Second Session, 42nd Parliament

(2021) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Monday, June 7, 2021

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 85

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

World Oceans Day

J. Sturdy

F. Donnelly

Seniors and Seniors Week

M. Starchuk

S. Bond

Prolific offenders

L. Doerkson

A. Singh

Putting people first – community collaboration and innovation

G. Lore

Private Members’ Motions

Motion 10 — Anti-Asian racism

M. Lee

R. Singh

K. Kirkpatrick

B. Anderson

B. Stewart

J. Brar

T. Halford

M. Elmore

T. Stone

J. Sims

T. Wat

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

The House met at 10:02 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Mr. Speaker: I invite Songhees Elder Butch Dick to lead the House in prayer or

reflection.

B. Dick: [Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ was spoken.]

Good morning, my friends and family. My First Nation name is

Yux’wey’lupton, and I’m known mostly as Butch Dick. Thank you for the invitation

to be here today. It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions the past week, not only

for First Nation families but also for all families in British Columbia and all

across Canada. The trauma that has been going on for many years…. It seems like

it just hides, and it shows itself at times like this. But the outpouring of

support all across Vancouver Island and British Columbia and Canada is a way of

holding up our communities.

In our belief structure and our big houses, when something happens to one

family, all the attention goes to that family and supporting them as much as we

can. I think awareness must be created.

In my 25 years of teaching in greater Victoria, I never once mentioned

residential school and my experience there. The reason for that was that I

didn’t want to perpetuate the trauma that my family experienced at Kuper

Island.

[10:05 a.m.]

So I thank you for this invitation. My thoughts are with the families in

Kamloops and realizing that the spirits that are there need to be brought home.

That, I know, will be a long process. We still have many, many residential

schools to go. So I offer the prayer song, like I say, with many emotions. But I

believe that we’re a resilient community, and with the support of the outside

community, we can continue to thrive as we are. So I offer you the prayer song

and, again, lift up my hands to you for asking me to be here.

[Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ was

sung.]

Hay’sxw’qa si’em. [Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ was spoken.]

Hay’sxw’qa.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you so much, Elder. Thank you so much for coming.

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

WORLD OCEANS DAY

J. Sturdy: June 8 marks World Oceans Day. I wanted to take the opportunity

this week to highlight the importance of oceans to our daily lives,

especially as British Columbia is Canada’s gateway to the

Pacific.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

From a global perspective, the ocean covers more than 70 percent

of the planet. We depend on the ocean to produce 50 percent of our

planet’s oxygen. As you may also understand, it’s a main source of

protein for more than one billion people around the world. We also

depend on the ocean for our global economy, and the United Nations

estimates that 40 million people will be employed by ocean-based

industries by 2030.

However, with 90 percent of the big fish populations depleted and

50 percent of coral reefs on the way to being destroyed, we’re clearly

not on a sustainable path. “The ocean: life and livelihood” is the theme

for World Oceans Day 2021. It’s followed up by a substantial commitment

by member nations. This includes a declaration of intentions to get to

sustainable development goal 14, which is to “Conserve and sustainably

use the oceans, seas and marine resources” by 2030.

This year’s theme is especially relevant in the lead-up to the

United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,

which will run from 2021 to 2030. The decade will strengthen

international cooperation to develop scientific research and innovative

technologies that can connect ocean science to the needs of society.

That’s what makes recognition of World Oceans Day so important,

especially here in British Columbia.

The coastline of British Columbia stretches 954 kilometres, from

the southern tip of Vancouver Island along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to

the community of Stewart at the head of the Portland Canal.

[10:10 a.m.]

However, when we take into account the coastline of more than

40,000 islands of varying sizes, the actual total length of British

Columbia’s coast is more than 25,725 kilometres, or approximately 10

percent of Canada’s entire coastline, divided up into subregions that I

think most British Columbians will be familiar with: the north coast,

the Central Coast, Haida Gwaii, Sunshine Coast, south coast, Lower

Mainland and Vancouver Island.

As MLA for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, I represent a constituency

that takes into account some of the most breathtaking and thoroughly

accessible parts of that British Columbia coastline. As the name

suggests, West Vancouver–Sea to Sky is nestled between the Pacific Ocean

and the rugged Coast Mountains of it and the hillsides of Howe Sound,

allowing the visitors to easily admire the natural beauty of our

coast.

The scenic drive on the Sea to Sky Highway is popular with

tourists visiting British Columbia for the first time, as well as

locals. This route features mountainous rock faces that plunge into the

sea, rivers cascading off cliffs and the intense colours of the sea

clashing with the glacier ice in black jagged peaks against the blue

sky. Now, isn’t that a pretty picture? In fact, it is on many a

Destination B.C. advertisement. These sights can hypnotize even the most

well-seasoned traveller, and for the local daily traveller, it’s a sight

that never gets old.

What’s below Howe Sound is equally fascinating. Among other things

discovered over the last number of years is the existence of glass

sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct, these ancient, delicate,

filter-feeding animals not only help store carbon and fertilize the

oceans; they also provide vital habitat to a range of marine animals,

including endangered rockfish.

While the ocean is to be admired, we must also acknowledge its

importance as a significant part of our provincial economy. Our

ocean-based industries account for $17 billion worth of economic

activity annually and employ 170,000 British Columbians in coastal

communities stretching from the Salish Sea right up to the Alaska

border.

