British Columbia Hansard — 11 May 2021, a.m., Issue 66 (42nd Parliament, 2nd Session)

20210511am-Hansard-n66

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Second Session, 42nd Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday, May 11, 2021 Morning Sitting Issue No. 66 THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC Second Session, 42nd Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Raj Chouhan EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John Horgan Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training...........................................................................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries......................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing .............................................................................................Hon. David Eby, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................................Hon.

Mitzi Dean Minister of State for Child Care...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Minister of Citizens’ Services.....................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Education .................................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Jennifer Whiteside Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation ........................................................................................Hon. Bruce Ralston, QC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy............................................................................................. Hon. George Heyman Minister of Finance .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Selina Robinson Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations................................................................................. Hon. Nathan Cullen Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs.............................................................................Hon.

Adrian Dix Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation .......................................................................................... Hon. Murray Rankin, QC Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation....................................................................................................... Hon. Ravi Kahlon Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon.

George Chow Minister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Harry Bains Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.............................................................................................................. Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Minister of Municipal Affairs ............................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Josie Osborne Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon. Mike Farnworth Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction........................................................................................... Hon. Nicholas Simons Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport .................................................................................................................. Hon.

Melanie Mark Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of State for Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Bowinn Ma LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition...................................................................................................................................................Shirley Bond Leader of the Third Party .......................................................................................................................................................... Sonia Furstenau Deputy Speaker..........................................................................................................................................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Assistant Deputy Speaker..............................................................................................................................................................Norm Letnick Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole .......................................................................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard 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 Clerk Assistant, Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..............................................................................................Susan Sourial Senior Research Analyst ................................................................................................................................................................... Karan Riarh Acting Sergeant-at-Arms..................................................................................................................................................................Greg Nelson

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Alexis, Pam (BC NDP) ............................................................Abbotsford-Mission Anderson, Brittny (BC NDP) .........................................................Nelson-Creston Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Penticton Babchuk, Michele (BC NDP)...............................................................North Island Bailey, Brenda (BC NDP).................................................. Vancouver–False Creek Bains, Hon. Harry (BC NDP).........................................................

Surrey-Newton Banman, Bruce (BC Liberal Party) ............................................ Abbotsford South Beare, Hon. Lisa (BC NDP) .......................................

Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry (BC NDP).................................................................Surrey-Guildford Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ...............................................Peace River South Bond, Shirley (BC Liberal Party).................................Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (BC NDP) ................................................................Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal Party) .............................................

Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–West End Chant, Susie (BC NDP) ..............................................North Vancouver–Seymour Chen, Hon. Katrina (BC NDP) ............................................... Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Hon. Raj (BC NDP).................................................Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon. George (BC NDP) ..........................................Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal Party)........................Columbia River–Revelstoke Conroy, Hon.

Katrine (BC NDP) ....................................................Kootenay West Coulter, Dan (BC NDP) .......................................................................... Chilliwack Cullen, Hon. Nathan (BC NDP) ................................................................... Stikine Davies, Dan (BC Liberal Party)................................................. Peace River North de Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal Party)....................................Abbotsford West Dean, Hon. Mitzi (BC NDP) ...............................................

Esquimalt-Metchosin D’Eith, Bob (BC NDP) .........................................................Maple Ridge–Mission Dix, Hon. Adrian (BC NDP) ................................................ Vancouver-Kingsway Doerkson, Lorne (BC Liberal Party) ........................................Cariboo-Chilcotin Donnelly, Fin (BC NDP) .......................................... Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Dykeman, Megan (BC NDP)............................................................... Langley East Eby, Hon. David, QC (BC NDP).......................................

Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (BC NDP) ..................................................Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (BC NDP) .................................................Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (BC NDP) ...............................................

Victoria–Swan Lake Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) .............................................Cowichan Valley Glumac, Rick (BC NDP) ..................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Greene, Kelly (BC NDP) ........................................................Richmond-Steveston Halford, Trevor (BC Liberal Party) .........................................Surrey–White Rock Heyman, Hon. George (BC NDP) .........................................Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon. John (BC NDP) ......................................... Langford–Juan de Fuca Kahlon, Hon.

Ravi (BC NDP) .............................................................. Delta North Kang, Hon. Anne (BC NDP) .................................................. Burnaby–Deer Lake Kirkpatrick, Karin (BC Liberal Party) ........................West Vancouver–Capilano Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal Party)....................................................................Shuswap Lee, Michael (BC Liberal Party) ..............................................Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (BC NDP)...............................................

Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal Party) .................................. Kelowna–Lake Country Lore, Grace (BC NDP)........................................................... Victoria–Beacon Hill Ma, Hon. Bowinn (BC NDP).....................................North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Hon. Sheila (BC NDP)........................................................Nanaimo Mark, Hon. Melanie (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Mercier, Andrew (BC NDP) ........................................................................

Langley Merrifield, Renee (BC Liberal Party)......................................... Kelowna-Mission Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal Party) .......................... Kamloops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ................................. Prince George–Mackenzie Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal Party).................................................. Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (BC Green Party)............................ Saanich North and the Islands Osborne, Hon.

Josie (BC NDP)........................................Mid Island–Pacific Rim Paddon, Kelli (BC NDP) ................................................................Chilliwack-Kent Paton, Ian (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Delta South Popham, Hon. Lana (BC NDP)........................................................ Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce, QC (BC NDP) .............................................Surrey-Whalley Rankin, Hon.

Murray, QC (BC NDP) .............................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Rice, Jennifer (BC NDP) ...................................................................... North Coast Robinson, Hon. Selina (BC NDP)...................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal Party)......................................................................... Skeena Routledge, Janet (BC NDP) .............................................................Burnaby North Routley, Doug (BC NDP)...........................................

Nanaimo–North Cowichan Russell, Roly (BC NDP).................................................... Boundary-Similkameen Rustad, John (BC Liberal Party)......................................................Nechako Lakes Sandhu, Harwinder (BC NDP) .................................................Vernon-Monashee Sharma, Niki (BC NDP)..........................................................Vancouver-Hastings Shypitka, Tom (BC Liberal Party) .................................................... Kootenay East Simons, Hon. Nicholas (BC NDP).........................

Powell River–Sunshine Coast Sims, Jinny (BC NDP) ................................................................. Surrey-Panorama Singh, Aman (BC NDP) .............................................Richmond-Queensborough Singh, Rachna (BC NDP)...................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Starchuk, Mike (BC NDP) ......................................................... Surrey-Cloverdale Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal Party) .......................................................

Kelowna West Stone, Todd (BC Liberal Party) ...............................Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal Party) ............................. West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal Party)....................................................... Fraser-Nicola Walker, Adam (BC NDP) ....................................................... Parksville-Qualicum Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal Party) ....................................... Richmond North Centre Whiteside, Hon. Jennifer (BC NDP) .........................................

New Westminster Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal Party)......................Vancouver-Quilchena Y ao, Henry (BC NDP) ..................................................... Richmond South Centre LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission................................................................................. Pam Alexis Abbotsford South...............................................................................Bruce Banman Abbotsford West......................................................................

Michael de Jong, QC Boundary-Similkameen........................................................................ Roly Russell Burnaby–Deer Lake....................................................................... Hon. Anne Kang Burnaby-Edmonds......................................................................Hon. Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed .................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Burnaby North .................................................................................

Janet Routledge Cariboo-Chilcotin ..........................................................................Lorne Doerkson Cariboo North.................................................................................... Coralee Oakes Chilliwack ...............................................................................................Dan Coulter Chilliwack-Kent .................................................................................... Kelli Paddon Columbia River–Revelstoke .........................................................

Doug Clovechok Coquitlam–Burke Mountain...............................................................Fin Donnelly Coquitlam-Maillardville ...................................................... Hon. Selina Robinson Courtenay-Comox................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard Cowichan Valley ............................................................................. Sonia Furstenau Delta North................................................................................... Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Delta South ..................................................................................................Ian Paton Esquimalt-Metchosin .................................................................... Hon. Mitzi Dean Fraser-Nicola .........................................................................................

Jackie Tegart Kamloops–North Thompson .............................................................Peter Milobar Kamloops–South Thompson..................................................................Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country .....................................................................Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission ...........................................................................

Renee Merrifield Kelowna West ..........................................................................................Ben Stewart Kootenay East.......................................................................................Tom Shypitka Kootenay West........................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Langford–Juan de Fuca .............................................................. Hon.

John Horgan Langley .............................................................................................Andrew Mercier Langley East....................................................................................Megan Dykeman Maple Ridge–Mission.............................................................................. Bob D’Eith Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows............................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim............................................................ Hon.

Josie Osborne Nanaimo.............................................................................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo–North Cowichan............................................................... Doug Routley Nechako Lakes........................................................................................ John Rustad Nelson-Creston ............................................................................. Brittny Anderson New Westminster.............................................................. Hon.

Jennifer Whiteside North Coast ........................................................................................... Jennifer Rice North Island................................................................................... Michele Babchuk North Vancouver–Lonsdale......................................................... Hon. Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour...................................................................Susie Chant Oak Bay–Gordon Head..................................................Hon.

Murray Rankin, QC Parksville-Qualicum........................................................................... Adam Walker Peace River North ................................................................................... Dan Davies Peace River South ................................................................................ Mike Bernier Penticton ................................................................................................. Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam...................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam.......................................................................Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast..............................................Hon. Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie....................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ..................................................................

Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre..........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough..................................................................Aman Singh Richmond South Centre .......................................................................... Henry Y ao Richmond-Steveston ............................................................................

Kelly Greene Saanich North and the Islands .............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South .............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap...................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena........................................................................................................... Ellis Ross Stikine........................................................................................ Hon.

Nathan Cullen Surrey-Cloverdale .............................................................................. Mike Starchuk Surrey-Fleetwood.....................................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers........................................................................Rachna Singh Surrey-Guildford......................................................................................Garry Begg Surrey-Newton ..............................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ...................................................................................... Jinny Sims Surrey South ................................................................................ Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Whalley ................................................................. Hon. Bruce Ralston, QC Surrey–White Rock .......................................................................... Trevor Halford Vancouver-Fairview.............................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek...................................................................... Brenda Bailey Vancouver-Fraserview...............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ..............................................................................Niki Sharma Vancouver-Kensington....................................................................... Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..................................................................... Hon.

Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara................................................................................ Michael Lee Vancouver–Mount Pleasant..................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Vancouver–Point Grey ............................................................Hon. David Eby, QC Vancouver-Quilchena........................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Vancouver–West End .....................................................Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee .....................................................................

