British Columbia Hansard — 26 February 2025, p.m., Issue 10 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session)

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British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

First Session, 43rd Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday, February 26, 2025 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 10 THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Wendy Cocchia, CM, OBC First Session, 43rd Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Raj Chouhan EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ................................................................................................... Hon. David Eby, KC Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities .......................................................... Hon.

Brittny Anderson Minister of Agriculture and Food ..............................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General and Deputy Premier ............................................................................................................... Hon. Niki Sharma, KC Minister of Children and Family Development ......................................................................................................Hon.

Jodie Wickens Minister of Citizens’ Services ......................................................................................................................................Hon. George Chow Minister of Education and Child Care ............................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness ................................................................................ Hon.

Kelly Greene Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions .................................................................................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Minister of Environment and Parks .................................................................................................... Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson Minister of Finance ......................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Brenda Bailey Minister of Forests .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Ravi Parmar Minister of Health ........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Josie Osborne Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs ................................................................................................................ Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ..........................................................................................Hon. Christine Boyle Minister of Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Bowinn Ma Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation ....................................................................................Hon.

Diana Gibson Minister of State for Trade ...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Rick Glumac Minister of Labour .............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Jennifer Whiteside Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals .....................................................................................................................Hon.

Jagrup Brar Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills ........................................................................................... Hon. Anne Kang Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ...........................................................................................................Hon. Garry Begg Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services ........................................................................ Hon.

Terry Yung Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction ...............................................................................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport ....................................................................................Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert Minister of Transportation and Transit ................................................................................................................ Hon.

Mike Farnworth Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship ............................................................................................... Hon. Randene Neill Minister Without Portfolio ..............................................................................................................................................Hon. Grace Lore LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition ..........................................................................................................................................

John Rustad Leader of the Third Party .................................................................................................................................................Jeremy Valeriote Deputy Speaker ......................................................................................................................................................................

Mable Elmore Assistant Deputy Speaker .................................................................................................................................................Lorne Doerkson Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ......................................................................................................................George Anderson Clerk of the Legislative Assembly....................................................................................................................................Kate Ryan-Lloyd Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel ......................................................................................................................Seunghee Suzie Seo Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services ..................................................................................................................

Artour Sogomonian Clerk of Committees .............................................................................................................................................................. Jennifer Arril Committee Clerk ......................................................................................................................................................................

Karan Riarh Committee Clerk .........................................................................................................................................................................Darryl Hol Senior Legal Counsel .................................................................................................................................................................Hayley Hill Sergeant-at-Arms ..................................................................................................................................................................

Ray Robitaille Director of Hansard Services .......................................................................................................................................D’ Arcy McPherson Legislative Librarian ...............................................................................................................................................................Peter Gourlay

PARTY STANDINGS Total seats – 93 BC NDP – 47 | Conservative Party of BC – 44 | BC Green Party – 2 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS BY PARTY BC NDP Anderson, Hon. Brittny ........................................... Kootenay Central Anderson, George ................................................ Nanaimo-Lantzville Arora, Rohini ....................................................................Burnaby East Bailey, Hon. Brenda ................................Vancouver–South Granville Beare, Hon. Lisa .......................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Hon.

Garry .......................................................Surrey-Guildford Blatherwick, Jennifer ....................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Boyle, Hon. Christine .............................Vancouver–Little Mountain Brar, Hon. Jagrup ......................................................Surrey-Fleetwood Chandra Herbert, Hon. Spencer ..................... Vancouver–West End Chant, Susie ............................................. North Vancouver–Seymour Choi, Paul ..................................................Burnaby South–Metrotown Chouhan, Hon. Raj .................................

Burnaby–New Westminster Chow, Hon. George ..........................................Vancouver-Fraserview Davidson, Hon. Tamara / Laanas ...........North Coast–Haida Gwaii Dhir, Sunita .............................................................Vancouver-Langara Dix, Hon. Adrian .................................................. Vancouver-Renfrew Eby, Hon. David, KC ....................................... Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable ................................................. Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike .................................................Port Coquitlam Gibson, Hon.

Diana ........................................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Glumac, Hon. Rick ...................................... Port Moody–Burquitlam Greene, Hon. Kelly ..............................................Richmond-Steveston Higginson, Stephanie ........................................Ladysmith-Oceanside Kahlon, Hon. Ravi .............................................................. Delta North Kang, Hon. Anne .........................................................

Burnaby Centre Krieger, Nina .........................................................Victoria–Swan Lake Lajeunesse, Dana ..............................................Juan de Fuca–Malahat Lore, Hon. Grace .................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Ma, Hon. Bowinn ................................... North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Hon. Sheila .........................Nanaimo–Gabriola Island Morissette, Steve ...................................................Kootenay Monashee Neill, Hon. Randene ............................ Powell River–Sunshine Coast Osborne, Hon.

Josie .........................................Mid Island–Pacifc Rim Parmar, Hon. Ravi ...............................................Langford-Highlands Phillip, Joan / Amshen .....................................Vancouver-Strathcona Popham, Hon. Lana ........................................................ Saanich South Rotchford, Darlene ...............................................Esquimalt-Colwood Routledge, Janet .............................................................Burnaby North Sandhu, Harwinder ......................................................

Vernon-Lumby Shah, Amna ............................................................. Surrey City Centre Sharma, Hon. Niki, KC ....................................... Vancouver-Hastings Sunner, Jessie ................................................................. Surrey-Newton Toporowski, Debra / Qwulti’stunaat .......................Cowichan Valley Whiteside, Hon. Jennifer ...................New Westminster–Coquitlam Wickens, Hon. Jodie ............................. Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Yung, Hon.

Terry .................................................Vancouver-Yaletown CONSERV ATIVE PARTY OF BC Armstrong, Tara .....................Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream Banman, Bruce .......................................................... Abbotsford South Bhangu, Harman .................................................. Langley-Abbotsford Bird, Rosalyn .............................................

Prince George–Valemount Block, Lynne ..............................................West Vancouver–Capilano Boultbee, Amelia .............................................Penticton-Summerland Brodie, Dallas .................................................... Vancouver-Quilchena Chan, Hon ..................................................................Richmond Centre Chapman, Brent .................................................................Surrey South Clare, Sheldon ....................................

Prince George–North Cariboo Davis, Pete ..................................................................Kootenay Rockies Day, Brennan ........................................................... Courtenay-Comox Dew, Gavin ..................................................................Kelowna-Mission Dhaliwal, Mandeep .......................................................... Surrey North Doerkson, Lorne .....................................................

Cariboo-Chilcotin Gasper, Reann .......................................................Abbotsford-Mission Giddens, Kiel ..............................................Prince George–Mackenzie Halford, Trevor ......................................................Surrey–White Rock Hartwell, Sharon ..............................................Bulkley Valley–Stikine Hepner, Linda ................................................Surrey–Serpentine River Kealy, Jordan .............................................................

Peace River North Kindy, Anna ........................................................................North Island Kooner, Steve ............................................Richmond-Queensborough Loewen, Kristina .......................................................... Kelowna Centre Luck, Tony ..........................................................................Fraser-Nicola Maahs, Heather ......................................................... Chilliwack North McCall, Macklin .........................................West Kelowna–Peachland McInnis, Scott .........................................

Columbia River–Revelstoke Milobar, Peter ............................................................

Kamloops Centre Mok, Lawrence ...........................................................Maple Ridge East Neufeld, Korky ............................................................Abbotsford West Neufeld, Larry ...........................................................Peace River South Paton, Ian ..............................................................................Delta South Rattée, Claire .................................................................................Skeena Rustad, John ...................................................................Nechako Lakes Stamer, Ward .........................................Kamloops–North Thompson Sturko, Elenore .........................................................

Surrey-Cloverdale Tepper, Br yan ............................................................

Surrey-Panorama Toor, Jody ............................................................Langley-Willowbrook Van Popta, Misty..............................................Langley–Walnut Grove Warbus, Á’a:líya ..............................................Chilliwack–Cultus Lake Wat, Teresa .........................................................Richmond-Bridgeport Williams, David ...............................................Salmon Arm–Shuswap Wilson, Donegal ............................................Boundary-Similkameen BC GREEN PARTY Botterell, Rob .......................................Saanich North and the Islands Valeriote, Jeremy .....................................

West Vancouver–Sea to Sky

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF RIDINGS A Abbotsford-Mission ........................................................Reann Gasper Abbotsford South ........................................................... Bruce Banman Abbotsford West .............................................................Korky Neufeld B Boundary-Similkameen .............................................Donegal Wilson Bulkley Valley–Stikine ............................................... Sharon Hartwell Burnaby Centre ...........................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Burnaby East ......................................................................Rohini Arora Burnaby–New Westminster .................................. Hon. Raj Chouhan Burnaby North ..............................................................Janet Routledge Burnaby South–Metrotown .................................................. Paul Choi C Cariboo-Chilcotin .......................................................Lorne Doerkson Chilliwack–Cultus Lake .............................................. Á’a:líya Warbus Chilliwack North ..........................................................

Heather Maahs Columbia River–Revelstoke ...........................................Scott McInnis Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .............................. Hon. Jodie Wickens Coquitlam-Maillardville .................................... Jennifer Blatherwick Courtenay-Comox ............................................................ Brennan Day Cowichan Valley ....................... Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat D Delta North ................................................................Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Delta South ...............................................................................Ian Paton E Esquimalt-Colwood ................................................Darlene Rotchford F Fraser-Nicola .......................................................................... Tony Luck J Juan de Fuca–Malahat ...............................................Dana Lajeunesse K Kamloops Centre ............................................................. Peter Milobar Kamloops–North Thompson .........................................

Ward Stamer Kelowna Centre ........................................................... Kristina Loewen Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream ......................Tara Armstrong Kelowna-Mission ..................................................................Gavin Dew Kootenay Central ............................................ Hon. Brittny Anderson Kootenay Monashee ....................................................Steve Morissette Kootenay Rockies................................................................... Pete Davis L Ladysmith-Oceanside ........................................

Stephanie Higginson Langford-Highlands ................................................ Hon. Ravi Parmar Langley-Abbotsford ....................................................Harman Bhangu Langley–Walnut Grove ..............................................Misty Van Popta Langley-Willowbrook ............................................................ Jody Toor M Maple Ridge East ............................................................Lawrence Mok Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ........................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim ........................................ Hon.

Josie Osborne N Nanaimo–Gabriola Island ..........................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo-Lantzville ................................................. George Anderson Nechako Lakes ....................................................................John Rustad New Westminster–Coquitlam .................... Hon. Jennifer Whiteside North Coast–Haida Gwaii ............Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson North Island ........................................................................Anna Kindy North Vancouver–Lonsdale .....................................Hon.

Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour ...............................................Susie Chant O Oak Bay–Gordon Head ......................................... Hon. Diana Gibson P Peace River North ..............................................................Jordan Kealy Peace River South ............................................................Larry Neufeld Penticton-Summerland .............................................. Amelia Boultbee Port Coquitlam ................................................. Hon. Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Burquitlam ........................................Hon.

Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast ............................. Hon. Randene Neill Prince George–Mackenzie ...............................................Kiel Giddens Prince George–North Cariboo ......................................Sheldon Clare Prince George–Valemount ...............................................Rosalyn Bird R Richmond-Bridgeport .......................................................... Teresa Wat Richmond Centre .................................................................. Hon Chan Richmond-Queensborough ............................................

Steve Kooner Richmond-Steveston ...............................................Hon. Kelly Greene S Saanich North and the Islands ....................................... Rob Botterell Saanich South ......................................................... Hon.

Lana Popham Salmon Arm–Shuswap ................................................David Williams Skeena ..................................................................................Claire Rattée Surrey City Centre ...............................................................Amna Shah Surrey-Cloverdale .......................................................... Elenore Sturko Surrey-Fleetwood ....................................................... Hon. Jagrup Brar Surrey-Guildford ....................................................... Hon.

Garry Begg Surrey-Newton .................................................................. Jessie Sunner Surrey North ............................................................Mandeep Dhaliwal Surrey-Panorama ..............................................................Br yan Tepper Surrey–Serpentine River ................................................

Linda Hepner Surrey South ..................................................................Brent Chapman Surrey–White Rock .......................................................Trevor Halford V Vancouver-Fraserview ...........................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ........................................ Hon. Niki Sharma, KC Vancouver-Kensington ...................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Langara .............................................................Sunita Dhir Vancouver–Little Mountain ............................. Hon.

Christine Boyle Vancouver–Point Grey .........................................Hon. David Eby, KC Vancouver-Quilchena ......................................................Dallas Brodie Vancouver-Renfrew ................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Vancouver–South Granville ................................ Hon. Brenda Bailey Vancouver-Strathcona ..................................... Amshen / Joan Phillip Vancouver–West End .......................Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert Vancouver-Yaletown ..................................................Hon.

Terry Yung Vernon-Lumby ....................................................... Harwinder Sandhu Victoria–Beacon Hill ................................................. Hon. Grace Lore Victoria–Swan Lake ..........................................................Nina Krieger W West Kelowna–Peachland ..........................................Macklin McCall West Vancouver–Capilano ................................................Lynne Block West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ...................................... Jeremy Valeriote

CONTENTS Wednesday, February 26, 2025 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members ................................................................................................................................................241 Introduction and First Reading of Bills ...........................................................................................................................242 Bill M201 — Low Carbon Fuels Amendment Act, 2025 Kiel Giddens Bill M202 — Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act Darlene Rotchford Members’ Statements .........................................................................................................................................................243 Ryan’s Rainbow Emergency Food Outreach Rohini Arora Support for Agriculture and Farmers Jordan Kealy Little River Multi-Use Trail Project Dana Lajeunesse Mount Boucherie Bears Senior Boys Basketball Team Championship Win Macklin McCall Festival du Bois Jennifer Blatherwick Kootenay Rockies Pete Davis Oral Questions ....................................................................................................................................................................245 Police Investigation of Charlotte Kates and Potential Hate Crime Charges John Rustad Hon.

Niki Sharma Government Action on Antisemitism Korky Neufeld Hon. Niki Sharma Disaster Financial Assistance Criteria and Funding Jeremy Valeriote Hon. Kelly Greene Involuntary Care for Mental Health and Addiction Issues Trevor Halford Hon. Josie Osborne Y outh Mental Health and Addiction Services Steve Kooner Hon. Josie Osborne Call for Independent Review of Metro Vancouver Regional District Governance Tony Luck Hon. Ravi Kahlon Government Action on Issues in Health Care System Bryan Tepper Hon.

Josie Osborne Orders of the Day Committee of the Whole ...................................................................................................................................................251 Bill 2 — Acting Conflict of Interest Commissioner Continuation Act Steve Kooner Hon. Niki Sharma

Reporting of Bills ................................................................................................................................................................252 Bill 2 — Acting Conflict of Interest Commissioner Continuation Act Third Reading of Bills ........................................................................................................................................................252 Bill 2 — Acting Conflict of Interest Commissioner Continuation Act Committee of the Whole ...................................................................................................................................................252 Bill 3 — Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2025 Trevor Halford Hon.

Laanas / Tamara Davidson Reporting of Bills ................................................................................................................................................................255 Bill 3 — Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2025 Throne Speech Debate (continued) ..................................................................................................................................255 Teresa Wat Rob Botterell Nina Krieger Kristina Loewen Hon. Christine Boyle Bruce Banman Hon. Jennifer Whiteside John Rustad On the amendment John Rustad

241 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025 The House met at 1:32 p.m. [The Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Prayers and reflections: Claire Rattée. Introductions by Members Hon. Lisa Beare: As you can see, today is Pink Shirt Day, and we are all here to stand united against bullying and hate of all kinds. I rise today to introduce a special group of teachers and kids who joined us this afternoon for our pink shirt event today at the Legislature.

From Reynolds Secondary, we have choir teacher Katy Kerr and the junior choir, who provided a fantastic performance of “Time after Time.” Tricia Hin - richsen, a teacher at James Bay Community School, also brought her grade 4/5 elementary class to learn about Pink Shirt Day. I would like the members to please join me in welcom - ing them, along with Councillor Sherry Thomas from the Esquimalt Nation, who provided us all with a warm wel - come. Tony Luck: I would like to introduce three guests to the House this afternoon, one of which is my wonderful and supportive wife, Wanda Luck.

She worked tirelessly with me during our campaign this past fall and continues to be my rock and support. [1:35 p.m.] My two other guests are the hard-working and active New Westminster city councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas. Councillor Minhas is a long-time business owner. He operates the very successful Judge Begbie’s Tav- ern in downtown New Westminster and has been a strong advocate for a more responsive city hall.

Councillor Fontaine was recently appointed to the board of Hockey Canada and has always been a staunch advocate for more openness, transparency and accountability at the unelected and accountable Metro Vancouver. May I encourage all members to please join me in offer- ing a warm introduction to these guests. Hon. Ravi Kahlon: I have some guests here from dif - ferent parts within the Ministry for Housing. Folks that are visiting today, they all work in the different ministry offices. I want to welcome, from the deputy minister’s office, Jana Sexton and Amy Greenwood.

From the assistant dep - uty minister’s office of homelessness and partnerships and housing supports division, we’ve got Rebecca Harris. From the assistant deputy minister’s office of housing and land use policy, we have Laurie Duncan. I’m hoping the House can make them all welcome today. Scott McInnis: Today we have many teachers from across the province in the gallery participating in the Teachers In- stitute on Parliamentary Democracy. I myself, in 2022, was a proud graduate of that program here. The work from the parliamentary education office team — Karen, Michelle, Nathan….

I know you certainly changed my life, and I know the first-class treatment these teachers will receive here will be memories they will have forever. Please join me in welcoming these great teachers, as well as congratulating the parliamentary education office staff. Hon. Christine Boyle: I want to recognize my parents, who are also my constituents, who are here today, Jim and Nancy Boyle. They spent their lives working in health care while raising three lively children. I’m the middle, and I can confidently tell you I am definitely in the top three of their favourites.

They taught us to be good neighbours and to contrib - ute to our communities. They are excellent grandparents, especially as I am away from home more these days, and I am incredibly grateful for them. Will the House join me in making them feel welcome. Hon. Jodie Wickens: In the precinct today, we have members of B.C. Association of Child Development and Intervention. BCACDI is a provincial organization that consists of a number of child development centres across British Columbia. Child development centres deliver cru - cial services, such as speech language pathology, occupa - tional therapy, physiotherapy.

These members do really important work. I want to give a special shout-out to Jason Gordon, who is the provincial advocate. Jason has ended his time as the provincial advocate. He did really, really important work advocating for children and families across this province. Will the members in the House please join me in thank- ing them and welcoming them to the Legislature today. Claire Rattée: I just wanted to recognize David and Nico from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs — they aren’t in the gallery, but they are in the building; and Emily from Simon Wiesenthal Center.

They came and talked to our caucus today, teaching us about antisemitism. As a Jewish woman in this place, I really appreciated everything that they had to say and everything that they taught us. I think it is especially fit - ting today on anti-bullying day.

242 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 I just want everybody to make them feel really welcome and let them know that we appreciate what they did for us today. Hon. Jennifer Whiteside: You know what we say in New West — that New Westies are the besties. It’s always a good day in the House when New West is here. I’d like to join my colleague from Fraser-Nicola in welcoming Dan - iel and Paul to the House. Please join me in making them welcome. [1:40 p.m.] Hon.

Rick Glumac: I would like to introduce two of my constituents that are in the House today, one of which I’ve known since 2008 when she flagged me down after one of my first municipal council debates, when I first ran for city council, and has been a volunteer and a friend ever since, Jacqui Boyer. The second is also a really great constituent who is fam - iliar to this House, because she was here when I asked her to marry me a little while ago — my wife, Haven Lurbiecki. Would the House please make them both feel welcome. Mable Elmore: Hon.

Members, I’m pleased to welcome 23 teachers from across British Columbia, who are here with us for the remainder of the week to participate in the 25th B.C. Teachers Institute on Parliamentary Democracy, an intensive 4½ days of professional development on democracy, politics and governance. They’re continuing to expand their knowledge of our parliamentary system, to return to their classrooms to better equip B.C. students on democracy and civic responsibilities. They’re joined by three of their peers, who are returning in the role of facilitator: Michele Cumberland, Michael Cook and Lisa Reid.

They’re also accompanied by Jennifer Lennie, manager of public affairs from the Northwest Ter - ritories Legislative Assembly. Many of you will have the opportunity to meet them at lunch tomorrow, hosted by Mr. Speaker, where you can discuss civic engagement and the incredible work they do in their classrooms. I’d ask you to please make sure we make them all feel very welcome today in the chamber. Hon. Lisa Beare: Our grades 4 and 5 class, all wearing their pink shirts, from James Bay elementary has arrived in the House. We would like to make Tricia Hinrichsen and her class feel very welcome. Welcome, students.

Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL M201 — LOW CARBON FUELS AMENDMENT ACT, 2025 Kiel Giddens presented a bill intituled Low Carbon Fuels Amendment Act. Kiel Giddens: I move that a bill entitled Low Carbon Fuels Amendment Act, of which notice has been given in my name on the order paper, be introduced and read for a first time now. I am very pleased to present this bill in the Legislature. It’s very important for workers in Prince George–Macken- zie and, indeed, for B.C.’s economy.

In a time when trade and sovereignty issues are top of mind, we can’t let B.C.’s own laws take jobs away from British Columbian families. Flaws in the NDP government’s Low Carbon Fuels Act have enabled subsidized American refineries to engage in the dumping of renewable diesel into the British Colum - bian market. Tidewater Renewables, in my riding, produces renew - able diesel out of Canadian canola oil, beef tallow and used cooking oils. Their parent company also operates a legacy refinery in Prince George that is part of these operations.