In 2019, total sales of primary seafood production in B.C.

amounted to $1.1 billion. B.C. led Canada with the production and sales

of wild salmon, farmed salmon, hake, halibut, wild clams, wild

sablefish, rockfish, flatfish, tuna, oysters, sea cucumbers, sea

urchins, farmed clams and skate. In 2019, we exported $1.4 billion worth

of seafood products to 70 markets worldwide, with the top markets being

the U.S., China, Japan, Hong Kong and, interestingly, Ukraine. Our

largest export, by far, is Atlantic salmon, with $562 million worth of

sales in 2019, followed by $207 million in crab, $103 million in hake,

$62 million in geoducks and $58 million in shrimp and prawns.

In addition to our seafood exports, British Columbia is a portal

province that truly is a gateway for all Canadian exports via the

Pacific. We therefore have a marine industry that forms the backbone of

our portal facilities. As a matter of fact, the Association of British

Columbia Marine Industries was formed to represent the interests of our

industrial marine sector and its supply chain, which will be vital as

our province lifts itself out of our economic slowdown caused by the

pandemic.

While constitutional authority for the management of B.C.’s

coastline falls under federal jurisdiction, at least as far as the water

part goes, the province does have a very active role to play, in

cooperation with Ottawa, on everything that touches the land.

I’m hoping the reply from the government side might help us

provide an update on the province’s marine planning partnership for the

Pacific north coast. My understanding is that the marine plan is a

co-led initiative between British Columbia and partner First Nations, so

I’m hoping to learn what’s taking time for this

implementation.

As we’re on the eve of World Oceans Day, it would also be

appropriate to get an update on the progress of the recommendations

delivered for the wild salmon strategy in 2019 by the Wild Salmon

Advisory Council. Therefore, I do look forward to hearing from the

member opposite.

F. Donnelly: June 8 is World Oceans Day, an international day to celebrate our

oceans and encourage conservation. It was Canadians who first proposed

World Ocean Day at Rio’s Earth Summit in 1992. However, 29 years later,

the issues are more overwhelming than ever. Oceans are being impacted by

climate change, plastic pollution, open-net salmon farming, illegal

unreported and unregulated fishing and habitat destruction.

[10:15 a.m.]

Oceans are vital to the health of the planet. They cover more than

70 percent of the Earth, produce more than 50 percent of the planet’s

oxygen and are home to most of the planet’s biodiversity. Oceans absorb

carbon dioxide and reduce impacts from a changing climate. Oceans

provide the main source of protein for more than one billion people.

More than 200 million people fish for a living.

Here in B.C., coastal waters are vital to our culture and our

economy. “The ocean: life and livelihoods” is the theme for World Oceans

Day 2021. It’s an important theme, as many people don’t realize the

critical role of oceans to life and livelihoods. Clean coastal waters

keep us healthy and generate tens of thousands of B.C. jobs, as well as

billions in economic activity.

Canada is home to the world’s longest coastline, with more than

seven million Canadians living on a coast. Nearly 2.4 billion people

live within 100 kilometres of a coast on the planet. Yet now more than

ever, oceans need support. With 80 percent of the world’s fish

population depleted and 50 percent of coral reefs destroyed, we are

taking more from the ocean than can be replenished.

More than eight million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans

annually. That’s equivalent to one garbage truckload of plastic every

minute. Marine debris is harming ocean species. Forty percent of marine

mammals and 44 percent of seabirds are affected by marine debris

ingestion. According to some estimates, by 2050, oceans may carry more

plastic than fish, and 99 percent of seabirds may have ingested harmful

plastic.

Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear in the ocean makes up

about 10 percent of marine litter and continues to catch fish through

ghost fishing. Each year more than 250,000 marine turtles; 300,000

whales, dolphins and porpoises; and hundreds of thousands of endangered

sharks are trapped and die in commercial fishing gear. According to Dr.

Rashid Sumaila, a fisheries economist professor at UBC, 66 percent of

the marine environment has been significantly altered by human

actions.

More than 55 percent of the world’s oceans are covered by

industrial fishing; 33 percent of marine fish populations are being

harvested at unsustainable levels; and 33 percent of the world’s fish

catch in 2011 was from illegal, unreported and unregulated

fisheries.

To protect and preserve the world’s oceans, we must better

understand how they sustain life and livelihoods. We must steward oceans

sustainably and protect marine ecosystems. They need to be preserved and

protected through smart ocean management plans that make ocean health a

priority.

Our west coast economy depends on healthy, thriving ocean

environments. We must protect oceans by lowering emissions, adding more

marine protected areas and investing in First Nation guardians. We must

support sustainable local fisheries and eliminate microplastics and

ghost nets. We need to transition open-net salmon farms to safe closed

containment and invest in new ocean technologies and ocean

science.

We must protect killer whale habitat and other marine ecosystems.

As parliamentary secretary, I’m honoured to be working with the Minister

of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations on the development of

a new provincial coastal marine strategy, in partnership with First

Nations and federal and local governments, to better protect coastal

habitat while growing coastal economies.

I’m also working with the Environment Minister to step up

protection of fish habitat through our biodiversity strategy and a new

watershed security strategy and fund. And I’m leading work with the

federal and First Nation governments to develop a wild salmon recovery

strategy in B.C. and ensure B.C. processing of B.C.-caught

fish.

World Oceans Day is a great time to remind each other of the role

oceans have in our everyday life. Together, we will better steward the

ocean and coastal communities that rely on it.