Harwinder Sandhu Victoria–Beacon Hill............................................................................... Grace Lore Victoria–Swan Lake.................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano...........................................................Karin Kirkpatrick West Vancouver–Sea to Sky................................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC NDP 57; BC Liberal Party 28; BC Green Party 2

CONTENTS Tuesday, May 11, 2021 Morning Sitting Page Routine Business Introduction and First Reading of Bills................................................................................................................................ 1683 Bill 13 — Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021 Hon. H. Bains Statements (Standing Order 25B) ......................................................................................................................................... 1683 Small Business Awards and businesses in West Vancouver–Sea to Sky area J. Sturdy Visual impairment and checkered eye badges D.

Routley Mining Month and mining resources T. Shypitka Child care on Mayne Island J. Routledge Logan Stankoven and hockey championship win P . Milobar Noise pollution and vehicles with modified tailpipes S. Chandra Herbert Oral Questions......................................................................................................................................................................... 1685 Y outh addiction services and youth stabilization care legislation P . Milobar Hon. S. Malcolmson T. Halford COVID-19 response and use of rapid testing A. Olsen Hon. A.

Dix Subsidized housing and rent freeze B. Stewart Hon. D. Eby Co-operative housing leases and protections for tenants T. Stone Hon. D. Eby Funding for school fruit and vegetable snack program M. de Jong Hon. L. Popham I. Paton Personal Statements ................................................................................................................................................................ 1691 Apology for comments made in the House Hon. N.

Simons Tabling Documents................................................................................................................................................................. 1691 Office of the Auditor General, independent audit report,Management of the Conservation Lands Program, May 2021 Orders of the Day Second Reading of Bills .......................................................................................................................................................... 1691 Bill 5 — InBC Investment Corp. Act(continued) M. Dykeman G. Kyllo S. Furstenau T.

Shypitka Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room Committee of Supply .............................................................................................................................................................. 1700 Estimates: Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport(continued) T. Wat Hon. M. Mark

TUESDAY , MAY 11, 2021 The House met at 10:04 a.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Prayers and reflections: G. Kyllo. [10:05 a.m.] Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL 13 — EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2), 2021 Hon. H. Bains presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021. Hon. H. Bains:I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 13, the Employment Stand- ards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021.

This bill amends the Employment Standards Act to provide up to three days of paid sick leave related to COVID-19 for employees in Brit- ish Columbia. This paid leave will be available to employ- ees until December 31, 2021. This new leave will better support workers during the pandemic, giving workers three days of paid leave for cir- cumstances related to COVID-19. At the same time, we know we need to support businesses that are already strug- gling due to the pandemic, so the province will be stepping up in a major way to support employers with the costs.

The bill also amends the Employment Standards Act to provide B.C. employees with a permanent entitlement to paid personal injury and illness leave. The new paid leave will be effective January 1, 2022. The number of days that employees will be entitled to each year for paid person- al illness and injury leave will be set by regulation, after consultation with employers, workers, Indigenous part- ners and other stakeholders over the coming months. Having paid sick leave is good for businesses, good for workers, good for our communities, and it will help our economy recover faster. Mr.

Speaker:Members, you heard the motion. It’s first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Hon. H. Bains:I move that the bill be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Bill 13, Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Statements (Standing Order 25B) SMALL BUSINESS AW ARDS AND BUSINESSES IN WEST V ANCOUVER–SEA TO SKY AREA J.

Sturdy:Last week communities from across the pro- vince recognized small business as part of the 18th annual Small Business B.C. Awards. This year, naturally, it was the virtual edition. I’ d like to acknowledge all of 558 nominated businesses, from Okanagan tiny homes to Bowen Island Integrated Health. There were a record number of nominations, 937 in all, from 88 communities, which really speaks well to the passion of the sector in very challenging times.

This year’s awards not only recognized entrepreneurial innov- ation, determination and perseverance, but in response to the pandemic, entrepreneurs inevitably had to demon- strate adaptability and resilience. In West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, 16 businesses were nom- inated from across the region, from Bowen Island, West Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler. Sectors included transportation, wellness, recreation, food and beverage and even new ways to deliver integrated health services in small communities.

Three West Vancouver–Sea to Sky businesses were rec- ognized as finalists in their respective categories:Sḵwál- wen Botanicals from Squamish, for the people’s choice award in best community impact; Chiwis Kiwi Chips, also from Squamish, for best solopreneur; and Sea to Sky Sour- dough BReD in Whistler, which was not only a finalist in the best youth entrepreneur category, but founders Nata- sha and Ed Tatton also won the award.

From baking sour- dough loaves for friends to running a 100 percent plant- based, vegan-friendly retail bakery in Whistler’s Creek- side, the couple is baking their way to small business suc- cess one loaf at a time. [10:10 a.m.] I hope we’re all inspired to see the hard work and deter- mination from so many small business owners. It’s critical that we better support small businesses in this very chal- lenging time, whether through recovery grant programs, staff recruitment or reduced tax burdens. I trust this House will be as committed, focused and innovative as our small businesses are.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND CHECKERED EYE BADGES D. Routley:This message is a statement from Pat Ports- 1683

mouth, my friend who has worked tirelessly for her life on behalf of people on the blindness spectrum. Most people who use a white cane have severe blind- ness, and they use the cane as a tool for independent travel. Some people use the white cane as a symbol, strictly to indicate to others that they have some degree of blindness. People on the blindness spectrum who do not need a white cane as a travel or safety device may choose to use a cane or a checkered eye badge to indicate that their vision is impaired.

Now, the checkered eye badge is, as it suggests, an eye with a checkered iris and indicates that the person is visually impaired. The awareness of a person’s hidden needs can alleviate confusion, frustration and embarrassment for people with blindness and those with whom they interact. What people who wear the symbol want you to do is under- stand that they have some kind of visual impairment. Keep in mind that there’s a spectrum of types and amounts of blindness. The checkered eye symbol gives you only one piece of information — that I am on the blindness spectrum.

Since visual information may or may not be useful for people who wear the checkered eye, here are a couple of tips. If a person seems to be struggling and in need of help, ask them first. When giving directions, ask if a person can actually see any of the landmarks that you might reference. Their mission is to make it more comfortable for people who have vision impairment and increase the understand- ing of their predicament. It’s to educate the public about the two options for self-identification. The checkered eye project was founded in 2000 by Libby Thaw, a stay-at-home mom in Port Elgin, Ontario.

Living with low vision herself, Thaw noticed an unmet need and rose to the challenge. Significant collaboration has oc- curred with Rotary clubs and chambers. I’ d like to celebrate these efforts and encourage all mem- bers: if you see someone with a badge, feel confident that you understand them and maybe let them know. Thank you very much to Pat Portsmouth. MINING MONTH AND MINING RESOURCES T. Shypitka:Each May we observe Mining Month in British Columbia for a very good reason.

Mining Month 2021 gives us the opportunity to learn more about how the industry is transitioning to accommodate the demand for renewable energy and a low-carbon future. It also starts with thousands of British Columbians who are directly employed within a mining industry that pro- vides good-paying jobs. Plus it creates even more employ- ment indirectly for those who supply equipment and materials throughout the province.

As a matter of fact, B.C. has a global reputation as a leading jurisdiction for mining rich, diverse mineral de- posits in every corner of the province, such as gold, lead and zinc, all key ingredients to renewable energy, infra- structure and electronics. It might also interest you to know, Mr. Speaker, that as province, B.C. is the largest producer of copper and steel- making coal in the country. Four of the largest of these coal mines are proudly in my region of Kootenay East. We are also the second-largest producer of silver in the coun- try and the only producer of molybdenum. Mr.

Speaker, let’s not any of us forget the hundreds of aggregate and gravel producers. B.C. is excellently poised to being a world mining lead- er. We have the hard-working people, the natural abund- ance of metals and minerals and a world-dominating tech- nology sector to back us up. All we need to get us over the finish line is a fair and speedy permitting process, strong fiscal policy that allows us to compete and funding to per- petuate the mining cycle with strong geoscience. The truth is nobody does mining better than British Columbians.

We have the highest environmental, safety and human rights standards in the world, supported by a deep commitment to responsible, culturally sensitive de- velopment and production, along with meaningful First Nation partnerships. In conclusion, I would like to congratulate, on this Mining Day, associations like MABC, AME, Geoscience B.C., East Kootenay Chamber of Mines and the B.C. Stone, Sand and Gravel Association and all those work- ers and suppliers. [Interruption.] Mr. Speaker:We noticed something the member did. We’ll deal with it later. [10:15 a.m.] CHILD CARE ON MAYNE ISLAND J.

Routledge:Mayne Island is getting a new child care centre. Now, it’s in Saanich North and the Islands, but it’s also been part of my life for almost 40 years, and I thank their member for encouraging me to speak about this initiative. This isolated community of 1,000 is composed largely of retirees and weekenders. The local economy, driven by tourism and seniors’ infrastructure, functions only be- cause working-age adults are willing to locate there, and they are having families. It’s a baby boom.

Like elsewhere, these young couples need two incomes to make ends meet, and there are few child care options, so the Mayne Island Early Childhood Society was created in 2018. There are 30 families living on Mayne Island with children under the age of six. Twelve of these families can access child care; 17 are wait-listed. Thanks to a new spaces grant, plans are being developed for a permanent facility that can accommodate more fam- ilies and respond with flexibility to the needs of those who 1684 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

service this island economy. It will house an existing pro- gram that celebrates the unique environment. It’s nature- and place-based. Children learn to navigate the forest safely and steward the ecosystem. It’s STEM- based. There’s a lot to learn about science in the forest. It’s community-based. They visit local farms and businesses, making themselves known and knowing others. They bring these lessons and experiences back to the classroom in storytelling, arts and crafts and dramatic play.

Once I can visit Mayne Island again after the pandemic, I look forward to seeing the child care kids out and about in their iconic choo-choo. LOGAN STANKOVEN AND HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP WIN P . Milobar:Earlier this spring my colleague from Kam- loops–South Thompson kicked off the WHL season, and I will be having hockey-themed comments today, but spoil- er alert, I am not the singer out of the two Kamloops rid- ings, so there will be no singing today as a result.

