Third Session, 42nd Parliament

(2022) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 160

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Tourism in Richmond

T. Wat

Internment of Japanese Canadians at Hastings Park in 1942

N. Sharma

Pat Montani and Bicycles for Humanity

J. Sturdy

Washington Kids Foundation

M. Starchuk

Frank Sandor

T. Shypitka

Steveston

K. Greene

Oral Questions

Pension fund investments in Russia

S. Bond

Hon. S. Robinson

International energy supply and B.C. LNG projects

E. Ross

Hon. B. Ralston

Government action on climate change and policies on LNG development

S. Furstenau

Hon. G. Heyman

International energy supply and B.C. LNG projects

P. Milobar

Hon. B. Ralston

M. de Jong

Hon. M. Farnworth

Tabling Documents

Office of the Auditor General, independent audit report, B.C. Housing’s

COVID-19 Response: Property Purchases , March 2022

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate

(continued)

T. Shypitka

J. Sims

TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

The House met at 10:03 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: B. Banman.

[10:05 a.m.]

Introductions by Members

Hon. A. Dix: Yesterday evening a number of members of the House on all sides

attended the B.C. Care Awards, the eighth annual B.C. Care Awards. We

celebrated care providers from around B.C. Many of them are in the gallery,

sitting directly behind me, as it turns out. They’re right behind me, which

I like, because they’re right behind a lot of people in B.C. and supporting

them every day.

I wanted to say that the award winners are here.

Maria Fan won the 2022 B.C. Care Provider of the Year Award, long-term

care. Courtney Merrells won the B.C. Care Provider of the Year, assisted

living. Christine Clark won the B.C. Care Provider of the Year, home health.

Lynda Steele won the B.C. Care Provider Family Champion. Ionel Prodan won

the B.C. Care Safety Champion, a really extraordinary thing. Dave Cheperdak

won the 2022 Ed Helfrich Long-Service Excellence Award.

All of these people represent all of the other people in long-term

care who did exceptional things in the last two years and, of course, every

day. I encourage everyone to go to bccare.ca and see some of their

achievements, if they didn’t hear or weren’t able to attend yesterday

evening. I want to make them welcome.

I also want to make welcome a former member of the House, Terry Lake,

who is on the floor of the House. Terry, of course, was the Minister of

Environment. I think he was also Minister of Health. Yeah — I remember that.

I remember that part. Mayor of Kamloops. He’s a very distinguished British

Columbian. He’s the president and CEO the B.C. Care Providers.

I also wanted to welcome Hendrik Van Ryk, who’s the chair of the

board. I want to welcome Cathy Szmaus, who did a lot to organize the event

last night, and all of the other teams, all of the other sponsors, many of

whom are behind us in the gallery.

It was a great evening. Really, I was very honoured to be part of it,

as I know all members of the House were. Please make everyone

welcome.

Hon. M. Rankin: It’s my pleasure this morning to introduce the chief and council of

the Saulteau First Nation and welcome them to the Legislature. Up in the

gallery today are Chief Justin Napoleon, Coun. Rudy Paquette, Coun. Falon

Gauthier and Coun. Penny Berg, along with their long-time legal counsel,

James Hickling.

Members, I want to recognize the Saulteau First Nation for their work

with us up in treaty 8 territory, the northeast part of our province, and

for their leadership in treaty 8 generally. Over the past number of years,

the Saulteau have really led the way in a number of important initiatives.

I’m thinking of our joint caribou recovery efforts, partnership in resource

development and management, as well as reclamation and economic development

ventures.

To Saulteau’s chief and council, thank you for the leadership that

you’ve shown in the region. I very much look forward to our continuing

partnership.

Members, please join me in welcoming them to the

Legislature.

Mr. Speaker: I should have recognized the Leader of the Opposition

earlier.

S. Bond: I want to join with the Minister of Health in welcoming to our

Legislature today people who make a difference in the lives of B.C.’s

seniors every single day. None of us will forget the images of the

separation, the loneliness, the anxiety that so many seniors in British

Columbia experienced. One of the things that gave us comfort was the fact

that there were exceptional men and women across the province who were

there, standing alongside, comforting and caring for B.C.’s

seniors.

Today I want to join with the minister in welcoming the winners of the

awards to the Legislature today. Their stories are amazing. We enjoyed

hearing them and meeting them last night.

We want to thank them most of all for being with our seniors during

some of the most difficult times that we’ve experienced. Certainly, for

those of us who weren’t able to be with our loved ones, we know that you

were there. We appreciate it, and we are grateful.

B. Anderson: I would like to introduce Angeline Camille from Kamloops, B.C. Angie

is a member of the Shuswap First Nation and a leader in the International

Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which helps to represent over 70,000

electrical workers in the province.

[10:10 a.m.]

She is a membership development coordinator, an active women’s

committee member, and Angie has completed her apprenticeship, achieving a

red seal endorsement in the electrical trade.

I would also like to introduce Mike van Hellemond to the Legislature.

Mike is my riding associate president for Nelson-Creston. Mike has been

incredibly supportive. During the election, he, my dad and my partner

volunteered to put up signs. They picked the wettest, windiest day of the

entire election, but they persevered, and I am forever grateful for their

work. I would not be here today if it wasn’t for you, Mike.

I would like to thank Mike and Angie for everything that they do, and

I hope the House will join me in welcoming them.

P. Milobar: The Health Minister referenced a former member in the House today, but

I think he would be disappointed, after myself and him working together for

20 years now, if I didn’t stand up and take a moment to recognize him as

well.

Terry Lake represented my riding of Kamloops–North Thompson for the

two terms before I arrived here, and I’m sure the government was thrilled to

know that Kamloops–North Thompson quieted down a little bit when that

happened. Terry has always been known as somebody to stand for what he

believes in and make his opinions well known, regardless of whether or not

it was to his own government members or to the opposition as well, and he’s

carried that forward with the B.C. Care Providers.

Certainly, his time in provincial government as the Environment

Minister as well as the Health Minister probably was most notably marked by

his recognition with the national award for his initial response to the

opioid crisis, a rare honour granted to a Health Minister. I’m not sure that

that’s happened anywhere in Canada since. That work is, of course, critical

as we see the opioid crisis continue to unfold in B.C. and across

Canada.

Terry and myself actually were both elected in 2002 for the first time

to city council, so our paths have crossed many times. I just want to make

sure the House welcomes Terry back. It will be very hard, I’m sure, for him

not to heckle or make any noise during question period. We’ll test his

willpower in that regard. Will the House help make Terry welcome.

M. Elmore: I’d like to give a special welcome to Mike Klassen. He’s from

Vancouver-Kensington, and he’s with the group, the B.C. Care Providers. He’s

the vice-president for public affairs for the B.C. Care

Providers.

Mike is known in many circles and really recognized for his leadership

roles in a number of organizations — as a director for the Canadian

Federation of Independent Business; a board member for the B.C. Small

Business Roundtable; also the president for PAL Vancouver, a social housing

organization that supports the local creative and performing arts community;

and an executive director of the B.C. Wine Appellation Task

Group.

Everyone who knows Mike…. I think he’s best known — certainly to me

and folks in Vancouver-Kensington — as a very active and committed community

member and just playing a key role in bringing our community together

through the challenges of COVID and organizing block parties and really

spearheading a lot of initiatives.

I’d just ask everybody to please give Mike Klassen a very warm

welcome.

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

TOURISM IN RICHMOND

T. Wat: If you asked anyone from the Lower Mainland, they would tell you

Richmond is an incredible place to visit, but it’s always nice to have

the statistics to back it up. Well, now we do, because Richmond has

taken the top spot in a ranking of Canada’s 50 most-loved travel

destinations. The city claimed the No. 1 spot with a tourism sentiment

score of 28.30 and with air travel as its top draw, according to the

tourism sentiment index.

Coming from Richmond myself, it is easy to understand why Richmond

has scored so high. As a community that is home to Vancouver

International Airport, Richmond is often a traveller’s first experience

to Vancouver, B.C., and even Canada. They are quickly thrown into the

vibrant and diverse culture, showcased in our variety of shops, hotels,

restaurants, parks and public spaces.

[10:15 a.m.]

Nobody knows how to put on an event like the people of Richmond,

from our incredible lunar new year celebration to the annual Richmond

Night Market, one of B.C.’s most iconic events. Although the event used

to run from early May to October and drew thousands of people across the

province in pre-pandemic times, I’m so thrilled to learn that it will

return on April 29, a little earlier than usual this year.