Together, the refineries employ 165 family-supporting jobs, with hundreds of spinoff jobs related to this strategic asset. The refineries in Prince George serve the forestry sector, the mines, the Port of Prince Rupert, trucking and drivers across northern B.C. to keep people and our economy moving. The jobs and the strategic economic output are at severe risk due to the government’s 2022 version of the act. Tidewater has publicly disclosed that it is facing insol - vency as early as March of this year unless a solution can be found. Both the renewable diesel and legacy refinery are at risk of closure.

We have limited refining capacity in this province, and losing this asset puts B.C.’s energy security at risk. It would lead to supply disruptions, fuel price fluctuations and an increased dependency on the United States to provide our fuels. The Low Carbon Fuels Amendment Act will close the loophole that American refineries are using to undercut our domestic production of renewable fuels in B.C.

When refineries outside of British Columbia are provided with production subsidies, this amendment act will give the director the authority to reduce the compliance units eli - gible to be received by the importer into B.C. by an equal amount. This will level the playing field in the low-carbon fuels market here in British Columbia. There is no carbon bene- fit in renewable diesel being shipped by rail from Lou - isiana. This bill is about saving jobs and protecting our energy security in British Columbia.

I’m asking all members of this House to join in sup - porting the quick passing of this bill before it’s too late.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 243 The Speaker: Members, the question is first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Kiel Giddens: I move that the bill be placed on the or - ders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of this House after today. Motion approved. [1:45 p.m.] BILL M202 — ELIGIBILITY TO HOLD PUBLIC OFFICE ACT Darlene Rotchford presented a bill intituled Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act.

Darlene Rotchford: I move that the bill Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act, of which notice has been given in my name on the order paper, be introduced and read a first time now. The bill would ensure British Columbians can have confidence that their representatives aren’t collecting two separate paycheques and aren’t in conflict of interest and are focused on addressing the challenges facing people at a provincial level. This bill would bring British Columbia in line with rules in other provinces such as Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Ontario.

The Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Darlene Rotchford: 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 RYAN’S RAINBOW EMERGENCY FOOD OUTREACH Rohini Arora: I’m honoured to lift up an organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of community. In 2017, Teresa Rasquinha founded Ryan’s Rainbow Emergency Food Outreach Society.

It’s a 100 percent vol - unteer-run non-profit in Burnaby East that provides emer- gency food assistance to ensure that individuals and fam - ilies in need can nourish themselves and their loved ones. The heartbeat of Ryan’s Rainbow is local community involvement, a collective effort of 45 dedicated volunteers who offered their time and energy, and it is the support of local businesses that power the organization’s work and its impact.

Among the dedicated volunteers are David and Rose Turrin, Earl, Patty and Nino, all of whom consistently help with donations pickups; Mirella, who takes care of the needs of mothers and children every Thursday by distrib - uting diapers, formula and other necessities for infants, toddlers, kids and new moms; Andrea, who picks up do - nations from Langley Farm Market every Thursday mor - ning; and Tina Caccia and her team of three, who manage clothing and furniture donations, often helping families settle into their new homes in a new country.

Ryan’s Rainbow creates a compassionate and inclusive environment for everyone they serve, not only addressing immediate food needs but also empowering individuals and families to achieve long-term food security. Often for volunteers, this is a commitment as a family and speaks to their values of love and community service. So I’d also like to take this moment to congratulate Tina Caccia’s parents, Giovanni and Citina Caccia, who cele - brated their 70th platinum anniversary on February 19, still full of happiness, humour and joy. “L’amor che move il sole el’attre stelle.

The love that moves the sun and other stars” — Dante. SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS Jordan Kealy: I want to take this time to feature the Fort St. John Farmers Market, B.C. Farmers’ Market Asso- ciation, as well as markets all over the province for allowing people to buy amazing grown foods produced locally and crafted in B.C. Now more than ever, we can embrace buying locally and within Canada, especially when the money stays local. We need to support and enhance the growth of farmers and their products.

As the critic for agriculture expansion and food secur - ity, I was tasked to double food production, so I ask British Columbians to embrace farmers to put great food on your tables. Farmers take pride in the products that they produce, but it is not easy to be a farmer. If it isn’t the economy, taxes or Mother Nature, Murphy’s law can come and kick you where the sun doesn’t shine. [1:50 p.m.] Children need to know that their food doesn’t come from a grocery store. It comes from a farmer like myself and other producers. We need our children to see a future in agriculture.

I would also like to feature and thank 4-H, an organiza - tion that helps teach our youth to respect others, to raise animals and so much more. It teaches about how to do public speaking, do demonstrations and how to become great leaders. I was in 4-H, and it was one of the best things

244 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 that ever happened to me. It’s actually one of the reasons why I’m speaking right now. In 4-H, we pledge: “My head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service for my club, my community, my country and my world.” It’s not just a pro- duct that farmers produce. It’s a way of life. This is part of who I am and where I come from.

LITTLE RIVER MULTI-USE TRAIL PROJECT Dana Lajeunesse: Three weeks ago, on February 7, I at- tended a long-anticipated event to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Little River crossing and multi-use trail project, which will form a vital link in my commun - ity, the district of Sooke, between the neighbourhood of Sunriver and École Poirier Elementary and Journey Mid - dle School. This corridor will provide a safe alternative to a four- kilometre journey along a very busy

section of Highway 14 with a 600-metre pedestrian-friendly path, reducing the distance by 85 percent. It offers an opportunity for resi - dents and visitors to my community to enjoy the natural environment as it passes through some rather difficult ter - rain in a forested area that also includes a 110-foot span across the Little River.

Additionally, it will provide multimodal connectivity be- tween Sooke’s town centre and the newly constructed Ravens Ridge Sport Box, where, at the grand opening, former Pre - mier and longtime Sooke MLA John Horgan proudly dis - played his lacrosse skills to a number of local youth and community leaders. This project is a result of the vision and dedication of many, including the parks and trails advisory committee and the Juan de Fuca Community Trails Society. Special thanks go out to T’Sou-ke Nation Chief Larry Underwood, David Planes and Billy Mobley for their cul - tural and environmental guidance.

I also want to acknow - ledge Emma Taylor, parks and facilities manager for the district of Sooke, and Laura Hooper for their leadership. This $2.7 million project is made possible by partner - ships and funding support, including $1.3 million from the government of Canada’s active transportation fund and $500,000 from the province of British Columbia. Thank you to all the partners, including Sooke School District 62, for making this vision a reality.

MOUNT BOUCHERIE BEARS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP WIN Macklin McCall: Today I rise to recognize a remark - able achievement that has brought pride to our commun - ities in the riding of West Kelowna–Peachland. For the first time ever, the Mount Boucherie Bears sen - ior boys basketball team has earned a place in the provin - cial championship, following a 75 to 72 win against the Ke- lowna Owls that won the Bears the Okanagan Valley cham- pionship title. No West Kelowna school has advanced to provincials since 1985. This achievement is a culmination of hard work, deter - mination and teamwork.

I am proud to stand here today to support our local high school champions. Coach Kelly, himself a graduate of our high school, and his players have set an inspiring example for all of us, proving greatness can emerge when we invest in our young people. It is a testament to the resilience of our youth and shows that with dedication and the support of family, friends and community, anything is possible. The team’s qualities of resilience, skill and determination were on full display during this historic match. [1:55 p.m.] This achievement extends beyond the court.

It repre - sents the spirit of my constituency and the value of posi - tive competition. This victory is not just a milestone for Mount Boucherie School but for the entire West Kelowna community as the team now prepares to represent our re - gion on the provincial stage. As the team heads to the B.C. quadruple-A provincial championships, I stand in sup - port, eager to see them reach even greater heights. Sports such as basketball are more than just games. They teach the life skills of discipline, teamwork, leadership and perseverance. These values are integral not only in sports but in all aspects of life.

I ask all members to join me in congratulating the Mount Boucherie Bears, their coach and those who have supported them. It is my pleasure to congratulate you on this hard-won success here in this House. Go, Bears! FESTIV AL DU BOIS Jennifer Blatherwick: Je prends la parole aujourd’hui pour vous parler d’un événement qui s’est déroulé dans ma ville : le Festival du Bois. Nous célébrons le 36ème anniver- saire du Festival. Le Festival du Bois est une occasion im - portante pour la communauté.

Nous célébrons la tortiere, la culture, la musique, la langue, l’histoire et le cœur des Canadiens français. [French text provided by Jennifer Blatherwick.] I stand today to share with you all about the Festival du Bois. This is the 36th year of the festival, held in the heart of Coquitlam-Maillardville. For over 3½ decades, the Fes - tival du Bois has been a celebration of French-Canadian culture, music, language, history and food. Thank you to all the volunteers who have supported the festival for so long.

They have given countless hours to make sure this festival was successful, attracting thou - sands of visitors every year. Their dedication brings the Festival du Bois to life.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 245 One volunteer is retiring after many years of giving so much: Joanne Dumas. Her passion to promote, celebrate and elevate French-Canadian culture has been an essen - tial piece of the festival. We all thank her for her dedica - tion and know that we will still see her every year, hope - fully spending more time enjoying than organizing. Merci, Joanne. We normally say that someone has big shoes to fill, but in her case, it is a big smile and an even bigger heart.

I also wish to thank the incoming president of the Société francophone de Maillardville, Pooja Parsan, and wish her the very best as she starts this new journey. One final note. Gilberte Knapp, another long-time vol - unteer, turned 100 this year. Up until three years ago, she was still making the tourtière meat pies for the entire festi - val. She will be there to celebrate her 100th birthday. So if you can, please join us under the big tents in Mackin Park for the 36th annual Festival du Bois on March 7 to 9. Merci.

KOOTENAY ROCKIES Pete Davis: I rise today with deep humility and immense pride as the elected representative for Kootenay-Rockies, be- cause if you’ve ever experienced the Kootenay Rockies, you know we don’t just have it all; we have something truly extraordinary. Towering snow-capped peaks. Crystal lakes. Endless untamed forests. The Kootenay Rockies don’t just whisper for attention; they command it. But the true heart of the Kootenay Rockies is not just the land; it’s the people — hardworking, resilient and un - shakable in their commitment to their families, their in - dustries and their communities.

For generations, mining, forestry and agriculture have built more than economy. They’ve built a way of life. Then there’s tourism, because once you set foot in the Kootenays, you never want to leave. Whether it’s ski - ing fresh powder, fishing pristine waters or playing golf, where every hole comes with a million-dollar view, our re - gion isn’t just a place; it’s an experience. I don’t want to just talk about the Kootenay life. I ac - tually do live it.

Whether I’m boating at Lake Koocanusa, tearing up back roads on my side-by-side or carving through mountain roads on my Harley, one thing is cer - tain: there is never a dull moment in the Kootenays. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, another breathtaking view appears around the bend, reminding us how lucky we are to call this place home. To my colleagues here in the House, if you haven’t been to the Kootenay Rockies yet, what are you waiting for? Consider this your official invitation. Call me when you arrive, and I’ll personally show you why our home is one of the most remarkable places on earth.