But it does seem fitting that as the WHL season winds up and our Kamloops Blazers have now clinched their second back-to-back B.C. title against stiff competition, I thought I’ d take a couple of minutes here to highlight the accomplishments of one young man from Kamloops — and, actually, Team Canada — at the recent U18 World Championships that were held down in Texas, where Canada won the gold medal. Logan Stankoven is a Kamloops born and raised hockey player who was actually drafted by the hometown Blazers, and that is no small feat, to play with the pressure of your hometown fans.

It’s exciting but can also put a lot of pres- sure on a younger player. Logan has excelled for years, always playing up in age and excelling in that way. This year he was fortunate enough in his draft year to be selected to go down and take time away from the Kam- loops Blazers, the team he loves so much, to represent Ca- nada at the U18s. There, with his hard work and dedica- tion, he was quickly…. His leadership abilities were recog- nized instantly.

Logan was fortunate enough to be appoin- ted an assistant captain for Team Canada — again, a very high honour when you consider the leadership and talent any Canadian hockey team assembles at any age group. Down there, Logan wound up being fifth for Team Canada in scoring as we brought home the gold, and in fact, scored the winning goal for Canada in the gold medal game, which was very exciting as well.

To Logan, to all of Team Canada — I would ask this House to please pass along our sincere congratulations for all their hard work and dedication and the excitement that we’ll have watching them as their careers develop over the next few years. NOISE POLLUTION AND VEHICLES WITH MODIFIED TAILPIPES S. Chandra Herbert:To the driver, it’s loud. It’s strong. It’s powerful, muscly. It makes seniors jump. It scares babies. It’s strength. To the rest of us, it’s arrogant. It’s mean. It’s inconsid- erate. It’s not nice. It doesn’t make you look too cool and makes us mad at you.

To my son, he says: “Papa, look, ” — he’s four — “there goes a fart bike. There goes a fart car. ” I asked him why and, well, I guess you understand why he thinks the loud motorbikes or loud cars or trucks that modified their tail- pipes might sound that way. [10:20 a.m.] But a message to all those who think that it sounds cool: if a four-year-old thinks that you sound like you’re farting, probably not so cool. It’s a challenge that’s bugged my constituents in the West End for many years.

Indeed, people all across the world are struggling with how you deal with people that modify their tailpipes on their vehicles to be as loud as possible, to be as obnoxious as possible. Under the B.C. law, it’s illegal to ride a bike or a car or a truck with a modified tailpipe. But in the last year, fines were issued only 24 times, accord- ing to the ICBC stats that I got. The police are too busy. Other places around the world are trying to figure out ways to deal with this. Is it sound cameras? Is it banning the modification?

Is it blitzes like the police do in Vancou- ver to try and alert people not to do this? There are all sorts of ways to address it. We just need to start. I’m pleased to be working with constituents and with folks at the city of Vancouver to look at ways to address this issue. With more people at home and the summer coming, the complaint level, I know, will only go up as the noise level goes up. So don’t be a fart-car or a fart-bike driver. Think of your neighbours. Oral Questions YOUTH ADDICTION SERVICES AND YOUTH STABILIZATION CARE LEGISLATION P .

Milobar:When the Premier put his political ambi- tion ahead of public health and then tried to camouflage it by throwing his partners in the Green Party under the bus, he said: “We took steps this summer to address the chal- lenges that families faced when it comes to the scourge of opioids, and we were rebuffed by our colleagues in our so- called stable administration. ” Well, the Premier may have thrown the Greens under the bus, but he was all words, with no action or follow- through, based on his quote. It is now eight months later, and there is still no action.

Last week Vancouver Island saw Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1685

the death of two children, one just 12 years old. They didn’t get the help they needed. Can the Premier tell those parents why, after using it as a political excuse, he has taken no more action on helping families? Hon. S. Malcolmson:Thank you to the member for the question. The death of a child is a tragedy that no family should have to face. My heart goes out to them. We’ve been working hard to build up the system of vol- untary supports and have added services in so many areas in response to the families that have told me and told col- leagues how hard it has been to access service.

Despite the number of new supports built in, young people still fall through the cracks, and for that, I grieve along with the peers and friends and families that have lost young ones. The approach that we’ve taken…. Although understand- ing absolutely that there are parents who do believe, and I agree with them, that stabilization care might have made a difference in the lives of their children, the focus that I have as minister right now is on building up that system of voluntary care.

That will work to save lives right now, and it will also facilitate the complex conversations that are ahead of us as we re-address legislation to stabilize young people after an overdose and work to connect them with care before they’re discharged. Mr. Speaker:The Opposition House Leader on a sup- plemental. P . Milobar:Well, let’s be clear. That 12-year-old was sev- en when this Premier took over the reigns of government. It’s been five years.

The Premier thought that Bill 22 and protecting chil- dren was important enough to plunge B.C. into an election and put the government on hold for two months in the middle of a pandemic, even though Bill 22 was widely panned by many. He insisted this was the reason that he had to go to an election. Well, this pandemic is one public health crisis. The opioid crisis is another one, and it’s been going on for that five years.

The Premier’s words are cold comfort to the families. [10:25 a.m.] Here’s another quote from the Premier. “I believe this is an important bill because I’ve talked to parents who’ve lost children. They wanted government to do something so there was at least a legacy for the loss of a loved one. ” Once again, here we are eight months later, and there is no new legislation. None on the horizon. It seems like the Premier was only worried about his legacy eight months ago, not bringing forward legislation in a meaningful way.

Again to the Premier, when will the Premier be introdu- cing a new bill that helps parents and families? Hon. S. Malcolmson:Again, my thoughts are with the family and the friends of the two young women who lost their lives this month, and many more. That over 1,700 people have lost their lives to the toxic drug supply in this year of the pandemic is heartbreaking. Our work to expand the system of care has been going on the last few years, and it continues.

The unprecedented investment announced this past month by the Finance Minister, half a billion dollars to build up that mental health and addictions response, is work that carries on. Again, unprecedented investment. There is so much more work to do. Y et to have just already almost $100 million of this budget dedicated par- ticularly towards supports for children and families, to be doubling youth treatment and recovery beds is unpreced- ented in British Columbia’s history. To be training up new health care support mental health workers in many of our universities and post-secondary institutions.

To have added to new school districts the integrated child and youth teams, trying to get ahead of problems, trying to address problems while they’re still small, before they build into a crisis. This is work that we’re doing across the continuum of care, building up those voluntary supports, which will give a different flavour to the public consultations and work around stabilization care legislation, work that is ahead of us. But our focus right now is on building up voluntary care. T. Halford:That answer is little comfort to this 12-year- old’s family.

That answer is too late for this 12-year-old’s family and for this 12-year-old. Ally Thomas overdosed three times before and ended up at Victoria General Hospital. The fourth time, as we know, was fatal. As her family was looking for help, Ally fell through the cracks. As the minister just put it moments ago, our youth are falling through the cracks. Those are the words of the minister in this House today. Interjection. T. Halford:Sorry, I’m being heckled by the Attorney General while I ask about the death of a 12-year-old. Interjections. T. Halford:Be respectful. Mr. Speaker:Members.

Let’s listen to the question, please. Interjection. T. Halford:Sorry, I think the death of a 12-year-old is serious. 1686 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Mr. Speaker:Please continue, Member. T. Halford:As Ally’s mom put it: “If I was able to be there for her, if I had the help and she had the help, I think she would be here right now. ” The Premier justified a pandemic election that put gov- ernment on pause by saying he needed a majority to help families like Ally’s. My question to the Premier today is: where is that help for Ally’s family? Hon. S. Malcolmson:We’ve heard from families who lost children to overdose, who believe that better care after an overdose would have saved their child.

Our govern- ment agrees, which is why we are trying to build up the mental health and addictions response system for young people across the entire continuum of care. That young children, young people still fall through the cracks is a [audio interrupted], something that weighs on every person, of course, on the front line; every peer; every friend. It’s a heartbreaking loss for someone so young. Again, I extend my condolences to the family and friends of the two young women on Vancouver Island who died to overdose this month.

We remain as a government deeply committed to building up that system of care, to preventing loss of life to drug toxicity, to tackling addic- tion and mental health problems while they are still small problems. [10:30 a.m.] Building up, doubling the number of youth treatment beds. Working to build up better post-overdose connec- tion to care. That’s what last summer’s legislation was intended to do. We did hear that getting the voluntary care built up and on the ground is an important companion to that legislation, and that is the work that we’re doing right now.

I appreciate the member’s support for both building up more services and for a legislated solution. They must work together, and that is the work that we’re determined to do. Mr. Speaker:The member for Surrey–White Rock on a supplemental. T. Halford:When this story broke, the minister and the Premier both said they couldn’t respond due to privacy, but let’s give them the facts. A 12-year-old has lost their life. She overdosed four times, and she did not get the help she needed. I’ve got two 12-year-olds in my house.

Y ou can smirk all you want, but at the end of the day, when we are talking about the death of our youth…. We are talking about legislation that this Premier prom- ised to bring in and then used it as an excuse to head us into an election. I think British Columbians, I think our youth and I think the families and those that have lost their loved ones deserve better than what this government has given them. My question to the Premier is this. Where is the legisla- tion that he promised to deliver in the summer? It’s eight months later, and our families can no longer wait. Hon. S.

Malcolmson:The death of a child in these cir- cumstances is something that…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker:Member. Minister. Hon. S. Malcolmson:May I proceed? Mr. Speaker:The minister will continue. Hon. S. Malcolmson:The death of a child in circum- stances like this is something that the coroner will invest- igate. I look forward very much to the advice of the coron- er and that of the Representative for Children and Y outh. We want to know, from the analysis that we’ll receive from them, whether stabilization care would have helped in this to prevent these two deaths.

I’m hungry for that advice and that information. We also want to learn as much as we can about what services were offered and how it is that young people still continue to fall through the cracks, despite the number of new supports that we have added in the time that we’ve had in government, and whether the investments that we have planned ahead are going to be adequate to continue to respond to the increased toxicity in drugs that’s been caused by the pandemic but also the intense pressure that young people are on and the mental health supports.

We’re working as hard as we can to build up those sup- ports, to build up that system of care to save lives. We will learn every lesson that we can from the loss of these two young lives. We will honour the process that the coroner and the Representative for Children and Y outh has laid out for us to do that, with respect, and do everything we can as a government to prevent further loss of life. COVID-19 RESPONSE AND USE OF RAPID TESTING A.