Like so many businesses and events, the night market and the

people of Richmond have had to find new and innovative ways to safely

attract tourism to Richmond and keep us as a prime destination on the

map. I would like to thank CEO Nancy Small and her incredible team at

Tourism Richmond for everything they have done to support the city’s

tourism operators during this time.

Next time you are in town, take a trip to Steveston, the Richmond

Night Market, the Olympic oval, the nature park or any of the incredible

attractions Richmond has to offer, because I know that we cannot wait to

welcome you all once again.

INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE CANADIANS

AT HASTINGS PARK IN

N. Sharma: In March of 1942, Mary Kitagawa was seven years old when an RCMP

truck came to her home on Saltspring Island to take her father. As the

officer forced him into the back of the truck, she remembered him rising

quickly to say, “It’s okay. It’s okay,” and forcing a smile to comfort

his children as they ran after the moving truck until it

disappeared.

Her father was taken to Hastings Park to be held and moved to a

work camp at Yellowhead Pass. Weeks later Mary and her family were taken

to Hastings Park. They were among the 8,000 Japanese Canadians interned

there between March and September 1942 and relocated to permanent intern

camps.

On March 4, the B.C. Securities Commission was established to

oversee the expulsion of Japanese Canadians from protected areas. They

were labelled enemy aliens, a vast majority of whom were Canadian

citizens.

On March 16, the first group arrived to be incarcerated in a

livestock barn with the smell and filth of excrement that remained from

the animals. Dispossessed of their belongings, removed from their homes

and livelihoods, fishing boats confiscated and separated from family

members, conditions were terrible, and disease spread quickly. As Yoshio

John Madokoro described: “It was one of the loneliest moments of my

life.... This was not our Canada anymore.”

On the 80th anniversary, we remember the Japanese Canadians who

suffered many losses and how fear and racism can lead us down a path

that destroys our ideals of equality and democracy. We reflect on the

many casualties of wartimes to remind ourselves to hold strong to our

values and the integrity of our democratic institutions here and around

the world.

Thank you to the Japanese Canadian Hastings Park interpretive

centre society and the Nikkei National Mus­eum and Cultural Centre

for working tirelessly to keep these stories alive.

PAT MONTANI

AND BICYCLES FOR

HUMANITY

J. Sturdy: Today I am honoured to recognize Pat Mon­tani, a constituent

who, along with his wife Brenda, dedicated themselves to having a

positive impact on our world through their grassroots non-profit work.

Unfortunately, he passed away last year, after a battle with cancer, at

only 71.

Pat was a tech entrepreneur with many years in the telecom

industry, but he found his true passion later in life through

philanthropy. Pat Montani, along with his wife Brenda, founded Bicycles

for Humanity in 2005. Bicycles for Humanity is a global grassroots

movement that understands that the mobility a bicycle provides can have

a major impact on communities in the developing world.

It started as a small initiative. The first shipment of 500 used

bikes was collected in central B.C. and shipped to Namibia, in

Africa.

In 2006, there were four chapters of Bikes for Humanity. Through

Pat’s tireless vision and dedication, he grew the organization, and

today it has over 50 chapters worldwide. They’ve delivered more than

300,000 bikes around the world. Many of the shipping containers that

were used to send the bicycles remained in the communities in need and

were converted into community bicycle workshops.

[10:20 a.m.]

His innovative thinking allowed for efficient use of resources,

which they delivered and always looked for ways to deliver even greater

impacts. Montani was a critic of the bureaucracy of big NGOs and

designed the organization to be entirely volunteer-based. As a result,

Bikes for Humanity has very low overhead costs and is centred around an

empowerment-first approach that seeks to put people over profits. This

approach allowed the majority of donations to be provided directly to

those in need.

Pat’s legacy will live on through the Bicycles for Humanity

organization, and I’m sure you’ll all join me in celebrating Pat

Montani’s dedication and generosity.

WASHINGTON KIDS FOUNDATION

M. Starchuk: Just around the corner from me is a gym called Gameready Fitness.

I’ve ridden my bike past this place many times, and I never knew that

they were providing programming for at-risk youth in this

gym.

In January of this year, I had the opportunity to tour the gym

with Will Loftus, founder of Washington Kids Foundation. I was amazed at

what I saw inside, as far as the gym was concerned, but more amazed at

the people who were delivering the programs to the students who were

there at the time. I was also pleased to find out that they had a second

location in North Vancouver.

The foundation was established in 2015. This programming for

at-risk youth has partnerships with Burnaby, Coquitlam, Langley, New

Westminster, North Vancouver and Surrey school districts. The Washington

Kids Foundation delivers over 50 programs, through the two locations and

a few schools, to 10,000 students in the course of a year.

In Surrey, the foundation works with the Wraparound program,

better known as Wrap. Wrap is a partnership with the Surrey school

district, RCMP and the city of Surrey. Wrap can collaborate with school

staff, the parent and youth in goal-setting and outlining strategic

interventions which can assist the youth to become successful in the

school environment.

The gym itself was something you’d expect to see at a B.C. Lions

training camp. There are many CFL players that have passed through this

and assisted with the program: Malcolm Williams, who retired this past

year and now coaches; J.R. LaRose; and of course, the founder, Will

Loftus, to name a few.

You see the weights, the jerseys on the walls — all the things

you’d expect to see in a gym. But what really stands out are the areas

that are set aside for the youth to relax, share stories, cook and

create music. They’ve got a new kitchen from Ikea, but the best

part is

the back part of the recreational area upstairs, where they have a small

music studio that allows students to express themselves through their

art and music.

I’m truly amazed at the work that they do. Thanks to Will for his

continued efforts to give these youth a new direction in

life.

FRANK SANDOR

T. Shypitka: Every municipality boasts those special people that make such an

enormous contribution that the community benefits as a whole. Never

looking for any special recognition, Frank Sandor was one of those shiny

gems that shone throughout Kootenay East.

Frank was born February 8, 1931, in Hungary and, following his

escape from a concentration camp and the subsequent communist

revolution, arrived in Canada in 1957. Frank’s legacy would commence as

a cement finisher and led to his ultimate success of opening Sandor

Rental in 1970. As a businessman, he was legendary, winning many awards,

including his most recent as Cranbrook’s Businessperson of the Year in

His generosity knew no limits, as he was well known for helping

out where and whenever he could. Be it a sports team, a not-for-profit

organization, a community event, Frank’s support was something the

community came to depend on. The number of those that benefited was as

long as his generous smile. His passions towards community involvement

shone just as bright as his iconic two-crane Christmas tree that was a

child’s wonder. Frank enjoyed travelling, cooking, soccer and skiing. He

would greet you for a five o’clock happy hour with the warmest of

smiles, a sense of humour or possibly a prank in the making.

Recognized and honoured as an incredible attribute to our

community; a loving husband, father, papa and friend to many, Frank

passed away in the comfort of his home on February 17, 2022.

On behalf of Kootenay East, I offer much love and condolences to

wife Judy, son Robert, daughter-in-law Tara, grandson Robbie Jr, the

whole Sandor Rental family and nephew Atilla, back home in Hungary, as

well as many, many close friends and family.

Frank will be forever missed.

[10:25 a.m.]

STEVESTON

K. Greene: I have the privilege of living in and representing Steveston, a

community in Richmond situated at the mouth of the Fraser River. We have

the good fortune of having a mild climate, good-quality local food and

plenty to see and do.

CBC readers have voted Steveston as Metro Vancouver’s best

neighbourhood, and just last week the tourism sentiment index ranked

Richmond as the number one most-loved tourism destination.

If you’re a history buff, there are lots of heritage areas in

Steveston for you to see. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery and the Britannia

shipyards sit at opposite ends of the village, so you can have a great

day of exploring shops and restaurants, bookended by historic waterfront

museums. The Britannia Shipyard Society and Gulf of Georgia Cannery

Society boards are volunteers who do great work.

The Steveston post office and museum are a jewel in the heart of

Steveston and are featured in many, many Instagram pictures. The

volunteer board is always coming up with something new and with new ways

to engage community and host cultural events.

