Second Session, 41st Parliament

(2017) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Friday, September 8, 2017

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 11

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

Appointment of Deputy Speaker

Appointment of Assistant Deputy Speaker

Appointment of Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole

Printing of Votes and Proceedings

Appointment of Select Standing Committees

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

The House met at 2:02 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

This being the first day of the second session of the 41st Legislative

Assembly of the province of British Columbia for the dispatch of business, pursuant

to a proclamation of the Hon. Judith Guichon, Lieutenant-Governor of the province,

hon. members took their seats.

Mr. Speaker: Members, I call on elder Shirley Alphonse, T’Sou-ke Nation, to say

prayers.

S. Alphonse: [SENĆOŦEN was spoken.] Creator, Great Spirit, as we gather here this

afternoon, we say thank you. Thank you for our breath of life, the air we

breathe, the water we drink. Thank you for the blessings of Mother Earth, the

beauty of our mountains, rivers, streams, the life-giving oceans.

Thank you for family, for friends. Thank you for all those who protect our

communities across these lands. Thank you for each one of you here. May we all

walk together as one — one mind, one spirit — in harmony and peace with Mother

Earth and with one another, for the sake of our children, our future keepers of

the land, and for the sake of those to come behind us.

[SENĆOŦEN was spoken.]

Mr. Speaker: On behalf of all Members of the Legislative Assembly, I would like to

welcome the many distinguished guests, friends and family joining us today.

Thank you for being with us this afternoon.

Hon. Members, Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor is in the precinct.

Please remain seated while we await her arrival.

[2:05 p.m.]

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor requested to attend the House, was

admitted to the chamber and took her seat on the throne.

Speech from the Throne

Hon. J. Guichon (Lieutenant-Governor): I wish to acknowledge the wisdom, culture and traditions of our

province’s First Peoples and to thank T’Sou-ke elder Shirley Alphonse for

providing opening prayers for us this afternoon.

We gather in the people’s House on the traditional territories of the

Lekwungen-speaking peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt First

Nations.

As we open a new session of the Legislative Assembly, our thoughts and

our hearts are with the people in the Interior, where communities are

fighting the worst wildfire season our province has ever seen. More than

1,200 fires have burned 1.1 million hectares of land, an area four times the

size of Metro Vancouver or one-third of the size of Vancouver Island.

Thousands of people were forced from their homes, and thousands more have

yet to return, not knowing what awaits them. Buildings, homes and

livelihoods have been lost.

[2:10 p.m.]

In times of trouble, communities come together. We are grateful to our

firefighters, RCMP and Canadian Armed Forces as well as the public employees

and emergency responders who are working hard to keep communities safe. We

thank the Canadian Red Cross and other service agencies, the federal

government and every British Columbian who volunteered, donated money and

opened their home and heart to people in need. Fighting these persistent and

difficult fires remains a top priority. Together we will get through this.

Together we will rebuild.

First responders throughout British Columbia are also on the front

lines of another crisis, which is more deadly and equally devastating.

Powerful opioids like fentanyl have taken too many of our loved ones. In

2016, we lost 978 people to overdoses and 876 more in the first seven months

of this year — people who had long lives ahead of them full of promise and

potential, people who needed help but died alone because they weren’t aware

of the risks, couldn’t find treatment or believed it wouldn’t happen to

them. The scourge of fentanyl afflicts communities across North America. It

demands an immediate and direct response, which your government is

determined to provide.

While those driven from their homes by wildfires are beginning to

return, other British Columbians find themselves without homes of any sort.

The circumstances that bring a person to homelessness can be as arbitrary

and unexpected as a wildfire, but it is no less devastating. Those without

homes need and deserve our help. Your government is determined to work with

all levels of government — federal, municipal and First Nations — to address

homelessness, which touches every region of our province. These are

challenging times. British Columbians have the talent, the strength and the

spirit to meet these challenges and many more.

As we mark the passing of British Columbians we have lost, let us not

forget that their spirit lives on in the acts and deeds that helped make our

province a better place: community volunteer Tom Oshiro, environmentalist

Gwen Barlee, sports trail-blazer Barbara Howard, political scientist Norman

Ruff, MP and women’s rights advocate Margaret Mitchell, yoga innovator

Michael Stone, writer and commentator Merv Adey. And we remember Ian Moore

Wilson, who was killed in a senseless attack of terrorism in Barcelona,

Spain. We honour them and their contributions to our province.