Olsen:The results from a University of British Col- umbia trial of rapid testing in first-year residents has come back with positive results, positive cases and positive find- ings. Twenty-five PCR-confirmed cases were caught in this trial, stopping further transmission from spreading from highly infectious yet asymptomatic people. The trial’s res- ults noted that students preferred to test themselves, when given the option, and effectively decreased the spread of COVID-19 due to great engagement. The study from UBC shows success using rapid tests Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1687

in communal settings and that people are wanting agency in what they can do to bend the curve. Directives to stay home and stay safe are passive and have exhausted people. Rapid tests are a tool of engagement. They give people something to do. They give people an action and an active role to play in our pandemic response. My question is to the Minister of Health. Will this gov- ernment be using the results of this study to implement a revised rapid testing strategy in British Columbia? [10:35 a.m.] Hon. A. Dix:Thank you to the member for his question. I would start by disagreeing somewhat.

I think that there is a role for all British Columbians, and British Col- umbians have done an excellent job in following public health guidance, engaging with one another on it and fol- lowing public health orders. Y ou’ve seen that repeatedly as case counts have gone up and then come down because of the actions of British Columbians. With respect to rapid testing, our policy is directed by our scientific experts at the BCCDC and the provincial health officer. We laid out that policy in detail on March 3. Dr. Bonnie Henry did on behalf of the province. That allows for an increased use in rapid testing.

Some of the technology that the member is talking about is very recent here in British Columbia. Some of the technology that’s been used in other jurisdictions isn’t yet licensed in Canada. Absolutely, the idea of responding to this pandemic is to adapt and adapt again. So all studies that are put in place on the issue of rapid testing are reviewed by both the BCCDC and the provincial health officer, and they’ll be used to guide policy in the days to come. Mr. Speaker:The member for Saanich North and the Islands on a supplemental. A. Olsen:Thank you to the minister for the response.

A government of Canada news release, from Health Canada, just a couple of days ago talks about testing and screening as important tools to help reduce the risk of out- breaks quickly, to identify and isolate cases and to limit spreading in workplaces and in the community. It goes on to say that across the country, rapid tests have already helped to identify and stop the transmission of over 11,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The reluctance of this B.C. NDP government to remove barriers to rapid testing is, frankly, astonishing.

They did, finally, change the restrictions to allow non-medical pro- fessionals to administer rapid tests in the workplace. As of last week, 33 workplaces have applied for these point-of- care tests, and zero have been approved. British Columbia is falling behind on rapid testing in the workplace. We have used 1 percent of the rapid tests in our stockpile, with more than a million of these tests set to expire this fall. The federal industry advisory panel has called for rapid tests in the workplace and said that B.C. is dragging its heels. My question is again to the Minister of Health.

Why has this government created barriers to access rapid tests in the midst of this pandemic? Hon. A. Dix: Hon. Speaker, I’m really surprised that the member, on this precise point of how to use testing — which surely, amongst all subjects, should be guided by scientific experts and is, in British Columbia…. Suddenly it becomes a partisan issue. It’s not a partisan issue. Our policy is guided by the Canadian committee. We’ve heard regularly from Dr. Dhalla and Sue Paish, who will be familiar to members of the House and who are chairing the federal committee, and from Dr. Bonnie Henry and the BCCDC.

Our policy around rapid testing was based first on valid- ating the test, which was important, then doing a series of pilot projects and setting out a policy and now using them more and more as the technology evolves. That is based on the scientific evidence. It’s not a trade agreement where one political party has one position and another has another position. We are being guided by Dr. Bonnie Henry, by the BCCDC, by federal advice and by the scientific evidence. That will continue to be the case in the coming days and weeks of this pandemic. SUBSIDIZED HOUSING AND RENT FREEZE B.

Stewart:Tenants of subsidized housing in B.C. were shocked to learn that they did not qualify for the rent freeze under this government. The B.C. Housing notice tenants received says: “The government of B.C. rent freeze does not apply to…rent-geared-to-income. ” Why is the Premier raising rent on people in subsidized housing in the middle of a pandemic? Hon. D. Eby: Rent-geared-to-income is exactly as it is described. Y ou pay the rent that you can afford according to your income. The reason why there’s not a rent freeze required for that group is because it’s directly tied to the tenant’s income.

If you’ve lost all of your income because of COVID, then your rent goes down accordingly. If your income has gone up despite COVID, you pay rent accordingly. It’s a very carefully tailored mechanism. To be blunt, the entirety of people living in supportive housing are paying well below market rent. It’s support- ive, affordable housing geared to the individual person’s income. [10:40 a.m.] Mr. Speaker:The member for Kelowna West on a sup- plemental. 1688 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

B. Stewart:I think that when it comes to the pandemic issues, that answer is a bit insensitive. The fact is that these people are still renters. They’re still paying, to B.C. Housing, a rent. The Premier is the only landlord in the province who gets a raise in rent this year. He has exemp- ted his government from his own rent freeze rules, and the tenants who need it most are the ones who pay. Why is the Premier playing by a different set of rules and charging B.C. Housing tenants with rent increases, or is this just another botched NDP plan? Hon. D.

Eby:I guess I would take the member’s concern more seriously if he hadn’t just been on the radio advoc- ating against free cell phones for low-income people. Let me read the quote. He says he’s on the side of the people in supportive housing. Well, that’s interesting. He blamed the fact that Telus is providing free cell phones. He said: “So, frankly, the reason that homeless people are coming…. ” First of all, he said, homeless people are coming to British Columbia from across Canada.

The reason is “because it’s the best option in Canada, ” in a lot of cases, because the government has “even provided cell phones. ” So the member… Interjections. Mr. Speaker:Members, let’s listen to the answer. Hon. D. Eby: …is on the radio advocating against low- cost cell phones for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Then in this question period, he says rent geared to income is somehow unfair to people when it’s actually geared to their actual income. The member needs to get his stories straight. Whose side is he on? CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING LEASES AND PROTECTIONS FOR TENANTS T.

Stone:Tri-Branch housing co-op is home to 220 ten- ants in Coquitlam, all of whom are seniors and low- income earners. These residents were shocked to learn recently that their lease will not be renewed next year. It will expire. They have written to the Premier to ask the Premier, to urge the Premier, to purchase the land so that these folks can retain their affordable co-op housing units. The president of Tri-Branch, Dave Pylypol, says: “They’re in a panic. This is home to many, many people for four decades. ” Interestingly enough, Tri-Branch is located in the riding of the MLA for Coquitlam–Burke Mountain.

He’s nowhere on this issue. This co-op is literally in the backyard of the former Housing Minister and the current Finance Minis- ter. She’s also missing in action on this file. The question is this. Will the Premier step up, and will he save these hundreds of affordable co-op homes in Coquitlam? Hon. D. Eby: This is an issue we’re dealing with across the province. There are a number of co-ops that were established by the federal government when they used to support co-op housing — they don’t anymore — and that are on leases that are expiring. South False Creek in Van- couver is another example.

There’s a very large co-op in Burnaby. I appreciate the member drawing this to my attention. Of course, I’ve heard about it from local members as well. B.C. Housing continues to work with co-ops that are in distress like that, and I’ll make sure that they are working on that. I thank the member for raising that important issue. Mr. Speaker: The member for Kamloops–South Thompson on a supplemental. T. Stone:Well, we know why the government won’t step in to protect these homes. The answer is because the developer evicting them is the International Union of Operating Engineers pension fund.

The Co-operative Housing Federation of B.C. president, Thom Armstrong, says: “Now the union pension funds trustees say to themselves: ‘We have to get a market return on the value of our property. ’” The IUOE just happens to be the same union that has donated over $590,000 to the NDP . It just happens to be one of the NDP’s 19 hand-picked unions that are benefit- ing at taxpayers’ expense from the NDP’s discriminatory union-only mandate on major infrastructure projects. Again the question to the Premier is this.

Why is the Premier throwing 220 British Columbians, mostly seniors and those on low incomes, out of their homes in this affordable housing co-op to reward the NDP’s union donors? Hon. D. Eby:Let’s be frank. If we had already purchased the building, the member would be standing up saying that we purchased it to favour the union. If we didn’t, we’re not purchasing it to favour the union. There’s no win here. But I can tell the member, if he’s legitimately con- cerned about the tenants in the building, that B.C. Hous- ing is working with the union to have negotiations about an appropriate price, based on appraisals.

That conversa- tion is ongoing. [10:45 a.m.] I’m well aware of the issue, and we are concerned about the tenants in the building. The vital issue, to us, is protect- ing the tenants and making sure that they are looked after. That is definitely a priority. I thank the member for raising the issue and for his encouragement to buy the building. FUNDING FOR SCHOOL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SNACK PROGRAM M. de Jong: For over 15 years, the B.C. school fruit Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1689

and vegetable nutritional program has been creating an exciting direct link between students in the classroom and farmers. Today over half a million students, in over 1,400 schools right across British Columbia, receive regular shipments in public schools, in First Nations schools. They receive regular shipments of fresh fruit, vegetables and milk. It’s been a tremendous success — until now. Why do I say that?

I say that because — unbelievably, for me and, I think, many others — the small society that runs the school fruit and vegetable program has been told that the government funding that they have been receiving for over a decade, that allows them to provide fresh fruit, vegetables and milk, is ending and won’t be continued. My question is to the Agriculture Minister. Can she please explain why her government is eliminating funding for a program that has provided half a million students with fresh B.C. fruits, vegetables and milk? Hon. L. Popham:Thank you for the question.

The fruit and vegetable program is something that has been very valuable, and we have worked with the association for a number of years. The funding for the fruit and vegetable program comes from the Ministry of Health. We have had discussions on how to find ways to support this incredible association. M. de Jong: Well, that might be the first example of passing the nonexistent buck that I’ve seen in this House.

Look, I’m troubled that the minister continues to speak in the past tense about a program that has been such an incredible success, that has been funded by previous gov- ernments and by this government until now. Here’s what people say about this.

This is from the Chalo School on Mile 293, Alaska Highway, from someone that’s worked there for six years: “I can tell you with 100 percent honesty that the vegetables that we receive at the school are the only vegetables that some of our students get. ” I got a handful of letters from Quadra Island, from Mer- ritt, from Big Lake Elementary, from Clinton, from École Martha Currie in Surrey, from right across British Col- umbia, touting the benefits of this program. All of this costs between $3 million and $4 million. That’s roughly the same amount that the Premier’s office budget is going up.

The society is now at their wit’s end, and I hope the min- ister will take account of this. Without the funding com- mitment from government now, they cannot plan to oper- ate into next year, into the next school year. They’ll have to notify the 1,000 farmers that their products aren’t going to be required. They’re going to have to notify the 4,000 volunteers, that help distribute the products to students, that their help is no longer required. The merits of this program speak for themselves.