Of course, living in Steveston is having an embarrassment of

riches in choices of restaurants. The long-standing question of who has

the best fish and chips is best determined by trying them all. There are

also delicious options which represent the diversity of Steveston:

Japanese, Malaysian, Mexican, South Asian, Thai, not to mention

doughnuts, brewpubs and west coast dining. We even have a restaurant

that is a potential contender for a Michelin star.

There are also so many great shops and services in Steveston, and

whatever you’re looking for, odds are that you can find it in Steveston.

There’s a reason that locals don’t have to go far for the things they

need.

I couldn’t possibly share everything great that there is to do

while you’re in Steveston in only two minutes, so I thank the folks at

Tourism Richmond, who have great information on their website for

visitors.

If you’re coming to Richmond to try the Dumpling Trail or getting

some fresh air on the South Dyke Recreational Trail, pop over to the

Tourism Richmond website and check out other great activities that you

can add to your day in Steveston.

Oral Questions

PENSION FUND INVESTMENTS IN RUSSIA

S. Bond: Yesterday, as bombardments killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians,

the International Criminal Court opened an investigation against Russia

for war crimes. British Columbians have been clear: they want no

part in

supporting Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or war crimes against

civilians.

That’s why the mixed messages that we heard yesterday from the

Premier were so disappointing. On one hand, the Premier said it was

entirely up to the pension fund where taxpayer money was invested, even

if that was Russian companies supporting the war effort. Then the

Premier said: “We will certainly be following up with BCIMC.”

Simple question: did the Premier make the call to BCIMC, as he

promised yesterday?

Hon. S. Robinson: I join with the member and all members of this House and stand

with the people of Ukraine against the illegal invasion that Russia is

perpetrating on the people of Ukraine. I can’t imagine anybody in this

House not standing up with all of us.

I do want to say that I so admire the courage that I’ve been

witnessing on the news, of the people of Ukraine and of everybody in

Canada standing united — in fact, around the globe.

From day one, we have been working with Ottawa to support

coordinated federal sanctions. What I can share with the member is that

we — and our position has been made clear as a government — are going to

continue to work actively with Ottawa. BCI did hear the position of this

House, of every single member of this House. I have been made aware that

they are now reaching out to talk with their clients today.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, supplemental.

S. Bond: Well, that answer falls so far short. The minister knows full well

that she is the sole shareholder. In fact, she also appoints members to

the board of directors. This Finance Minister has absolutely every

opportunity to outline the mandate, what appropriate investments look

like.

[10:30 a.m.]

The Premier said he would call. The minister avoided answering

that question. Leadership is about moving quickly in a crisis. While the

minister and the Premier might claim that they can’t do anything, he was

the one who, yesterday, said he would call BCIMC.

The Minister of Finance knows that jurisdictions around the world

have moved quickly. Let’s look at the list: Quebec, New York,

California. And this morning our neighbour Alberta apparently figured

out how to do this, because — guess what — their pension fund announced

this morning that they are pulling out.

British Columbians, in times like these, expect the Premier to act

and to act quickly.

Once again to the Finance Minister — the sole shareholder, the

person who has the opportunity to shape the mandate: will she do the

right thing? Did the Premier make the call he promised to? British

Columbians expect action and they expect it now.

Hon. S. Robinson: I know, actually, that the new Leader of the Opposition, Kevin

Falcon, has already stated, in fact, publicly, that he understands the

limitations of the legal opportunity to step in and to redirect BCI

Management Corp. The member also knows full well that you can only act

on what you are legally able to act.

I also want to assure the member that we’ve heard from BCI

Management Corp. that they are taking action. They are engaging with

their members, with their clients. They’re engaging with their clients

today in order to make the right decisions on behalf of their clients. I

think that’s a good action. I think that’s quick action, and I look

forward to seeing how they move forward on this.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, second supplemental.

S. Bond: Well, with all due respect to the Finance Minister, it’s simply

not good enough. First, it was they’re not going to take action. Now

it’s maybe they’re going to take action. Now it’s they’re going to talk

to their members.

The Finance Minister is the sole shareholder. British Columbians

have spoken with their hearts, with their voices. They do not want to

support anything that contributes to the attacks that are taking place

on Ukraine. We may be a small jurisdiction, but it is important that we

do absolutely everything we can. This is something that this minister

and this Premier can do and should do.

Again to the Minister of Finance, what specific action will be

taken to ensure that those funds are divested?

Hon. S. Robinson: Again, the member doesn’t seem to understand that I am

legislatively prohibited from being involved in investment decisions,

for good reason.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, no back-and-forth, please.

Hon. S. Robinson: The CEO and the CIO are accountable for all investment decisions,

and Alberta has different legislation. Again, we have heard from those

who are responsible for making these decisions that they are going to be

taking action. Again, I want to let the member know that as a government

we are continuing to identify ways to make our voices known in the

global world about this illegal incursion into Ukraine.

Last week I asked staff to look into land ownership records

related to Russian oligarchs…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, let’s hear the answer, please.

Hon. S. Robinson: …so that we can make sure that we are doing everything that we can

bring to bear on this situation.

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY SUPPLY

AND B.C. LNG

PROJECTS

E. Ross: There’s no doubt that British Columbia is united in terms of

condemning Russia on its attack on Ukraine, yet this B.C. government

doesn’t want to do anything about it.

Yesterday the Premier wrote off any contribution from B.C.’s clean

and ethical LNG industry by saying: “If we could do it tomorrow, that

would be one thing. But we can’t. The best efforts of British Columbians

would not achieve what you’re asking for in three, four or five

years.”

[10:35 a.m.]

That is disrespectful to the thousands of workers, First Nations

and communities who continue to rally around the LNG industry in B.C.,

especially in this time of a world global energy crisis.

Democracies across Europe and the world have all recognized the

importance of this energy shift, of this energy crisis, especially

Germany — everybody around the world, except B.C.

My question is to the Premier. Why isn’t the Premier acting now to

increase B.C.’s LNG production to help this energy crisis?

Hon. B. Ralston: Thank you to the member for the question. Clearly, the war in

Ukraine has completely roiled and upset energy markets around the world.

There’s no doubt about that. In fact, this morning, the International

Energy Agency and the United States government, among other major oil

producers, have released 60 million barrels from their reserves to try

to put a stop to the rise in prices. So there are a number of steps

being taken around the world to deal with energy markets.

What the Premier said yesterday…. We value the LNG industry here.

It is meeting our four conditions, including our climate targets. What

the Premier said yesterday is the fact. One can, with all the best

wishes and sentiments in the world, not produce an additional increment

of LNG, given where the development process of LNG Canada, the leading

company, is right now.

They’re in the middle of a…. It’s a $40 billion project. They’re

halfway through the construction of the project, and wishing that they

could contribute to LNG markets is just not feasible at this point,

despite the sentiment that the member expresses.

I don’t disagree with the premise of the question — that more LNG

is welcome in the global markets right now, particularly in Europe.

British Columbia, given the state of construction, can’t contribute

today or tomorrow but will in the future.

Mr. Speaker: Member for Skeena, supplemental.

E. Ross: With all due respect, this is not about prices. This is not about

the market. This is about the invasion of Ukraine. This is about the

dependence of Europe on Russian energy, specifically oil and gas. It’s

got nothing to do with market and prices. This is about a war. Everybody

around the world is contributing, except B.C.

There are seven LNG projects on the books right now, awaiting

permits. LNG Canada was actually proposed for four trains. There’s only

two trains approved. B.C. can fast-track those additional two trains

right now. There’s been a huge shift in the global energy world, and

B.C. needs to rise to the challenge. It’s a moral duty. It’s got nothing

to do with prices or market.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. The member for Skeena has the floor.

Members will come to order.

E. Ross: Instead of working so our LNG can help reduce the world’s reliance

on Russian exports, the Premier said: “I think the better role for

British Columbians to play is to say to the international community: ‘We

are all in this together.’” Well, the only way we can be in this

together with our European allies, in this crisis, is if B.C. helps

supply world energy needs with clean LNG, because holding hands and

playing nice will not stop Russian aggression. It won’t address the

global demand for energy, especially in Germany and Europe.

[10:40 a.m.]

Like we said yesterday, Vladimir Putin isn’t going

anywhere.

My question to the Premier: why isn’t the Premier out there right

now seizing the massive new need for our prov­ince’s abundant,

clean and ethical natural gas?