Being the MLA for Kootenay-Rockies isn’t just a title; it’s a responsibility I carry with pride and conviction. I will fight for our industries. I will fight for our families. I will fight to ensure that the voices of Kootenay-Rockies aren’t just heard in the House. They are impossible to ignore. [2:00 p.m.] Oral Questions POLICE INVESTIGATION OF CHARLOTTE KATES AND POTENTIAL HATE CRIME CHARGES John Rustad: Last April Charlotte Kates, the inter - national coordinator for Samidoun, was arrested for glori - fying the October 7 attacks committed by Hamas and re - ferring to several terrorist organizations as heroes.

The Vancouver police department recommended char - ges against Kates in June, and Samidoun, her organization, was listed as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code in October. Yet charges against Charlotte Kates have not been laid by the Attorney General, allowing Kates to act with increasing impunity. A very easy question to the Attorney General. Will the Attorney General today lay charges against Charlotte Kates? Hon. Niki Sharma: I want to start by saying that anti - semitism has no place in this province, in this country, in this world.

We all need to do everything we can to step up every system available to make sure that we’re combating antisemitism in all its forms. I don’t lay charges as Attorney General. The Leader of the Opposition has been in government a long time. I’m sure he knows that it’s the B.C. prosecution service’s job, which acts independently of government, to lay charges. But we are doing everything in our power to combat hate in this province. Not only am I informed that the B.C. prosecution service’s hate crime policy now includes wil - ful promotion of antisemitism; they’ve laid charges in a case in January 2025 in Kelowna.

We’ve made security funding available to institutions like synagogues and other organizations to keep them safe. We’ve included bubble-zone protections for Jewish schools, mandatory Holocaust education in schools and a new anti-racism incident help line. That is for anybody out there that’s experienced antisemitism to call 24 hours a day. They will receive services and get the help they need. We all need to work together to make sure we’re push - ing back on any rise in antisemitism. The Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, sup - plemental.

John Rustad: Yet weekly we have marches here, right in Victoria, chanting slogans of hate. Let’s be clear. Charlotte Kates is the head of a terrorist organization that advocates terrorism and celebrates the

246 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 slaughter of people who were celebrating peace at a music festival. Instead of criminal charges, Charlotte Kates went to Iran to collect a human rights award. Instead of crim - inal charges, Charlotte Kates went to Beirut to honour de - ceased terrorist Hassan Nasrallah of the Hezbollah. It’s been nine months since charges were recommended. The Premier is a former Attorney General.

Certainly here on Pink Shirt Day, will the Premier de - mand his Attorney General send a strong message that glorifying terrorism and hate has no place in B.C. and lay charges against Charlotte Kates? Hon. Niki Sharma: We are sending a strong message. In fact, we as a government have done way more to com - bat hate than any government in history in this province, whether it’s passing anti-racism legislation to make sure that antisemitism is included in there and…. That would make sure our government services are tasked to remove any forms of hate, including antisemitism, from their ser - vices.

We’ve launched help lines that did not exist before to make sure people are getting the services they need and are directed to the supports they need when they experience anything. We’ve stepped up… Interjection. The Speaker: Member. Hon. Niki Sharma: …supports to make sure that po - lice officers know how to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. We will be attending the National Forum on Com- batting Antisemitism that will happen coming up.

We are doing everything we can to condemn and push back on antisemitism in this province. [2:05 p.m.] GOVERNMENT ACTION ON ANTISEMITISM Korky Neufeld: Tackling antisemitism is more than words. It takes sustained and focused action. We in the of - ficial opposition proposed an antisemitism strategy during our election. It’s been 16 long months since the October 7 attacks on Israel, and this government says it is listening. How long does it take to listen before this government will finally start to act on antisemitism in British Colum - bia? Hon. Niki Sharma: Again, we’ve been taking this issue seriously.

Not only has the Premier but I, myself, have met with many Jewish organizations and groups in this province to understand what tools they need to combat it — whether it’s getting better security funding available for syna - gogues, the bubble-zone legislation that protected Jewish schools, mandatory Holocaust training, the new help line which specifically is funding and resourcing Jewish or - ganizations to help people that are facing antisemitism or the direct inclusion in our Anti-Racism Act of antisemit - ism as part of it. This is a list of actions, and we are not going to stop.

We’re going to keep going, and we’re going to keep going to make sure we can push back this rise of antisemitism. The Speaker: Member for Abbotsford West, supplemental. Korky Neufeld: Antisemitism is a virus that needs to be addressed, and the shocking rise in British Columbia alone is validation enough that we finally need some ac - tion. Vancouver PD reported that antisemitism increased 62 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. To the Premier or the Attorney General, will this gov - ernment adopt the opposition plan to stamp out the virus of antisemitism in British Columbia? Hon.

Niki Sharma: I do think this is a very important topic that’s being talked about today. We have been seized with every action we can take to push back on antisem - itism. Again, I remind the members opposite — some people are new — that the B.C. prosecution service acts independently and is tasked with laying charges and doing that side in the justice system. My job is to make sure the system is tooled with what it needs to respond. We have taken action, tons of actions.

This time the Premier has tasked me with looking again at how we can make sure our hate crime policy and every - thing in this province is directly focused on combatting antisemitism and all forms of hate in this province. DISASTER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE CRITERIA AND FUNDING Jeremy Valeriote: On December 14, just over two months ago, a landslide devastated the community of Lions Bay, in the riding I represent. The resulting debris flow of rocks, trees and mud buried a home, killing longtime residents David and Barbara Enns. This is a tragic loss.

The bereaved son and daughter of the Ennses have been denied disaster financial assistance. They were told the event was not sufficiently widespread or extensive. The family told me it seemed like an attempt to “wash their hands of us because we don’t have a loud enough voice.” The magnitude of the event shouldn’t matter. We feed cynicism when our government isn’t there for people when it should be. The Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said in this House last week that disaster financial assistance criteria are cur - rently under review, which is welcome.

I will say that help with cleanup from an emergency response fund is also ap - preciated. However, the Ennses’ home was their legacy for

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 247 their children and grandchildren. It was uninsurable for this event, and it lies destroyed. When they meet the required number of indicators in policy, which I reviewed, why is their grieving family be - ing denied disaster financial assistance? Hon. Kelly Greene: I want to begin by expressing my sincere condolences to the family, friends, loved ones — everybody who’s been impacted by the loss of two dear people in their lives. It’s an incredible loss for them. I appreciated you reaching out after the event to discuss how we can support the community.

Disaster financial as - sistance is available for eligible sudden, unexpected and widespread events. If you’d like to continue our conversa - tion, I’d welcome your feedback. Come to my office. The Speaker: Member, supplemental. Jeremy Valeriote: Climate-related disasters will in - crease in frequency and severity in this province, leaving residents and local governments footing the bill for dam - ages and skyrocketing insurance costs. The Union of B.C. Municipalities called for long-term, secure funding to help tackle natural hazards that are being exacerbated by climate change.

So far the B.C. government has not agreed to long-term funding. [2:10 p.m.] The province needs to take leadership and help com - munities confront the increasing risk of disasters resulting from climate change — landslides as well as flooding and wildfires, as we all know. My question again is for the Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. Will the province commit to long-term, secure funding for communities to mitigate these disasters? Hon. Kelly Greene: To the member, I think it’s a really important question about how we move forward as a prov- ince.

We are experiencing increasingly severe events that are escalating due to the effects of climate change. We know that we need to support communities to be more resilient, to be able to recover more quickly after disaster strikes. That’s why we’re partnering with communities, with First Nations, to make sure that we understand the needs of communities and are meeting those unique needs, be - cause hazards differ depending on where you are in the province.

We’ve provided $487 million to help communities pre - pare and mitigate risks and have taken important steps to change the way that we respond to emergencies, including B.C. Wildfire Service being year-round, and additional alerts for emergency heat response and other important things. It is top of mind for our government, and we want to continue to make those investments to keep people safe. INVOLUNTARY CARE FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION ISSUES Trevor Halford: In the early hours of this morning, a man in psychosis broke into multiple Surrey homes. The result?

An elderly resident, brutally attacked, fleeing to a neighbour’s house, covered in blood, seeking help. This attack is the direct result of the Premier’s failure to address the crisis of untreated mental illness and addic - tion. In two elections, this government has campaigned on involuntary care. How many British Columbians have to be injured, maimed or even killed before this Premier opens a single one of his long-promised involuntary care beds? Hon. Josie Osborne: Thank you to the member for rais- ing this very serious issue.

I think we are all appalled to hear of an incident like this — the kind of shock that that provides people and the impacts that it’s making on people. We know we all want to take the steps that are needed to make sure that people feel safe in their communities and that they know that work is also being done to help people who are suffering from severe substance use addic - tions, who are suffering from mental health illnesses and who, in certain cases, are also suffering from brain injur - ies that are acquired after repeated overdoses.

There is a group of people out there who do present a risk not only to themselves but to others. That is why the Premier has been very strong in his support for moving forward with secure care. We’ve announced this, and we’ve spoken about this. Interjection. The Speaker: Member. Hon. Josie Osborne: The timelines have become more clear, and we know that work has to be done properly to set these facilities up. That’s why…. Interjections. The Speaker: Members, Members. Members, thank you. Minister, conclude please. Hon. Josie Osborne: Hon. Speaker, this is an incred - ibly serious issue… Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

248 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 Hon. Josie Osborne: …which is why we have to take the proper steps and the right steps to set up a facility under the right conditions and terms. Interjection. The Speaker: Member. Hon. Josie Osborne: That’s exactly what we’re going to do. As we’ve stated before, these facilities are slated…. The first is to come online later this spring. We are on track, and we’ll be delivering. The Speaker: Member for Surrey–White Rock, supple - mental.

Trevor Halford: The minister says, “as stated before,” “as they’ve stated before.” Nobody in this House or in this province would consider this Premier to be strong on this topic. [2:15 p.m.] A horrific stabbing in White Rock, on the promenade. Days later, another stabbing, resulting in a fatality. A de - capitation in Vancouver. Moments later, someone loses their limb. A brutal assault on a Crown prosecutor. An un- well person enters a 7-Eleven, stabs somebody in the eye and is ultimately killed by police. And this minister gets up in this House and says: “Be patient. We’re working on it.” Not good enough.

How many more innocent victims need to suffer or die while this Premier sits on his hands and this minister fails to open one single bed for involuntary care? Hon. Josie Osborne: I’m pleased to provide a few more details, and I hope that it will help members of the oppos - ition understand just how seriously we take all of these issues around community safety, around supporting people who, through sets of circumstances, find themselves in a place where they are not able to help themselves in the way that we would have all hoped to see. People know that Premier Eby has appointed Dr.

