British Columbia Hansard — Tuesday, February 8, 2022 p.m. — Number 142 (HTML) (42nd Parliament, 3rd Session)
20220208pm-House-Blues
British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Third Session, 42nd Parliament
(2022) OFFICIAL REPORT
OF DEBATES
(HANSARD)
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Afternoon Sitting
Issue No. 142
ISSN 1499-2175
The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.
The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.
CONTENTS
Speech from the Throne
Introduction and First Reading of Bills
Bill 1 —
An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament
Hon. D. Eby
Motions Without Notice
Special procedures for proceedings of Legislative Assembly during COVID-19 pandemic
Hon. M. Farnworth
Motions
Appointment of Deputy Speaker
Hon. M. Farnworth
Appointment of Assistant Deputy Speaker
T. Stone
Appointment of Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole
Hon. M. Farnworth
Printing of Votes and Proceedings
Hon. D. Eby
Appointment of select standing committees
Hon. J. Horgan
Question of Privilege (Reservation of Right)
A. Olsen
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022
The House met at 2:02 p.m.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
Mr. Speaker: Good afternoon, Members. I would like to invite Eugene Sam of the Songhees
Nation to provide a territorial acknowledgment.
E. Sam: [Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ was spoken.]
Hay’sxw’qa s’iem.
Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Eugene Sam. I introduced myself with my
Indian name, Sum Tha Tin, which I carry with my late grandmother. It is my honour
today to be able to welcome each and every one of you here today, to be able to have
in-person things again.
I wish everyone safety for yourselves and your families.
I’d like to thank the contact for thinking of myself to be able to do the
welcoming today. I’m going to sing a song. It’s called our paddle welcome song. It’s
a song we use to welcome everybody, to welcome everyone to be together.
Hay’sxw’qa s’iem.
[2:05 p.m.]
[Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ was
sung.]
I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day, and I hope everything goes well
today.
Hay’sxw’qa s’iem.
Mr. Speaker: Thank you very much, Mr. Sam, for opening our proceedings today. The
Legislative Assembly will continue to reflect on the responsibility to acknowledge
the grounds on which we are privileged to gather.
I now invite Elder Shirley Alphonse of the T’Sou-ke Nation to offer a
blessing.
S. Alphonse: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for inviting me to do this for
you.
Creator, Great Spirit, as we gather here today, we say thank you. Thank you
for each one here: our Lieutenant-Governor, our Premier, our elected members of the
Legislature.
The prayer I’m sharing is from my earth prayers book.
We call upon earth, our planet home, with its beautiful depths and soaring
heights, its vitality and abundance of life. Together, we ask: “Teach us. Show us the
way.”
We call upon the mountains — the Cascades and the Olympics, the high green
valleys and meadows filled with wildflowers, the snow that never melts, the summit of
intense silence — and we ask: “Teach us. Show us the way.”
We call upon the waters that ring the earth, horizon to horizon, that flow in
our rivers and streams, that fall upon our gardens and fields, and we ask: “Teach us.
Show us the way.”
We call upon the land which grows our food — the nurturing soil, the fertile
fields, the abundant gardens and orchards — and we ask: “Teach us. Show us the
way.”
We call upon the forests, the great trees reaching strongly to the sky with
earth in their roots and the heavens in their branches — the fir, the pine, the cedar
— and we ask: “Teach us. Show us the way.”
We call upon the creatures of the fields and the forests and the seas, our
brothers and sisters — the wolves and the deer, the eagle and the dove, the great
whale and the dolphin, the beautiful orca and the salmon — who share our northwest
home. We ask: “Teach us. Show us the way.”
Creator, Great Spirit, we call upon those who have lived on this earth, our
ancestors and our friends, who dreamed the best for future generations and upon whose
lives our lives are built. With thanksgiving, we call upon them: “Teach us. Show us
the way.”
[2:10 p.m.]
Creator, Great Spirit, as we go forward with our work, we acknowledge the
courage, the hard work, the strength and the care of our front-line workers. We thank
them, with gratitude and gratefulness, for helping us to remain resilient and to be
able to recover from these challenging times.
We lift up our hands to you.
HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM.
Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Elder Alphonse, for your wise and generous words today. Thank you
so much. We are so honoured that you’ve joined us here today.
Hon. Members, Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor is in the precinct. Please
remain seated while we wait for her to arrive.
Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor requested to attend the House, was admitted
to the chamber and was pleased to deliver the following gracious Speech from the
Throne.
Speech from the Throne
Hon. J. Austin (Lieutenant-Governor): Please be seated.
ÍY SȻÁĆEL NE SĆÁLEĆE. ÍY, C̸NES QENOṈE
ṮÁ.
Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker and hon. Members.
Premier, welcome back. We are all so, so very pleased to see you
today.
I want to express my thanks to Elder Shirley Alphonse of the T’Sou-ke
Nation for the gift of a traditional blessing, and to Eugene Sam of the Songhees
Nation for providing the territorial acknowledgment and starting us off in a good
way.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the
Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ peoples, the Songhees
and Esquimalt, upon whose traditional territory we gather today.