Hon. B. Ralston: Well, it is related to markets. Germany cancelled their licence

for Nord Stream 2, the doubling of the flow of natural gas from Russia

to Germany. That ended very suddenly. So there’s a huge supply gap which

has to be filled. But the member mentions LNG Canada phase 2. That’s a

decision. It’s not a state-owned company. The consortium, led by Shell,

has to make a decision to go forward. As of today, I have not received a

request from Shell to make that decision.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, order.

Hon. B. Ralston: So that’s something that is in the hands of the investors in Shell

and their board. Shell has made some major moves globally, but they have

not made that particular move, and they would have to consult with their

consortium.

The opportunity is there. We are willing to work with them if they

choose to come forward, providing that the project would fit within our

climate action plan. So that’s where that particular suggestion sits at

the moment.

GOVERNMENT ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

AND POLICIES ON LNG

DEVELOPMENT

S. Furstenau: There are times when I try to describe to people what it’s like to

be in this chamber and how it feels like we’re in a reality that doesn’t

exist outside of this building. Today is that experience.

Yesterday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a

report on the worsening climate crisis. The report clearly states that

any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and

rapidly closing window to secure a livable future. The UN

Secretary-General, António Guterres, called the report “an atlas of

human suffering and a damning indictment of the failed climate

leadership,” and we are arguing about which party is more supportive of

liquefied natural gas based on fracking, in this chamber, today, as

though somehow we could export natural gas to Europe.

The logistical fallacies aside, building more emission-intensive

fossil fuel development, which is hazardous to human health and

exacerbates the climate crisis, cannot be seen as an answer in 2022.

Intensifying climate change will not address the current war in Europe.

If anything, it will exacerbate global conflict. We have seen it in B.C.

and around the world this year. Climate disasters displace thousands of

people, destroy communities and diminish water and food

security.

To the Premier, we’ve had fires, flood and a deadly heat dome. We

have spent billions repairing damaged infrastructure, yet we do not see

the political will to treat climate change like the existential threat

that it is.

In light of the IPCC report, how can this Premier continue to

advocate for an increase to our emissions after the climate disasters of

2021?

[10:45 a.m.]

Hon. G. Heyman: Everybody on this side of the House and, I hope, everybody on both

sides of the House pays heed to not only what British Columbians

experienced throughout 2021, but also to what people around the world

experienced throughout 2021 and the warnings that we get from scientists

about the increasing threats of climate change, the increasing impacts

of climate change, the need to prepare and adapt to what we are

experiencing and what we know that we will experience more of, and also

to invest significantly in a broad range of programs to reduce emissions

through every part of our economy — through our homes, through our

buildings, through our communities and through our transportation

systems.

That is exactly what we are continuing to do, not just in this

budget, but in three budgets before this one. This year we have added

$1.2 billion in emission reduction CleanBC programs to the $2.3 billion

that we had already invested on top of that for climate preparedness. We

have budgeted $2.1 billion to protect people from climate disasters and

to build back better, including $83 million in a climate preparedness

and adaptation strategy to ensure that we have the information and data

that we need to protect British Columbians.

This is not an easy task, either on the mitigation or the

preparedness side. It is multileveled. It is across government. It’s

through every ministry. There are literally dozens of programs, and it

will involve everyone, and we’re committed to continue that

work.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Third Party, supplemental.

S. Furstenau: It’s fascinating, the position of these two ministers on the

benches, because they are advocating for the opposite. On the one hand,

billions spent to try to reduce the affects of climate change, and on

the other hand, billions poured in in public money and subsidies to keep

building those emissions. This is a contradiction that this government

has not reconciled and continues to pretend that words are enough — that

facts and data and evidence don’t matter. The thing that we’re leading

in in B.C. is our rising emissions, year over year.

Svitlana Krakovska, who headed Ukraine’s delegation to the UN,

said yesterday: “Human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine

have the same roots — fossil fuels and their dependence on

them.”

I’m sure, hon. Speaker, that you can recognize an understatement —

to say that I am disappointed by the discourse in this chamber. Climate

delay, pretending that we can continue to build fossil fuel

infrastructure and call our­selves climate leaders — that is the

new climate change denial.

We are out of time. The IPCC report is clear. Framing increased

fossil fuel development as an answer to war is something that I could

not have imagined would be happening in this chamber, in this year, yet

here we are.

Again, to the Premier, how does he square claiming to act on the

climate crisis while advocating and subsidizing the single largest

source of climate emissions in B.C. history, which relies on a massive

increase of methane-intensive fracking in the northeast?

Hon. G. Heyman: I’ll simply repeat. We have developed on this side of the House a

multifaceted emission reduction climate action plan, which the member

knows be­cause the member and her former colleague in the Green

Party Andrew Weaver and her current colleague were very much a part of

designing that program.

To assume that the answer to climate change is as easy as flicking

a light switch is neither correct nor doable. We all know that we are in

a transition. We all know that over time, we are transitioning to clean

energy, renewable energy, and we need to do that as quickly as

possible.

[10:50 a.m.]

In the meantime, I will simply repeat: we have invested heavily in

CleanBC. We have a range of measures, including investing in active

transportation, including setting standards for zero-carbon buildings,

including putting a cap on natural gas utilities, including a commitment

to work with industry, Indigenous people and experts to reduce emissions

from oil and gas by 33 percent by 2030.

These are targets. These are commitments. These are statements.

That’s what our government is working on, and that’s what we’ll continue

to work on, because we know we have a responsibility to British

Columbians. We know that we have a responsibility to work with other

jurisdictions around the world to take action as quickly as

possible.

We all need to do that, not just in this government or in this

House or in this province but globally.

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY SUPPLY

AND B.C. LNG

PROJECTS

P. Milobar: Well, our questions yesterday and today are shining a bright light

on this complete lack of action by this Premier, lack of leadership by

this Premier. Yesterday the Premier said he was going to phone about the

pensions. Didn’t phone. The minister won’t confirm that any phone calls

went. In fact, they’re just getting some back-channel conversation

instead of an actual, direct phone call, instead of actually showing

some leadership.

The minister responsible for permitting hasn’t made any phone

calls around our LNG projects that are sitting, waiting for permits. But

let’s look at what real action actually looks like, what real leadership

looks like. Let’s look at Germany that’s trying to free itself from

being dependent on Russia for energy at a time when Russia has declared

war on Ukraine. It’s not an incursion. It’s war, plain and

simple.

What did Germany do? They shut down a pipeline that was already

built for their energy needs from Russia and have expediated,

fast-tracked, two import terminals for LNG so they can source LNG from

somewhere else in the world to not rely on a dictator in Russia for

their energy needs.

Yes, it’ll take a couple years to build those import terminals.

You know what else will take a couple of years to build? The facilities

to supply those import terminals. But that’s not going to happen if this

government doesn’t actually take any action and can’t be bothered to

pick up the phone to see what they can do to move permitting

along.

To the minister, has he made even one phone call to any of the

permits that are outstanding, to any of the companies trying to do LNG

expansion in British Columbia, to see if we can actually play a

meaningful

part in what is going on in world events?

Hon. B. Ralston: I regularly receive reports on the progress of the LNG Canada

project. It is proceeding. The gas pipeline is proceeding, although I

think we’re all aware of some of the challenges that face that

particular piece of construction. Those projects are moving forward. As

the member says, the expectation of a completion date is at least

several years away, notwithstanding the best efforts of very skilled and

strong leadership and the workforce — diverse, well skilled — in the

northwest.

Those steps are taking place. When those LNG terminals in Germany

are available, I doubt that there will be direct supply to Europe,

because most of the production is spoken for in long-term contracts on

the other side of the Pacific. So I think that that is the current

reality of that particular project.

M. de Jong: I think it is the lack of urgency that we are hearing from the

minister, from the government and the Premier, that is particularly

disappointing and troubling. At a time of crisis, I think people are

entitled to expect leadership from the government. But they’re entitled

to expect proactive leadership, not the kind of passive response that we

are seeing here.

[10:55 a.m.]

The minister says to the House: “Well, no one has called me. The

proponents haven’t called me.” The minister knows that every signal LNG

Canada and these other proponents of LNG have received from this

government is: “Don’t bother applying.” He knows that. So to stand in

the House today, in the shadow of an invasion, in the shadow of a world

crisis, and say: “Well, they can call….”