Will the minister stand in this House today and confirm that the funding, that has kept this program alive and made it such a success, won’t be ended but will continue? Give the kids their milk money. [10:50 a.m.] Hon. L. Popham:Thank you again for the question and for highlighting an amazing program that has been oper- ating for a number of years, bringing fruits and vegetables and milk to schools around British Columbia. We will be looking at ways on how to support this type of program. I’ll be having discussions with the Minister of Health and the association in the near future. But the member is correct.

In some cases, this is the only fresh produce or fruit that schools receive, especially in our northern communities. But we’ll be working within the Ministry of Agriculture, within our Feed B.C. program to look at ways to support more fruit and vegetables that are grown and processed in B.C. to be distributed in B.C. throughout all of our major institutions, including Health. I. Paton:Well I, personally, am happy to say I’ve been very involved over the years with B.C. agriculture in the classroom. I've worked with Ms.

Pat Tonn on this project, which 98 percent of teachers in B.C. have told us how important it is for this program to continue with children in schools getting milk, vegetables and fruit and going home and telling their parents how important it is for them to continue to eat those products as they grow older. The B.C. school fruit and vegetable nutritional pro- gram has been seeking funding since February. On March 22, they met with the Minister of Agriculture. In April, they emailed her, saying: “Will the program be government-funded, or is it no longer supported?

The answer is required by May 10” — which was yesterday — “in order to prepare plans and order B.C. products. ” But the budget came, and the deadline passed yesterday with no funding for the program, no money for fresh veget- ables in the classroom, yet $4 million for more spin doc- tors in the Premier’s office. Why did the Premier find the money for spin doctors in his office but not for B.C. fruit, vegetables and milk for children in classrooms? Hon. L.

Popham: Thank you to the member for the question, again highlighting a program that is very valu- able and is something that many schools in many parts of British Columbia depend on. We will be working together with the association and the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to look at how a program can continue. We know that the earlier that children get a taste of fresh British Columbia produce in their lives, the more chance that they will have to be healthy eaters. This is something that I’m very interested in.

I know the Minister of Health is, and the Minister of Education, and we will be working together to find a way to distribute this amazing produce around the province. [End of question period.] 1690 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Personal Statements APOLOGY FOR COMMENTS MADE IN THE HOUSE Hon. N. Simons:During the question period, I used a word, an unparliamentary word, and I would like to apo- logize for that. Point of Order Hon. D. Eby:I rise on a point of personal privilege. I was incredibly…. I understand this is a place where debate takes place on sensitive issues. Certainly, I took exception with some of the debate during the member for Surrey–White Rock’s remarks.

I think where my concern about unparliamentary conduct arises is the fact that the entire government side is wearing masks, yet the member suggested that the government side was smirking about the death of a 12-year-old. It was a fundamental misrepresentation. It was inaccurate. I ask that the member withdraw it. Mr. Speaker:Thank you, Members. It’s true that all members wear masks here. Nobody can see people’s faces. That’s true. However, at the same time, the Chair heard a comment from the minister which was not acceptable and, as well, was unparliamentary.

The Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction used a word that started with “l, ” and that’s not acceptable. I ask the minister to withdraw that as well. [10:55 a.m.] Hon. N. Simons:Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw the word I used to define what the member for Surrey–White Rock said. Thank you. Mr. Speaker:That’s fine. Thank you. Again, Members, I just want to remind everybody that yes, it’s understandable that in the question period, everybody is passionate and concerned about the issues that they’re dealing with in their own communities, and those questions must be raised.

But we don’t have to be personal. At the same time, please try to understand that we are conducting business on behalf of all British Columbians. We are being watched. Be careful with our behaviour and our comments. So again I would politely and in a friendlier manner ask each and every one of you, when you stand up to ask a question and answer questions, be careful, because we are being watched, and it’s our responsibility to conduct our business in a very responsible way. Thank you. Tabling Documents Mr.

Speaker:Members, I have the honour to present this report:Management of the Conservation Lands Pro- gram from the Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia. Orders of the Day Hon. M. Farnworth:In this chamber, I call continued second reading debate on Bill 5, InBC Investment Corp. Act. In Douglas Fir Room, Committee A, I call continued debate on the estimates of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Second Reading of Bills BILL 5 — InBC INVESTMENT CORP . ACT (continued) M. Dykeman: Thank you, hon. Speaker, for the oppor- tunity to continue.

Although I’m continuing from yester- day and I can’t remember the exact sentence I was on, I will start where I believe I ended off. [S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.] I was talking about the contradictions in listening to some of the members opposite speak in regards to the InBC bill, and the contradictions truly are glaring from the opposition. In one sentence, you’ll hear: “Oh, do not spend any money. Wait, you’re not spending enough money. ” That’s complete tommy-rot. If obstinance is a measure of effective opposition, then I believe that the opposition is hitting it out of the park.

Bill 5 builds off targeted, important and needed sup- ports we have provided through this pandemic. I’m not sure if the members opposite have been at the same session of government that I have, but in case the supports provided were missed, just a few of them include $800 mil- lion in ongoing supports.

It builds on: the targeted grants and services announced in StrongerBC; $150 million in support of increased employment incentive tax credit, which is ongoing; $35 million to help B.C. farmers with temporary foreign work- ers; $10 million over three years to expand the domestic market for B.C. products; $235 million in PST savings for businesses; and $195 million in funding to continue the small and medium-sized business recovery grant. That’s just to name a few.

I mean, we also have $70 mil- lion for the Canadian emergency commercial rent assist- ance program, $60 million in other targeted emergency financial relief and $31 million that allows liquor licences, such as for restaurants, bars and tourism operators to pur- chase beer, wine and spirits at reduced wholesale costs. I just heard the other day from one of my constituents Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1691

and friends, Wally Martin, and he has initiated many energy-efficient and organic practices at his bed and breakfast in Langley East, including installation of solar panels and reduction of electrical energy use by 80 per- cent. He is now an independent power producer and sells energy back to B.C. Hydro. I had the honour to tour his passive house recently, and he wrote to me to thank us for our support. He is the recipient of a one-time small and medium-sized business recovery grant. He said: “We’re excited to complete relevant meaningful improvements to our tourism business and the historic hotel.

This assistance is greatly needed and will position us to serve the community in many important ways. The assistance will not only help us but will support a number of local suppliers and contractors as we complete numer- ous improvements. ” This is just one example. [11:00 a.m.] It’s prudent, and it’s good governance to be a forward- thinking government. For 16 years, many of us felt like we were experiencing whiplash. As once again…. A member of the opposition in this last sitting referred to theHunger Games a number of times. I can tell you right now, coming from a school board background, hon.

Speaker, that was like theHunger Games. Wow. I remember my son’s first day of school, being told he had to bring his own toilet paper, nine reams of paper, napkins — buy every supply known to mankind just to go to school. To quote theHunger Games again: “Destroy- ing things is much easier than making them. ” That would describe those 16 years quite aptly. Proper planning, forward thought and investment in support of businesses is good governance. Our govern- ment is working to make things, to build things, to have a prosperous, secure and equitable British Columbia.

That’s something that our government understands and prioritizes. We understand that we need to build a future. That you can’t…. And I cannot believe I’m responding to the oppo- sition, explaining this. Y ou can’t just keep taking. Y ou can’t just keep spending. Y ou have to actually build a future. That is what this government is committed to.

InBC will have a triple-bottom-line investment mandate aiming to establish B.C. as a globally competitive low-car- bon jurisdiction; promote values that make life better for people in B.C., including job creation, advancing, recon- ciliation with Indigenous peoples, promoting diversity and inclusion; and achieving a financial return on investment. It’s not about just handing out cash to your buddies. It’s not about turning around and saying: “Well, we gave the people that we felt needed money, money. ” No, we’re look- ing at a fulsome plan, one that says: “Okay.

Well, let’s invest in this province, and let’s also support people that need help now. ” That’s a balanced approach. That’s why I’m so excited about the InBC bill. This is exciting for our province. We are known interna- tionally as an innovative province that’s home to cutting- edge businesses, and this bill — this plan — will support businesses, attract them to this province.

In my riding alone, we have fantastic innovative busi- nesses like CubicFarm Systems Corp., who provide unique, automated, on-site, commercial-scale food and livestock feed technologies, working to transform the agri- culture system to enable local food and feed independ- ence. Langley has many other innovative businesses — an agriculture sector, tourism, air transportation, food and beverage processing, manufacturing and several innovat- ive home-based businesses.

Investments made by InBC will have, as I mentioned before, a triple-bottom-line mandate, and they will focus on producing a financial return while also making British Columbia a better place for people, communities and busi- nesses to thrive. So it’s considering the people, the planet and the profits. That is a wise investment. That is forward- looking. That’s what a province needs, especially as we sup- port this province to be the leader that it is, as it comes out of this pandemic.

InBC will take both public and private enterprise and pursue economic development through meaningful part- nerships — entrepreneurs, businesses and communities. This fund with critical capital will be provided to B.C.- based companies so that they can grow and stay in this province. It’s about investing — keeping people here, keep- ing businesses here, providing good-paying jobs here, sup- porting companies here. This will create family-support- ing jobs in all regions of this province. Supporting start-ups and helping promising businesses scale up is a wise investment.

Attracting world-class talent to our province will continue to invest back into our province, so this will stimulate innovation, family-sup- porting jobs, a resilient economy that works for everyone. As I mentioned before, this province is known for its innovation, and that’s why even though this has been such a challenging time, our province has been persever- ing through it. These types of investments will allow our province to remain resilient no matter what we face in the future. We’re looking, with the InBC bill, to provide meaningful partnerships. That’s how we build provinces.

We look at what sorts of partnerships you can bring together, what sort of innovation will come out of that, and what sorts of entrepreneurs will look at that innovation and say: “This is a place that I want to invest in. ” [11:05 a.m.] Although we heard from the opposition recently — members opposite were talking about how there wasn’t enough support — as I mentioned a minute or so ago, there has been tons of support. But this is about the next step. This is about planning. This is about looking to the future. That’s why it’s such a privilege to stand up and speak in favour of this bill.