[10:20 a.m.]

J. Sturdy: Thank you to the member opposite for his response. Without

question, salmon is, as mentioned, an iconic symbol that most would

associate with coastal British Columbia and does need protection and

enhancement. The annual migration of salmon represents a prime source of

protein for First Nations, historically and to this day, despite all the

threats to their survival.

It’s more than just humans who depend on salmon. More than 137

different species depend on the rich nutrients that the salmon provides,

including killer whales, bears and sea wolves being chief among them, as

well as providing critical nutrients to forests.

Pacific salmon fuel a $3 billion industry, supporting tens of

thousands of jobs up and down the coast in local communities and

economies.

When the Wild Salmon Advisory Council submitted its final

recommendations to develop a made-in-B.C. wild salmon strategy for

British Columbia’s review and consideration, it was quite specific,

including 13 recommendations for immediate and mid-term actions with

three goals in mind: increase the abundance of wild salmon; protect and

enhance economic, social and cultural benefits that come to the British

Columbia community from wild salmon and other fisheries, placing

emphasis on adjacent communities; and develop mechanisms, processes,

practices and structures to engage citizens and governments in an

effective stewardship and management of B.C.’s wild salmon.

It was interesting. The member opposite mentioned the development

of a wild salmon strategy, and I thought that was what the point of the

Wild Salmon Advisory Council was intended to do — to provide those

recommendations and develop that strategy. The member for Nanaimo–North

Cowichan was the co-chair, I believe, of that.

I’m wondering why none of

those recommendations have been acted on so far, while now we’re talking

about further development of a strategy. Regardless, this time salmon

have been under threat from a number of sources. It leads to the

conclusion that we have to protect our wild coastal zone in order to

preserve iconic species like salmon for the future.

In terms of aquaculture, B.C. ranks among the fourth-largest

Atlantic farmed salmon producers in the world. While the member

referenced moving them onto land, I’m very interested in what the

strategy is. As I mentioned earlier, it’s the biggest, largest export.

We do need an understanding of how the industry will be supported to

adjust, recognizing that there are some very abrupt government policy

changes that are being imposed and how this integrates with the

federally and provincially endorsed DRIPA legislation.

Shellfish, seafood, fish, aquatic plant farms provide substantial

employment opportunities for remote coastal communities, and changes to

policies are making employment futures very much more uncertain. That’s

why it’s vital that British Columbia step up to the plate and begin

developing a science-based coastal strategy that supports sustainable

fisheries and our aquaculture industry.

SENIORS AND SENIORS WEEK

M. Starchuk: Today I rise virtually to speak about seniors and Seniors Week.

Before I start, I’d like to acknowledge that I’m speaking to you today

from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish people,

which include the Kwantlen, Katzie and Semiahmoo First Nations. I ask

you to reflect on the lands that you work, live and play on.

Every year, starting on the first Sunday of the month of June, we

celebrate older adults and their many contributions during Seniors Week.

This year B.C. Seniors Week runs June 6 to 12. The COVID-19 pandemic has

disproportionately affected seniors. My heart goes out to the families

and friends of seniors who have lost their lives to this virus. We know

how incredibly hard it is for people who are unable to visit their loved

ones. I know this firsthand, as I was only able to visit the number one

senior in British Columbia once in 2020, and that, of course, was my

mom.

Seniors represent a very important and valued part of every

community. They bring a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience that

enriches the lives of all British Columbians. It is vitally important

that they’re empowered to be actively engaged in our

communities.

[10:25 a.m.]

The office of the seniors advocate monitors and analyzes seniors

services and issues in B.C. and makes recommendations to government and

service providers to address systemic issues. The services which the

office monitors are in five key areas: health care, housing, income

supports, personal supports and transportation. Those five key areas are

some of the considerations for the World Health Organization’s

categorization of an age-friendly community. Age-friendly describes a

movement to make communities more welcoming and livable for older

residents and people of all ages.

What makes a community age-friendly? Well, the World Health

Organization asked seniors around the world, and they said an

age-friendly community has pleasant, clean and secure public places.

said they want to choose a variety of affordable housing without having

to move to a different community; that they have employment and

volunteer opportunities, and information and services tailored to their

needs; perhaps most importantly, that they’re respected and active

participants in community life.

Communities all over British Columbia are working to create those

conditions. There are a lot of things that individuals and local

governments and others can do to become an age-friendly community. As

many in the House will see from the successful activities in communities

around the province, it doesn’t have to cost a lot. I hope the actions

of many communities will inspire others involved in community

development to make their own communities more age-friendly.

Communities all over the world are aging. Some see this as a

challenge, but many are embracing the opportunities that come from

healthy, active older populations. Seniors are a valuable resource that

have experience an unprecedented period of global growth and

innovation.

The baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964, have been

changing the way we live, work, play and think for 65 years. They’re not

about to stop as they move into their senior years. They’re rethinking

our concepts of retirement, assisted living, fitness, rehabilitation and

wellness, and dispelling myths about aging.

Age-friendly communities are emerging all around the province, and

it’s my pleasure to describe to the House how they’re improving the

quality of everyone’s life.

In 2014, the city of Surrey created an age-friendly strategy which

supports active, healthy aging for senior residents. Their mission was

to ensure all seniors living in Surrey are aware of the initiatives

being done for their safety, health and wellness, transportation and

mobility, home, and buildings and outdoor spaces.

Surrey’s age-friendly strategy for seniors is based on the

following key features, which have been adapted from the World Health

Organization’s work on global age-friendly cities.

One, outdoor spaces and public buildings are pleasant, clean,

secure and physically accessible. We spoke in the House last week about

the Accessible British Columbia Act, and it would definitely apply here.

As well, public washrooms are very important in an age-friendly

community.

Two, public transportation is accessible and affordable. You also

need to make sure that there’s a place to sit while we’re waiting for

transit to arrive. Some parts of the province should also consider

including covered shelters for rain and snow.

Three, housing is affordable, appropriately located, well-built,

well-designed and secure. We need to ensure that the considerations are

there for persons with disabilities in the design phase and the build

phase.

Opportunities exist for social participation and leisure, social,

cultural and spiritual activities with people of all ages and

cultures.

I have to admit that when I was introduced to a group of lawn

bowlers a number of years ago and they saw how poorly I rolled, I was

quickly asked if I wanted a match. I explained I wasn’t very good. They

said: “We only play for buttons.” I soon found out that buttons, the

blue ones, were worth 25 cents. The red ones were worth 50 cents, and

the green buttons were worth $1.

Five, older people are treated with respect and included in civic

life. We need to ensure that we’re reducing social isolation by

increasing community connections, services and programs.

Six, opportunities exist for employment and volunteerism.

Volunteerism allows a senior to keep that community pride and engagement

and sometimes, just sometimes, it leads to an employment opportunity

they never saw coming their way.

Seven, age-friendly communications and information is available.

Not everyone wants their news from a laptop, phone or a tablet. Some

still feel the need for the feel of a magazine or newsprint.

Eight, community sports and health services are tailored to older

persons’ needs. When I think of community sport and health services, I

instantly think of PICS. The Progressive Intercultural Community

Services Society has a range of services for housing and tailored to the

South Asian community. PICS diversity village is coming to my riding in

Surrey-Cloverdale in 2024 and will be open to all seniors in need of

long-term care and provide culturally sensitive services to people in

the South Asian community.

[10:30 a.m.]

I ask the House to join me in a round of applause to the

approximately one million seniors in British Columbia as we celebrate

Seniors Week 2021.

S. Bond: It’s my pleasure today to rise and acknowledge B.C. Seniors Week

and celebrate the integral roles that older British Columbians play in

our communities right across the province. I also want to thank the

member for Surrey-Cloverdale for his remarks this morning.

When I took on the role of Leader of the Official Opposition, I

also chose to take on the role of the opposition critic for seniors

services and long-term care. That’s because the issues facing seniors

across British Columbia matter a lot to me, as I am confident they do

for all members of this Legislature.

For many years, as the MLA for Prince George–​Valemount, it

has been my honour to host an annual seniors Christmas tea, where older

residents from our community come together. They socialize, and they are

celebrated for the very special people that they are. When we were last

able to hold the event in person, attendance was more than 1,000. But

sadly, like everything else, COVID meant that we could not proceed last

year.

Seniors have often been a focus of attention throughout the

COVID-19 pandemic, because as the member opposite noted, they have been

disproportionately impacted compared to other demographics. None of us

will ever forget the heartbreaking stories and scenes of loss,

loneliness and separation for seniors in our community and in long-term

care. Together, we will need to be sure that work is done to review what

happened and to ensure that a model of long-term care is in place so

that this never happens again.

At the same time, we have to remember that seniors are a vibrant

mix of people, ranging from active volunteers to those supporting

families, those who choose to continue working and those who live in

long-term care. With such diversity, let’s take a look at the over one

million seniors we have here in British Columbia, who make up 19.7

percent of British Columbia’s population. Ninety-three percent of people

aged 65-plus live independently, and just 15 percent aged 85-plus live

in long-term care. Over 30 percent of seniors between the ages of 65 and

69 are still working, and 40 percent of all seniors 65 and over

volunteer in their communities.

As you can see, Mr. Speaker, B.C. seniors are playing a vital

part

in our cities and communities across the province. But the COVID-19

pandemic changed many things. Even though seniors not living in

long-term care encountered serious challenges during the pandemic….

It’s

been my honour to host a series of regional round tables with Isobel

Mackenzie, B.C. seniors advocate, allowing us to speak with countless

older British Columbians on how the past year has impacted them.

Technology challenges, as well as loneliness, were major factors facing

seniors as they tried to cope with pandemic reality. The importance of

places like libraries, seniors centres, rec centres has never been more

apparent to them than in the past 15 months, when they’ve been unable to

spend time in community.

Meanwhile, those living in long-term care and assisted living

faced additional challenging situations, such as staffing levels, the

marginalization of family relationships, the value of the quality of

life versus sustaining life and the variation in visitation rules for

assisted-living facilities.

One of the lessons learned speaks volumes about how British

Columbians feel about seniors in the province. I was asked by the

Minister of Health to join an all-party committee to look for ways to

support seniors in community during the pandemic.

As a result of the work done, there was an increase in resources

for the Better at Home program to support seniors who want to stay

independent and the expansion of the bc211 service to northern B.C. so

that the entire province would be able to use this valuable resource.

And bc211 was absolutely inundated with offers of help for seniors, who

were forced to stay home because of the pandemic. In fact, at first, the

offers of help for seniors outnumbered the number of seniors asking for

help, and that is something we should all be proud of. It is so

important to remember that most seniors want to live at home as long as

possible, and, in fact, the majority do just that.

[10:35 a.m.]

Seniors are our friends, our neighbours. They’re workers and

volunteers, and, most importantly, they are a vital part of communities

and what makes B.C. great.

Each year, the first week of June is designated as Seniors Week.

What a perfect time to connect with the seniors in your life. Let them

know that you care, that you appreciate their contributions and, most of

all, that if they need help or support, they just need to

ask.

M. Starchuk: Thank you to the member for Prince George–Valemount for your kind

remarks regarding Seniors Week. I couldn’t agree with you more. Our

seniors are our true gems of society.

I see those seniors as active as I’ve never seen them before.

Every time I ride my bike by the pickleball courts — you just hear the

laughing and playing and keeping in shape.

Last Monday a few of us attended a ceremony and

can­dle­light vigil, which was held at the Royal B.C. Museum

in front of the Mungo Martin House, to remember the 215 children and the

remains that were discovered from the former Kamloops Residential School

site. People were invited to place teddy bears and children’s shoes in

front of Mungo Martin’s Big House.

We heard stories from a number of Elders regarding their

experiences with the residential schools. These Elders shared their

stories to educate and teach those of us that were there. They spoke

about the treatment they received while attending these schools and how

it impacted their lives. It’s inspiring to see the network that’s there

for the Elders to teach all of us of their lived experiences. They

ensured that those of us that are no longer with us are

remembered.

The next day I received a text from a former colleague, Wayne

Schnitzler. We were volunteer firefighters together in 1981. We went on

to become career firefighters. Wayne went on to be the fire chief in

West Kelowna and is now the interim executive director for the First

Nations Emergency Services Society. I hadn’t had a text from Wayne since

Christmas Eve, and what he sent me had not registered until that

time.

While Wayne is not technically a senior, he was, however, a

Sixties Scoop baby who was fortunate — very fortunate — to be adopted by

great parents. Wayne is now connected to the First Nations Leadership

Council, and I wish him well as he commits himself to the health and

safety of First Nations.

I was drawn to the publication called B.C. Elder Communications

Center Society, and their e-newsletter called Elders Voice . In

this communications e-newsletter, there’s a wide variety of subjects —

everything from health, lifestyle, safety, elder abuse, cooking and even

some humour. This e-newsletter provides critical and current information

for the Elders, along with some of their leisure articles. The content

of this e-newsletter speaks well to the issues at hand of our senior

population, as well as to our Indigenous Elder population.

Before I bring my comments regarding Seniors Week to a conclusion,

I must share one of the articles in the Elders Voice . It’s

titled “…‘Shower Thoughts’ That Will Genuinely Blow Your Lil’ Brain

Apart.” This

article was written by Allie Hayes of the BuzzFeed staff.

Allie provided 27 items that make you go: “Hmm.” One that caught my eye

was: “You can remember that you forgot something, but you can’t remember

what you forgot.”

Finally, if anyone is wondering how to honour our seniors this

week, I ask you to do your part to keep B.C.’s COVID-19 curve

flat.

PROLIFIC OFFENDERS

L. Doerkson: It is with deep concern that I present this morning’s statement on

prolific offenders. More specifically, I’ll focus on how a small number

of prolific offenders can make our communities feel as though they are

under the siege of a crime wave.

For the record, it should be fully recognized that communities in

my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin have in the past been — and are now —

experiencing gang activity violence similar to what has been witnessed

in the Lower Mainland. The local inspector in command of the Williams

Lake RCMP detachment publicly confirmed this on May 31.

I’ll focus my thoughts on the situation in the Cariboo-Chilcotin,

but first, we need the context to explain what’s happening in smaller

communities like Williams Lake and throughout the whole province. In

mid-May, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British

Columbia took the unprecedented step of issuing a public warning about

11 prolific reoffenders with ties to the Lower Mainland gang conflict.

The police statement indicated that anyone with or in proximity to these

individuals may be putting themselves at risk.

[10:40 a.m.]

The CFSEU says it’s expecting the violence to continue and to

escalate. They took this unprecedented action out of fear for the safety

of the general public. Police are advising anyone to avoid any

interaction with these 11 men, as investigators believe they may be

targets for future violent incidents.

Since then, we’ve witnessed gangland violence escalate in other

parts of the province. The death count continues without remorse, and it

appears the violence now occurs in public places during daylight hours,

without any regard for the lives of the innocent.

Since the CFSEU issued the public warning, we are now witnessing

this activity firsthand on an altogether too regular basis. Just days

after that special warning was issued, the gang conflict quickly

extended itself well beyond the Lower Mainland.

On May 20, a brazen daytime shooting in the parking lot of a

fast-food restaurant in downtown Nanaimo took place at 3:30 in the

afternoon in broad daylight. Again, this killing took place without any

regard for innocent bystanders, and again, police authorities say this

is likely linked to escalating Lower Mainland gang conflict.

All of this comes after a longtime United Nations gangster was

slain outside the departure terminals of YVR. How many more innocent

victims will be injured, or worse, before this is a priority and there

is a more active, targeted approach to ending these

conflicts?

On the quiet evening of May 31, in Williams Lake, it really hit

close to home for our residents when the sounds of multiple gunshots

were heard coming from a residence in the 1900 block of South Lakeside

Drive. I credit members of the Williams Lake RCMP for quickly and safely

bringing the situation under control and making five arrests. But the

fact remains that this was similar to events that we have been hearing

about in the Lower Mainland. As I mentioned earlier, the RCMP detachment

in Williams Lake publicly confirmed on May 31 that this was likely

related to gang activity.

I know police are doing their very best with their current

resources. Clearly, there’s a demand for a more effective

approach.

In March, the city of Williams Lake also took the unprecedented

step of writing directly to the Hon. Lieutenant-Governor of British

Columbia. In a letter dated March 11, Mayor Walter Cobb issued a request

for a public inquiry into the repeat offenders and their effect on

entire communities. The mayor and council want to know why…. Repeat

offenders have little regard for the court process, knowing that they

will end up released, on the streets, seemingly without

consequence.

As you can imagine, Mr. Speaker, people in the Cariboo-Chilcotin

feel threatened. They’re frustrated. In 108 Mile, a robbery of a rural

postal box has resulted in $100,000 in damage. The 100 Mile House post

office now has to lock up at night because of multiple robbery

attempts.

I see people suggesting that they have been robbed the evening before or

warnings for people to be alert, as people have been seen peeking in

cars or caught on personal cameras looking through people’s backyards.

Yesterday I read with frustration as people were reporting stolen quads

and some work equipment in Williams Lake and, by someone in 100 Mile

House, a stolen chainsaw.

People are at their wits’ end, fearful and frustrated. Our

residents have endured thefts. They’ve endured break and enters, along

with much senseless vandalism to both pri­vate and public

property. Something has to change regarding the treatment of prolific

offenders. Our local RCMP detachments are tasked with so many calls and

complaints. They’re working full out already.

That being said, the Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General

kindly responded to a letter I sent to him about my concerns about the

justice system and crime in the city of Williams Lake. The minister

noted that under the Police Act, it is his responsibility to ensure that

an effective and adequate level of policing and law enforcement is

maintained. The minister also noted that the Minister of Public Safety

is responsible for setting the goals, objectives and priorities for law

enforcement throughout the province.

[10:45 a.m.]

That being said, I am looking forward to hearing the member

opposite provide some reassuring information regarding repeat offenders

and how the government will address the issue of a stricter justice

system that will give the courts a means to deal with prolific repeat

offenders. The people in the Cariboo-Chilcotin and, certainly, the rest

of rural British Columbia need to know what the government will do to

finally address prolific offenders.

A. Singh: I’m going to quote from one of my favourite poets. I’ve done this

often.

From Kahlil Gibran:

And when one of you falls down, he falls for those behind

him, a caution against the stumbling stone.

Ay, and he falls for

those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not

the stumbling stone…

And still more often the condemned is the

burden bearer for the guiltless and unblamed.

You cannot separate

the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked.

For they

stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and

the white are woven together.

And when the black thread breaks, the

weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom

also.

The term “prolific offender,” though often used, betrays, in its

simplicity, what is a complex problem. Like the poet Gibran surmised, in

what is actually, for its time, a prolific statement, in the real sense,

the ones who go ahead — i.e., society itself — have some burden for

removing the metaphorical stumbling stone.

I practised criminal law in this province for 21 years. Very early

on in my career, I had this incredible opportunity to attend a

conference of jurists from all around the globe in Kuala Lumpur: the

Commonwealth Lawyers Association. All of these jurists share the

traditional lineage from the British Commonwealth. Many eminent jurists

attended, including our own Chief Justices of our Supreme Court of

Canada and chief justices from India, New Zealand, jurists of note and

lawyers from all over the Commonwealth.

As a young upstart lawyer who had entered the profession to help

change the world, I wasn’t shy about approaching those senior to me. And

it paid off. I got to attend several private receptions and had numerous

conversations with people that were far smarter than I am. There was one

thread that united these, and that was the absolute reverence that these

brilliant jurists from all over the Commonwealth had for our justice

system in Canada, especially our criminal justice system.

Our judicial system, with all of its reserve and compassion, is

seen as a beacon of the idea of the rule of law, a system that is the

right mix of compassion, justice and efficiency. Of course, all systems

have their flaws, and ours is ever evolving. That’s the beauty of the

common law and of parliamentary democracy. I’m proud to be standing,

virtually, again, in this hall, which really is a hall of laws and is

defined by that.

That’s one of the things that we have learned in the last few

decades — to evolve from thinking of crime as the mere moral or ethical

failing of an individual but as more of a societal failing. It’s easy to

blame the individual. It’s much harder to look at how that individual

got there, how they got involved in gangs or whatever situation it is,

and to really examine that and see where we, as a society, can do

better. Or as Gibran would put it: how do we, as a society, remove that

stumbling stone?

My 21 years as a criminal defence lawyer have confirmed what many

academics have written. Crime is closely related to substance abuse and

mental health issues and poverty and affordability. Without fail, most

of the cases that came across my desk had some form of a mental health

component embroiled within the story. For many years before I ever

started attending Alcoholics Anonymous, I was sending my clients there.

That generally worked. Those who were successful were not repeat

clients.

Again, this is not…. This is just my allegorical observation, but

various academic papers have attributed anywhere from 70 to 80 percent

of all crimes being somewhat causally committed due to underlying mental

health and addiction issues and poverty. Our government recognizes that

and has, over the last few years, taken on the task of challenging and

creating solutions for these very problems. We have a minister dedicated

to mental health and have directed more resources, more money than ever

before into tackling these issues.

B.C. Corrections recognizes that and understands the importance of

working through rehabilitation. We have an integrated transitional and

release planning program and a homelessness intervention program that is

a partnership with B.C. Corrections, the Ministry of Social Development

and Poverty Reduction, the Attorney General and the Ministry Responsible

for Housing. Through these programs, the case coordinators identify

high-risk individuals and engage them in creating a multilevel case

management plan that looks at homelessness, substance abuse and the

whole holistic method.

Also, as part of its core programming, B.C. Corrections delivers

substance abuse management programs for individuals in custody and in

the community who are dealing with addiction issues. That helps

recidivism.

[10:50 a.m.]

All these programs are aimed at individuals within the criminal

justice system, but we also have all those other programs and

initiatives that the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions has

undertaken. Here I can’t forget or fail to mention the decriminalization

steps.

Poverty is another big factor in our society’s failure, and this

government, I’m proud to say, has taken so many significant steps — too

many to list. But before my time runs out, I will mention a few: raising

the minimum wage; raising the wage for liquor servers; tackling a

housing crisis that was out of control; dealing with speculation and

thousands of good homes sitting empty because they were not viewed as

homes but as part of a stock portfolio; making life more affordable;

getting rid of MSP premiums, tolls; $10-a-day child care; and the list

goes on.

L. Doerkson: I appreciate those comments. My fear is that those attempts are

not working. I’ll try to demonstrate that in my comments now.

They were general comments. But I’m afraid that a lack of an

actual plan means that no resources can be made available to the police.

It also means that prolific offenders will have free rein until the

Premier and this government take this situation we have on the ground in

Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin seriously.

Clearly, our justice system is not performing adequately if small

numbers of criminals can put fear into entire communities. With respect

to the May 31 shooting incident in Williams Lake, the RCMP did convey

that that incident was likely gang-related. In February, the Williams

Lake RCMP also took the unusual step of issuing a news release about one

individual who was arrested after failing to appear in court on seven

outstanding warrants.

However, after a bail hearing that included opposition by the

Crown counsel to release the offender, this individual was released

again — released under seven warrants and over 20 criminal charges. His

conditions will likely be ignored once again.

Despite the best efforts of police, with existing

re­sources, our justice system is failing to provide the public

with the protection required from a small number of repeat offenders,

who seem to not know or perhaps not care about the boundaries. This is

happening far too frequently. As I said before, the frustration from my

constituents is running high.

It is so much more than frustrations. They’re angry. I can convey

the anxiety that people in my community feel when it seems that prolific

offenders face no legal consequence. That’s a failure of our system.

Police are doing their best, given the limited resources. But what is

lacking here is a commitment to stricter penalties for prolific

offenders. This is what the people in my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin

want to see.

Will the government see this threat to public safety as a first

priority for the people of Williams Lake and every other rural community

in British Columbia?

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST –

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

AND

INNOVATION

G. Lore: I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak to something I care

deeply about: community care, community collaboration, creativity and

innovation as a way to put people first. In fact, it is the only

way.

We in this House have a critical role to play. We must support and

lift up the work of community organizations. We must trust in the

expertise of those on the front lines and those with lived experience.

We must learn from the innovators, both in and outside the private

sector.

I’m grateful to be part of a community, a government, and indeed,

a province where examples of this are abundant. Let me start with the

example of the tiny home village in the Victoria neighbourhood of North

Park. Just outside Royal Athletic Park, 50 shipping containers have been

turned into tiny homes for members of our community who had, for months,

been sheltering in tents in parks. This people-centred solution was made

possible by creativity, collaboration and a belief that both action and

change are possible.

A private developer in Victoria, Aryze Developments, and more than

550 community donors came together. The city of Victoria ensured

available space, and a few short months later, converted shipping

containers became temporary homes. Amazing local businesses, including

Dodd’s Furniture, Biophilia Collective and dozens more, donated

mattresses, insulation, landscaping, heaters, and so on.

[10:55 a.m.]

This collaboration and innovation has been rooted in community.

The North Park Neighbourhood Association, the Coalition to End

Homelessness, PEERS, the Cool Aid Society, AIDS Vancouver Island and

others have been essential. An extra shipping container was added to

ensure a flex space so community organizations will be able to come in

and provide residents with job counselling, training, support and other

services.

Government has a key role to play to support this community care.

Island Health has been critical, and B.C. Housing has provided funding

to the Cool Aid Society to ensure 24-hour staffing and support. We have

committed resources to ensure this community collaboration continues to

be a success.

Of course, life is more than a roof over one’s head. At the last

minute and at the request of the community organizations and residents

moving in, Aryze Developments built big, beautiful picnic tables in the

shared outdoor space. A group of neighbours fundraised for flowerpots on

the doorstep of every new tiny home. The house across the street put up

a big sign welcoming new neighbours. Local artists Kay Gallivan, Caitlin

McDonagh and Lydia Beau­regard were commissioned, and the grey

shipping containers were transformed into incredible public

art.

After too many years of underinvesting in community, this is a

beautiful thing to see in my neighbourhood. I talked to a neighbour

yesterday. She said: “What a positive change for our community.” One of

those newly housed said: “I have a place over my head, and now I can

move forward with my life.” For those doing the work in the tiny homes,

one told me yesterday: “Agency, collaboration and purpose. That is what

people need.”

This success has created community optimism and a commitment to

the design of new supportive housing coming to the same neighbourhood.

It’s incredible.