The world is watching, and what they’re hearing from British

Columbia, sadly, is all the right words and no action, no meaningful

action. Others have said it. Vladimir Putin isn’t going away. He is

going to wield this energy club to intimidate nations, democracies in

Europe and elsewhere around the world. It is not a three-week issue. It

is at least a decade-long issue. And to suggest that British Columbia

cannot be part of the response to Vladimir Putin because it takes a few

years to build an LNG plant is simply avoiding the issue.

Interjection.

M. de Jong: If the Attorney General doesn’t know what the question is, then

we’re really in trouble.

Surely, it is obvious to him and every member of this government

that the question is: why won’t the government take proactive steps to

demonstrate to the world that British Columbia stands with the Ukraine

and will help to fill the energy gap that Vladimir Putin is

creating?

Hon. M. Farnworth: This country and the world have condemned the invasion of Ukraine,

a sovereign nation, a country I have visited on three different

occasions and had a chance to meet and work with people there. Right

from the beginning, this government has stood on the side of Ukraine

with the federal government, right from the beginning, that takes the

first leadership role in terms of sanctions and how we deal with that

aggressive, unwarranted attack on a sovereign nation.

This province took leadership starting with liquor stores, with

gaming….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, order. All members.

The minister will continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: It’s unfortunate that what we’re seeing is an effort to politicize

what is a terrible….

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Let’s be clear. What is shameful, hon. Member, is attempting to

politicize the situation. We have been….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members will come to order.

Hon. M. Farnworth: You have been getting answers that….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, please.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

As I was about to say, yesterday the Premier made it clear that

this House does not agree with having investments in Russia, that that

message would be sent to the investment corp. loud and clear, that they

will make those decisions based on the rule of law, which is not about

politicians meddling. We’ve sent that clear message.

The Finance Minister stated today that the investment corp. is

taking action. That is how it should be done. At the same time, the

Minister of Energy has made it clear….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, please.

[11:00 a.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I think the comments from the other side make it clear that

they’re not really interested in getting information.

Interjection.

Hon. M. Farnworth: There has been lots of action, and there will be lots more action

to come. But let’s be clear.

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: Minister, continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: The only sideline is the sideline that you’re sitting on over

there, and given your display today, you’ll be sitting over there for a

long time.

[End of question period.]

Tabling Documents

Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, I have the honour of tab­ling the Auditor

General’s report, B.C. Housing’s COVID-19 Response: Property

Purchases.

Orders of the Day

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

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

Budget Debate

(continued)

T. Shypitka: It gives me great honour to stand and rise and talk to the budget here

today. Before I start, I just want to express my gratitude and pride that I

have for the House. We’ve heard, in question period today, some heated

debate on our support for the Ukraine and how we go about that as a

province. But I’m happy and I’m proud to recognize that we are all behind

the people of the Ukraine in this tough time.

It wasn’t too long ago — it was a couple years ago — that I stood in

this House and supported and spoke to the Holodomor legislation that

recognized the Holodomor as a day of remembrance, the fourth Saturday of

November. For those that don’t know the history of the Holodomor, it was

back in 1932 and 1933, where Russia imposed their power, their force, to

essentially starve millions of Ukrainians. It was with great pride that we

brought that recognition forward to the people of British Columbia to

recognize and honour that day of remembrance.

Unfortunately, here we are almost 100 years later — 90 years, as a

matter of fact — with history repeating itself. Once again, we have a

dictator, we have oppression that the Soviet state is inflicting on the

innocent people of the sovereign state of the Ukraine. It’s unfortunate that

we’re back to square one again here.

I’m of Polish and Ukrainian descent myself, and I’m happy with the

country of Poland, which is giving the support to those people from Ukraine,

offering up room and food and arms and support and whatever they can. As a

Ukrainian/Polish person myself, I’m really, obviously, troubled by what I’m

seeing right now, but I’m happy that the House is unanimous in their support

for the people of Ukraine.

[11:05 a.m.]

Speaking of history repeating itself, here we go with the budget. This

is the sixth budget from this government, from a second-term NDP government.

It’s let down British Columbians, in my opinion.

The future is uncertain in British Columbia. We’re seeing a lot of

uncertainty. We’re seeing investment fleeing. We’re seeing our

affordability…. Some of those key components that the NDP promised British

Columbians aren’t coming true. This budget is once again just another

painful reminder on how out of touch this government is. If we look at some

of those promises that they’ve given us over the last five years and six

budgets, affordability has to be one of those top issues. We’re seeing an

incredible increase in the cost of housing, gas, groceries.

The inability to find affordable daycare. I’ve heard, many times, the

other side saying how they’re increasing daycare spaces. I’ve had daycares

closing. It’s the opposite to where I’m at right now. They’re actually

closing down. There is no available space, and it’s not affordable. This was

a key, cornerstone, foundational commitment by this government, and six

budgets in, we’re still nowhere closer — actually, farther away than when we

first started.

The safety of friends. We heard it in the budget. We heard it in the

throne speech: “Government’s got your back.” When we see the people of

Lytton, eight months later, still not being able to go back to their homes,

not being able to gather their lives back together, that concerns

me.

Our devastated state of wildlife. I’ll touch on that in my budget

speech. Our ungulate populations — our deer, our moose, our elk, our caribou

— are in a rapid state of decline and have been for some time. I don’t want

to politicize it, because it has been a mistake by all governments over the

last, probably, 40 or 50 years.

The government came out with a real fancy-schmancy document called

Together for Wildlife in British Columbia. It was brought out

in November of 2018. It had all the great pictures and said all the right

things, but there was nothing measurable in it. There was no timeline

addressed to it. Here we are four years later, and we’re in a state of

crisis with our wildlife populations.

Access to health care. I’m going to touch on that one as well. I’ll

read some quotes from the throne speech and the budget that identified

access to health care and that this government is looking after the concerns

of British Columbians from all four corners and the Island as well. It’s the

farthest thing from the truth where I come from. Access to health care is

almost non-existent in my part of the province.

I will start with the affordability piece. We’re seeing it. We’re

seeing the statistics roll in. We’re seeing that 53 percent of British

Columbians are now $200 or less away from insolvency — $200. That’s a scary

statistic. That speaks to the affordability here in British Columbia. This

is far worse than the U.S., where we hear all the time, on mainstream media,

how unstable their economy is for some people, where four out of ten are

$1,000 away from insolvency. Here we’re over half, with only $200 from

insolvency. So we’re unfortunately leading in that department.

Gas prices. We’ve seen that. Obviously, it’s being exasperated now

with the world crisis we’re seeing right now in Ukraine and the supply

change that has happened. But gas prices are a buck-62 or a buck-52 where

I’m at. Those are going up. In some parts of the province, I think we’re up

around $1.70. I would dare say we’re going to be probably reaching $2 a

litre here soon enough. So that’s making life super unaffordable.

[11:10 a.m.]

Food prices, 5 to 7 percent for 2022. This translates to about $1,000

a year more for people in British Columbia to buy food. Dairy, 6 to 8

percent higher. As a matter of fact, B.C. has experienced seven straight

months of elevated inflation over 3 percent, with the rising costs of

housing, gasoline, energy and groceries. We haven’t seen this type of

inflation since the 1990s. Coincidentally enough, and I’m saying, as history

repeats itself, the last time we saw a two-term NDP government was in the

’90s. That’s the last time we’ve seen this type of inflation.

The budget really fails to identify, in my opinion, in a real way, the

affordability issues. Now, the government may try to convince you that these

inflationary realizations that we’re seeing are attributed to COVID and the

global supply chain, those types of things. That will change the price of

our goods and services, for sure.

So let’s look at those goods and services that make up the basket of

goods that we determine what our inflation is based upon, our cost of

living. We talked about the three. We talked about energy. We talked about

housing. We talked about food. Those are basically the essentials we need,

as British Columbians, to live.

Let’s look at the energy. Let’s see how it’s affecting the supply

chain and how COVID is changing that cost of living. In Canada, we have

about 171 billion barrels of oil in reserve; 165 billion of that is in the

oil sands. That’s about 10 percent of the world’s total crude oil reserves.

We’re fifth in the world in that regard.

We’re currently producing about 4.4 million barrels a day. That’s just

under 5 percent of the world’s total crude oil production. There’s nothing

in this province or anything in Canada that would stop this province from

securing our self-reliance and reducing the cost of fuel, which is at record

levels right now — unless, of course, you used every tool in the toolbox to

stop that production of oil.