British Columbians deserve a government that is working for people.

Families in B.C. work hard to give their children a better life than they

had. They spend more and more income on a safe and secure place to live and

sacrifice more time away from home on longer commutes.

Young people dream of a post-secondary education, but high tuition and

housing costs have put many of those dreams out of reach. Students graduate

with a burden of debt that holds them back just as they are starting

out.

Parents need safe, affordable child care. Yet many must leave the

workforce because wait-lists are too long, spaces aren’t available or care

is just too expensive.

Seniors who need stable care and a helping hand are struggling to find

timely medical care and an affordable home so they can live their final

years in dignity.

Families want to raise their children in the communities they grew up

in, yet housing prices are so unaffordable they are being pushed out, a

situation as astonishing as it is unacceptable.

And the people in B.C.’s rural and remote regions, who deserve the

same opportunity as all other British Columbians, face higher unemployment

and have fewer services in their communities.

The problems facing people today are the result of past choices —

choices that resulted in a generation of students learning in overcrowded

classrooms, out-of-control housing prices, growing waits for services like

health care and the rise of part-time, low-paying jobs. These are choices

that have divided people and created disparities between rural and urban

B.C. Our province cannot continue down this road. We cannot afford to shut

people out of opportunity, and we cannot afford to leave families

behind.

[2:15 p.m.]

Starting today, your government will make different choices, choices

that put people first. We will listen, deal honestly with the problems

facing us today and bring people together to find solutions. We will defend

B.C.’s interests, economy, environment and our coast. We will share B.C.’s

prosperity with all of the people who built this province.

Your government will work hard, today and every day, to make life

better and help families get ahead — guided by the values of help and hope,

respect and dignity, justice, equality and fairness. Your government will

build a better B.C. where no one is left behind.

The work begins by setting a strong foundation, starting with a

government-to-government partnership with Indigenous peoples. Working with

First Nations and all Indigenous communities, your government will embrace

the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples and

address all of the calls to action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation

Commission into residential schools. These are important commitments, which

your government takes very seriously.

We cannot continue to push these actions further down the road to a

day that never comes. Together with First Nations and all Indigenous

peoples, your government will seek to bring these principles to life. We

must build a true partnership based on rights, respect and reconciliation.

We can only move forward together.

A government that is working for people must start out on a new path,

with new ways of working that transform our politics and put people

first.

Your government is based on a new and innovative agreement between two

parties which provides the basis to move forward on important initiatives to

reform our democratic processes, protect our environment and build our

economy — an agreement rooted in the belief that the Legislature works best

when we recognize that no single party has all the answers. All sides must

come together to deliver a government that works for people — a government

they can count on.

This fall your government will put people at the heart of our

politics. Government will reform B.C.’s campaign finance laws to eliminate

corporate and union donations, put strict limits on individual contributions

and make sure that only people living in B.C. can donate to our political

parties.

Your government will bring forward legislation to move B.C.’s fixed

election date to the fall of 2021, and every four years thereafter, to make

sure government’s annual budget and financial priorities are focused on

people, not politics.

Government will set the terms for a referendum on proportional

representation to take place no later than November 2018 and will actively

campaign in favour of reform so that citizens can be assured that every vote

counts. New lobbying restrictions will make sure that former public office

holders do not improperly benefit from their experience serving the

public.

Your government is encouraged by the broad support for these reforms

that exists across all parties in this Legislature. It is a welcome sign to

British Columbians, who expect their interests to be at the heart of

government decision-making. The people of B.C. must always come

first.

Governments must listen. They cannot ignore the problems families

face, and they cannot deliver lasting solutions before they understand the

heart of the matter. Many of the problems facing people today have deep

roots in the past, problems that have developed over years. It will take

time to find the right solutions.

Your government will be listening to British Columbians and asking

their views in preparation for a full budget in February. Government will be

consulting families on the issues that matter to them, from the housing

crisis to child care to environmental management. By listening and building

a common understanding of the problems people are facing, the solutions that

make life better will be found.