Aligning our province with significant changes in the world, like environmental change, social change, techno- 1692 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

logical change and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, is good for our province. The return on that will be stable, well-paying jobs — a prosperous future for our province. With that, I can’t state my support enough for this bill, but I will take my seat and thank you for the opportun- ity to speak in favour of this wise investment for our province. G. Kyllo:I am proud to rise today and take my place to speak on Bill 5, InBC Investment Corp. Act. As all British Columbians will know, businesses have been struggling over the last 14 months on account of COVID.

There are over 8,000 businesses that have already been lost, and an additional 25,000 businesses are cur- rently at risk of closure, representing employment for upwards of 300,000 British Columbians. This particular bill that’s before us today sets out spend- ing plans of $500 million. The first tranche…. My under- standing is the first $100 million will not be available for any businesses to actually make application for, for a full year. Businesses are struggling now.

This House, all members of this Legislature, unanimously approved a $5 billion additional increase in spending in March of last year so that government would have the resources to provide those necessary supports for businesses. The need was last year, throughout the entirety of 2020, and it continues today. This bill that is before us is far too little, far too late and definitely misses the mark. The one program that government did put forward, their $345 million COVID restart program, sat for over five months while the Premier did his broad public con- sultation. Now, it’s interesting.

When businesses are strug- gling and there is an opportunity for government to provide those supports, it takes five months of consulta- tion with a broad swath of British Columbians, and we only saw the plan announced as part of the NDP’s snap election platform. Just think about that for a second. All members of this Legislature unanimously approved a $5 billion spending plan — so government had the resources so that they could provide those necessary supports for businesses that are struggling — five months before they even announced the program.

Then the Premier chose to put his political self-interest ahead of the health and well-being of British Columbians, and not a penny flowed from that fund for upwards of three months, on account of that unnecessary snap election. When the government had an opportunity to provide supports for businesses, they failed miserably. Of that ini- tial $345 million announcement, it’s my understanding that less than $200 million, as of today, has actually gone out the door. Businesses need support today.

I certainly don’t disagree that there is a need for a longer-range plan, but where is the broad economic strategy for this govern- ment? It does not exist. Now, I was very proud to serve as the parliamentary sec- retary to then Minister of Jobs and Skills Training with responsibility for the B.C. jobs plan. That jobs plan was ini- tially adopted in 2011. It was a long-range strategic plan that set out eight different areas of the province that had a huge opportunity for significant growth, and it was extremely successful. We know what happened in the 1990s.

I know that was a long time ago, but after three terms of NDP government, B.C., for the first time in the history of our province, was a have-not province. We went from No. 1 in economic growth to No. 10. We had the highest unemployment rate in Canada. It took a lot of heavy work from 2001 through to 2017 to get B.C. on top. [11:10 a.m.] Y et what do we see? We see a government that fails to have any broad economic strategy. What has happened over the last five years is that we’ve seen a continual erosion of the competitiveness of British Columbia as a jurisdiction.

The member speaking before me spoke about the need for investment attraction. Well, I’ll tell you what. When companies are looking to invest in British Columbia…. We have great geography; we have a highly skilled work- force. But businesses — this is an extremely competitive marketplace. Our corporate tax rate in British Columbia today is a full 50 percent higher than our neighbouring province of Alberta. In Alberta, it is 8 percent. In B.C., it is 12 percent. It is important that B.C. remains competitive, and right now it is not.

We have an employer health tax that was brought in by this government, put an additional $1.9 billion of addi- tional new tax burden onto the backs of B.C. businesses. If we look to neighbouring jurisdictions with which B.C. competes, like Alberta for example, they do not have an employer health tax. B.C. is saddled with some of the highest-cost tax pressure of any jurisdiction in Canada. So when we look to this particular bill and the necessity it to support businesses now…. As I said, 8,000 businesses have already been lost.

There are an additional 25,000 businesses that are at risk, representing employment for 300,000 British Columbians. Their restart program: an absolute abysmal failure. This program will not be up and running and available for busi- nesses to even make application to for a full year. So the question that I have is: where are the supports for busi- nesses today? Actually, direct funding supports from Brit- ish Columbia to help support businesses are one of the lowest in Canada, one of the absolute lowest in Canada. That’s offensive.

Now, there’s been lots of conversation and media cov- erage in recent weeks about a lack of transparency. We’ve seen a reluctance of this government to share very import- ant health data. Only after a leaked report was actually shared with the media, now government is suddenly wak- Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1693

ing up to the need and necessity and finally agreeing to start sharing that data. With respect to the additional $5 billion of costs that was applied to Site C, it’s been absolute crickets with re- spect to the actual information that led to coming up with that astronomical number. Vaughn Palmer, one of the most esteemed journalists in British Columbia, asked gov- ernment on this particular bill: “If this truly is one of the most transparent and open governments in Canada, let’s have a look at the business plan. ” Sorry. Won’t be disclosed. Excuse given: cabinet confidentiality. It’s a business plan.

Five hundred million of British Col- umbian taxpayer dollars are being set up for this particular fund, and the government will not share a business plan? They won’t even share with British Columbians or the media the different work that was undertaken in order to actually put this plan together. Then we have to also have a look at the board appoint- ments. Now, this is offensive. If there is going to be an independence of the management and the oversight of InBC…. There was no call.

There was no open call for individuals that have significant expertise to actually make application to actually sit on the board, to help guide the direction of this huge, monumental $500 million in invest- ment? No. It wasn’t even listed on the CABRO website. So who gets appointed? Who makes those decisions? [11:15 a.m.] These appointments are critical to the success of this program. It’s also critical to the independence. But what do we see? The majority of the nine-person board have strong ties to this government. British Columbians should be under no illusion that these board appointees….

They were identified and selected by this government. There was no open call. They’ve identified the individuals that they feel, in their own opinion, would provide the best oversight for this organization. So nine of these members — Carole James, former Finance Minister, leader of the NDP; two deputy ministers; a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives eco- nomist; special adviser to the Jobs Minister Glen Lougheed.

Y ou just have to think: how is it that British Columbians can trust this government, a government that actually has purposely withheld important health data from British Columbians, a government that is unwilling to share a copy of the business plan that actually led to the devel- opment of InBC? Y ou’ve got a government that has hand- picked their own board appointees to actually have over- sight and to manage the InBC fund.

We see a time when businesses are struggling, and the golden plan that comes forward from the fiscal managers of this province is a plan that doesn’t put a penny out the door to help any struggling businesses today, without the first dollar even available for application for a full year. That is offensive. There is no business plan. There’s no broad economic strategy. There has been no tax review. All we have seen from this government is additional tax burden layered onto the backs of already struggling small businesses. Businesses are at an absolute breaking point. I was talking to a jeweller the other day.

He was sharing with me that he and his wife have been working around the clock trying to make their lease payments, trying to keep their business open. Their employees are taking home bigger cheques than they are. They have utilized a significant portion of their savings in order to bolster up and to actually try and get through here, because they are optimistic business owners. They see the opportunity for a bright sky on the other side. Where is the support for this government? There isn’t any. Despite the government sitting currently, this budget, $3.1 billion….

Now, that’s $3,100 million of COVID con- tingency. When providing the opportunity for paid vac- cination leave for workers, interesting — Bill 3, less than three weeks of broad public consultation, and government is able to move forward, putting additional tax burden on the backs of B.C. businesses. But when faced with the opportunity to actually provide supports for businesses, the Premier of this province, who put himself as the chair of the Economic Recovery Task Force, fuddled around for five months before British Col- umbians saw the slightest semblance of a plan.

And then that plan was shelved, for the most part, in order to satisfy the political self-serving interests of this government. With money not flowing, businesses need support now. I’m certainly fully supportive of a plan, a broad economic strategy, but it does not exist.

This current government is very big on spending plans, but when it comes to the rev- enue side of the ledger, the opportunity to support family- supporting businesses, to support and attract new invest- ment to our province, an absolute failure. [11:20 a.m.] I’m very concerned, as I think British Columbians are in an increasing amount — lack of transparency, lack of a plan, handpicked and selected board members. Just think about this for a second, when we have a look at what the NDP claimed to be their community benefit fiasco.

The CBA scheme excludes 85 percent of construction workers from actually working on Highway 1 construction jobs in this province. The gross misuse of tax dollars is offensive. I was proud to be part of the previous government. In 2015, I stood with the then-federal MP in Revelstoke to announce a 2.5-kilometre highway expansion project for four-laning at Illecillewaet, 46 kilometres east of Revels- toke. That project was initially budgeted at $35 million. For a multitude of reasons, the project didn’t move forward. What did this government do?

They rean- nounced the same project, not at $35 million but at $64.2 million. The same project. Oh, actually, Mr. Speaker, I should retract that. They actually reduced the project. It’s no longer 2.5 kilometres. They reduced the scope from 2.5 kilometres to 2.1 kilometres and nearly doubled the cost of the project. 1694 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Guess what happened when British Columbians were invited to have the opportunity to actually bid on this pro- ject. There was only five verified bidders. The bids…. The lowest bid was over $84 million. This is a $35 million pro- gram that was actually reduced in scope by 20 percent, yet the cost is over two times the magnitude as it was origin- ally budgeted. The disrespect for taxpayers is absolutely a concern. A significant portion of British Columbians work in the private sector, and they’re the ones that need support. They need support now. Government has the financial ability.

Government has a significant COVID contingency fund but are hesitant to use it. When I questioned Bill 3 in this Legislature — now, Bill 3 is the Employment Standards Amendment Act, which actually provides paid leave for workers to get vaccinated. I certainly appreciate the value of that, but government had the opportunity, through a tax credit or otherwise, to actu- ally provide funding for those businesses. But what do we hear from this government? Nothing. Zero. No funding. We have a government that seems incredibly at odds with the private sector. I don’t know why that is. Businesses are struggling now.

They need the supports. With that, I will take my seat, but I certainly have signi- ficant concerns on the timing, the lack of transparency and the actual outcomes of the InBC Investment Corporation Bill 5. S. Furstenau:I’m delighted to have the opportunity to speak to Bill 5. Our caucus has been calling for a strategic innovation fund for a long time, including through the entire minority government. We welcome the intention behind this bill. There are, indeed, exciting possibilities here, but at the moment that is all that they are. They are possibilities. We do have a number of questions.

I’ve heard these questions also raised by the members of the official oppo- sition about some of the choices made in this legislation and in the structure of the fund, about the independence of the board, about how effective this fund will be at meet- ing its goals and about transparency and accountability. We are supportive of the principle of a strategic innova- tion fund, which can support the growth of tech compan- ies here in B.C. and strengthen and grow our tech sector, and create more quality jobs in British Columbia.

It can also encourage innovation that aligns with our strategic goals and strategic advantages, especially around climate and life sciences. Tech sector growth has been an issue in British Colum- bia. We have a significant problem where we lack the infra- structure to support tech companies to grow to scale and to anchor in British Columbia.

It has been identified for quite a while that this has disadvantaged our province in terms of expanding in this industry. [11:25 a.m.] Too often we have promising start-ups, but they aren’t able to grow up here, so they end up being acquired by U.S. companies or move elsewhere, and we lose the talent, the business activity and the potential growth of a tech ecosys- tem in our province. The B.C.

Tech Association has said, in responding to the announcement of a strategic innovation fund: “This has huge potential to support the growth of B.C. ’s tech start- ups with funding for the programs and supports necessary to scale. ” However, they also noted that there may be missed opportunities in the way that this fund has been designed and structured. I’ll dig into this more in committee stage. Generally, this government has come up short when it comes to outlining an ambitious direction for our eco- nomy and taking the steps to make it a reality.

This fund has the ability to support something of a shift in our economy — the growth of emerging technologies and innovative companies that align with our goals — but it doesn’t make up for a lack of vision and ambition. Gov- ernment needs to be clear about what it is trying to achieve with a fund like this and set the mandate and scopes so that decisions are effective and support the growth of our economy in a positive direction. The opportunity for this fund to support innovative technologies that help us tackle the central crises of our time, including the climate crisis, is important.

It could help us to seize the economic opportunities that we have in British Columbia by developing technologies that address and provide solutions to the climate crisis. For many years, we have shared concerns of experts and industry leaders about the opportunities B.C. is forgoing by not having investments targeted at growing this part of our economy, in comparison to other provinces — notably, Quebec and Ontario. B.C. has been way too pensive and has missed opportunities to leverage federal investment. We are very hopeful that this can start to signal a shift in how we approach this sector.

We have seen some concern about the picking of win- ners and losers through a fund like this, or that this amounts to corporate welfare. However, a well-designed and strategic innovation fund isn’t in the business of pick- ing winners and losers. It’s in the business of investing stra- tegically in our economy and supporting innovation that aligns with our goals and values and fixes gaps in the eco- system that exist today that are barriers to growth. We still don’t know how this is going to be executed in practice, and we have a lot of questions that will remain.

The structure of InBC and how it will work in practice and how well it will fulfil the promise and potential will abso- lutely need to be dug into at committee stage. We need more priority around the investment criteria.

Section 4 of this bill says that the purposes of the corporation are as follows: “(

a) to make investments that achieve a fin- ancial return; (

b) to make investments that support the social, economic, and environmental policy objectives of this government…. ” Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1695

There is some concern that we have around this. We absolutely support the idea of a triple-bottom-line approach, particularly regarding sustainability climate impacts. But we are concerned that this language is too vague, and we absolutely need to know more. The NDP’s economic and environmental policy object- ives currently include massive fossil fuel subsidies and bet- ting on LNG. As we can see from graphs that have been released this week, B.C. is a significant outlier of western countries and democracies in terms of reducing our green- house gas emissions.

While the rest of the world has gotten on board and is reducing those emissions, ours are going in the wrong direction. We are concerned that we would see hundreds of mil- lions of dollars deployed to attempt to clean up inherently dirty fossil fuels. Or, as it should be, is this money actually going to go to innovative companies that can help tackle the climate crisis? It’s impossible to actually answer this question from the definition, and I think that we can all agree that “trust us” is not enough at this point.

We need more clarity on the board’s mandate and scope of activities and the structure of how decisions will be made, including the independence of the board chair. The bill lays out a structure that includes representation from within the public service and the private sector. However, it is a little surprising that InBC’s board has been appointed already. News came out late last week.

But given that we are in the process of debating this legislation right now, it seems a little presumptive to appoint a board before the legislation has actually passed the House that enables the framework for that to happen. [11:30 a.m.] Even with a majority, I think it is important for a gov- ernment to respect the processes and procedures of this House, and of course, we will want to properly under- stand the process that was used to appoint this board and the plan. I’ll point to the comments made in theVancouver Sun by Vaughn Palmer.

He mentioned that the InBC Corp. will be governed by principles of “transparency and accountab- ility, ” as what the Minister of Jobs mentioned in his open- ing comments. But when he asked the minister for the business plan on which this high-risk venture was based, he was told it was a “confidential document for cabinet eyes only. ” As Mr. Palmer points out, this half billion dollars for this investment fund is public money, and so is the risk, but the business plan is the exclusive property of the min- ister and the cabinet colleagues.

I think that what we need to see is a far greater level of transparency on this and many other issues related to this government. Overall, we support the intent and the principle behind this bill. We need to have many questions answered, and we need to see much more detail on how this will be implemented. We will be pursuing these questions at com- mittee stage. Deputy Speaker:Thank you to the Leader of the Third Party. T. Shypitka:I’ d like to take my place here in speaking to Bill 5, entitled the InBC Investment Corp. Act. Off the top, I have some mixed feelings about this bill.

Like with other bills I’ve seen over the past four years, the title and the second reading

interpretations can be mis- leading. As they say, the devil is always in the details, and I think it is key that the people of B.C. can rely on my side of the House to make sure we uncover those details. Let me start off by saying that as we look to the recovery of our province from the hardships that this pandemic has brought us, we need to utilize every aspect that our gov- ernment, people and industry have to offer.

There is a real opportunity in turning this health crisis into an oppor- tunity for us in British Columbia to rise above the rest of the planet in manufacturing a made-in-B.C. plan that will stimulate growth, encourage and promote skills training and partner with Indigenous communities for the benefit of all British Columbians. We have the smartest and brightest people on the globe right here, and we have the means to do it. We have four strong pillars of our economy that have never let us down: agriculture, forestry, fishing and, of course, in this month of May, mining.

But we also have a fifth pillar that has spawned from these other four pillars, and that is our growing and booming technology sector. Our tech sector is wide in scope, including interactive and digital media, information and communications and engineering services. This expanding sector also has a symbiotic relationship with our original four pillars of the economy in providing clean technology for mining, oil and gas extraction and life sciences for agriculture, fishing and forestry. We have some of the best educational institutions any- where in the world.

I speak to institutions such UBC, BCIT, Simon Fraser, Capilano, Emily Carr, the Justice Institute, Kwantlen Polytechnic, Royal Roads, UNBC, UVic and my alma mater, the College of the Rockies — all told, dozens of private and public universities and colleges with fine and proven track records in graduating our new- est bright minds. Our land base in British Columbia is second to none and is one of the few places on earth that includes ocean, desert, fertile plains, rocky mountains, rainforests, fresh- water lakes and streams and the most diverse species of fish and wildlife anywhere to be seen.

B.C. ’s unique geo- graphical location to markets of the largest importers in the world, like the United States, China, Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong and South Korea, is a definite advantage to harness. We have the means indeed. Government’s role and responsibility, in my opinion, is to harness these advantages and to create the conditions that allow growth for jobs and industry and to allow us to compete fairly with any jurisdiction on earth. 1696 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

[11:35 a.m.] The way that government creates these conditions is through legislation, regulation and policy. This is what all of us in this House are hired to do, in part. This is perhaps our biggest task we’ve been assigned with, and it is super important. However, what Bill 5 represents is something a little beyond what my colleagues and myself envision as what government’s role is supposed to be. Using public money to invest in order to facilitate what government should be doing through other means, such as legislation, regula- tion and policy, is a dangerous proposition that has a good probability of failing.

Government has more than enough problems right now to get many of these projects off the ground. If the govern- ment is sincere about economic recovery and getting jobs back in place, we need immediate action. Bill 5, if brought forward, will allocate funds that will not be able to make investments until the spring of 2022, and even that will not have an immediate effect, as this is a three-year rollout. This will leave our economy in an idle position for at least another year. That is simply not acceptable. Government cannot take their eye off the ball.

The focus that is required to address the hardships that our B.C. busi- nesses have endured for the past 14 months…. To ask for another year is just simply too long to wait. If gov- ernment wants to do something immediately to get some good, high-paying jobs and benefits to Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across the province, then I have a long laundry list of items they may want to jot down. We can start, first, in our natural resource sector and improving our permitting and application times. We have seen notice of work and other forms of permitting go from 120 days to 300 days and more.

We can do this by enforcing our permitting offices with proper resources and a system that truly understands mining and oil and gas extraction. We can accomplish this by breaking down the silos between ministries so that only necessary referrals to other ministries come back to the permitting office in a timely fashion. Government can offer higher capacity to First Nations, in collaboration with industry across the pro- vince, so that the industry can rely on timely and well- informed consultations with our First Nations partners. This bill represents investments to providing funding.

Well, if it is funding that government is interested in, then I would suggest they can start with replacing the funding to organizations like Geoscience B.C., which had unan- imous, all-party support and was recommended by the Standing Committee on Finance for this year’s budget, of $6.5 million. Further to that, government can develop a long-term, sustainable funding mechanism to fund Geoscience B.C. at $5.5 million per year for fiscals 2022-23 and ’23-24 and beyond.

This money will go a long way to identifying and mapping our natural resources so that others can come behind to explore, discover, develop and produce. It is crit- ical that this important information continue as fluidly in order to provide consistent data. Finally, we need to protect our critical metals and min- erals here in Canada. Just last month the federal govern- ment developed the Canadian minerals and metals plan, which includes a list of 31 critical minerals and metals.

This list is integral to contributing to Canada’s economic and national security, achieving Canada’s transition to low-carbon futures and requirements by Canada’s interna- tional allies such as the United States, the EU, the U.K., Australia, Japan and South Korea, which may need these minerals for economic and national security reasons themselves. Many of these metals and minerals, such as copper, molybdenum, nickel and rare earth metals are here in B.C., not to mention the only aluminum smelter outside of Quebec, and we need to find more, as the government of Canada has suggested.

With such a strong mandate from the federal govern- ment, now is the time to coordinate efforts with Geo- science B.C. and approach the federal government togeth- er to leverage provincial funding of public geoscience. Just right there, we can boast a 100 percent return without much use of public money, while simultaneously provid- ing expert mapping and data collection to the treasured metals and minerals we have in this province and in order to move to a low-carbon future. There is nothing wrong with getting good companies off the ground, and access to capital is most definitely a bar- rier to business.

But with this bill, it seems like govern- ment is pledging to turn a new leaf. We have seen for 14 months now the botched rollout of public money already. A previous speaker mentioned that part of the $5 billion the government asked for 14 months ago is still yet to get into businesses’ hands that desperately need it. Some will never get the chance, as those businesses have gone insolv- ent already. [11:40 a.m.] This government has proven time and time again that managing the public’s money is about as successful as jug- gling chainsaws. It always ends in a disaster.

I have guide- outfitters and fishing guides in my region that have not seen a drop of business for the last two seasons. By the time InBC takes effect, they’ll be into their third season and not likely around anymore. They also fear they will fall through the cracks yet again. Just in the mining sector alone, we have at least half a dozen projects that just need the last extra push to get into production.

Artemis’s Blackwater, Osisko’s Cariboo Gold, Skeena’s Eskay Creek, the extension of Newcrest’s Red Chris, Ascot’s Premier — these five mining projects represent about 3,000 high-paying jobs and $2.2 billion in expenditure. This will cost nothing for us to get this Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1697

over the goal line, and it will be a huge injection into our economy. For the sixth project, it could be many others, like Seabridge’s KSM, Kutcho Copper, North Coal in the Koo- tenays or the silver, gold, copper Galore project. These are shovel-ready projects that are just sitting, waiting to just give that last extra push. Also, there are 275 exploration projects that represent an additional 3,850 jobs and an additional $500 million spend — ironically, the same amount of money the gov- ernment wants to take from the taxpayer and make them cough up for their investment scheme.

Y et instead of polit- ical will, we have not seen this government bring online one new project to production yet. We haven’t seen a new mine from this government since they took power in 2017. Another rationale for why government should stick to government and not take a shot at being investment brokers is that even if successful, the business environment needs to be competitive. If government can’t get a hold of fiscal policy and improving process and regulation, then all this experiment will do is set up more businesses to fail.

I was a business person for over 30 years, and at the end of the day, a business person just wants to be left alone with the least amount of input from government. Entrepreneurs have an inherent ability to dream, create and succeed and fly. All they need is government to clear the runway. Government has the ability, as long as it has the will, and I don’t believe this government has the will. We see that clearly in what the government has created for business. The NDP have introduced 23 new and increased taxes and made us an uncompetitive jurisdiction.

B.C. has the third-highest top marginal tax rate in Canada, which impacts the recruitment of tech jobs like software development engineers. Washington state, to the south of us, has no state income tax. According to tal- ent.com, a software developer earns $27,000 less in B.C. than they do in Ontario. B.C. has a higher corporate tax rate than Alberta and Ontario — 12 percent here, 8 percent in Alberta. We used to be less, actually, at one point. Now in Alberta, their tax rate is 50 percent lower than what B.C. ’s is. B.C. also has the employer health tax, which is a tax on jobs.

Alberta doesn’t, and Ontario and Quebec have both moved to reduce the HT burden on small business. The member from Chilliwack boasts that the elimina- tion of the MSP was the largest middle-class tax cut in B.C. history, which is just plainly false. The definition of a tax cut — for the member from Chilliwack and every oth- er member on the NDP side that continues to drink the orange Kool-Aid that gets served up on that side of gov- ernment — is this: a tax cut is a reduction in the rate of the tax charged by a government.

The immediate effects of a tax cut are a decrease in the real income of the government and an increase in the real income of those whose tax rates have been lowered. Well, that is clearly not what happened with elimination of MSP . First, there is no decrease in the real income of the government from this tax cut. If you remember, there was an increase, actually, because for the first year, there was a double dip from the government: half the MSP , and of course, there was a new EHT that was brought in. Only in NDP-land can a tax cut bring more revenue to government.

The second piece is that it did not decrease real in- come. The key word there is “real” income, because even though the MSP was gone, real income for the middle class is decreased because of how the EHT trickles down to everyday families. [11:45 a.m.] First, employers are mostly middle-class and the back- bone of our economy, and they count. Second, municip- alities, health authorities, police and fire services will have an increased cost, and that goes back in the way of higher fees and taxes. The B.C.

Liberals were going to eliminate half, with no substitute tax, in the first year and the other half in the following year. This would not have brought any replacement tax. This would have been a tax cut. Speaking of taxes, our carbon tax in B.C. is the highest in the country, with the additional caveat that there is no protection for those emission-intensive, trade-exposed industries. The U.S., Australia, Russia and the Middle East pay no price for carbon. Miners in Chile only pay carbon tax on their electricity generation, at $5 per tonne of CO2. B.C. ’s carbon tax is currently $45 per tonne.

There are currently 14 operating mines in B.C. and two smelters that sustain 35,000 jobs, provide $1 billion in tax revenue to government and account for 25 percent of B.C. ’s exports. As the mines become exhausted, new ones may not get built, due to the high cost. New replacement mines will get built, and they will produce emissions. It just won’t be in B.C. The NDP government’s own Mining Task Force identified 25 areas of concern for mining in B.C., with car- bon pricing and the absence of protection for EITEs, or, as I said, emission-intensive trade-exposed industries, being the top concern.

As the task force identified, the lack of protection for mines and other EITE industries, like pulp and paper or forestry, under B.C. ’s carbon tax is the single greatest barrier to the competitiveness of B.C. ’s mining industry. This comes from the government’s own Mining Jobs Task Force. “Within the next 20 years, nine B.C. mines are expected to reach the end of their production and close, leaving only five operating mines in 2040. That means the jobs, com- munity benefits and revenues for public services will dis- appear along with them.

There is no guarantee B.C. min- ing will continue. ” That came from a report. That’s an actu- al quote. This is something that InBC will not be able to tackle, and government needs to step up now to identify it. Now, members on the other side will argue that this fund will propel low-emission technologies. We’ve heard 1698 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, May 11, 2021

that even from the Green speaker. But why are we rein- venting the wheel when industry and our tech sector are already doing this? For example, water treatment facilities in my home in the Elk Valley have been in the works for years, in consultation with the Ktunaxa First Nation. Teck Coal is investing well over $1 billion in solving selenium issues that come from 100 years of waste rock from com- panies that have come and gone. This technology is online right now, and in the coming months, it’ll treat over 50 million litres of water per day. This is good news not only for the Elk Valley but for the world.

Mine sensoring and smart shovel technologies have been advanced to substantially reduce waste rock, which will, in turn, reduce water use and emissions for transport- ing the waste rock. Electrification of our natural resource sector has been ongoing for years. Less carbon intensity — it’s the objective, and it’s working. The energy sector covers the entire value chain, from upstream production to downstream end use in conven- tional and unconventional oil and natural gas extraction and processing. This includes petrochemicals, renewable energy, bioenergy, innovative hydrocarbon use, carbon capture and storage.

The list is endless. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] We do it best in Canada, and B.C. has been leading the way for at least a decade. So you see, the private sector has a firm grip on this already. If allowed and encour- aged, our free enterprise system always rises to the chal- lenge. We all need to recognize this and give ourselves a pat on the back. The member for North Vancouver–Seymour talks about how we all need to put on our thinking caps to address the environment. Well, that is a major slap in the face to our tech sector, to all the industries that are leading the world in best environmental practices.

If she were to have her way, she would shut all our industries, only to chase that demand to other countries that would make us all cry with their human rights and safety and environmental stand- ards. If we do not support these sectors right now and make them more globally competitive, we lose our share to countries that have abysmal records on controlling their emissions. This is referred to as carbon leakage.

This gov- ernment and members like the one for North Vancou- ver–Seymour are guilty in enabling this leakage to con- tinually increase. [11:50 a.m.] Environmental, social and governance, or ESG, is a big part of reducing carbon emissions and part of corporate planning. The list goes on. The lack of detail and clarity with the structure of this corporation is also a big concern. The board structure is critical. We have heard the minister say they will have expertise. What expertise? No defini- tion. Will there be conflicts?

We’ve seen how government handled setting up an oversight assurance board with the Site C project. The board that was set up — that reported to B.C. Hydro — was chaired by the chair of B.C. Hydro himself. What is the compensation of the CEO and CIO? Are we talking $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 a year? All this structure comes at a cost, as we’ve seen with a lot of our Crown corporations. What we are saying on this side of the floor is that we want to make sure we promote B.C. ’s emerging industries while getting the best return for taxpayer dollars.

Will the government policy criteria have a profitability requirement? If not, that would be an issue for me. As we’ve said before, picking winners and losers with taxpay- ers’ dollars is a risky game. The independence of InBC is also questionable. A couple of weeks ago when I first jotted down my notes for this debate speech, I noticed that there was no posting for InBC on the CARO government website. Maybe govern- ment can correct me on this, because who gets appointed could very well impact the independence of investments.

The independence is arguable when you have a govern- ment minister that appoints the chair and the members, who ultimately select the CEO and CIO. Just over the past week, we have found out some more details on how independent this new board of directors will be from government and that there are no direct ties. But of course, we now see what I feared two weeks ago. The majority of the nine-person board have strong ties to the NDP . So it’s a nine-person board. Carole James, former Fin- ance Minister and leader of the NDP is on that board.

Two government deputy ministers, who will absolutely do what government tells them to do. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives economist. Special adviser to the Jobs Minis- ter. That is five out of nine, just over 50 percent. Go fig- ure. It makes it handy, come voting time. How can the NDP seriously expect British Columbians to believe that this board is independent of government or that invest- ment decisions will be shielded from NDP influence? As the Green leader said…. Sorry. Noting the hour? Mr. Speaker:Noting the hour, Member. T. Shypitka:Noting the hour, I take my place and ad- journ the debate. T.

Shypitka moved adjournment of debate. Motion approved. Committee of Supply (Section A), having reported progress, was granted leave to sit again. Hon. S. Robinson moved adjournment of the House. Motion approved. Tuesday, May 11, 2021 British Columbia Debates 1699

Mr. Speaker:This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon. The House adjourned at 11:53 a.m. Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room Committee of Supply ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF TOURISM, ARTS, CULTURE AND SPORT (continued) The House in Committee of Supply (Section A); P . Alexis in the chair. The committee met at 11:07 a.m. On Vote 42: ministry operations, $156,797,000 (continued). The Chair: Good morning, everyone. We’re meeting today to continue consideration of the estimates of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. I now recognize the member for Richmond North Ce

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20210511am-Hansard-n66
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20210511am Hansard n66
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	2ecdddbe19d693e97cbc62815972f2032770ecaa

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