It is something we’ve seen from this government, and it’s something we

see once again in question period. We saw the reluctance to explore our

self-reliance, and also on our exports to the countries that need it the

most.

Right now a lot of central European countries would need those

reserves, but we’ve got a pipeline that has been fought tooth and nail by a

government that has “used every tool in the toolbox” to stop it from

happening. Here we go into a world crisis, when we need it the most, and the

timelines and the delays that we’ve seen from this government have impeded

our participation in the global arena.

Natural gas. That’s another big energy source that we have and that

we’re lucky to have an abundance of. It heats our homes, and it fuels our

vehicles. It can offer solutions as far as hydrogen and blue hydrogen are

concerned. We have got the Montney formation in northwest Alberta and

northeast B.C., in the Peace region.

There was a comprehensive joint study that found, on the Montney

formation, that it contained about 449 trillion cubic feet of marketable

natural gas — 14.521 billion barrels of marketable natural gas liquids and

1.125 billion barrels of oil. This estimate makes it one of the largest

known gas resources in the world and equivalent to about 145 years of

Canada’s annual consumption; 145 years of our annual consumption sits in the

northeast corner of British Columbia.

When we’re talking about the goods that make up our basket, certainly

we have enough in the energy side of things, which is part of that cost of

living, to be self-sufficient, thusly making our cost of living lower, not

higher. Canada has about one half of 1 percent of the world’s population,

yet we have about 10 percent or about 20-fold of the needs right here in

B.C. for energy. It’s safe to say that we have enough energy to be

self-sufficient in our reserves and production.

[11:15 a.m.]

The next basket is agriculture, food, things that we need to eat to

stay alive. We have an agricultural land reserve that was drawn up back in

the 1970s under the Barrett government. When the ALR first came in, the

agricultural land reserve was identified to save in order for food

production.

Now, those land reserves were marked out on a map, and some of those

land reserves were fairly easily identifiable, when you look at the Surreys

and Deltas and things like that, the very high-quality soil that they drew

into the agricultural land reserve, but some of them in the Interior, the

Kootenays and the north were just arbitrarily kind of drawn in. They really

didn’t identify the soil types, the geographical barriers, those types of

things. They never really identified it.

When they did it in ’72, ’73 — I think it was somewhere around there —

the NDP government of the day said: “We’ll come back, and we’ll resurvey and

make sure that we’ve identified soil types and that type of thing.” It never

happened. So now what we have is we have an ALR that, in principle,

recognizes the need to be self-sufficient in our food and to have a proper

food security program in place, but it left some of those in the ALR at a

big disadvantage.

Quite honestly, in some of the ALR — I know members of this House know

it — you can’t grow a weed in some of these places. That’s a problem. That

speaks to the affordability issue, part of what the budget is going after

here. We’re seeing that ranchers are getting older as well. We need a

transition into the new generation of ranching, but this government, in

their policy, in their legislation, is impeding that transformation to

happen.

We look at Bill 15 and Bill 52, which we passed not too long ago. They

took away, essentially, landowners’ rights — of farmers, of ranchers — the

ability to implement secondary or non-farm-use applications into the ALR to

be more sustainable. That’s things like…. If you’ve got a large acreage, 500

acres or so, and you’re trying to grow some hay, or you’ve got some cattle

that are grazing, it’s tough, because the agricultural land that they

possess isn’t very receptive to growing hay and sustaining.

So they need a secondary non-farm-use on that land. Maybe it’s a

welding shop. Maybe it’s some storage, whatever — some other non-use

commercial application that they can use to sustain their farm. Without

that, they’re dead in the water. What the B.C. Liberals did was to develop a

two-zone system. Zone 1, for ALR use, would be recognized as primarily Lower

Mainland, high-quality soil types 1, 2 and 3, to be preserved. Those in zone

2, primarily in the Kootenay region and the Interior, would have special

abilities to include non-farm-use applications.

It was this government that quickly dissolved that ability. That

speaks to the land part of it. Just to add more ink to the ointment of this

NDP government, today is March 1. Today is the day that existing groundwater

users who have not applied for historical use…. Those are wells that were

drilled before February 29, 2016. If they don’t apply today for their well

use, they will lose their historical date of first use.

This is absolutely devastating for anybody that was not notified, and

there are many of them. I’ve spoken to a whole bunch. I’ve posted as many

times as I can. The response has been unbelievable. If these farmers, these

ranchers, lose their historical use of groundwater wells, it’s lights out.

It’s absolutely lights out.

[11:20 a.m.]

Why is this government making the situation worse? We need these

ranchers. We need these farmers, yet they’ve put this arbitrary deadline in

place. We, as opposition, have pleaded with the government. A deadline:

that’s all we’re asking for. Extend the deadline. But it’s been crickets,

and it goes back to the budget. It goes back to the affordability

piece.

We obviously don’t have an agricultural issue as much as we have land

use issues in our agriculture sector. That’s the second basket. I have

talked about energy. We have got more than abundance. I have talked about

agriculture. We have got more than abundance of land — there’s no question

about it — and farming opportunities. We’ve got the skilled people out

there. We just need a government that is going to support these people so we

can be food secure and have a good food security program in

place.

Let’s look at the last basket. That’s land. It’s kind of an extension

of the agriculture, but this is real estate, housing, where we live. We have

seen it. We have seen it in this House. We have seen it on the streets. We

see it in my community. Housing has skyrocketed, absolutely skyrocketed in

the last five years.

Vancouver is the third most expensive city in the world to build a

house. San Francisco and New York, I guess, get top spot, if you want to be

at the top of that list. But the third most expensive…. Singapore. London,

England. All these other big metropolises. Toronto, even. No. Vancouver is

the most expensive place in the world to build a house.

It’s not that we have a shortage of land or lumber in this province.

This is not something that is dictated by a supply chain. The supply chain

is here. The supply chain is fixed. Land and timber are right here, right

now. Yet we’re still the third most expensive in the world to build a

house.

B.C. has approximately one million square kilometres in its

boundaries. I think it’s about 960,000 or something like that, so I’ll just

round it off to one million. There are approximately five million residents

in British Columbia. If you do the math — and somebody can correct me if I’m

wrong; I just did some quick math last night — that means about one-fifth of

a square kilometre for each man, woman and child in the province.

If you get a million square…. Let me see if I can figure this out in

my head here. One million square miles, five million residents — that’s 0.2

square kilometres. There are about a million square metres in a square

kilometre. That’s 200,000 — my head is getting sore here — square metres in

a fifth of a square kilometre, representing the amount of people.

That would equate to about 100 CFL-sized land parcels for the average

family of four. If we spread out all our land and gave every person…. Every

family of four would get 100 CFL-sized land parcels. You literally would not

be able to see your next-door neighbour anywhere — any family in B.C. Now,

members can check my math. I’m pretty sure I’m correct on it.

We obviously don’t have a land shortage in British Columbia. I’m not

sure any other jurisdiction could boast that. But we’re seeing right now

with our real estate that in Vancouver, a person has to save up for 31 years

to get a down payment for the average home. That’s absolutely ludicrous.

They would basically be retired by the time they were able to buy their

first home. At that point, they probably wouldn’t want the same home that

they were saving the down payment for in the first place. Family would be

gone and everything else.

I’m burning up a lot of time here, and I’m not even an inch into my

notes. But I just wanted to identify the affordability issue the most. This

government has failed. It’s not a supply issue. It’s not a COVID thing. This

is policy and legislation. This province and the support, the political

will…. This government has failed to support, to address affordability in

this province, plain and simple.

[11:25 a.m.]

There’s a couple from Creston. I’ve got to get this one in here. Why

Creston, you say? It’s not even in my riding. But this couple calls our

office quite a bit because, she says, at least I pick up the phone. That’s

an exact quote. I wanted to read it on the record.

He said he’s a senior who’s struggling with affordability. He’s

focused on the increase of taxes, especially the carbon tax, he says. He

brings up the difference between revenue neutrality, which we used to have

here in B.C., and now that’s going into general revenues. What he really

wants to hear is someone speak about the affordability issue for seniors in

the Legislature.

I’ve got two other seniors that live in my riding that say right now

they’re aging at home. That is the goal for seniors — to age at home. They

built a beautiful house. They have paid it off. But now they can’t afford

the property taxes, because property assessments have gone up 55.5 percent

in the last three years in Cranbrook. A 55.5 percent increase on a fixed

income — that doesn’t cut it.

I’ve got to get into the health part of it. Access to health care —

absolutely horrendous in my part. We are absolutely roadblocked from what

was, historically, a British Columbia–to–Alberta referral system. Doctors

referred back and forth. I live in a border community. There was a great

referral system between Cranbrook and the East Kootenays to doctors in

Lethbridge and Calgary, which is only a stone’s throw away — literally half

an hour away from some of the people in my riding.

We were contacted by a Fernie woman regarding her six-year-old son. He

was taken to emergency in Fernie. He was then taken via ambulance to B.C.

Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. That’s like 1,100 kilometres away and six

mountain passes. She pleaded to go to Alberta. That’s where her son had a

stroke when he was two weeks old.

They’ve had this referral back and forth. But now the lack of access

to health care that hasn’t been followed up by the Minister of Health…. I’ve

had numerous meetings with the Minister of Health on this, and there has

been no action on how we can transition or relate between the two

provinces.

The other one, before…. This one…. I’m going to have to hold it in

here. This is a friend of mine that I used to work with a long time ago. Now

he lives in Calgary. On December 26, while the family was away doing some

Christmas visiting, my son’s friend suffered a head injury during a sledding

accident — innocent fun during Christmas time.

He was rushed to Invermere, and the boy’s father begged the hospital

staff to dispatch a helicopter from Calgary. It was explained to him at the

time that the bureaucracy between B.C. and Alberta’s STARS ambulance air

service did not allow the helicopter to come and land.

So they then transported the boy to Cranbrook by ambulance, which is

three hours away. Sorry, it’s not quite that far. It’s about an hour and a

half away. He was later transported by an airplane that had to come from

Kelowna first. This is four hours. This is, probably, 5½ hours. This boy has

a head trauma injury, bleeding. He has support 45 minutes away in Alberta.

He has to wait 5½ hours to get to Kelowna. The boy passed away, due to blood

that had built up in his brain. He needed to relieve that pressure. He

passed away.

So one has to wonder what difference that would have made if he was

able to get the access he needed to get to Calgary. I’ve had some pretty

long talks with my friend about this. It’s something…. I don’t want to push

blame. I don’t want to…. I’m just saying we have got some serious work to

do. Our B.C. Ambulance Service has to be tied directly to those quickest

access points. We have universal health care in this country. It is

something we are all afforded to.

[11:30 a.m.]

Yet unfortunately, this government doesn’t see it as a big priority.

Whether it’s the billing system or whether it’s something that we need to

solve, it’s one of the things I hear all the time. When our health care

premiums…. Here in B.C., they go straight to the health authority, whether

it’s Interior Health or Northern Health or Vancouver Coastal Health,

whatever. It goes directly right back to that health authority.

When those health premiums are transferred to Alberta, they don’t go

to AHS, which is Alberta Health Services. They go to government general

revenues and then trickle back down to Alberta Health Services — not always

maybe at 100 percent and maybe not always on time. Health authorities in

Alberta look at that and say: “Well, why would we take a B.C. patient and

get 80 cents on the dollar, five months later, than take care of our own

people in Alberta and get quick cash, right at 100 percent all the

time?”

That’s one theory that’s out there, and nobody’s ever debunked that

theory of mine. I don’t just share it; it’s many other people. I’ve talked

to physicians. I’ve talked to physicians on both sides, and that

physician-to-physician referral is strong. When a patient is referred to

another physician in Alberta, they say: “Yeah, we’ve got space. Come on in.”

But once it gets to Alberta Health Services, the administration side, they

shut it right down. They say: “Nope. No room. Can’t take them.”

It’s life-changing. It’s a big deal. But I would imagine the data, the

capacity that the East Kootenays have, would be better to facilitate in

places like Kelowna or Vancouver or Victoria to bolster the need for more

services — another wing, another piece of equipment. So they use our data to

build their empires in other places of the province.

Now, I have no problem keeping the money here in B.C — don’t get me

wrong — but when it comes to life-and-death situations, like I’ve said and

I’ve illustrated, we’ve got a huge problem.

I’m running to a close here, and I didn’t get even an inch into this

budget. I’m sorry, but this budget falls hugely flat on all things that mean

most to me, my constituents and I think the people of British

Columbia.

With that, I can’t support this budget in the least, and I take my

place.

J. Sims: It is an absolute pleasure to be able to stand in this House and speak

in support of this budget, “Stronger together,” Budget 2022.

I want to take a moment to thank the Minister of Finance, her team and

the government as a whole for putting together a budget that actually

responds to where we are now today.

This budget was put together in the middle of crisis after crisis

after crisis: in the middle of a pandemic; in the middle of a heatwave —

we’ve had the impact of that, with the town of Lytton being burned down; in

the middle of the floods we had in the Abbotsford area; in the middle of the

increase in the mental health issues that people are experiencing, and in

the opioid crisis; and in the middle of, I would say, a period in our

history where a lot of British Columbians and people around the world are

feeling rather jaded, dejected, disappointed and mentally challenged to face

the reality that’s around them.

At this time, it would be remiss of me if I did not acknowledge the

huge anguish and pain that the Ukrainian diaspora must be going through. To

those living in my riding of Surrey-Panorama, and those living across B.C.

and across Canada and around the world, we cannot imagine your pain, but you

need to know that we stand with you. We stand with you.

[11:35 a.m.]

Every one of us, as we watch on TV and follow what is unfolding,

acknowledges that we could be on the verge of another world war. I am

hoping, like everybody else, that the strong stand taken by other countries

to support Ukraine will send a message and we will see an end to the

fighting.

As a teacher, I have spent all my life speaking out against violence

because, at the end of the day, violence doesn’t solve anything. It’s only

when people sit at the table that solutions are found. Past wars have taught

us that. To the Ukrainian diaspora: we are with you. We will continue to

stand with you.

Now, getting back to the budget. I’ve heard a lot of comments about

how this budget is out of touch, how people are fleeing B.C. and how things

are falling apart. I must live in a different British Columbia than the

people making those comments.

When I look at our economy, the best in Canada right now — the best

economic growth — despite the fact that we’ve been through the COVID

pandemic, the health care pandemic and the opioid pandemic…. Despite the

fact that we’ve had a heatwave, the climate challenges that we’re facing and

the floods we’ve had, our economy has kept going. I think that’s an

incredible tribute to British Columbians and their work ethic.

I look at our unemployment rate, which is one of the things we use to

judge how well our province is doing. You know what? Our unemployment rate

has gone down. It has gone down, and we have more people employed today than

we had prior to the COVID pandemic. That is also another great sign that the

economy is booming.

Madam Speaker, I’m sure you’ve been watching TV as well. We’re hearing

about all these people coming to British Columbia from Alberta and from

across Canada. You know what? That is also a good sign that people are

seeing opportunities in British Columbia. They want to come here because the

government in this province has managed to steer us through some of the most

challenging times, yet maintain a strong economy. That is what’s going

on.

I have been hearing a lot about housing. It’s almost as if my

colleagues on the opposite side want to pretend that the housing crisis just

started. I want to let them know that housing prices escalated to a point

that it was unbelievable while they were in government, and money laundering

and everything else was allowed to happen and ignored. There was evidence

that that money — illegal money, illicit money — was actually fuelling the

housing market.

I want to say that I am so, so proud of the fact that our government

has invested billions of dollars and will continue to do so — $1.2 billion a

year — to build housing for those who are the most vulnerable, with

wraparound services, as well as a focus on affordable housing. It takes time

to make up for the deficit. We do have challenges in the housing area in

that our demand is increasing as well, with more people who love B.C. and

are liking what this government is doing wanting to move here. So of course

there are those challenges.

To my colleague who did a wonderful math lesson a little bit earlier

on our beautiful province, well, I want to say to him that there are vast

areas of the province that are not habitable. There are mountains and there

are parks that I don’t want to have houses in.

[11:40 a.m.]

So I want to say that absolutely, we live in a beautiful province, and

absolutely, everybody who goes to work and earns a living deserves a roof

over their head. We are going to do that, and I encourage people sitting in

opposition to work with the government to find real solutions for housing.

We are prepared to sit at a table and have your input, but let’s not just

keep throwing darts and arrows and thinking that’s going to solve the

housing problem, especially when you got it going in the first

place.

The second thing I’ve heard a lot about is child care. I really want

to focus in on child care. I know you’re probably thinking, “Why does she

care about child care?” because my children are fully grown. I want to say

that I have been an advocate for child care since I came to Canada, because

I came from a country where child care was available. When I had my children

in Canada, when I had my daughter, I was in Quebec, which had child

care.

When I came to B.C., I noticed how much of it was not there. So I have

been advocating ever since, both as a teacher and, later, as a Member of

Parliament. I stood in the House of Commons and spoke passionately about the

need for affordable child care. Admittedly, that was $15-a-day child care,

and I’m so proud to be part of a government that is moving towards $10-a-day

child care.

There are people in B.C. today who are paying less than $10 because of

the actions of this government, based on their circumstance and their

income. There are many people who are receiving $10-a-day child care right

now, and there will be more this year, as a result of this budget. Our goal

is to move towards $10, and our next target is $20. That doesn’t mean we’re

not going to be adding more $10-a-day child care spaces as well. It’s really

amazing.

You know, we hear a lot about affordability, that this government has

done nothing for affordability. Let me tell you, they put the tolls on the

bridges, and we took the tolls off. They increased MSP premiums; we

eliminated them. I could go on, actually. I had a long list, but I also

realize I’m going to be cutting short, and I want to get back to child

care.

I want to give out some numbers, because we’ve heard a lot of

interesting numbers today. From 2018 to 2021, this government, the B.C. NDP

government, has invested a record of $2.2 billion in child care programs

that will help families throughout our province — $2.2 billion. Over the

next three years, the province will invest more than $2.5 billion in child

care. This is part of the ten-year plan to make child care a core service

that families can depend on. A reminder that this is the first social

program after decades and decades, this $4.7 billion spent and allocated so

far.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have invested more

than $395 million to support over 45 child care centres. The total amount

that has gone to parents through reduced fees — I really want my colleagues

to pay attention to this number — is $895 million. When a family gets part

of that money back into their pockets, that doesn’t go to the Canary

Islands. It doesn’t go to some tax-protected haven. That’s the money that

gets invested back into the community. It gets spent on food. It gets spent

on clothing. It gets spent on holidays. It gets spent in our

communities.

[11:45 a.m.]

You know what? I come from Surrey, Surrey-Panorama. Let me give you

some numbers for Surrey. Madam Speaker, $213,490,441 has been spent in

Surrey on temporary emergency funding on child care — on child care, $213.5

million. I’ll just round it up.

Now, in Surrey alone, the total amount that has gone back to parents

through reduced fees and benefits is over $120 million. So the city of

Surrey has circulating in Surrey an additional $120 million as a result of

the actions of this government and as a result of our belief that investment

in child care is an investment in our economic growth. It is more than child

care. It is how we build a strong future.

As we are on to numbers…. I always have to bring up Surrey-Panorama.

After all, it’s the wonderful people of Surrey-Panorama that elected me and

sent me and, actually, gave me the privilege of being their representative

in this chamber.

Child care in Surrey-Panorama, total amount of child care investments:

$24.7 million. In my riding alone, this tiny little riding, which is not so

tiny, by the way, has $24.5 million that is circulating that was returned

back to parents so they could make choices of where they were going to spend

that money. That goes back into households, and that addresses affordability

for many.

I can tell you of a young woman, a single mom who came into my office.

As a result of the child care subsidy, she could afford to go back to school

and finish her education. She has now graduated and has a job. She could not

have done that without the child care subsidy.

Or a young woman who had finished law school, had finished articling

and then had to take a leave but then couldn’t find daycare that was

reasonable. She was able to find daycare as a result of this, and now she is

back at work and when she is back at work, she’s adding to our

economy.

Now, the total amount that has gone back to parents through reduced

fees and benefits is $13½ million. That’s for Surrey-Panorama alone. Nobody

in this chamber can say to me that when that money is returned to parents,

it does not make a difference in their lives. If you believe that, please

come and see me, and I will introduce you to many people who have been

impacted and who say their life has changed dramatically.

One father told me that after a long, long time — this was before

COVID, because they got the subsidy at that time — he could actually imagine

taking his kids on a holiday. Not overseas; just in B.C. That’s the kind of

difference it makes. Or a mother who says: “Now, you know, when I go grocery

shopping, I can make different choices.” That is what makes what we do here

so worthwhile, when we can make a difference.

When our universal health care was brought in, that was a social

program that I think still receives attention from around the world. I think

our child care program, especially in B.C. here…. We’re a little bit behind

Quebec. We’re a lot behind Quebec, but we’ve actually been a model for many

of the other provinces since we started this program. I want to do a thank

you to the federal government, as well, for their investment in child care.

They also recognize the importance of investing in our children. Investing

in child care is an investment in the economy and investment in the

future.

[11:50 a.m.]

Once again, while I’m talking about child care, I think I need to do a

huge shout-out to all of the child care workers — everybody who worked with

our children in child care centres and taking care of them throughout COVID.

They were dealing with a lot of the stress and strain of COVID and having to

deal with children when they were maybe a little bit disturbed as well. A

huge thank-you to them.

The other thing is that when you’re building a budget, you have

choices. Thanks to our minister and our Premier, we’re making choices that

will help people and support people.

I know I’ve heard some concerns from the other side about the deficit.

I think British Columbians know that after going through the pandemic, after

going through the heatwave, the floods, the fires, and knowing what is

happening internationally right now, they want a government that is there

for them, that is building for them, that is building for their

future.

When you run your household budget, you make choices. In the same way,

I am so glad to be part of a government that has made choices to build — $27

billion in the capital fund to help build infrastructure that was so ignored

for so long.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

I can’t leave — and I’m noticing the time — without talking about

Surrey hospital, a second hospital in Surrey. Recently I’ve heard a lot of

comments from the opposition about the Surrey hospital, and I’m always a

little bit taken aback, because I’m thinking that right in Surrey-Panorama

was a prime piece of property where previous opposition leaders, when they

were in government, had gone and said: “We’re going to build the Surrey

Memorial Hospital right here.” That’s what they used to say.

And then, with a twinkle of an eye — and I won’t use the word

“hoodwink” — that land was sold. That land was sold to a developer who, by

the way, also donated big money to the party, and there was no hospital.

Apparently, there was not even a plan for a hospital inside.

When we became government, that was our commitment. And I want to

share with everybody: there is land. It’s had all the work that needs to be

done in it. Fraser Health has done a business plan. Procurement is going on.

So do you know what? A plan is on the move. Yet the opposition has now come

up with: “Oh, that’s not a good location.” Whoopee.

You sold the best spot for a hospital that Surrey desperately needs.

You sold it. So now we have land. We’re going to be building a hospital, and

I’m so excited that that hospital is going to have in it a cancer centre, a

cancer research centre. All of you know that that area is very, very close

and dear to my heart.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.

J. Sims: I am so delighted that Surrey is going to be getting additional

services when it comes to cancer and many of the others, as well as an

emergency room. And by the way, it’s not an urgent care centre. It is a

hospital.

Not only that, but since we’ve been in government, we have now built

more than 11,000 — according to the school district; not my data — new spots

for children K to 12. Right opposite my office — I can look at it from my

constituency office — is the expansion to Sullivan Secondary School, with

over 700 seats being added. That’s like another high school being

added.

As well as in many other areas, we’re in the process…. We have bought

land, by the way, for another elementary school right in Surrey-Panorama. We

have a government that actually believes in building — in building

infrastructure, in building services.

[11:55 a.m.]

Once again, what I do want to say to the Minister of Finance is such a

huge thank-you for building, into the budget, $27 billion to build

hospitals, to build public transit, to build schools, which we all

need.

All of us know — and I’ve said this very often — that Surrey often

felt like the neglected child when it came to rapid transit. We are happy to

see that there is going to be a SkyTrain. It’s right here in the budget

again: SkyTrain from Surrey to Langley is going to be built. That will help

with mobility and will help with economic growth.

You know, I have a list of all the schools that have had expansions,

and it goes on for three pages — three long pages — but I’m not going to

read that in. I’m going to leave it with the fact that we have over 11,000

new spaces. That includes new schools; that includes expansions and all of

those things.

I also, at this time, want to say that I’m very happy to see the

Pattullo Bridge….

Mr. Speaker: Noting the hour, Member.

J. Sims: Mr. Speaker, I reserve my right to continue with this wonderful

support of the budget at the next sitting.

J. Sims moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. H. Bains moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:57 a.m.

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