Government’s success cannot be counted in the number of regulations it

creates, bills it passes or pronouncements it makes. Success must instead be

measured by how its actions and decisions benefit people.

[2:20 p.m.]

Government is working for people when it acts on the things that

matter most. Relief from high costs and fees, better access to services and

an economy that works for everyone — these are your government’s priorities,

and they are the markers of progress that matter.

Too many families were left behind for too long. It’s time that we

made life more affordable. Your government has already started making better

choices to help families get ahead. A $100 increase to monthly income

assistance and disability rates will help to lift families out of poverty,

and removing unfair tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges will give

daily commuters well-deserved relief. These are the first steps of a

government that’s making life more affordable. There is much more to

do.

This fall your government will take steps to help renters.

Fixed-term-lease loopholes will be closed so people are no longer vulnerable

to significant rent increases, and we will increase support to the

residential tenancy branch to make sure tenants and landlords are treated

fairly.

Your government will establish a fair wage commission to put our

province on the path to a $15-an-hour minimum wage. The commission will set

the course for stable and predictable increases over time, helping those who

have earned so little for so long.

Decisive action is being taken to fix the problems at ICBC and B.C.

Hydro to make sure our Crown corporations can deliver the best possible

service to the people of British Columbia at the lowest possible

cost.

For the first time in the history of this province, your government

will work with citizens to create a legislated poverty reduction plan. B.C.

is the only province in Canada without such a plan. This important work will

get underway in the coming weeks.

Government will deliver a provincewide universal child care program

that is safe, accessible and affordable. It will start by creating more

spaces to help families waiting months and years for quality care, and

training more early childhood educators. Government will consult with

families and child care providers this fall on the best way

forward.

The crisis in housing affordability affects people of all incomes in

all parts of our province. Government will deliver a comprehensive housing

strategy to create homes for people. Working with municipalities,

cooperatives and the private sector, government will increase the supply of

rental, social, co-op and owner-purchase homes. Government is examining

options to curb speculation in B.C.’s housing market. Your government is

determined to make housing more affordable for everyone.

It’s time B.C.’s economic growth was put to work for the people who

built this province. Your government will make better choices that connect

people to the services they count on.

Education is one of your government’s highest priorities. There is no

greater or more important investment we can make in our economy and our

future. Education is the key to opportunity for young people to realize

their full potential. Your government will fix the problems in our education

system and invest in student success. The September budget update will take

our first steps towards restoring proper funding for B.C. classrooms and

give students the supports they need to succeed.

This government’s priority is making sure children are ready to learn

and have classrooms to learn in, as B.C. moves towards full implementation

of class-size and composition requirements.

Government is already making education more affordable and accessible

learning, adding trades-training spaces at B.C. colleges and universities

and making college and university tuition-free for former children in care.

Government will consider additional measures to reduce the burden of debt on

post-secondary students.

There is so much more government can do to deliver the services that

people count on.

Increased support for people with disabilities is long overdue.

Starting January 1, 2018, government will provide people with disabilities

access to the transportation supports they need, including an annual bus

pass for those who want one. It’s the right thing to do.

[2:25 p.m.]

Your government will promote and protect public health care, helping

the thousands of British Columbians who can’t find a doctor and are waiting

longer on surgical wait-lists. Your government will build new hospitals and

urgent care centres so that patients and families get quality health care

where and when they need it. Your government will first reduce and then

eliminate unfair MSP premiums.

We must do everything we can to address the overdose crisis. When

people are in trouble, they need help right away. Creating the Ministry of

Mental Health and Addictions is the first step. Your government will make

sure people living with addictions have better access to treatment options,

and we must increase enforcement to help get deadly drugs off our

streets.

Investments in public transit help reduce gridlock and get people and

goods moving. B.C. will work collaboratively with local mayors and with our

partners in the federal government to deliver better transit options for

people, including more buses and expanded rapid transit.

Your government will promote diversity and fight inequality with a

renewed human rights commission, because every person should feel welcome to

share in the future of our province.

It’s time that British Columbians shared in the benefits of our strong

economy. Your government will make better choices to invite people into

B.C.’s continued economic growth.