Dan - iel Vigo as… The Speaker: No names, please. No names. Hon. Josie Osborne: …B.C.’s first chief scientific ad - viser to provide support on these, around psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, as I just spoke to. We will be providing longer-term care at a newly desig - nated mental health facility for people who are held under the Mental Health Act. This first facility will open in Maple Ridge at Alouette Heights this spring.

We’re work - ing towards a designated mental health unit at the Surrey Pretrial Centre to provide that rapid, involuntary treat - ment for people with these kinds of challenges. This also is expected to open later this spring. In addition to this work, we will continue to build a seamless system of mental health and substance use care for people who are seeking help, who voluntarily want to seek that treatment, and we are going to continue this work. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION SERVICES Steve Kooner: On February 13, I attended a funeral in Surrey of a 14-year-old girl. What did she die of?

A drug overdose, at only 14 years old. Her mother referred to her as sweet and innocent. She said the family was trying to work through Fraser Health to get her support but faced nothing but roadblocks. The system failed this young girl and her family. How can the Minister of Health look this family in the eye and say she’s doing everything she can to help? Hon. Josie Osborne: Thank you to the member for the question. That is absolutely a tragic circumstance, a tragic outcome that he’s describing. Nobody should ever want to face the loss of a child this way.

It’s so important that we continue to do everything in our power to keep our chil - dren safe. We know how important it is for people to get help early on, before small problems can snowball and become more complex and difficult to tackle. That’s why we are taking particular focus on expanding supports for children and youth to help with prevention, with early intervention and voluntary treatment services like expanding the Foundry youth centres. Currently there are 17, and 18 more are in development.

These are one-stop shops for youth to have that access to mental health services, to physical and sexual health ser - vices, substance use services, social services — all focused on young people. We’re going to continue expanding the integrated child and youth care teams that are working in communities across the province, adding youth addiction services, youth- specific treatment beds. Yes, there is a lot more work to do, and we’re going to continue to do this work. The Speaker: Richmond-Queensborough, supplemental.

Steve Kooner: The minister’s comments have zero com- fort for this family. [2:20 p.m.] The story gets worse. After agreeing to treatment, a Fra- ser Health worker met with the parents and this young girl and forced the parents to leave so that the worker could talk to the girl alone. The result? The girl refused treatment. Now she’s dead, and the community is enraged.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 249 To the Minister of Health, who is more important to lis- ten to, a health authority bureaucrat or desperate parents begging for help? Hon. Josie Osborne: It’s important to listen to each and every person who is impacted by this toxic drug crisis: people with lived experience and who are living this right now; the parents and families of youth and children; the people who work on the front lines, both in hospitals and other facilities; and also all the community service organ - izations out there — everybody who is working to tackle this crisis.

We’re going to continue to do this work. We’re going to continue to expand these supports, working with youth and children and their families and… Interjections. The Speaker: Members. Please conclude. Hon. Josie Osborne: …ensuring that we take absolutely every step that we can, because we know just how critical this is at this time. CALL FOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF METRO V ANCOUVER REGIONAL DISTRICT GOVERNANCE Tony Luck: Every day calls for an independent review of Metro Vancouver are growing. Taxpayers and others want answers and have completely lost faith in Metro Vancouver.

When will this Premier answer the calls and convene an independent review of Metro Vancouver? Hon. Ravi Kahlon: Thank you to the member for the question. Certainly, I share some concerns, as well, around some of the things that are happening in Metro Vancouver. The Premier has made it clear that he shares those con - cerns. We have indicated to Metro Vancouver that a govern - ance review is required. We said that we would participate in a governance review only if they included pay for mem - bers as part of that review. That step is happening. We’re working through that right now.

I know it’s frustrating for people when they hear about double salaries. What I would say to members in this place is that it’s easy to throw rocks at other levels of government when it comes to double salaries, but perhaps we should look at the members in this House who are right now be - ing paid two salaries. How about we look at the members right now? Interjections. [The Speaker rose.] The Speaker: You expected…. When the question is asked, we obviously expect an answer. The answer can only be provided if we are prepared to listen. So, please. [The Speaker resumed his seat.] Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. The minister will conclude. Hon. Ravi Kahlon: Thank you, hon. Speaker. I’ll re-emphasize the point. If we want to hold Metro Vancouver to account and we want to make sure that they’re transparent, we have to do the same in this House. We can’t have MLAs collecting salaries as well as collecting salaries from the same community…. Interjections. The Speaker: Members. Hon. Ravi Kahlon: We can’t have MLAs being paid more…. Interjections. The Speaker: Members, if you are only interested in asking questions, no answers, we can arrange that. Interjections. The Speaker: Members. Members.

Please conclude that. Hon. Ravi Kahlon: I think members should be just as offended about salaries as they should be when MLAs are collecting two paycheques. I do believe…. Interjection. Hon. Ravi Kahlon: I don’t understand why this mem - ber is not bothered by people collecting two paycheques for serving the same community. Interjections. The Speaker: Members. Minister, please conclude. Hon. Ravi Kahlon: It’s hard to answer the question when they keep heckling, but perhaps the member will ask another one, and I can finish the answer. The Speaker: Fraser-Nicola, supplemental.

250 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 Tony Luck: Just an easy question. Every NDP member that did not get a pay raise, please stand up. [2:25 p.m.] This is really easy. The Premier has the power to call an independent inquiry into this mess over at Metro Van - couver. He said in the House some time ago, and I quote: “If it was easy, he would do it.” This is easy to do. He has the power. Metro Vancouver has lost control. Even Surrey wants to come out of Metro Vancouver as well. Can we get a commitment from this Premier to im - mediately launch an independent investigation into Metro Vancouver?

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: Clearly, double-dipping on their caucus has hit a nerve with them. I would remind the member that all MLAs received an increase in pay. He should ask his Whip, who voted in fa - vour of that when he was on the other side of the House. Perhaps he can fill the caucus in. Maybe they won’t cheer as loud next time the comment is made. I want to correct the record. The member just men - tioned Surrey. Surrey actually is not talking about pulling out of Metro Vancouver. I spoke with the mayor this mor - ning. Surrey has got issues with the regional growth strat - egy. We had a conversation.

We’re going to continue to en- gage with them on that. Metro Van needs a governance review. As long as the salaries are included in that, we have agreed to participate in the governance review. That process is going forward, and I look forward to being able to provide information to the public about how that governance review is progressing. GOVERNMENT ACTION ON ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM Bryan Tepper: Health care wait times have ballooned to longer than half a year. Timely medical visits are as likely as winning the lottery. Our health care system is in crisis.

When will this government fix it before even more people die waiting for access to treatment? Hon. Josie Osborne: Thank you to the member for the question. We want people to access care as quickly as pos - sible and as close to home as possible. The amount of work before us all in ensuring that in this time of a global health care worker shortage, we are able to train more doctors here in British Columbia…. That we are able to attract and retain more doctors, nurses, all the health care workers across the system that are needed for a strong public health care system is absolutely vital.

That’s why we’ve been taking so many actions towards this work, from a human health care resource strategy in ensuring that those workers come on board, tripling our capacity to credential doctors who are coming from other jurisdictions; funding new medical seats at UBC; build - ing a new medical school in Surrey, an opportunity that the Leader of the Opposition said no to when he was in government. There’s no doubt about it. We have huge challenges ahead of us. Interjections. The Speaker: Shhh. Hon. Josie Osborne: But creating a two-tier, U.S.-style form of health care…. Interjections. The Speaker: Are we done?

The minister will conclude. Hon. Josie Osborne: Bringing a two-tier, U.S.-style form of health care into the states, as the B.C. Conserva - tives would have if they were on this side of the House, is not the answer. It would poach doctors, nurses and others from the system, and it would make things worse. Interjection. The Speaker: Member. Hon. Josie Osborne: It would make the problems worse. That’s why we’re going to continue to take all the steps that we are to strengthen our public health care system, and we are not going to stop.

The Speaker: Surrey-Panorama, supplemental. [2:30 p.m.] Bryan Tepper: Emergency room wait times continue to grow. Patients continue to suffer and die while this gov - ernment sits on its hands. Surrey Memorial Hospital ER wait times are already at 18 hours, and with Delta’s ER clos- ures, it’s going to get worse. Why is this minister allowing chaos to run our health care system? Hon. Josie Osborne: This government is investing in health care, is building new facilities across B.C.

This gov - ernment is building a new hospital in Surrey, not selling the land on which it could have been built. [End of question period.] The Speaker: Members, keep the noise down, please. Orders of the Day Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call committee stage, Bill 2.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 251 The House in Committee. The committee met at 2:34 p.m. [Lorne Doerkson in the chair.] Committee of the Whole BILL 2 — ACTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST COMMISSIONER CONTINUATION ACT The Chair: Good afternoon, Members. We are going to call this House back to order, and this afternoon we will be considering Bill 2, Acting Conflict of Interest Commis - sioner Continuation Act. On clause 1. Steve Kooner: My question is in regards to

section 1(2). The

section reads that

section 14(7)(

c) of the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act does not apply in respect of

an act - ing commissioner appointed on or about January 6, 2025, under

section 14(6) of that act. [2:35 p.m.] In regards to that, my understanding is there’s a 20 sit - ting day limit for acting commissioners, ensuring the role is temporary right now. Is that correct? The Chair: Just to remind members to address through the Chair. Hon. Niki Sharma: Before I start, I want to make sure that I get to introduce the great team that’s with me here. We have Anita Nadziejko, director of policy and legisla - tion; Tarynn McKenzie, senior policy and legislation ana - lyst. I just want to appreciate all the work that they’ve done on this bill. Short answer is yes to the member’s question.

Steve Kooner: So the government is currently seeking to suspend the time limit to make that position from tem - porary to continuing. For how long will that take place? Hon. Niki Sharma: Yes; until the next commissioner is appointed, or the next clause deals with when the act itself is repealed, which would put that final timeline on it. And it’s designed in a way to create enough time for the process of the Special Committee to be underway. Steve Kooner: What’s the next procedure? Will this pos- ition have to be staffed eventually? Will there be a perma - nent staffing of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner?

That’s the next question. Hon. Niki Sharma: There is a commissioner in place right now. It’s still Victoria Gray that will be serving. So there’s one in place right now with a staffed-up team. I’m informed that the Special Committee has been ap - pointed and is for a five-year term. So that work will get underway. Steve Kooner: It’s my understanding that when the election happened in 2020, there was a fall session that took place for about two weeks in December. My follow-up question is: if we had had an earlier sit - ting, could a committee have been appointed then?

And the staffing requirements, could they have been met then, if we had had an earlier sitting? Hon. Niki Sharma: The Special Committee requires a six-to-eight month process in order to find and conduct their work in getting a new conflicts commissioner.

The inevitable thing was that we would have come up upon the current commissioner being timed out and having to have an acting commissioner, to make sure that the Special Committee had that timeline of the six to eight months to make sure that there was a fair process for the new com - missioner to be appointed. [2:40 p.m.] Steve Kooner: Is it acceptable to say that we wouldn’t be in the position right now if we had had a fall sitting? Hon. Niki Sharma: No, it’s not fair to say that. I can take back the timelines I just mentioned. The special com - mittee would take six to eight months before they would….

They need to do that process. It’s a very important position, as an independent officer of the conflict commissioner. In order to do the fair process that they would be tasked to do, it would take six to eight months for that to happen. So we’ve designed this bill to accommodate proper pro- cess and time. I’m very grateful for Victoria Gray to have offered up serving as an acting commissioner in that case. And that would have had to happen because of the timing of the election, which was in the fall. Clause 1 approved. On clause 2.

Steve Kooner: In regards to clause 2, it states: “This act is repealed on March 31, 2026, or an earlier date prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.” Why does this legislation have a sunset clause? Why is there a time limit on this piece of legislation? Hon. Niki Sharma: It’s to ensure that it’s clear that the acting commissioner can’t stay in place forever, that there’s a process for a new one.

252 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 Clauses 2 and 3 approved. Title approved. Hon. Niki Sharma: I move that the committee rise and report the bill complete without amendment. Motion approved. The Chair: This committee will stand adjourned. The committee rose at 2:42 p.m. The House resumed at 2:44 p.m. [The Speaker in the chair.] Reporting of Bills BILL 2 — ACTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST COMMISSIONER CONTINUATION ACT Lorne Doerkson: The committee on Bill 2 reports the bill complete without amendment. The Speaker: When shall the bill be read a third time? Hon. Niki Sharma: Now.

Third Reading of Bills BILL 2 — ACTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST COMMISSIONER CONTINUATION ACT The Speaker: Members, the question is third reading of the bill, Bill 2, Acting Conflict of Interest Commissioner Continuation Act. Motion approved. [2:45 p.m.] The Speaker: Bill 2, Acting Conflict of Interest Com - missioner Continuation Act, has been read a third time and passed. Hon. Niki Sharma: I call committee stage of Bill 3. The House in Committee.

The committee met at 2:45 p.m. [Lorne Doerkson in the chair.] Committee of the Whole BILL 3 — PROTECTED AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AMENDMENT ACT, 2025 The Chair: Good afternoon, Members. We will call the committee back to order. We’re going to contemplate Bill 3, the Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act of 2025. On clause 1. Trevor Halford: I want to thank the minister, and also her staff that are joining her today, which I’m sure she’ll take an opportunity to introduce.

I’m not going to spend a fair amount of time on here, but I do want to get some stuff, I think, that we can put on the record and clear up any confusion. Can the minister outline the consultation process that was utilized before the bill? Can the minister outline the consultation process for this particular bill? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Thank you for the question. For any of the substantive changes, we did consult with our local government and our local First Nations. Any smaller administrative changes, those were not consulted on.

Trevor Halford: From the minister there, can the min - ister confirm, then, that there was no public consultation done referencing Bill 3? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: There was broad engagement done on the Kilby and the Naikoon Park, es - pecially around the cemetery. There was some stakeholder engagement done on the other additions and deletions. Trevor Halford: I don’t mean to be challenging or dif - ficult, but my first question was asking about consultation that had been done, particularly on this bill.

So when I ask about public consultation, if stakehold - ers were consulted, does the minister have a list of those stakeholders for each of the parks where there have been changes? What was the time frame in terms of when those consultations were done, and if anything would be made public in terms of any concerns regarding any of the chan - ges, whether they be name changes, boundary changes or anything like that? [2:50 p.m.] Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Thank you for the question. The nature of the public engagement really de - pends on the substantive or administrative changes.

We didn’t engage publicly on the bill as a whole, but where there were substantive changes, such as Kilby and

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 253 Naikoon…. For Kilby, we did do a public meeting, and then for Naikoon, we did send out letters to all of the Tlell residents to make sure that they understood the changes. When you’re adding or subtracting any kind of land from parks, we make sure that we try to do as much en - gagement as possible with the stakeholders. Then we also have reached out on all of these in terms of local govern - ment and First Nation communities. Trevor Halford: I thank the minister for her answer. I’ll combine the next one into one question.

When we look at all the nations that are potentially impacted by this piece of legislation…. I’ll combine that with local govern - ments as well. Did either any of the nations or local gov - ernments express any written concerns, or anything like that, with the changes that are before us today? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: No, there were no con cerns raised. Trevor Halford: Just to confirm, then, nobody at all had any significant problems or challenges with this piece of legislation. That is good. We’ll dive into some of the particular parks, but just in terms of the change in terms of public access….

I know that with different parks there are going to be different jurisdictions, different responsibilities, different caretakers, but can the minister confirm there’ll be no change to pub- lic access or use of any of the parks or ecological reserves listed in this bill? [2:55 p.m.] Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: No, this will not re - sult in any disturbances to public access. Trevor Halford: Are there any existing recreational tenures or permits that may be affected by the proposed amendments to this act? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: These amendments will not result in any changes to the tenure holders.

Trevor Halford: To my other question on that, and it’s regarding permitting. I assume, then: that would encom - pass permitting as well? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Yes, the same would apply for permits. Trevor Halford: Just to get a bit of a clarification here, because I don’t want to waste anybody’s time, obviously, with staff here as well. I do have questions specifically on Kilby Park and Nai - koon Park. I imagine those are contained under clause…. Can we deal with those under clause 3? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Yes, we can deal with those under clause 3. Clauses 1 and 2 approved. On clause 3.

Trevor Halford: In regards to Kilby Park and the histor- ical site there, that had been operated by, I think…. My understanding is the heritage branch has been the park operator for Kilby Park. It’s remained under the protection of the Park Act, but removing this park from protection and placing it with the heritage branch, I guess, maybe would be a little bit easier to administer.

With this change, can the minister provide assurance that Kilby Park will remain protected for its existing use of the lands and remain unchanged for the people of that community and, well, for the people of B.C. in general? [3:00 p.m.] Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Yes, the heritage branch and the site operator have both said that their intention is to keep it open for public recreation and enjoyment. Trevor Halford: Thank you for that, to the minister.

I just want to pick up on the word the minister used there, the word “intention.” The minister said: “The inten- tion would be….” My question would be: would the heritage branch have the ability — not the intention, but the ability — to close the campground and use the land for any other potential uses? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Thank you to the hon. member. That was a good question. Some of the properties for Kilby are held in trust to the province for the establishment or purpose of a public park for the recreation and enjoyment of the public, and this will continue to be adhered to by the heritage branch.

Trevor Halford: Thank you to the minister for that clarification. My understanding is that the heritage branch is under the purview of the Ministry of Tourism, correct? So they would indeed…. Is that…? To clarify, they would have the ability to make those closures outside of the Ministry of Environment if they so wished. Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: This site has been operating since 2003, and they could no longer because they’re not under the Park Act. However, the change under the ownership to go to the heritage branch…. The request was made by the site operator.

During the public meetings, the site operator made a public commitment to keep it open and operating as a camp-

254 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 site, and then also making sure…. Because they wanted to have more efficient dealings with the government. [3:05 p.m.] Trevor Halford: To clarify, we can talk about a com - mitment made by the operator, but how firm is that? What degree of confidence does, I guess, the Minister of Environment…? I would have to include the Minister of Tourism in that as well, because ultimately it is the Minis - ter of Tourism that now, through this legislation, will ac - tually have control of Kilby Park.

What guarantees can they give to the residents that this park — that there will be no changes and the use will still be allowed as it was prior to this bill being introduced? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Thank you for the question. I would like to say that the Minister of Tourism has also made public comments about the continuation to operate the site as a campsite. There’s going to be no change to the public. The public supported this change for the efficien - cies to be dealing with the government.

Trevor Halford: Moving on to Naikoon Park, can the minister please share the total taxpayer dollars used to purchase the land for the expansion of the park? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: For Naikoon Park, the total cost for the land acquisition was $748,000, and the B.C. Parks Foundation contributed $100,000 toward that purchase price. Trevor Halford: I imagine those dollars get the $100,000 that the minister just referenced. Would the other $648,000 have come out of the Ministry of Environment, or was that a different ministry that made that purchase? Hon.

Laanas / Tamara Davidson: That came out of the Ministry of Environment budget. The Chair: I believe the minister would like to move an amendment that’s on the order paper today. Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Thank you, hon. Chair. I move the amendment to clause 3, standing in my name on the orders of the day. [CLAUSE 3 (d), by deleting the text shown as struck out and adding the underlined text as shown: (

d) i n the description of Naikoon Park by striking out “ Plan 3 Tube 2024” and substituting “Plan 4 Tube 2029” and by striking out “ The whole park containing approximately 69 149 hectares (67 039 hectares of upland and 2 110 hectares of foreshore).” and substituting “The whole parkingpark con - taining approximately 69 320 hectares (67 210 hec - tares of upland and 2 110 hectares of foreshore).”, and .] [3:10 p.m.] Amendment approved. Clause 3 as amended approved. Clause 4 approved. On clause 5.

The Chair: Before you speak, Member, I just wanted to let everybody know that it’s pretty clear we’re having a couple of technical issues. Hansard does an amazing job for us, but they are having some challenges with your mics today. Apologies. Trevor Halford: Just because

Section 5 deals specific - ally with Wells Gray Park, my question is going to be very similar. Can the minister please share the taxpayer dollars used to purchase the land expansion for Wells Gray Park? Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: Before I answer the question, I just wanted to say thank you to my staff that are here with me today: Sydney Martin, Jaime Hilbert and Brett Hudson. I want to thank them for all their help. For the Wells Gray Park, the total cost of the acquisi - tion was $792,973. The B.C. Parks Foundation also con - tributed $49,500 towards the purchase.

Trevor Halford: Thank you to the minister for that an - swer. I’m assuming, again, all that money was contained within the Ministry of Environment budget. I don’t think that I need to spend much more time div - ing into this piece of legislation. I will make the comment that we’re very busy in this House, and our constituents expect that. We did spend about five to six hours debating this in second reading. I think we’re able to get through a lot of the meaty questions, here in committee stage, in probably under 45 minutes. So figure that out if you will.

I want to thank the minister and her staff for their time today. Clauses 5 and 6 approved. Title approved. Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: I move that the com m ittee rise and report the bill complete with amend - ment. Motion approved. The committee rose at 3:13 p.m. The House resumed at 3:14 p.m.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 255 [The Speaker in the chair.] Reporting of Bills BILL 3 — PROTECTED AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AMENDMENT ACT, 2025 Lorne Doerkson: The committee on Bill 3 reports the bill complete with amendment. [3:15 p.m.] The Speaker: When shall the bill be considered as re - ported? Hon. Niki Sharma: At the next sitting. The Speaker: So ordered. Hon. Niki Sharma: I call continued debate on the throne speech. [Lorne Doerkson in the chair.] Throne Speech Debate (continued) Teresa Wat: Well, good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. First of all, congratulations on your appointment.

We are so glad that you are in the chair, and I’m glad that I can speak in this people’s House for the first time with you on the chair. It is indeed a great honour and a privilege for me to stand up in this chamber to bring the voices and concerns of my constituents of my beautiful riding of Richmond- Bridgeport to this House. Now I am going to talk about one of the issues that they are so concerned about: supportive housing. I am outraged and disappointed by this government, its reckless decision to approve the supportive housing project on Cambie and Sexsmith Road in my riding without proper consultation.

I must say that this project is well-intentioned but, un - fortunately, it was rushed through without sufficient con - sideration for the concerns of Richmond residents. The lack of transparency and disregard for community input are staggering. We all want to support vulnerable popula - tions and provide them the necessary services, but not at the expense of community safety and well-being. The residents of this neighbourhood have legitimate concerns about increased crime and open drug use.

It’s certainly unacceptable that this government ignored their concerns, failed to provide sufficient information and dis - regarded the very people they are supposed to serve. We demand better. We demand transparency, accountability and genuine community engagement. It’s time for this government to listen to the people and address the con - cerns that have been ignored for far too long. I urge this NDP government to take immediate action, to conduct thorough community consultation, address con - cerns, and gather feedback from the residents.

They have a lot of feedback they want to pass on to this government, but it never gives them opportunity. Provide transparent and detailed information about this project, including safety measures and support services. Develop a compre - hensive plan to mitigate the impact of this project on local residents and also businesses. We, the official opposition party on this side of the House, will not stand idly by while our community is dis - regarded and disrespected. We will, each one of us, will continue to fight for our rights, our safety and our well- being.

We all need supportive housing, but this government needs to do a better job of bringing people along and pro - viding the support needed for people who will live there. Unfortunately, we see time and time again that this gov - ernment does neither. Proposing a location where there is hardly any public support sets the people who would live there up for failure. The government failed here. Why? Why build a project on a foundation of failure? [3:20 p.m.] This NDP government knew it wanted this project here, but knowing that they failed, they put it on ice until af - ter the election.

We all thought it was a shell game, and it would come back if they won. Here it is, coming back again. If this NDP government says this isn’t about pol - itics, why did they stop it before the election? Why? Why did they? If this is not about politics, if they heard what the residents told them, that they need proper consulta - tion, then do it. Let’s do it. I simply don’t understand the mentality — not even any common sense. Why introduce it in the month when most of the Asian-Canadian residents are celebrating the lunar new year?

Probably this government thought that they were so happy celebrating the lunar new year, they wouldn’t even notice this announcement. Why? Why did we introduce it now? Well, the Housing Minister of this government said that they will reveal the other five locations. But they haven’t released the site of the five locations for the residents to try to see whether those five locations are appropriate. The government said that they are not appropriate. They said: “Sorry, we can’t release the five locations for confidential information.” They didn’t even bother to inform the city of Rich - mond.

Neither the mayor nor all the, I think, seven city councillors knew anything about the five locations. They were only told on the day the announcement was made, in the morning around nine, that they were going to make this announcement. This government owes an explana - tion to the city government, not only to the residents.

256 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 We all know the residents in my riding. They are all aware that we need more supportive housing. It’s clear that we do. But we need to build the supports around it and the security for neighbours to feel safe. We need to win over the neighbourhood. If you don’t, it’s doomed to fail. It’s such common sense. Talk to the people before you decide. It really makes people feel like their voices mean nothing. That’s not really democracy. I immigrated to this country, to this province, 35 years ago because I admire and respect the democracy of Canada.

I thought: “I’m coming here so that every one of us lives under this democracy. We can all express our viewpoint.” We expect elected officials, we ex - pect government, to listen. But obviously, not in this case. No wonder Richmond residents, my constituents, are so angry. They are so furious. We do have other supportive housing in Richmond that has had problems with drugs and crime. While it’s a different project…. It’s on Alder - bridge, also in my riding. I’m so lucky to have so much supportive housing in my riding, which is good if it’s well managed. But it has zero support and security.

I really want to take this opportunity to thank the city of Richmond for listening to residents, to my constituents, who said an emphatic no to the plans for ill-considered supportive housing units at Sexsmith and Cambie. [3:25 p.m.] We need to help those in need, but it should not be done behind closed doors and without the community voices and their concern. Shame on our provincial government to proceed with the project without proper public consultation. Shame on them to put this project on pause prior to the October elec- tion with the full intention of bringing it back post-elec - tion.

That’s what my constituents told me. As I said, they are so furious, so angry. Shame on the Premier and the Minister of Housing to say that this was the best location, over community opposition. Let this be a lesson to learn. Our voices matter, even under a tone-deaf government. I call on this government to do the right thing: to listen to our voices and to work with us to find solutions that benefit everyone — everyone — including the children and the seniors, the husbands and the wives and the business people. Now, I want to turn my remaining two minutes to talk about the schools in Richmond City Centre.

I urge this NDP government to allocate necessary funds in Budget 2025 to support the growing education needs of the city centre of Richmond. Over the past five years, our community has experienced a staggering 40 percent growth in student enrolment, with 834 new students joining our schools. This rapid expan - sion has pushed our existing schools and facilities well be - yond their operating capacity. The driving force behind this growth is an influx of young families and new de - velopments in the area.

Currently, Brighouse Elementary is the only school serving this community, and it’s clear that we need more educational infrastructure to keep pace with this growth. Looking ahead to 2034, projections indicate a 40 per - cent increase in housing. I’m not going to go into details. I only have one minute to go.

That’s why I’m calling on this provincial government to allocate $15 million in Budget 2025 to support the con - struction of a new school in Richmond City Centre west, and I also urge this government to allocate $30 million in Budget 2025 to support the construction of a new school in Richmond City Centre east. Otherwise, the young children might have to study…. Again, maybe they have to bus to other areas, and they cannot enjoy the kind of education they have. So I urge this government to action. Allocate the neces - sary funds to support our schools, our students, our fam - ilies. They all are counting on us.

I see my time is up. I have so much that I want to talk about. Rob Botterell: I rise on behalf of the Third Party as the designated speaker to provide my response to the Speech from the Throne. I first wish to acknowledge that this Legislature sits on the territory of the lək̓ ʷəŋən speaking peoples, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. I also wish to acknowledge the W̱ SÁNEĆ people.

As MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, I am grateful to live and work on their territory. [3:30 p.m.] I wish to acknowledge and thank the many First Na - tions I have had the privilege to work with over the past 2½ decades, among them, Huu-ay-aht First Nations, Cowi - chan Tribes and Tsawwassen First Nation. I hold up my hands to former Huu-ay-aht Chief Coun - cillor Robert Dennis, current Chief Councillor of Huu-ay- aht John Jack, former Cowichan Chief Councillor Lydia Hwitsum and former Tsawwassen Chief Councillor, Kim Baird.

The Huu-ay-aht honoured me with the traditional name Naacaɫuk, which means “always watching” in nuučaan̓ uɫ. It is a name I carry with pride and deep respect for the re - sponsibility it carries. I also want to take a moment to thank the many people who brought me to this moment. Thank you to my nearly 58,000 constituents in Saanich North and the Islands. Whether you voted for me or not, I am deeply humbled to represent you in this powerful place and promise to be a fierce advocate for you.

We know Brit- ish Columbia is the best place to live in the world, but I would be remiss for not mentioning that the best place to live in British Columbia is Saanich North and the Islands. Thank you to my amazing staff in the constituency of - fice, at the caucus, for your principled and tireless dedica - tion to serving this province.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 257 Thank you to my mentors, retired Green MLAs Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen. I stand on the shoulders of all the work you accom - plished and hope to continue your legacy as principled legislators, truth-tellers and tireless advocates for the voices that are often ignored. To my fellow MLAs: I honour your commitment to the people of British Columbia and to the work we will do together. Finally, to my partner for life, Inga, and my family: thank you for supporting me on this new journey. You are the best thing that ever happened to me.

As I, along with all MLAs, embark on the important work of this House, I am reminded of the powerful words of Esquimalt Elder Mary Ann Thomas when opening the House earlier this February. I quote: “You gave up your life to a special home here, where we can do our decisions, where we can work together, how we can love and help and forgive one another….

In this room, there’s no time for any judgment, any anger, because all that is poison.” As I begin my work in this House, I remind myself of the lesson I have learned on the journey to this day: to suc- ceed in our work together, we need to have the courage to take the road less travelled, a willingness to take risks and make fiscally responsible investments in innovation and creative solutions, to ground all of our actions in com- munity consultation, to never take no for an answer, and to be guided by the wisdom of our elders. We live in perilous times.

Whether it’s the impact of accelerating climate change on our environment, the con - tinuing cost-of-living crisis, lack of affordable housing, lack of timely access to health care, especially for our most vulnerable, the halting progress on Indigenous recon - ciliation or the threat of a trade war and annexation from south of the border, British Columbians are tired of talk and no action. The threat of climate change is no longer theoretical. Entire countries are starting to disappear as ocean lev - els rise. Entire communities have been razed by wildfires.

Families have been wiped out by landslides following fierce winter storms. And 2024 was the warmest year on record, with a global average temperature of 1.55 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels. As these temper - ature increases continue to march towards the 2-degree- centigrade critical threshold and beyond, one can only imagine the devastating climate disasters we’ll face on an annual basis if we do not take decisive action now. Despite these dire conditions, this government’s CleanBC response has been insufficient and ineffective in reducing our emissions.

The Roadmap to 2030 is mostly aspirational. [3:35 p.m.] In the most recent, 2023, climate change accountability report, very little substantive progress is reported. Emis - sions continue to rise. Moreover, CleanBC has omitted the two most important greenhouse gas sources in British Columbia: natural gas exports and wildfires. We’re also moving away from putting people first.

De - spite living in the ninth-wealthiest country by net worth, with the strongest economy in Canada, one out of every four British Columbians are living paycheque to pay - cheque, and 10 percent of our population is living below the poverty line. After 50 years of unparalleled economic growth, chil - dren are going hungry. We rely on school breakfast pro - grams organized by NGOs to ensure that vulnerable children can learn after a nourishing breakfast. Almost 150,000 children, one in six children in this province, are living in low-income households.

The government is dragging out full implementation of the Declaration of Indigenous Rights Act, rather than em - bracing reconciliation as a priority and a key contributor to a bright future B.C. As my colleague from West Vancouver–Sea to Sky pointed out in his response to the Speech from the Throne, members on both sides of this chamber have made a habit of using phrases like “laser-focused” when describing their tariff response, but a laser focus leaves too many crises in darkness. To tackle the overlapping challenges facing our province, including reconciliation, we need floodlights, not laser focus.

We have only to look south of the border to see where a laser focus on industry leads when politics is driven into a two-party system, when good, hard-working people are abandoned by a neoliberal global-trade economic system, and when, moreover, the richest men in the world can dis - mantle foundational institutions and replace them with an economic oligarchy. To avoid the same fate, we must strive for greater equity, more representative democracy and a broad government response that puts people and the environment first.

When we face the threat of an economic trade war, now is not the time to double down on status quo economic solu - tions which hardly pay lip service to accelerating climate change, worsening living standards and services for the most vulnerable, nor is this the time for lethargic action on reconciliation. Further, solutions to the current economic threat must not rely on the panacea of unlimited economic growth in a world of finite resources. That’s no solution at all. Too often in the past 50 years when faced with adversity, our leaders have relied on familiar short-term fixes.

They’ve convinced us that the world is full of difficult trade-offs, so that we should accept limited progress on the multiple challenges we face. We put off real progress on climate change and accept continued environmental degradation because we’re told that’s all we can afford. We delay full implementation of DRIPA and turn a blind eye to our society’s most vul - nerable, rationalizing that we are making some progress.

258 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 When we do make real progress, for example, the Haida Act, it’s not long before it’s denounced — falsely, I should add — as a threat to private property and freedom. We need to build a 21st-century economy that fosters innovation, creativity, knowledge and skills in each part of this province and in all key economic sectors. We need to build an economy that generates return for everyone, not just for the top 1 percent and major corporations. And we need to do it now, not sometime over the next 50 years.

We’ve been on the “promise and never deliver” plan for far too long. That must change now. We can build a 21st- century economy that turns challenges into opportunities. Over the last few years in the province, we’ve seen floods and fires, with disastrous consequences. Instead of report - ing tragedies, we should be making headlines as a world leader on climate action and environmental protection. [3:40 p.m.] Let’s build infrastructure to adapt to our current cli - mate, while investing in sustainable projects that make our future brighter.

By investing in energy-efficient build - ings, renewable energy projects and efficient public trans - portation, we can support economic growth that is long term and sustainable. B.C.’s green building sector employed over 20,000 people in 2020 alone, with stable, full-time jobs. This work is not just good for our planet. It’s good for us. It generates well-paid jobs that support families and protect our wealth. We need to continue the hard work of reconciliation.

We’ve already seen how partnerships with First Nations in this province have generated economic wins for all British Columbians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. B.C. is home to the second-largest number of Indigenous entre- preneurs in Canada, with over 2,000 Indigenous-owned businesses across the province. Economic growth in In - digenous communities through entrepreneurship creates opportunities for innovation and independence. When I was a boy in Victoria, there were no tent cities or visible homelessness on our streets.

Now even middle- class families live in fear that one missed paycheque will force them to lose the roof over their heads. In a province as rich as ours, that is beyond shameful. Being world lead - ers in the fight against climate change, fully supporting those most vulnerable to unemployment and poverty and completing the hard work of reconciliation is not part of the problem. It is the solution. A zero-carbon economy in the future: B.C. can be a spectator or an active, engaged participant. Protecting the environment of this special province will be our leg - acy to future generations.

Eliminating unemployment and poverty will not only be a much more visible demonstra - tion of dignity and compassion. It will reduce costly de - mands on our overstretched health and social support sys - tems. Advancing Indigenous reconciliation will create the certainty needed for Indigenous people across B.C. to take their rightful place at the centre of our future together.

To make this transformation in times of adversity, we need the courage to take the road less travelled, a willing - ness to take risks and make fiscally responsible invest - ments in innovation and creative solutions, to ground all of our actions in community consultation, to never take no for an answer, to be guided by the wisdom of our elders. Let me explain how I came to this realization. My father was a pilot in the Second World War.

After serving overseas, he was posted in Ucluelet and at Pat Bay, where he flew Catalina amphibious aircraft out over the Pacific, searching for enemy submarines and other threats. After the war, my parents settled in Victoria. My dad became a lawyer at what was then Crease and Co. My mom worked as a social worker. Then, one morning when I was a toddler, my dad died. In an instant, at the age of 42, my mom became a single mother of three. Her whole life was turned upside down. It was 1958, and many of my mom’s friends and neigh - bours counselled her to take the life insurance money and be a stay-at-home mom.

My mom disagreed. Instead, she made the decision to go to UBC law school, become a law - yer and carry on the legacy of my dad. In 1960, she met with the dean of law and asked to be admitted on the condition that if she failed, at Christmas, she would leave. She was accepted and joined two other women law students. Against all the social norms and gender barriers of that era, she graduated with her law de - gree in 1964. When I was older, I realized that having the courage to take the road less travelled was part of my DNA.

I imagine every MLA in this House has a similar story where, in the face of adversity, they were courageous and pursued the road less travelled. We’ve faced adversity before. The COVID pandemic is a recent example. Yes, we looked to internal resources first. However, when necessary, we ran deficits. That was the fiscally responsible approach. [3:45 p.m.] Some say we must reduce taxes and balance budgets at all costs. Some will say that we cannot afford to make the investments necessary to transform our economy. It’s un - fortunate that people will remain mired in poverty, they say.

The climate fight needs to be put on hold. And In - digenous people must accept being second-class citizens in one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the world. I say no. In times of adversity, we cannot afford not to borrow and invest in innovation and creative solutions. In my own career, I think back to the adversity I faced as financial comptroller for the TD Bank in B.C. in the ’80s, when most of the world was in the midst of a deep recession. Like now, there was pressure to be fiscally re - sponsible and cling to the life raft of old ways of delivering services.

At TD, we ensured that we were fiscally respon - sible, but that did not stop us from finding the resources

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 British Columbia Debates 259 to innovate, finding new ways to operate and finding cre - ative solutions to the challenges of the day. The same is true today. Yes, we must be fiscally respon - sible, but we can’t let that be an excuse to stop investing, innovating and transforming our economy from one suited to the 1970s to one for the 21st century. Take forestry in this province as an example. For dec - ades, B.C. has allowed decisions on how its forests are man- aged or how timber pricing works to be determined by the Americans.

We have exported the financial returns from forestry to the U.S.A., and our reward? The U.S.A. has demonstrated that they will apply tariffs no matter what. We must stop appeasing the United States and manage our forests on our own terms, take the path less travelled, become world leaders in forest sector innovation and value- added, while all the time respecting Indigenous rights and fully implementing the old-growth strategic review.

To succeed in the face of adversity, we must take risks, make fiscally responsible investments and innovate in every sector of the economy in a way that enables us to fight climate change and preserve the environment, end poverty once and for all and ensure that every British Col - umbian has the health care and housing we expect and deserve. Celebrate Indigenous sovereignty. Don’t fight it. Celebrate it. Rely minimally on U.S. markets. Our job as government is to create the financial, regulatory and policy environment to support this private sector innovation. I am not alone in this assessment.

Dan Breznitz, the Munk chair of innovation studies at the University of To - ronto, summed up the benefits of innovation in the fall of 2024 in a series of articles in the Globe and Mail .

His observations apply to all of Canada, but are equally applicable to B.C., and this is what he had to say: “Our highly educated workforce, if it can be matched with an export-oriented, highly productive and innovative busi - ness sector that is leading the world in engaging in know - ledge and investing in the newest equipment and technol - ogy, should be the best foundation for sustained prosper - ity, the foundation so that we have no poverty, that we fight climate change, that we deal with all of the things that I’ve just mentioned.” He goes on to say, however, that at least as importantly, such a vision is as far away as one can think from the vi - sion the United States, Silicon Valley and Wall Street cele - brate, a vision in which only a tiny sliver of the society, the geek elite, their financiers and their celebrity chefs enjoy both good, challenging jobs and immense riches.

Clearly, if there is any silver lining to the threats of tar - iffs and a trade war with the U.S.A., it is forcing us to do something we should have done 25 years ago, invest in the heavy lifting to create a 21st century economy.

With tariff threats changing by the day and economic instability shaking every part of our society, I know this government is feeling pressure to act quickly, but that can - not be an excuse for cutting corners. [3:50 p.m.] When NDP Attorney General Colin Gabelmann asked me to lead the team that developed B.C.’s first Freedom of Information Act in 1991, I was told to move fast but to ensure that everybody inside and outside government was fully consulted. The election had been in mid-October.

At the time, Premier Harcourt wanted this FOI bill to be one of the first introduced in the following spring session, so about now. We viewed consultation as an advantage, not an incon - venience, and we built the legislation from the ground up with broad consultation. The Premier wanted to create the best FOI legislation in Canada, and community engage - ment was a key to success. That public engagement did two things. It created better legislation, and it built political will, all while meeting our deadline. After the bill was introduced, we did another round of consultation. We listened.

We didn’t disregard a sugges - tion because it came from another party or a particular stakeholder. Nobody has a monopoly on great ideas. We let reason and science, not anecdotes and made-up facts, guide the legislative process. In fact, we made an unprecedented 36 amendments be - fore final passage of the bill. Committee stage and every - thing was real, and there were amendments. Even then, everybody did not get what they wanted. But they appreci - ated the fact that they were heard, and the amendment pro- cess was real.

When it passed, journalist Vaughn Palmer said that experts agreed it was the best legislation of its kind in Canada. Rapid response is not an excuse to skirt consultation, nor to avoid working with stakeholders to build solutions from the ground up. I learned through my experience with freedom-of-information legislation that if you want legislation to endure, you have to do the work. You have to build consensus. You have to be inclusive. You have to work across ministries. You have to reach beyond your usual networks and nurture new relationships to create real, positive change.

Huu-ay-aht First Nations is an inspiration for all of the work I do. Huu-ay-aht exemplifies one of many Indigen - ous nations in B.C. who have successfully travelled the path from nearly being wiped out and having their chil - dren, culture, economy, fisheries, landhold — everything about them — almost erased. And now they’ve become a modern nation with a bright future. Like nearly all other First Nations, Huu-ay-aht lost 90 percent of its population following contact. Imagine if you walked through your neighbourhood today and nine out of every ten friends and neighbours and family were lost.

If we had more time, I would welcome an opportunity to share Huu-ay-aht’s remarkable, courageous, “don’t take no for an answer” history of the past 40 years with you. For today, I wish to share three sacred principles that I believe

260 British Columbia Debates Wednesday, February 26, 2025 are central to the success of Huu-ay-aht and which have guided our work together over many years. First, Hišuk ma c̕awak: everything is one, everything is connected — people, air, water, lands, forests, fishery, everything. In a governing context, we must not operate in silos, and we must take everything into account. Second sacred principle, ʔuuʔałuk: taking care of every - one. In a governing context, we must always support and take care of everyone and everything, no matter the circum- stances. Nobody can be left out. That is what humanity demands.

Finally, ʔiisaak: conducting yourself with utmost respect. In a governing context, we must treat each other with utmost respect. [3:55 p.m.] As we work together in these perilous times, I urge every MLA in this House to reflect on the wisdom of these three sacred principles and consider applying them to your work in the House on behalf of yo

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20250226pm-Hansard-n10
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20250226pm Hansard n10
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	2e04c40c9cc5ca4045454d7a1d283dfe4068225e

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