ÍY SȻÁĆEL NE
SĆÁLEĆE.
It is my honour to deliver the Speech from the Throne outlining your
government’s plans to build a stronger B.C. by continuing to help people get
through these challenging times.
[2:15 p.m.]
British Columbians have endured a year unlike any other. From rebuilding
after the fires and floods, to getting through this difficult wave of the global
pandemic, to building the strongest economy in Canada, we have shown we can
accomplish anything by working together. Though we have much work to do, brighter
days are ahead.
This year we celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee.
For 70 years, Her Majesty has served Canada and the Commonwealth with steadfast
purpose, dignity, wisdom and grace. Queen Elizabeth II holds a special place in
the hearts of many. She has been present for many important moments in our
province’s history, including B.C.’s centennial celebration in 1971, the
groundbreaking of Canada Place in 1983, the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in 1994
and her most recent visit in celebration of the golden jubilee in 2002.
Her Majesty’s ambition to conserve forests for future generations has
resulted in B.C.’s jewel, the Great Bear Rainforest, being placed under the
Queen’s Commonwealth canopy.
We are grateful to Her Majesty for her lifetime of service. The platinum
jubilee is an opportunity to honour her commitment and dedication as Queen of
Canada.
As has become our tradition, we open the third session of the 42nd
parliament by remembering some of the prominent British Columbians we have lost
over the last year. First, let us pause to reflect on the thousands of British
Columbians who were taken too soon this year by COVID-19, by the toxic drug supply
and by extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis, including this
summer’s heat dome.
We also mourn Indigenous leaders Ron George, Jack Planes, Sophie Ogen, Bill
Blackwater Jr., Edwin Newman, Lillian Howard, Sarah Robinson and Earl Muldon,
named in the landmark Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision.
We mourn philanthropists, including Asa Singh Johal, and humanitarians,
including Shashi Assanand.
We mourn labour activist Soren Bech, landscape architect Cornelia
Oberlander, wildlife conservationist Ray Demarchi, environmentalist Norm Fletcher,
North Shore Rescue co-founder Karl Winter, United We Can co-founder Ken Lyotier
and Cherry Kingsley, an advocate for sexually exploited youth.
We mourn sports figures, including baseball’s Amanda Asay, Olympic champion
rower Donald Arnold and sportswriter Kent Gilchrist.
We mourn those from medicine and health care, including Dr. Madeline Chung,
who delivered more than 7,000 babies as the province’s first woman obstetrician
and gynecologist as well as the first of Chinese descent.
We mourn those elected members who once served in this Legislature: Thomas
Waterland, David Mercier, Gerry Strongman, Allan Warnke, Daniel Jarvis, Frank
Mitchell and Thomas Berger.
We also mourn local leaders, like former mayors Philip Owen of Vancouver,
Graeme Roberts of Nanaimo and Michael Coleman of Duncan.
We mourn many in arts and culture, among them theatre’s Norman
Young, writer Lee Maracle, jazz guitarist Jim Kilburn, violinist Jeanne Lamon, the
artists Jo Manning and Johnson Su-sing Chow and the poet Phyllis Webb. Their works
live on.
To everyone who has lost a loved one this year, we acknowledge and
share in your grief.
Grief marked our year in profound ways. We were horrified and heartbroken
to learn that 215 children were buried in unmarked graves on the grounds of the
former Kamloops residential school. Soon after, we learned of other mass
gravesites, including 182 in Cranbrook and 160 on Penelakut Island; most recently,
preliminary findings of another 93 potential burial sites near Williams
Lake.
These are not numbers. Each one is a child with a name forever taken from
their family and the community that loved them.
While the consequences of these atrocities continue to this day, the
healing is beginning. The former residential school in Lower Post has been
demolished to make way for a new multipurpose community cultural
centre.
Your government is working to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous
kids in B.C.’s child welfare system and to return Indigenous people’s inherent
jurisdiction over child welfare.
[2:20 p.m.]
New partnerships are also starting to address the disproportionate
representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system, and landmark
reforms are ensuring First Nations share meaningfully in the prosperity of the
land they have lived on since time immemorial. This is a step towards
reconciliation. It is a core principle that will continue to guide every decision
your government takes.
This session your government will build on the historic, unanimous passage
of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in this Legislature,
working to implement an action plan drafted in collaboration with Indigenous
peoples. It will not always be easy, and we have a long way to go, but we can work
to heal the wounds of the past and build a better future if we move forward
together in partnership.
To say the last year has been challenging would be an understatement.
Extreme weather events claimed lives and devastated communities, and just when
life was starting to return to some sense of normalcy, a new and highly contagious
variant of COVID-19 began to spread.
At a time when these same challenges have increased polarization and
division around the world, people here in B.C. have pulled together. We got
vaccinated in record numbers. We trusted science and listened to public health
advice. Above all, we looked out for each other when things got tough.
During the flooding, people in Surrey’s Sikh community cooked meals and
chartered a plane and a helicopter to deliver food to those isolated. Hundreds of
roadbuilders and engineers worked flat out in challenging circumstances and
allowed us to reopen the Coquihalla in remarkable time.
Throughout the pandemic, people in social services and the non-profit
sector worked selflessly to support the most vulnerable. This is who we are. We
are all aware of our natural beauty and abundant resources, but B.C.’s greatest
strength is our people. From the moment your government was first elected, the
focus has been on investing in people who make our province strong. It improved
public services and worked to bring down the cost of living.
When a global pandemic hit, it responded with bold action to support
British Columbians. It acted quickly to help keep people working, protect those
who lost their jobs and provide a lifeline to small businesses from tourism
operators to corner store owners to taxi drivers. When wildfires and flooding
devastated communities, your government was guided by the same values, providing
help to people on the ground who needed it the most.
Putting people first has helped us build the strongest economic recovery in
the country. More than 100,000 new jobs were created here last year. In fact, more
people in B.C. are working now than when the pandemic first struck. Wages continue
to rise, child poverty has been cut by more than 50 percent from 2016 levels, and
85,000 people moved here from other provinces and countries in the first three
quarters of last year alone — evidence that B.C. remains one of the best places on
the planet to live and raise a family.
While your government has laid the foundation to help us come out of these
challenging times stronger and more resilient, yet more needs to be done. Many
families are feeling squeezed and worried about rising inflation. Businesses and
communities need help to recover and rebuild. People are exhausted and concerned
about what the future has in store.
Your government will be there for you every step of the way, as it has been
from day one. Over the coming year, it will take concrete actions to support
people, to make life more affordable and build an economic recovery where no one
is left behind. In the months ahead, your government’s top priority will continue
to be keeping people healthy and safe through the rest of the pandemic.
It can be easy to forget how far we have come. Two years ago, the first
confirmed case of the novel coronavirus had just reached Canada. When I addressed
this Legislature a year later, one million British Columbians had had their first
shot of a safe and effective vaccine.
Today more than four million people in B.C. have received at least
two doses. Thanks to the guidance of Dr. Bonnie Henry, the incredible work of our
health care heroes and everyone who rolled up their sleeves, British Columbia has
one of the lowest per-capita fatality rates from COVID-19 and one of the highest
vaccination rates on the continent.
[2:25 p.m.]
We kept our health care system going through the most challenging times it
has ever seen. We kept schools safely open, and we came back together with family
and friends. Vaccines remain our best weapon in the fight against the virus.
Vaccinated people are many times less likely to end up in intensive care units, in
the hospital or pass away from COVID-19 than unvaccinated people.
That’s why your government will continue taking the next steps in the
largest immunization rollout in our province’s history. This includes
getting more booster shots into arms and ensuring more children aged five to 11
are registered for a safe pediatric dose. As it has from the beginning of the
pandemic, B.C. will continue to have public health experts leading our
response.
Making sure people can stay home when they are sick is another key part of
stopping the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. For too long, many British
Columbians had to choose between going to work sick or losing wages. Not anymore.
Your government made changes to ensure workers in B.C. have access to a minimum of
five paid sick days every year — the most of any province in Canada.
In the year ahead, additional actions will be taken to make workplaces in
B.C. the safest in the country. These will include improvements to workers
compensation and new rules to keep workers safe from the deadly consequences of
exposure to asbestos.
Even as your government has focused on managing the pandemic, it has worked
to improve health care for people in every part of British Columbia. The goal from
the beginning has been to deliver better care faster and closer to where you live.
While there are still too many people in B.C. who need a family doctor and our
health care system has been strained by the pandemic, important progress is being
made.
New urgent and primary care centres are making it easier for people to see
a doctor or other health care professional when they need to. Hospitals are being
built, modernized and expanded throughout B.C. Thousands of health care workers
have been hired over the past two years, 6,000 of them to care for seniors in
long-term-care homes or assisted living, and we are performing more surgeries and
diagnostic tests by optimizing space and investing in more MRI scanners where they
are needed the most.
The pandemic has shown us just how important health care is to people. At
the same time, it has exposed underlying gaps and will add long-lasting
challenges. When governments in Canada first came together to lay the foundations
of universal public health care, it was a 50-50 partnership. Today, the provinces
are paying nearly 80 percent of health care costs. If nothing is done, our share
of the cost will keep increasing. This is not sustainable.
As chair of the Council of the Federation, your government will continue to
lead an effort to secure a renewed partnership with Ottawa on health care
investments. This is an important opportunity to work together with other
provinces and our federal partners to protect and strengthen universal public
health care from coast to coast to coast so we can afford to continue modernizing
and improving care for people.
The loneliness and isolation of the last two years has also taken an
enormous toll on many people’s mental health. Through it all, your government has
taken action to make sure more people can access the support they need. It has
increased funding for free and affordable counselling programs, made it easier to
find support through enhanced virtual services and made historic investments in
treatment and recovery. B.C. became the first province in Canada to offer a
prescribed safe supply — a critical step to prevent overdoses from toxic
drugs.
At the same time as your government builds up supports, it is also working
to tear down the stigma that can come with addiction. Last year, B.C. applied to
the federal government to remove criminal penalties for people who possess small
amounts of illicit drugs for personal use and will continue to press for federal
leadership. There is no doubt we have much more to do.
We are building a comprehensive system of treatment and care in B.C. where
one did not exist just five years ago. In the year ahead, your government will
continue this groundbreaking work, including investments in a new housing model to
meet the needs of those with serious, complex mental health and addiction issues
whose needs have not been met with existing health and housing services in their
communities.
In the last two years, we have seen just how important in-person, in-class
learning is for our children’s mental health and intellectual growth. Keeping
schools open is essential for families, not just for kids but also parents who get
up every morning to go to work.
[2:30 p.m.]
Schools provide important support for the most vulnerable kids, like meal
programs, and they act as community hubs, especially in times of crisis. That’s
why British Columbia was one of the first jurisdictions in the country to reopen
schools and one of the few to keep them open throughout the pandemic. New
investments, strong health guidelines and high vaccination rates mean B.C. schools
are safe and supported places for school staff and students.
Ensuring kids get the best possible start in life has been a priority since
the beginning. Over the last four years, record funding for education has helped
B.C. schools hire thousands of new teachers and education assistants.
In September, thousands of students returned to safer and modernized
classrooms at 16 new or improved schools throughout the province. That included
Langley’s Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary. Named after a member of the Kwantlen
First Nation who dedicated her career to education in the district, the school
also includes 100 new child care spaces.
These investments in schools and teachers will continue to increase as
enrolment grows.
While public services are being strengthened, your government is also
making them more inclusive. It is working to remove barriers for people living
with disabilities and to provide better care, earlier, for more children with
support needs. It has ensured gender designation on provincial ID cards for
two-spirit, transgender and gender-diverse people can now be changed
without doctor verification.
Your government will introduce new antiracism data legislation this
session, helping to pave the way to a fairer and better delivery of
services.
While our work to make B.C. more inclusive is rooted in building a stronger
future for everyone, we must recognize our shared history. In the days ahead, your
government will take a major step towards establishing the first Chinese-Canadian
museum in Canada. It will be a beacon of light in Vancouver’s
Chinatown.
The long-overdue process to modernize the Royal B.C. Museum will also
continue, with more details on the scope and budget to be decided in the coming
months. Once complete, the RBCM’s exhibits will continue to tell the story of our
past, but it will include everyone in these stories, especially communities that
were previously overlooked, ignored or left out.
In addition to strengthening public services, your government has also made
choices that help make things a little easier for people in their everyday lives.
Instead of giving tax cuts to the wealthiest, it gave middle-class families the
largest break in a generation by ending expensive medical premiums. Interest on
student loans and bridge tolls in the Lower Mainland have also been eliminated.
And 300,000 families are receiving the child opportunity benefit, putting
thousands of dollars back into the pockets of those with kids under 18 years
old.
Despite the progress made, many people are still feeling squeezed. B.C. is
an incredibly desirable place to live. That can also make it an expensive one. The
pandemic has only made it more difficult for many, and that’s why your government
will continue taking steps to make life more affordable.
Millions of drivers are benefiting from the biggest ICBC rate reduction for
car insurance in B.C. history, saving people an average of almost $500. Hundreds
of thousands of families will benefit from free public transit for kids under
People living on low incomes will continue to benefit from the first-ever
increase to the seniors supplement and the largest-ever increase to social
assistance. The lowest-wage workers will benefit from a minimum wage that has gone
from one of the lowest in the country to the highest among provinces at $15.20 an
hour.
In the months ahead, your government will take action to tie minimum-wage
increases to the rate of inflation so B.C. workers do not get left
behind.
The pandemic shone a light on how important reliable, affordable child care
is. It gives kids an early start on the path to learning, and it helps parents
return to work and pursue opportunities.
For too long, investing in child care was not the priority it should have
been. Many parents felt left behind by rising fees and long waiting lists. Your
government has been working hard to change that. Families are already benefiting
from the thousands of new spaces and saving up to $19,000 a year in lower
fees.
[2:35 p.m.]
Your government will build on the progress made by more than doubling
$10-a-day spaces and reducing average fees by as much as 50 percent by the end of
this year.
Our province is closer than ever to having the first new social program in
a generation, a future where child care is a core service available to every
family that wants it, when they need it, at a price they can afford.
As part of that work, your government will move responsibility for
child care into the Ministry of Education this year, which will manage child care
programs through new regional offices. This new regional approach will allow your
government to better understand local needs as it continues to build more spaces
for families. Over time, this will bring certainty and reliability to child care,
the same way that parents feel knowing that they have a public school to send
their children to.
Your government has also worked hard to tackle rising housing prices and
help people find safe, affordable homes. It banned renovictions and cracked down
on speculation. It froze rent increases during the pandemic and capped them to
inflation. It moved people from entrenched homeless encampments in cities across
the province into safer housing, and it is building 8,000 new on-campus student
housing beds.
After years where speculators and big developers were put before people, we
are seeing signs of progress. Since 2017, 52,000 new rental homes have been
registered in B.C. That’s more than the previous 15 years combined.
The fact is people are still struggling to buy or rent here in British
Columbia. The biggest challenge is housing supply. With thousands of new people
moving into our province every month, that challenge is only growing, and your
government is determined to tackle it head on. It is making more low-cost
financing available to encourage building homes that middle-class families can
afford. It is making the largest investment in affordable housing in B.C.’s
history, with 32,000 homes built or on the way already.
In the year ahead, the province will work with local governments to speed
up approvals and seek new tools to curb speculation, moving more underutilized
units into the market. This spring, it will introduce a cooling-off period on home
purchases to protect people when they are buying a home, especially in a volatile
market.
For British Columbians, there is simply nothing more important than
protecting the place we call home for our children and grandchildren. We share a
deep connection to the clean water, abundant forests and rich farmland around us.
Our province’s landscape is a source of beauty, food and economic opportunities,
but the things we cherish most are at risk like never before.
The climate emergency is here. If there was ever any doubt, the extreme
weather events of this summer and fall should have erased them for good. The
impacts are all around us. People in Lytton lost their homes and community to
wildfires, farmers on the Sumas Prairie lost crops and livestock to the flooding,
and people in every part of B.C. lost their lives to last summer’s heat
dome.
The scale of the climate crisis we are living through demands that we act
with greater urgency, both in the short term and over the long haul. The most
pressing priority is helping communities recover and rebuild from recent extreme
weather.
Once again, your government has your back. It is providing supports
to people who have been evacuated from their homes, including temporary housing,
food and clothing and helping repair highways. Working with the federal
government, B.C.’s government has developed the largest financial recovery package
ever to help farmers who have suffered losses due to flooding return land to
production and support British Columbia’s food security in the years
ahead.
At the same time, climate change compels us to adapt how we plan and
prepare for natural disasters, ensuring infrastructure is climate-resilient, built
to withstand future events. Your government understands communities can’t do this
on their own. That’s why it will work with local governments to support recovery
efforts with new investments so they can not only rebuild but rebuild stronger
than ever.
Continuing to upgrade rapid transit, roads and bridges around the province
is key to building stronger, more resilient communities. That’s why your
government has committed to bringing the SkyTrain all the way to Langley and has
secured a major investment from the federal government to help make it a reality.
When built, it will be the first rapid transit expansion south of the Fraser River
in three decades.
[2:40 p.m.]
Work will also continue on the Broadway subway extension, replacements for
the Massey Tunnel and Pattullo Bridge as well as the fourth and final phase of the
Kicking Horse Canyon.
Taken together, these projects will create thousands of jobs, reduce carbon
pollution and cut commute times so families spend less time in traffic and more
time together.
Three years ago your government introduced CleanBC, an internationally
recognized climate plan that is one of the strongest in North America. In that
time, B.C. has set sectoral emission targets for the biggest polluters while we
work with industry to protect jobs and competitiveness. We have legislated strong
climate targets to reduce pollution and increase accountability. It is now easier
than ever for people and businesses to switch from fossil fuels to clean,
made-in-B.C. energy solutions.
Last fall your government took the next step by launching CleanBC Roadmap
to 2030. It is a plan that builds on the progress we have made, with new measures
to keep us on track to meeting our Paris targets in 2030 and reaching net zero by
2050. Critically, it will encourage innovation of clean alternatives by making
them more available and affordable to British Columbians. This includes helping
homeowners reduce costs, with rebates on heat pumps, and plans to expand B.C.’s EV
charging network, building on our strength as a leader in electric
vehicles.
Over the coming year, your government will take additional steps to lower
emissions. Communities will benefit from increased investments to strengthen
capacity and build critical projects to reduce pollution and expand
opportunities.
A comprehensive review of the province’s oil and gas royalty system will
seek to eliminate outdated and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Under B.C.’s new
hydrogen strategy, we will build on our strengths to make our province a
world leader in the low-carbon hydrogen economy.
Another key to tackling and mitigating the effects of climate change is to
protect B.C.’s forests and their sensitive ecosystems. Our forests are part of who
we are as British Columbians. B.C. is leading the country in reforestation,
planting more than one billion trees since 2018, including more than 300 million
last year.
Your government is breaking with the divisive approach of the past and
bringing people together to protect forests for future generations. A cornerstone
of this new vision for forest care is a plan to work with First Nations to defer
harvesting within 2.6 million hectares of our most at-risk old-growth forests.
This is an area equal to 6,400 Stanley Parks. Deferrals will prevent irreversible
biodiversity loss while a new approach to sustainable forest management that
prioritizes ecosystem health and increased community control is
developed.
Progress is already being made. Just last month
N a nwa k olas Council and Western Forest Products worked
together to defer the harvest of thousands of hectares of old growth on Vancouver
Island.
As deferrals are made, your government is making sure the people affected
are cared for. It is investing in skills training to help workers and their
families and providing rural communities with on-the-ground support services.
Forestry is and will remain a foundation of B.C.’s economy. Your government wants
to ensure it is sustainable for the long term.
Recent legislative changes will increase opportunities for First Nations
and ensure more benefits are felt by local communities while promoting greater
value-added manufacturing like mass timber. In the year ahead, your government
will continue investing in mass timber projects for everything from student
housing and new health care facilities to fire halls and cultural
centres.
Stewardship and management of B.C.’s lands and resources are two of
your government’s greatest responsibilities. But administration and oversight of
our province’s coast, land, rivers and mountains have failed to keep pace
with new realities. The cumulative effects of economic activity must align with
environmental objectives. Approval processes for projects must be
transparent, timely and fair.
Most critically, B.C.’s commitment to reconciliation must come to life
through the consultation, collaboration and co-management of land and resources
envisioned in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. In the
coming months, your government will launch a new ministry, created after more than
a year of planning, to support those goals.
[2:45 p.m.]
Despite the disruptions of the past few years, B.C. remains a
national economic leader. We have a strong business climate with low unemployment.
We enjoy a strategic location as a gateway to Asia and a port to the United
States. The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest, and a planned expansion in
Prince Rupert could make it the country’s second busiest this year.
We have a government that is helping people succeed in an economy where
business is increasingly conducted online. Record funding has connected thousands
of people to better high-speed Internet in hundreds of rural, remote and
Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia.
In a tumultuous world, B.C.’s combination of high environmental standards,
skilled labour and partnerships with First Nations is providing certainty and
attracting strong investment from around the world.
Take mining as one example. The $4.3 billion investment by world-class
Newcrest Mining in B.C. demonstrates strong investor confidence. Mining
exploration in B.C. last year exceeded $600 million, an increase of 50 percent
over the previous year and the highest level since 2012.
Or take life sciences as another example. B.C. companies are helping to
solve major challenges around the world while attracting talent and investment to
our province. Last year B.C. experienced a surge in private technology start-ups
valued at more than $1 billion.
In fact, 2021 was one of the best years ever for raising capital by B.C.
companies. This year InBC, a new $500 million strategic investment fund, will
begin investing in high-growth potential businesses to help them expand while
anchoring skilled jobs and intellectual property right here in British
Columbia.
Growing the economy is not an end in itself. If people are not feeling the
benefits of a growing economy, then we can’t say it’s working.
In the coming days, your government will release a new vision for building
a strong economy. It is based on feedback from British Columbians from every
region of the province and from all walks of life. They have told us that they
want economic growth that is shared by everyone.
B.C.’s new economic plan will aim to grow the economy with purpose, to help
solve big challenges like inequality and climate change, with growth that is
inclusive and sustainable. These twin goals will guide your government’s plan to
foster the high-skill, low-carbon economy of tomorrow.
The recently released Labour Market Outlook estimates B.C. will
have more than one million job openings in the next ten years. Almost 80 percent
of these will require post-secondary education or training. The rapid pace of
change in our economy will require B.C.’s workforce to acquire new skills and
knowledge to keep pace. This is both a challenge and an opportunity.
Even after accounting for young people entering the labour market, and
immigration, B.C. still faces a skills gap large enough to slow down our strong
economy if that challenge is not met. While your government has taken action to
address the challenge by creating thousands of new post-secondary spaces and
reducing barriers to education, more must be done. That’s why the new economic
plan will include a generational commitment to develop the talent B.C. needs to
close that skills gap.
This commitment will also be reflected in a new workforce readiness plan,
to be released later this year. It will connect workers with skills and businesses
with talent. It will be guided by your government’s core principle that people are
our economy, because every aspect of the economy is supported by working
people.
The last two years have driven home how fragile our supply chains can be.
The disruptions have highlighted the importance of something we often take for
granted: the food we eat. We are lucky to have incredible bounty here in our
backyard.
Food is a huge part of our economy. Between the people who grow and produce
it and those who get it to grocery stores, tens of thousands work to put food on
our plates. That’s why your government’s new economic plan will improve the
movement of goods in and out of our province and grow B.C.’s thriving agriculture
and agritech sector.
In two weeks, your government will deliver its next budget. This one will
again choose to invest in people. It will continue to respond to the immediate
effects of the pandemic and extreme weather that are still with us today. It will
build on our strengths to prepare us for the challenges and opportunities of
tomorrow.
[2:50 p.m.]
New investments will be coming, to make child care more available and
affordable, to get more people connected to high-speed Internet, to train people
for the jobs of tomorrow and to help us better fight climate change while we
protect communities from climate-related disasters.
Your government knows that we can’t cut our way to a better future.
Building a strong economy is not about pulling back. It is about leaning in to
make life better for people. The extraordinary events of the last few years have
taught us many lessons. One of the most important is our capacity to overcome big
challenges when we work together and lift each other up. During the extreme
weather this summer and fall, we saw examples all around us.
Think of those still grieving on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First
Nation, who nevertheless opened their homes and hearts to people fleeing
wildfires, or the owners of a small restaurant in Hope who served breakfast to
people who were stuck when floodwaters washed away sections of the highway, or the
farmer who went to buy supplies after losing his home to flooding, only to have
the store’s staff tell him there would be no charge for his purchases.
This is the kind of kindness and generosity that will help us recover and
rebuild stronger than ever. We have been through a lot together. No doubt, there
will be more challenges ahead. But if we look out for each other, we have shown we
can overcome anything that gets thrown our way.
As we begin this legislative session, your government will be right there
to support you. It will continue to build a stronger B.C. for everyone by putting
people first, just as it has since day one.
I guess, finally, my personal message to all of you is one of gratitude —
gratitude for your tireless work and your leadership through what has surely been
one of the most challenging periods in our history, gratitude for your love of
British Columbia and for all its people and gratitude for your splendid service
and for the many sacrifices you make for the privilege of serving all of
us.
I wish you all the very best and look forward to the next year.
HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM. Thank you so
much.
Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor retired from the chamber.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, in order to prevent mistakes, I have obtained a copy of Her
Honour the Lieutenant-Governor’s speech.
Introduction and
First Reading of Bills
BILL 1 —
AN ACT TO ENSURE
THE SUPREMACY OF
PARLIAMENT
Hon. D. Eby presented a bill intituled
An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of
Parliament.
Hon. D. Eby: I move that Bill 1, intituled
An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of
Parliament, be introduced and read a first time now.
The introduction of this bill, prior to consideration of the Speech from
the Throne, expresses the established right of parliament, through its elected
members, to deliberate independently of the Sovereign. As such, it is an
important part of our parliamentary democratic process.
It’s my honour as Attorney General to introduce this bill of traditional
and symbolic importance at the opening of each new session. It’s my duty to
bring to this House’s attention a change in the historic context traditionally
offered upon introduction of this bill.
[2:55 p.m.]
Historians and parliamentary authorities agree that parliament’s right
to deliberate independently of the Sovereign right was likely first asserted by
the Parliament at Westminster in 1558 and later formalized through a resolution
of the House of Commons on March 22, 1604.
With great appreciation to Mr. Lucas Kam, I would like to note for the
record that my discussion of the context for our pro forma bill reflects the
correction of an inaccuracy which was recently brought to my attention by Mr.
Kam.
Past first reading remarks stated that the Parliament at Westminster
first asserted its right to deliberate independently of the Sovereign in the
year 1603, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The reason for the reference
to 1603 and to Elizabeth I is most likely due to an oversight in converting
dates from the Julian calendar, in use in the United Kingdom during the 1600s,
to the modern Gregorian calendar.
The Westminster Parliament’s journal entry for March 22, 1603, under the
Julian calendar should be converted to the modern standard of March 22, 1604,
by which date James I had ascended the throne.
Now, Mr. Kam is a student at the University of Victoria faculty of law
with a keen interest in history, obviously.
Many thanks to Mr. Kam for his assistance, bringing our attention to the
appropriate context for our Bill 1 practice.
Mr. Speaker: Members, the question is introduction and first reading of Bill 1,
intituled
An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament.
Motion approved.
Hon. D. Eby: I move the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at
the next sitting of the House after today.
Bill 1,
An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament, 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.
Motions Without Notice
SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR PROCEEDINGS
OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Hon. M. Farnworth: By leave, I move the adoption of the sessional order establishing
special procedures respecting the regulation of the conduct of
proceedings of the Legislative Assembly in exceptional circumstances, COVID-19
pandemic, a copy of which has been provided to each caucus.
[That, for the remainder of the current Session:
GENERAL
1. As an exercise of the Legislative Assembly’s exclusive right to
regulate its own internal affairs as they relate to its legislative and
deliberative functions, including control over the conduct of its proceedings,
the use of videoconferencing technology be authorized to enable all Members to
be present in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly through remote
participation, counting toward quorum, while other Members continue to be
present physically in the Legislative Chamber, thereby enabling hybrid
proceedings of the House.
2. Zoom be approved as the videoconferencing technology platform for the
purposes of supporting hybrid proceedings of the House.
QUORUM AND ATTENDANCE
3. Members who are participating in the House’s proceedings by the
approved videoconferencing technology be counted as present for the purposes of
the quorum of ten Members, as set out in
section 42 of the Constitution
Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 66) and Standing Order 6, and for the purposes
of determining a majority of votes as set out in
section 43 of the
Constitution Act .
4. Members who are participating in the House’s proceedings by the
approved videoconferencing technology must have the audio and video functions
enabled with their face clearly visible in order to be counted towards quorum,
to participate in debate, and to vote.
DIVISIONS
5. Standing Order 16 (2) be amended by substituting the following: When a
division has been called, the division bells shall be rung forthwith. Not
sooner than 5, nor longer than 10 minutes thereafter, the Speaker shall again
state the question. No Member shall enter or leave the House or Committee of
the Whole after the final statement of the question until the division has been
fully taken, and every Member present shall vote. No Member participating
remotely shall connect to or disconnect from the approved videoconferencing
technology after the final statement of the question until the division has
been fully taken.
DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
6. Any Standing Order requiring that a document be “handed in” or “laid
upon the Table” or transmitted by other similar physical means be interpreted
to include the transmission of a document by approved electronic
means.
7. The transmission of a document by the Office of the Clerk to all
Members by electronic means constitute for all purposes the distribution and
delivery of that document, regardless of whether a Member has received the
document.
8. Notwithstanding the usual practices of the House, petitions presented
to the House may include signatures collected through electronic means, and
that the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly or her designate be authorized to
exercise reasonable discretion in the
interpretation of admissibility of an
electronic petition and its compliance with Standing Order 73 and Appendix A of
the Standing Orders.
SPEAKER’S DISCRETION
9. For greater certainty, the Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion
on the applicability of Standing Order 17A as it may relate to the facilitation
of participation of Members in proceedings of the House.
10. For greater certainty and further to Standing Order 19 and Standing
Order 20, the Speaker be empowered to intervene on any matter of decorum on the
Speaker’s own initiative or on a point of order raised by a Member, including
by muting a Member’s microphone and excluding Members from the sitting in cases
of serious misconduct.
11. The Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion in the
interpretation
of the provisions of any Standing Order requiring Members to stand or speak in
their assigned place as this requirement may relate to Members participating
via the approved videoconferencing technology and to Members participating in
person in the Legislative Chamber.
12. The Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion, in consultation with
the House Leaders or the Whips, in the
interpretation of any provision of the
Standing Orders or this order that may require leniency or alteration in order
to allow all Members to be able to fully exercise their duties and rights in
the proceedings of this House conducted in a hybrid manner.
OTHER
13. Should any provision contained in this order be inconsistent with the
Standing Orders, the provision in this order prevails to the extent of the
inconsistency.]
Leave granted.
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, as the sessional order authorizing hybrid sitting has now
been adopted by the House, any members joining us remotely are now able to
participate in today’s proceedings.
Motions
APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER
Hon. M. Farnworth: I move, seconded by the member for Kamloops–South Thompson electoral
district:
[That Spencer Chandra-Herbert , Member for Vancouver–West End
Electoral District, be appointed Deputy Speaker for this Session of the
Legislative Assembly.]
Motion approved.
APPOINTMENT OF
ASSISTANT DEPUTY SPEAKER
T. Stone: I move, seconded by the hon. Government House Leader:
[That Jackie Tegart , Member for Fraser-Nicola Electoral District,
be appointed Assistant Deputy Speaker for this Session of the Legislative
Assembly.]
Motion approved.
APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIR,
COMMITTEE OF THE
WHOLE
Hon. M. Farnworth: I move, seconded by the member for Kamloops–South Thompson electoral
district:
[That Ronna-Rae Leonard , Member for Courtenay-Comox Electoral
District, be appointed Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole for this
Session of the Legislative Assembly.]
Motion approved.
PRINTING OF Votes and Proceedings
Hon. D. Eby: I move:
[That the Votes and Proceedings of this House be printed, being
first perused by the Honourable Speaker, and that he do appoint the printing
thereof, and that no person but such as he shall appoint do presume to print
the same.]
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Premier.
APPOINTMENT OF
SELECT STANDING
COMMITTEES
Hon. J. Horgan: Thank you, hon. Speaker. [Applause.]
Never before have the standing committees had so much
enthusiasm.
[3:00 p.m.]
While I’m on my feet, I would be remiss in not thanking every single one
of you who have been sending me your good wishes and love over the past number
of months. I couldn’t have done it without you. More importantly, my spouse,
Ellie, wants to thank you all as well. We’ve done this together.
I want to particularly highlight a citizen who lives in the member for
Shuswap’s constituency — I’ll just call him Tony — who, among many, many
people, sent me a note, as I was entering into treatment, to advise me that he
was three weeks ahead of me. He was characterized by us as the ghost of
Christmas yet to come. He kept us informed on how his progress was going, and
we exchanged emails back and forth throughout.
It was a comfort to have a cancer buddy from Shuswap.
Tony, I don’t know if you’ll ever see this. I hope we get to meet one
day. Your notes were inspirational to me.
With that, I move:
[That the Select Standing Committees of this House, for the present
Session, be appointed for the following purposes:
1. Aboriginal Affairs;
2. Education;
3. Finance and Government Services;
4. Health;
5. Public Accounts;
6. Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and
Private Bills;
7. Crown Corporations;
8. Children and Youth;
9. Agriculture, Fish and Food;
which said Committees shall severally be empowered to examine and inquire
into all such matters and things as shall be referred to them by this House,
and to report from time to time their observations and opinions thereon, with
power to send for persons, papers, and records, and that a Special Committee be
appointed to prepare and report with all convenient speed lists of members to
compose the above Select Standing Committees of this House under Standing Order
68 (1), the Committee to be composed of the Hon. Mike Farnworth
(Convener), Hon. Lisa Beare, Jagrup Brar, Garry Begg, Michele Babchuk, Niki
Sharma, Todd Stone, Coralee Oakes, Doug Clovechok , and Sonia
Furstenau .]
Motion approved.
Question of Privilege
(Reservation of Right)
A. Olsen: I rise today to reserve my right to raise a question of privilege relating
to contradictory statements of the Minister of Citizens’ Services that were made
with the intent of deliberately misleading this House.
Mr. Speaker: So noted. Thank you, Member.
Hon. M. Farnworth moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 tomorrow afternoon.
The House adjourned at 3:02 p.m.
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