This government will support B.C.’s traditional industries, including

forestry, mining, agriculture and natural gas development. We will make B.C.

a world leader in engineered wood products and grow our value-added sector.

Your government will continue to fight for a fair deal on softwood lumber

that is good for B.C. forest workers, our softwood industry and the

communities that depend on it.

This government will invest in natural resource projects that create

jobs and opportunity for people, where British Columbians receive a fair

rate of return for our resources and First Nations are meaningful partners

and where B.C.’s land, air and water are protected.

Government will continue to support communities hit hard by this

year’s wildfires and floods. Natural disasters bear high economic and

environmental costs. Our people are strong, our communities

resilient.

When the fires are extinguished and the crisis has passed, British

Columbians will come back even stronger than before. Government will work

with them to rebuild local economies, including forestry, tourism, small

business and agriculture.

There is much more to do. Starting with initiatives to spark

innovation and growth of a sustainable economy, this fall your government

will establish an innovation commission, an initiative of the Green Party

caucus, to encourage new investments in B.C.’s technology sector. Government

will promote innovation in every region of our province, because everyone

deserves to benefit from and share in the wealth created by the 21st-century

economy.

Your government will take decisive action on global climate change,

the greatest challenge of our generation. We must do everything we can to

reduce emissions and keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees.

Together we will fight climate pollution and create opportunities for

people, including thousands of jobs through energy retrofits and public

infrastructure.

This government will make important investments in the future of our

province. New schools, hospitals, roads and homes for people will give

communities the services they need and attract new jobs and

investment.

Your government will work with local and federal governments on public

infrastructure that builds up our province and our people. This is your

government’s vision for a better B.C., where our economy remains strong,

families get ahead, and communities get the services they need and

deserve.

No matter where in this great province we call home, we are united in

our belief in the potential of each and every one of us. The wealth we

create together can lift people up, sustain us and create a better future

for everyone.

[2:30 p.m.]

The road ahead won’t be easy. It will take time for the better choices

this government is making to take hold, transforming people’s lives,

revitalizing our communities and bringing all of us together. It will happen

starting with the work that takes place here in this Legislature. That work

must start and end with the people we are here to serve.

We set out on this journey with a renewed energy, hope and optimism.

Help is on the way for the people of B.C., who have waited many years for

relief, who are ready for a government that is working for them. Your

government will not let them down.

Thank you to all for your service. You and your families sacrifice

much so that you may work for the betterment of all British Columbians. I

wish you all success with your second session of the 41st

parliament.

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,

An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament,

be introduced and now read a first time.

Motion approved.

Hon. D. Eby: The introduction of this bill prior to consideration of the throne

speech 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 is a

right that was first asserted by Parliament at Westminster in the year

1603, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

[2:35 p.m.]

I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

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

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER

Hon. M. Farnworth: I move, seconded by the member for Abbotsford West, QC, that Raj

Chouhan, member for Burnaby-Edmonds electoral district, be appointed

Deputy Speaker for this session of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

APPOINTMENT OF

ASSISTANT DEPUTY

SPEAKER

M. de Jong: I move, seconded by the member for Port Coquitlam electoral

district, that Linda Reid, member for Richmond South Centre 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 Abbotsford West, still QC, that

Spencer Chandra Herbert, member for Vancouver–West End 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 hon. 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.

APPOINTMENT OF

SELECT STANDING

COMMITTEES

Hon. J. Horgan: I move the appointment of the select standing committees of this

House for the present session and said committees to have the powers

conferred by

section 53 of the Constitution Act, those being:

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;

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; Garry Begg; Janet Routledge; Leonard Krog; Ronna-Rae Leonard;

Michael de Jong, QC; Eric Foster; Jackie Tegart; and Linda

Larson.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I move that the House, at its rising, stand adjourned until 1:30

p.m. on Monday, September 11.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. Farnworth moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

The House adjourned at 2:40 p.m.

The Official Report of Debates ( Hansard ) and webcasts of

proceedings

are available on the Internet. Chamber debates are broadcast on

television.

Copyright © 2017: British Columbia

Hansard Services, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada