C.’s rep for PNWER, I will

continue to strengthen people-to-people relationships across our shared borders. As

Chair of the Finance Committee, I will continue to pursue fiscal discipline. As MLA

for Burnaby South–Metrotown, I will continue advocating for families who expect serious

leadership in serious times.

[2:50 p.m.]

Budget 2026 is responsible, it is disciplined, and it is forward-looking. Budget 2026

is securing B.C.’s future.

Lynne Block : Today we are called upon to debate Budget 2026, a budget that has disappointed nearly

everyone in this province who has looked at it closely. Experts have given it a failing

grade, warning that it fails to address key economic and social pressures and that

it places unfair burdens on those who can least afford them. For all its lofty language

and carefully crafted talking points, this budget will hit ordinary British Columbians

with higher taxes, delayed services and rising costs.

In the days since its release, we have witnessed spin, deflection and reassurances

from government members, yet very little accountability for the real pain this fiscal

plan will inflict on seniors, families and small business owners across the province.

Some in this NDP government will tell you this budget is a positive step, that it

is necessary to fund essential services, modernize fiscal systems and respond to external

pressures like U.S. tariffs. But let’s be clear. Tariffs did not create a $13.3 billion

projected deficit. What did create this deficit? A lack of fiscal discipline, a failure

to control spending, ignorance of basic economic prudence and a willingness to raise

taxes at every opportunity. Blaming outside forces for the state of our economy is

not leadership. It is evasion.

The NDP government often accuses us: “Well, when you were in government, things were

worse.” We just heard it today in question period: “If you were in power, you would

cut this, cut that.” But the fact is, and the truth is very simple, our Conservative

Party has not been in government since 1933. I’ll repeat. Our Conservative Party has

not been in government since 1933. We were in power from 1903 to 1916 and 1928 to

1933, nearly 100 years ago.

Let’s be clear. While we have not governed for 93 years. We have also never created

a deficit of this magnitude, nor have we ever placed such an unfair burden on seniors,

young families and small business owners. This budget is unprecedented in its reach

and its impact, and it asks ordinary British Columbians to carry costs they should

never have to bear.

The Conservative caucus has always stood for responsible budgeting, predictable taxation

and strong investment in core public services. Yet this government repeatedly tries

to cast aspersions that Conservatives would cut health or education or something,

a claim that is nothing more than a red herring designed to distract from the very

real hardships this budget imposes. It is not a reflection of our values or intentions.

It is a tactic by a government flailing for cover, seeking to deflect from the negative

outcomes of this budget.

This budget is not just numbers on a page. It is real lives affected — retirees strapped

by compounded property tax deferrals, families squeezed by rising costs and limited

supports and small businesses struggling under new tax burdens.

[2:55 p.m.]

Today I want to speak not only about the core three areas where this budget fails

miserably — seniors, young families and small business owners — but also about the

broader context of fiscal choices, priorities and responsibility. A society is judged

not by the complexity of its budgets but by the dignity and opportunity it affords

its citizens.

Let’s begin with a reality that every family feels at the grocery checkout, at the

pharmacy and at the gas pump. Prices are up almost everywhere. Instead of meaningful

measures to absorb those increases, this budget adds higher personal income taxes,

pauses indexation of tax brackets and extends the PST to categories that hit households

directly.

The PST is now applied to professional services, things like accounting, engineering,

property management and even basic security services, turning everyday business expenses

into additional costs that get passed on to families.

Young parents, retirees and those living on fixed incomes are not insulated from this.

We are told this is necessary to fund services. But when families feel less secure,

when every dollar must stretch further, when debt grows faster than savings, that

is not a stronger economy. That is economic strain being shifted onto the backs of

ordinary hard-working people.

What do we get in return? Delays to hospital expansions, long-term-care facilities

delayed or paced slower, child care supports that can’t keep up with demand and housing

initiatives that lack the funding necessary to make a dent in affordability. Investments

in services are announced, but deliverables lag, and timelines stretch out while people

wait.

This is not leadership through vision; this is leadership through apology. Nowhere

is the disconnect between rhetoric and reality greater than in the treatment of our

seniors. We are told there is $2.8 billion in new health funding over three years

and $447 million in federal, not provincial, supports for seniors health services.

But dollars on a line do not equal care delivered. At the same time, this budget increases

taxes and expands the PST.

Seniors face mounting pressures. Long-term-care facilities are being delayed, slowing

the construction that should already be underway and forcing older adults to spend

longer periods in hospitals or at home without the supports they need.

Meanwhile, our aging population — I would call it a looming silver tsunami — continues

to grow, bringing increasing demands for care, mobility supports and in-home services,

which we are simply not prepared to meet.

On top of this, property tax deferment rates are rising from 2.9 percent to 6.9 percent,

with interest compounding, meaning retirees who relied on these deferrals to stay

in their homes will now see the amounts they owe escalate faster than they can manage.

This could be deemed as usury on the part of this government.

Nowhere is the disconnect between rhetoric and reality greater than the treatment

of our seniors. The Minister of Health stood before us stating that nothing is more

important than our seniors, touting an additional $35 million to help them stay in

their homes. But while one minister offers a small gesture of support, the Finance

Minister is undermining the very stability of those homes.

This budget increases, like I said, the property tax deferral rates from 2.9 percent

to a staggering 6.9 percent, 4 percent right off the bat. When asked to justify this,

the Finance Minister showed a profound lack of empathy for seniors, suggesting that

seniors should actually be thanking this government for the change.

[3:00 p.m.]

The minister callously dismissed the needs of retirees by claiming the program was

being used by seniors who took that cheap funding and invested it to make money. This

shows a chilling lack of understanding of the lived reality for most B.C. seniors,

and I should know. My riding is predominantly seniors. They vote, by the way.

For many, accessing home equity is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a survival strategy.

These are seniors on inadequate fixed incomes who have been forced to tap into their

equity just to pay their bills and supplement their rising costs of living so they

can stay in their homes that they have spent a lifetime paying taxes on and living

in.

To hear the Finance Minister claim that this massive interest hike does not affect

one’s monthly spending is an insult to every senior watching their debt compound faster

than they can manage. It is a cold, accounting-based perspective that ignores the

emotional and financial weight of mounting debt on those just trying to hang on.

While the NDP ministers speak of care and compassion, their policies tell a different

story, one where our elders are viewed as a source of revenue rather than a population

deserving of dignity and protection. I wonder what this government’s parents and grandparents

are saying to their MLAs. Is this how we should honour our elders? Is this how we

reward our seniors for their years of service, their contributions to our society

and the many sacrifices that they have made for their children and grandchildren?

I am appalled at the narratives being spun around this government’s treatment of seniors

in our provinces. So I’d like to tell you a couple of stories.

I’ll call them Mr. and Mrs. Smith. They have lived in their rental apartment, same

one, for over 30 years, and of course, it’s capped on their rentals. Mr. Smith was

in the hospital for three months, and because he’d broken both hips, he needed a specialized

wheelchair. The hospital would not allow him home. Three months he was in the hospital.

Why couldn’t he come home? The specialized wheelchair was not allowed because he had

old carpeting, original carpeting, in his rental apartment.

He was stuck, and nobody was helping him, not Coastal Health, nobody. So we got involved,

my wonderful, terrific CAs in my office. Within one day, not only did we get the carpeting

ripped out, new flooring in, but we also got the place painted. The problem was that

they have new owners of this apartment building and new managers. They were willing

to give them a beautiful new apartment that’s refurbished, at twice the rent. They

couldn’t move. They couldn’t go home. So that is a happy ending story.

Another happy-ending story. I’ll call him John. John lived with his 100-year-old mother.

In a wheelchair she was, and blind. She was also a veteran. They lived on the eighth

floor of an apartment building, rental, and the one elevator of this older building

was going to be refurbished. Well, it was going to take three months.

“No problem,” the owner of the apartment said, and the manager. “You can stay in your

apartment for three months, and the caregivers can walk up and down eight flights

of stairs.” Well, John didn’t want to see his mother treated like that. Neither would

I. So we got involved.

The only thing…. When he came to us, he was beside himself. He said: “All I can find

is eight days’ respite in a care home.” I said: “No problem. My CO and my CAs are

going to bat for you. We will advocate for you.” And we did. We found him and his

mom a beautiful place on the North Shore that he can get to by bus, and it’s for the

rest of her life. He’s happy, and his mom is happy now. But that was thanks to the

intervention of my constituency office and my terrific CAs.

[3:05 p.m.]

These two seniors’ stories have happy endings. But now, for other seniors in my riding

and across the province, because of the new burdens introduced by this budget, there

may not be happy endings. On fixed incomes with too few long-term-care homes available,

ordinary seniors continue to face uncertain futures.

These are not isolated stories. They are real people whose security and dignity are

threatened because this government has prioritized taxation and accounting over care

and compassion. Those are the seniors who’ve been affected and will be affected by

this budget.

What about young families? Young families are shouldering another kind of burden.

While this budget does include initiatives — such as $34 million annually for IVF

access, expanded mental health services for children and new disability benefits that

help some families — the truth is that these are spot measures, helpful in certain

cases but far from comprehensive solutions to the systemic challenges that families

face every day.

This budget also raises the lowest provincial income tax rate, reducing take-home

pay, just as housing costs, child care expenses and everyday consumer prices continue

to climb. It does little to meaningfully increase affordable housing, their supports

or rental supplements, leaving many parents struggling to find homes close to work

and schools. While some child care funding is included, it remains modest compared

with the scale of need, leaving families waiting, uncertain and under financial strain.

I’d like to tell you another story. I’ll call him Zachary. Zachary, when we met his

parents, was 20 months old. Now, he has complex medical needs caused by something

called infantile spasms, a rare form of epilepsy, continuing throughout each day.

He needs constant support. His mom needed to go back to work just to handle all the

costs, along with his dad. There was a three-year wait-list for him to get into care,

so she couldn’t return to work. She had to stay with her son.

However, we got involved. Exciting news. Zachary has been free of seizures for six

months, which is absolutely profound. Both parents are working, and they’re sharing

the workload so that they can meet their bills and also that their child has either

mom or dad at home. We’ve got them…. In September, he is going to be in a special

daycare, which we’re very excited about. It’s one of the few on the North Shore.

Coming back to young families, we must ask: is this budget meeting the real needs

of families, or is it offering small gestures while letting deep challenges go unresolved?

Families want and deserve more than lip service. They deserve real affordability,

real access and real opportunity.

Seniors and young families have been negatively impacted by this budget. Who else?

Small businesses. Our small businesses — local cafes, shops, trades, services and

studios — define our communities, especially mine. We don’t have big business. We

don’t have industry. We have small businesses.

Small businesses were offered a few incentives, a temporary manufacturing investment

tax credit, extended shipbuilding credits and no immediate changes to the small business

rate. But those positives are quickly undercut by real negatives. The PST expansion

directly increases operating costs for small businesses, as they are now required

to pay sales tax on services that were previously exempt. On top of that, compliance

and administrative burdens have risen, consuming both time and money that could otherwise

be invested in growth and innovation.

[3:10 p.m.]

Meanwhile, higher personal income taxes and the pause on bracket indexation place

additional pressures on sole proprietors, shareholders and entrepreneurs who report

business income through their personal returns, further straining small business owners

already working to keep their doors open.

Another couple of stories. Small business owners.

I’ve got a wonderful hairdresser. She’s magical. She’s single, a mom. Been single

since her little girl was a little toddler. Her daughter she’s helping to pay through

medical school right now. And this amazing woman…. There’s nobody else working in

her salon. It’s her. She cleans up. She does all the hair-cutting, everything, answers

the phone. She’s cheerful, and she’s lovely. But this is going to impact her negatively.

She’s working as hard as she possibly can.

What about my local store that pays $20,000 a month for rent? A mom-and-pop store.

They’re going into their savings right now. This is going to really, really negatively

impact them.

What about my favourite little coffee shop, mom-and-pop again? They have been there

for about 12 years now, and they raised their children there. They work incredibly

hard, and they are struggling. They are always busy, but they are struggling because,

since COVID, people haven’t come back. The times are really tough. It’s really impacting

their business, so they are struggling. With this budget, they’re going to struggle

even more.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. They create jobs, support neighbourhoods

and give our towns and cities their character. Yet this budget does nothing to foster

an environment where they can grow and thrive. It does not encourage entrepreneurship

or investment. Instead, it burdens owners with higher taxes, expanded PST and rising

compliance costs. On paper, it may appear generous in press releases, but in the lived

reality of small business owners, it is harsh, restrictive and discouraging.

British Columbians are watching. They are not fooled by talking points, obfuscation

and spin. They know what rising costs feel like, they know when services are delayed,

they know when family members struggle, and they know where to place responsibility.

This budget is not just about paying bills. It is about priorities. It is about who

we choose to support and who we choose to burden. In this budget, our seniors, our

young families and our small business communities are being asked to shoulder more

than their fair share.

We owe it to the people of this province to demand more — more accountability, more

compassion and more responsible leadership. We cannot settle for excuses or for passing

the burden on to those least able to bear it. We must do better. We can do better,

and we must remind each other, loudly and clearly, that a government’s job is not

to hide behind tariffs or deficit figures but to build a province where dignity, opportunity

and fairness are the rule, not the exception.

Deputy Speaker : Members, I’m going to recognize Abbotsford South because we see him online with his

hand up, but I would warn the member that if it’s to speak to the budget, I’ll be

going to Surrey-Guildford next.

Member, can you tell us?

Bruce Banman : It is to speak to the budget, Mr. Speaker, so I will wait my turn.

Deputy Speaker : Thank you very much. We’ll call on you following Surrey-Guildford.

Garry Begg : It’s an honour today for me to speak to this House about the budget, which helps

and outlines our government’s plan to build a stronger, better B.C. to help British

Columbians get through these very challenging times.

As has been said many times, all of us here in this amazing province have endured

years unlike any other — the fires, the floods, the global pandemic, economic instability.

[3:15 p.m.]

Now that we’re in recovery, we have been building the strongest economic recovery

in Canada, and we’ve demonstrated that we can accomplish as much as we can when we

work together.

Donald Trump has truly changed the new world order. There is much to be done, but

we now know that there are many brighter days ahead.

I think it’s important that we pause for a few moments to consider the dark days that

are now happening in Europe, where a brutal dictator is engaged in a brutal war in

Ukraine and millions of people are fearful every day for their lives. All of our lives

are impacted in some way by this war, and I’m proud to say that I stand with all others

in this House to condemn in the strongest possible way the egregious and unlawful

intrusion into Ukraine.

It’s important that the people of Ukraine know that they are in our thoughts and prayers

and that we will, in whatever way we can, provide whatever is needed to protect them

and to support them.

There is much suffering around us and all over the world, and we must be mindful of

those who have so much less than we do.

It would be remiss of me not to take the opportunity to salute the good folks of Surrey-Guildford

who have honoured me by sending me here to represent them as their MLA in this House.

And to my support at my office in Guildford. It’s the dedicated; talented; enthusiastic;

and, some would say, long-suffering constituency assistants who every day support

me through their hard work and desire to also help the residents of Surrey through

their efficient and effective work at my constituency office in Guildford. They’re

amazing advocates for all of the people who avail themselves of the services provided

by my office there.

So to Ben and Candy and Tanveen, the newest addition to my staff: thank you. The residents

of Surrey-Guildford are well served by your personable and understanding, helpful

demeanour.

For those of you who don’t know, Surrey-Guildford is located in the northeast corner

of the city of Surrey. The Fraser River surrounds the northern edge of the community,

with Whalley to the west, Langley to the east. The southern border jogs down 96 to

88 Avenue.

This speech that I’m talking about today centres on what has been a core principle

of what this government is all about. We believe in putting people first. It highlights

our government’s plan to support British Columbians dealing with the everyday realities

of their lives. It is, by its design and intent, an aspirational document that points

to a brighter tomorrow for all of us. It is this government’s plan to tackle the big

challenges now and build a stronger, more secure future for everyone.

The message is simple yet profound. In a time of uncertainty and challenges, our government

has your back.

Now, there are alternatives. Some would say that we should be pulling back, cutting

services and making people pay out of their pockets for things like private health

care.

That’s not the choice that we have made or will make. We’re putting the surplus back

to work for people. We believe that taking that action today will build a much stronger

tomorrow. We’re helping people with costs by introducing new measures to help everyone

and targeted support for those hardest hit, including those with lower incomes and

families with children.

By far the biggest source of anxiety for people in British Columbia right now is the

rising cost of living. B.C. is the best place in the world to live, but that also

means it’s expensive to live here. Global inflation and long-lasting impacts of the

pandemic are not only making things harder when you pay for gas and food and housing.

But we’ve already taken significant action to help put more money back in your pocket.

[3:20 p.m.]

I want to take a few moments to talk about the people of Tumbler Ridge. My heart goes

out to everyone in that beloved community, especially those who have lost loved ones.

My thoughts are with the entire community, who are experiencing heart-wrenching grief

and tragedy.

We are also thankful for the work of the hard-working first responders — the policemen,

the emergency service workers. All of them acted to protect students as best they

could. These dedicated British Columbia workers have steadied their commitment in

the most frightening times. Their commitment reflects the very best of who we are

in B.C.

British Columbians are not alone. Support and love have poured in from across Canada

and from people around the world. Counsellors are there, on the ground, helping the

community members and local leaders. The school district and so many others have been

tireless in their efforts to support the entire community.

Our government will always continue to help to surge support into Tumbler Ridge, including

counselling services, health resources and community assistance. Again, this government

and our support will remain there as long as it takes.

To return to the budget, it’s important that we understand that in a world of economic

uncertainty, we have to make careful choices to protect what matters most. In doing

so, we will secure the future of this province. Since I’ve been in government, over

the past eight or nine years, we’ve built, already, a strong foundation that people

can depend on.

Hospitals, schools, roads, transit, housing and clean electricity are being delivered

to support communities and good jobs across B.C. We made these investments while guiding

people and businesses through extraordinary challenges — again, a global pandemic,

devastating floods and wildfires, and now a direct attack on our economy and our sovereignty

by our neighbour closest to us in the south.

When we came into this problem, we came from a position of strength. Our economy stayed

resilient, and a low debt-to-GDP ratio gave B.C. the capacity to respond when it mattered

the most. That work is what now is making a difference. Major job creation projects

are moving forward. We have more family doctors than ever before. Rent prices are

dropping, from their peaks, and everyday costs are eased through the B.C. family benefit,

more affordable child care and lower car insurance rates.

This budget defends those gains. It is a tough economic reality that we face with

clarity and vision. Global uncertainty is slowing growth everywhere. High costs, global

instability and volatile commodity prices are putting pressure on our public’s finances.

We, I think, have to be realistic and definitive in the choices that we make in these

circumstances. I believe that Budget 2026 makes disciplined choices to protect what

people care about the most.

Our priorities are clear. Protect core public services like health care and education,

keep B.C. as one of the lowest-taxed provinces for working families, and reduce the

deficit responsibly over time.

To achieve this, we’re taking three key steps. We are going to make the public sector

smaller and more efficient so that more dollars can be used wisely.

[3:25 p.m.]

We are going to pace infrastructure projects carefully, delivering them efficiently

without driving up costs, and by generating new revenue, while taking action to grow

the economy and secure the long-term impact on major projects.

At the same time, we continue to invest in B.C.’s future, doubling trades training,

supporting major job creation projects and ensuring that families and communities

benefit from what we have built. Budget 2026 is serious work for seriously critical

times. We’re focused on what matters most — protecting services, keeping taxes low

for working families and strengthening B.C.’s finances for the long term.

I think it’s important that we highlight, as well, that we’re strengthening health

care. It’s $2.8 billion more over three years, including $2.3 billion to increase

capacity in the health care system, $131 million to support mental health and addictions

treatment, $185 million to strengthen seniors care and $102 million for in vitro fertilization.

In fact, we’ve secured $447 million in federal funding to support services for seniors

and $653 million to expand public coverage for free medication for diabetes and enhanced

coverage for hormone replacement treatments to treat menopausal symptoms. We are securing

the economic future of this province.

It’s $283 million over three years to support commitments made through Look West, including $241 million double funding for SkilledTradesBC over the next three years

to train more people for good jobs here in B.C.; $30 million for highly qualified

professionals and $12 million to enhance the employer training grant to double apprenticeship

seats by 2028-2029; $400 million for a new B.C. strategic investment fund to seize

opportunities for economic collaboration with the federal government.

More than $40 million to build on progress made in streamlining, permitting and increasing

capacity across the natural resource and tourism sectors. In 2025-2026, $50 million

in provincial and reallocated federal funding to support the forestry sector.

We are creating a more efficient public sector. This province is committed and has

committed to addressing our challenging fiscal situation through workforce reductions

and reviewing program delivery through Budget 2026 with nearly $3.5 billion in savings

over a three-year fiscal plan and targets to reduce the greater public sector workforce

by 15,000 full-time equivalents over the fiscal plan — $2.8 billion in additional

savings. Of these 15,000 FTEs, 2,500 will be in the public service.

We’re supporting education across the province. Before I run out of time, I want to

highlight what we’re doing in Surrey in particular. Surrey, as all of you know, is

the fastest-growing place in the province. Our future is very bright, but we have

great needs, as do other areas of the province.

The Surrey school district’s 2025-26 capital plan submission requested over $5 billion

in capital funding. They will get 19 additional projects, 26 new schools, two seismic

upgrades and 24 site acquisitions.

[3:30 p.m.]

Budget 2025-26 does not provide any new funding for major capital projects, but existing

projects with significant cash flows will continue over the next three years, including

Fleetwood Park Secondary, an addition; Clayton Heights Secondary, an addition; and

Grandview Heights, an addition that has not yet been announced.

The health authority. Surrey, of course, is building a brand-new hospital, and that

is going to continue. Existing projects with significant cash flows over the next

three years include the Surrey Memorial Priority Actions Projects, the renal hemodialysis

centre, MRI expansion and others. Of course, as I mentioned, the new Surrey hospital

and B.C. cancer centre.

The Road to Recovery funding envelope The site acquisition for that is underway. And

a secure care funding envelope. Site purchases there are complete, and our business

planning is underway.

In post-secondary, Surrey has been underserved for years. We are continuing in this

budget with student housing and dining at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the interim

School of Medicine at Simon Fraser University and a permanent school of medicine at

Simon Fraser University.

I think it’s important, in ending, that we look at this budget as it is meant to be.

It is an aspirational budget that looks forward. I know that the future is bright.

I know that if we continue along the course that has been set for us, that future

will continue.

Bruce Banman : It is always an honour and pleasure to speak to the chamber, albeit in this case,

remotely.

I, too, would like to take a moment to express my condolences and heartfelt support

for those in Tumbler Ridge right now and throughout the province and to thank the

first responders, teachers and individuals that sprang to help when Tumbler Ridge

went through that horrific time. My heart just goes out to all of them.

I would like to talk about this current budget. There’s not a lot of good news here.

Quite frankly, I was listening to the member prior speak about it, and I’m wondering

if we’re even reading the same budget. There’s not a lot to cheer about in this.

I think that Marc Lee, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives senior economist,

kind of puts it best when he says, with regards to this budget, that they definitely

seem to manage to, and I will use the word, “tick off” everybody. I would say that

that’s pretty accurate.

This budget, in my opinion and in the opinion of many, is an assault on seniors. It’s

an assault on working families, especially the working poor. It’s definitely an assault

on small businesses; children, especially those with autism; women; and, as I mentioned,

the working poor.

I think it’s worth noting that, to begin with, when this government inherited the

finances of this fine province, they had a $6 billion surplus. They have managed to

blow that, and we are now looking at a $13 billion deficit. Unlike the Olympics, this

is not a record to be proud of, not in any way, shape or form.

[3:35 p.m.]

Now we are looking at, in addition to a record deficit…. I think a lot of people at

home don’t really, perhaps, comprehend that there is the deficit of this year’s budget.

To put that in perspective for them, I would say it’s like a monthly budget.

When you get hit with or mismanage your money, you end up with a monthly shortfall.

Then that shortfall continues into the next month if you don’t make accommodations

for it and adjust for it. Then it adds up until you end up with, at the end of the

year, a huge debt. Not just a deficit for the month, but you end up with a debt.

We’re now looking at a record debt that’s projected to reach $182 billion this year

alone, by the end of this year. It’s tripled over the last decade. It has reached

the point where the interest alone….

Governments are like anyone else. It’s like if you go into a…. If you have misspent

your own household budget, if you’re lucky, you have either a credit card or a line

of credit that you can dip into, or you have saved money. As I said, this government

actually had saved money, where they were going to have a $6 billion surplus. They

managed to blow through that.

What happens, though, when that debt starts to accumulate and accumulate, it’s literally

like having a credit card where all you can do is just pay the interest on it. We’re

not talking about paying the actual principal that has been borrowed. We’re now looking

at….

The interest alone is counted at almost $9 billion, and that works out to $1,500 per

British Columbian by 2028-29, which is up from $532 that every British Columbian owned

back in 2016 and ’17.

Now, it would be one thing…. Sometimes there’s that old saying that you’ve got to

spend money in order to make money. In this case, in government’s case, we’ve got

to spend money — the government will tell you — in order to make things better. I

just heard the last speaker talk about how much better things are. No, they’re not.

I honestly don’t know what he was reading from and what he was using.

Let’s go over the things that matter to British Columbians.

Crime is worse. We see it every day, be it random violence attacks, repeat violent

offenders, the crime we see on our streets. As a matter of fact, it’s at the point

where our downtowns are decaying.

I spoke to someone that came back to Victoria and had not been here for ten years.

Someone took them to Pandora, and they broke into tears and cried because they did

not recognize the city that they’d left. They were so shocked that they broke into

tears. That, sadly, is not unique to Pandora. You can see that in every city, virtually,

in British Columbia. Some have, in fact, declared a state of emergency. It was so

bad.

When things start to get bad, what do people do? Well, if they can, they look for

somewhere else to go. They leave, and that’s exactly what’s happening. Our population

is now declining. When people leave to look for a better future…. It’s mainly our

youth that are leaving, which are our future — everything from doctors to engineers

to plumbers to bus drivers. That is our future, our youth.

When people start to leave, your economy then starts to decay even faster. And exactly

what would happen is…. Jobs are disappearing. When the jobs start to disappear and

the people start to disappear, so do those that are looking to invest.

[3:40 p.m.]

Why would you open up a business when businesses are closing down, and you start to

see more and more and more vacant spaces in your downtown cores?

Investment is also fleeing, and not just in businesses. Investment, as we have seen,

is leaving our forest industry. It is not coming to the mining industry. In fact,

there are 24 mines that want to open up today in British Columbia but can’t because

they’re mired in red tape, and it takes on average 15 to sometimes 20 years for a

new mine to open up. That works into billions of dollars of revenue not only in the

general economy but in direct revenue and royalties into the provincial government

to actually help with the very deficit.

I’d have to ask: “Does this budget actually improve the lives of British Columbians?”

It’s certainly not making life more affordable in Maple Ridge. It’s not making my

constituents in Abbotsford feel safer, and it’s actually not making them safer. It

certainly doesn’t make schools in Surrey. It doesn’t solve the horrible issues with

regards to portables and stacking portables that we have in Surrey. Surrey, once yet

again, gets treated like second class.

This budget is a disaster. You cannot continue to spend more money than you have.

You cannot continue to treat businesses and add expense after expense on them and

then expect them either to stay open or find other places to go do business.

I talked to a lot of businesses. Many of them have an exit plan because they have

to. When I talk to most of them, they say to me: “You know, Bruce, I stay here because

this is my home. I was born here,” or “I immigrated here. I have sentimental reasons

as to why I stay here because I love it so.” But sadly, now they’re looking at: “I’m

going to be forced to move if I am to continue to do business at all.”

This is what happens when you spend money as if it doesn’t matter. A lot of people

think that all governments can just print more money. Well, no, you can’t. You can’t

just continue to spend more money than you have and expect it to end well. It does

not end well ever.

If you listen to those within the financial industry, let me give you a couple of

quotes. “It’s another fiscal disaster for British Columbia,” says Tegan Hill, who’s

the director of B.C. policy studies for business in Vancouver. “The cost alone to

service the debt is $9 billion. How on earth is any credit rating agency going to

look at this and not do another downgrade to British Columbia?” That comes from Bridgitte

Anderson, from GVBOT’s CEO.

Let me expand on that for a minute. What Bridgitte is saying is, and I don’t think

that people truly understand the significance of this, governments get a really good

rate to borrow money. Why? Well, because they can tax people, and they have a way

of getting their money.

It’s not like if you sell a car and someone stops making the payments on the car.

You’ve now got to go and try and find that car, and you hope that you can find it

and recover your loss. Governments can just continue to tax people more, so those

that loan money have a tendency to look upon them favourably and give them a better

rate than what I can go get to go buy a car or a house, as an example.

[3:45 p.m.]

However, there is an interest rate that has to be paid, and British Columbia has already

had its credit rating downgraded, and that means that the interest rate goes up. For

those of you, it would be the difference between a line of credit, which would be

prime plus 2, let’s say, or prime plus 3, versus a credit card, which would be up

in much, much higher interest rates. What that means is that you have less money because

you’re now paying more interest. You have less money to actually spend on the things

you need, like health care.

One of my colleagues talked about this, and the NDP are doing their best to spin it,

because all they got right now is spin, because they’re out of gas when it comes to

this budget. What my colleague was saying is when the interest rates start going up,

when you lose your credit rate going down, when the third most expensive thing is

paying interest only on the debt, it’s only a matter of time until all of the ministries

take the brunt of that mismanagement of our money.

It means that we are now spending more on paying interest than we are in a household.

It’s like you’re spending more on interest than you are to buy groceries or keep the

lights on. You can’t just keep getting more and more credit cards. Sooner or later,

somebody comes knocking on the door and says, “Give me the keys to the house. You

can no longer afford to live here,” because you don’t have the money to pay the basics

anymore because you’re just paying interest.

This is where the mismanagement of this NDP government has put British Columbians.

We’re now at the point where the interest costs more money than the multitudes of

ministries that we have in this government. There are only three that actually require

more money than the interest. If the interest continues to go up, you can’t just say:

“No, let’s make a deal.” Sooner and later, it’s going to be No. 2, and then it’ll

be No. 1. Everything else suffers as a result of that.

The debt-servicing charges cost B.C. taxpayers $24 million a day. If the credit rating

goes up, and the more you borrow, that number is going to rise. So $24 million a day.

You wonder why you got potholes in your roads? Because $24 million a day goes to interest.

You wonder why your kids are stuck in portables? Because $24 million a day goes into

interest. You wonder why the tunnel hasn’t been built or a bridge hasn’t been built

or why we can’t afford a whole bunch of other stuff? It’s because $24 million a day

is being spent on interest. When this government inherited a $6 million surplus in

the budget, we were on the right direction. Sadly, we are no longer there.

There has been a 90 percent increase in spending over the last decade. It’s not like

money went up 90 percent. There’s been a 90 percent increase in what we spent over

the last decade. Where does it start to come home? Well, if you are an employee of

the government, 15,000 of you are going to lose your jobs as a result of this budget.

That can’t be good news. The interest payments are now the third-highest expenditure

for government, and as a result, people that work for the public sector are going

to start to lose their jobs.

Also buried in this budget, I have to point out, is a Merit Commissioner that quietly,

secretly, disappeared. Only in NDP la-la land can this happen. On the same day that

this Finance Minister announces quietly, buried in all of the fine print, that the

Merit Commissioner is going to be decommissioned — fired, in other words — the committee

makes an announcement that they recommend that the Merit Commissioner should receive

payments for the next three years — in other words, be kept on the budget. Left hand

and right hand not really talking to one another, it would appear. It’s comical, but

it’s not funny. It’s sad.

[3:50 p.m.]

The Merit Commissioner is there to make sure that insiders aren’t hired. I can tell

you what. If the Conservative government were to try and pull this off, and we will

become government, the NDP would be screaming at the top of their lungs of how rotten

this is because we’re going to hire nothing but insiders. Yet when they do it, I guess,

“Do as I say, not as I do” seems to be the rule of the day.

Then they wonder why they are continually, by journalists, announced that they’re

the most secretive government in Canada. Well, it’s because they do sneaky stuff like

this. Again, if things were getting better, that would be one thing. But they’re not.

Affordability is not getting any better under this government. People are working

harder and harder, but they don’t feel like they’re getting further ahead.

Families are stretched by the cost of living. You know who said that? It was the Minister

of Finance, the one that’s responsible for this mess. She is the one. Working families

are having to work harder, they don’t feel like they’re getting further ahead, and

they’re being stretched by the cost of living. It lies in her lap — the NDP government

and her.

How did they respond? Here’s the problem. When you spend more than you have, and the

people start to flee, and investment starts to flee, what happens to the economy?

The economy starts to shrink, and it gets smaller and smaller and smaller. Yet your

interest payments remain the same. So now the only solution that we have is to dig

our hands deeper into everyday, hard-working British Columbians’ pockets. That’s exactly

what this government has done.

There is a $1.1 billion tax increase on working families — $1.1 billion. There’s a

$500 million provincial tax increase with those in the lowest income tax bracket.

If you are in the lowest income tax bracket, on minimum wage, the government just

put an extra half-percent on your taxes that you are not going to be able to spend.

Like buying groceries wasn’t bad enough. At the end of the month, you just got a half-percent

pay cut.

Then it’s expected that another $600 million will happen because they…. The cost of

living goes up, so it’s not like they raised the tax bracket with the cost of living.

No, no, no. No, we can’t do that, because we need to somehow dig our hands deeper

and deeper because of our financial mismanagement, because of the NDP. So they froze

it. Well, that means that as inflation goes up, and your pay rate goes up, you’re

going to pay more and more as well.

You know, this government is great at using things to get people to vote for them,

like — oh, I don’t know — say, a $400 rent rebate that, at the end of the day, by

the time you calculated all the deductions, nobody really got. They also promised

$1,000 for a grocery rebate as a tax deduction for British Columbians. They got that.

So instead, what do you get? No you’re not getting your rent rebate or your grocery

rebate. You’re getting a tax hike, because they’re also now going to expand the PST,

the provincial sales tax.

What are they going to do? Well, if you’re at the point where you need to make your

own clothes, you’re going to have to pay PST on that. For those that can’t afford

to buy a new pair of shoes and are going to have their old ones repaired, you’re going

to have that. You might as well get ready. It’s a good thing that most people are

not using cable anymore, I guess, because there’s going to be a tax on that as well.

That will predominantly hurt seniors.

If you have a land line — in parts of this province, cell phones do not work — you’re

going to have to pay PST on that. If you are a small business that is in construction,

you’re going to have to pay it on engineering fees. There’s a whole host. If you’re

a small business and you’re using a bookkeeper…. Well, you’ll now have to do that.

That’s another extra tax on that.

[3:55 p.m.]

None of this is good. This government has just lost total common sense and touch with

common, everyday, hard-working British Columbians.

But some of the most insidious is what they’re doing to our seniors. Seniors, if you

are living in your home…. And this government…. There is no place in long-term-care

facilities because they’re shutting those all down, and there are six long-term-care

delays when we really need them. There’s a care delay in Abbotsford, Campbell River,

Chilliwack, Cottonwood, Delta, Fort St. John, Squamish. The list goes on. Now you’re

forced to stay in your home, but, hey, the good news is we’ll let you defer your taxes.

A lot of people signed up for this, and now this government says: “Oh, you guys are

cheating. You’re borrowing…. You’re using that money to make more money over here,

so we can’t have that. No, no, no. You guys are all a bunch of scam artists.” It must

be nice to be a senior being called a scam artist, basically.

What do they do? You could defer your property taxes, and you paid prime minus 2.

Well, this government said, “No, no, no. Enough of that. We’re going to make them

do prime plus 2,” which is a 4 percent increase. So it went up to 6.9 percent, and

they’re going to compound the interest. We’re talking about thousands and thousands

of dollars’ difference for some seniors. It’s going to force them out of their home.

Seeing as how there are no long-term-care facilities for them, I don’t know where

they’re going to land.

Everywhere you turn on this…. Small businesses, which are predominantly the backbone

of our economy…. Surprisingly, it may come to interest some of those…. Women are the

ones that are now opening up the most small businesses. Everything is going to be

harder on small businesses. It’s a full frontal attack on women entrepreneurs and

small businesses.

Nearly two-thirds of B.C. business owners tell us now they would not recommend starting

up a business today in British Columbia. That comes from Ryan Mitton from CFIB. He’s

the director of legislative affairs for B.C.

We know when I go into the…. I could go on and on. With natural resources, there are

cuts to that — $400 million from the Forests budget. They promised us 15,000 forestry

jobs in 2022, yet they lost 30,000. The NDP have no plan for the forestry. There are

just endless reviews. Even after a forest fire, they can’t get out of their own way

so that forestry companies can get in there and harvest this valuable timber before

it rots. They don’t know how to do it. They’re incompetent when it comes to this.

We’ve got one of…. I don’t know what the Forests Minister does other than go around

and take photo ops and brag about what he’s getting done and blame it all on Trump,

but he can’t seem to get any jobs going in the forestry sector.

In agriculture, the backbone of mine, there’s actually going to be a $16 million cut

to agriculture between 2025-26 and ’26-27. As a matter of fact, agriculture…. I have

a report here from the B.C. Agriculture Council, and they say “the budget is disappointing.”

B.C. Agriculture’s Jennifer Woike: “British Columbia currently ranks last among other

provinces in operational funding for agriculture.”

Here where we’re trying…. They talk a big talk about Trump, but when it comes to our

own food security, they’re actually cutting it. We are now on a five-year rolling

average. B.C. is last place, at 3.4 percent, compared to other provinces for funding

agriculture. We’d have to raise our spending 25 percent to catch up with New Brunswick,

which is currently in ninth place.

This is a bad budget. It helps no one. It hurts small families. It hurts seniors.

It hurts the poor. It hurts those with mental illness. It hurts those trying to get

into a hospital. It hurts cities. It helps absolutely no one. This government, this

NDP government, should hang its head in shame, in absolute shame, for having the audacity

to present a budget as bad as this to this House.

[4:00 p.m.]

It is reflective of a government that has lost its way. It is filled with ideology

instead of doing the job of actually making lives better for British Columbians.

If their goal was to destroy the economy and cause our youth to leave, well, hands

off; consider it a job well done because that’s what you’ve accomplished. This budget

is a slap in the face to every single British Columbian — those that are still here.

I don’t imagine the trend of people leaving this province is going to turn around

with a budget that is this bad, that is this ill-thought-out and that punishes the

working poor. Shame on them. Shame on them.

I don’t know how they can look at themselves, knowing that they’re reaching into the

pockets of seniors, people on minimum wage, and autistic children that are just trying

to find their way in life.

This budget helps no one. It is no wonder it got a D for its report card by the Vancouver

Board of Trade. It is beyond reprehensible. We deserve much, much better than this.

We really do.

With that, I will conclude my remarks, and I will urge the government to do better.

Families are depending on us. Our economy is depending on this. Everyone’s depending

on this. It’s time that it straightened up and actually fixed things instead of making

them worse.

George Chow : I rise to speak in support of Budget 2026.

I’d also like to acknowledge the lək̓ʷəŋən People, the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, upon whose territory we are gathered

today, and to thank them for sharing these lands.

Like my colleagues who have spoken before, my heart goes out to everyone in Tumbler

Ridge, especially those families who have lost their loved ones. My thoughts are with

the entire community that has experienced such devastating tragedies. We are grateful

to the police and the school staff who acted quickly to protect students the best

they could.

About Budget 2026. In a world of uncertainty now, Budget 2026 makes careful choices

to protect what matters most and to secure B.C.’s future. For this, I’d like to thank

the Minister of Finance for her diligent and hard work in Budget 2026. It’s not an

easy task.

Over the last eight years, we have built the foundation for a strong province. Hospitals,

schools, roads, transit, housing and clean electricity are being delivered to support

communities and good jobs across British Columbia. We made these investments while

guiding people and businesses through extraordinary challenges: a global pandemic,

devastating floods and wildfires and now direct attack on our economy and sovereignty

by our neighbour to the south.

We entered this period from a position of strength, though. Our economy stayed resilient

with a low debt-to-GDP ratio that gave B.C. the capacity to respond when it mattered

most.

That work is making a difference. Major job-creating projects are moving forward.

More family doctors are practising in B.C. than ever before. Rents and prices are

coming down from their peaks. Everyday costs for British Columbians are eased through

the B.C. family benefit, more affordable child care and lower car insurance rates.

This budget defends those gains.

We are also facing a tough reality ahead. Global uncertainty is slowing growth everywhere.

High costs, global instability and volatile commodity prices are putting pressure

on public finances. We have to be realistic and disciplined about the choices ahead.

[4:05 p.m.]

Budget 2026 makes disciplined choices to protect what matters most. Our priorities

are clear: protecting core public services like health care and education; keeping

B.C. to be one of the lowest-taxed provinces for working families; and reducing the

deficit over time, doing it responsibly.

To achieve this, we are taking three key steps. Make the public sector smaller and

more efficient, so that more dollars reach the front lines. Pace infrastructure projects

carefully, delivering them efficiently without driving up costs. And generate new

revenue, while taking action to grow the economy and secure the long-term impact of

major projects.

At the same time, we continue