I want to speak of another example in my community. For survivors

of recent sexual assault, the needs are complex. Many need medical care

and attention, emotional support and crisis intervention. Some wish to

have forensic evidence collected or to speak to police. Navigating these

diverse services and finding appropriate care can be challenging in the

aftermath of trauma, all the more so for those who have been

marginalized and feel the shame of victim blaming.

The Victoria Sexual Assault Centre has worked, again, with

creativity and the belief that better is possible. They’ve worked with

partners to ensure access to care is survivor-centred, trauma-informed

and culturally safe. It was relationships with local and regional

police, including Saanich, Victoria, Central Saanich and multiple RCMP

detachments, relationships with forensic nurse examiners, Crown counsel

— these partnerships led to Canada’s only integrated sexual assault

clinic. Survivors can access medical care, police reporting options,

forensic exams and emotional support in one safe and accessible

location.

Again, this government provided the resources to support and lift

up what the community had created with their experience and diverse

skill sets and with a com­mit­ment to putting survivors

first. And $10 million announced last year and $10 million again this

year, in partnership with the Ending Violence Association of B.C., means

support for community-based sexual assault response services — again,

supporting and building on the expertise in and of community.

For a sector that was hollowed out, this investment is

game-changing. For the Surrey Women’s Centre, it meant not only

increased hours of operation for culturally relevant and trauma-informed

sexual assault response but the opportunity to work and collaborate with

the special victims unit in Surrey.

Half this fund is for sexual assault response by and for

Indigenous communities. Around Williams Lake, this has meant victim

services for seven remote Indigenous communities. For the Tahltan, the

community will be able to support access to medical assistance and

support networks and safety planning and court advocacy.

In the Downtown Eastside, I want to offer another example of this

kind of collaboration. The WISH Drop-in Centre worked with B.C. Housing

and the city of Vancouver to create Canada’s only 24-7 shelter for women

working in street-level sex work. Women can now wake up safely and not

have to worry about trading low-cost sex work for a safe place to

go.

[11:00 a.m.]

I want to end by saying that I am proud of my community, and it’s

such a pleasure and a gift to speak about all those I’ve mentioned

today. I’m proud of the partnerships and the innovation of the agencies

involved and of those with lived experience. I’m proud of a government

that supports the work, lifts up this collaboration and always takes a

people-centred approach first.

Deputy Speaker: Apologies to my friend the member for Peace River North, but as

it’s 11 o’clock, under the standing orders, we are to move onwards with

the private members’ motions.

Unanimous consent of the House is required to proceed with Motion

Hon. B. Ma: Mr. Speaker, I ask that the House proceed to the consideration

of Motion 10, standing in the name of the member for

Vancouver-Langara.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 10 — ANTI-ASIAN RACISM

M. Lee: Today I rise to move the following motion.

[Be it resolved that this House stand against anti-Asian

racism.]

Over the pandemic, we have seen a troubling rise in anti-Asian

racism and hate crimes in B.C., particularly in my community of

Vancouver. So much so that last month Bloomberg gave Vancouver the

unfortunate and shameful title of the anti-Asian hate crime capital of

North America.

[N. Letnick in the chair.]

There were more anti-Asian hate crimes reported in Vancouver last

year than in the top ten most populous U.S. cities combined. This is a

staggering figure. Let this sink in. One out of every two British

Columbians of Asian descent reported experiencing a hate incident in the

past year. This should be a call to all of us to do our part to be

vigilant in actively combating racism in our communities.

What has led us to this point? The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly

triggered a sharp rise in racism and hate crimes. However, the pandemic

has really only exacerbated the underlying racism that has existed in

our province. Unfortunately, we can point to countless examples of

systemic racism throughout our province’s history.

The head tax was instituted by the Canadian government in 1885 to

limit Chinese immigration to Canada and was largely a result of pressure

from B.C. politicians at the time. It remained in place for 38 years

before the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 limited Chinese immigration

all together.

This act was not repealed until 1947. This was only six years

before my father came to B.C. from Hong Kong as a student. Still, for

another 15 years, there remained immigration restrictions on the basis

of race and national origin. These restrictions weren’t completely

removed until 1962, which is the year that my mother emigrated to

B.C.

However, as evidenced by current events, the removal of these laws

did not signify the end of racism in B.C. For the past ten years, much

of the conversation surrounding Asian immigration to B.C. has been

closely tied to the rise in housing prices throughout the province. It

has been difficult to have a conversation about the housing market

without someone mentioning the impacts of foreign buyers, and only those

of Asian heritage are typically mentioned.

But how exactly have these two topics become entirely linked in

the public consciousness? Much of it has to do with the language and

narratives that have originated from the other side of this House.

Rhetoric and narratives carefully constructed and proclaimed by members

of the current government — in particular, the Attorney General, during

his years as opposition Housing critic — have directly and indirectly

contributed to encouraging anti-Asian sentiment in our

province.

[11:05 a.m.]

B.C. was grappling with a hot housing market, and there was a

complex set of circumstances that was driving it. However, to score

cheap political points, the NDP decided to fearmonger, using foreign

buyers as a scapegoat for all that ailed the housing market. The

Attorney General was even instrumental in the work of a 2015 study on

housing that has since been revealed to have an incredibly flawed

methodology that is widely considered to be racist.

When money laundering first started gaining media attention in

B.C., the NDP wasted no time in tying it to the same foreign influence,

and quickly, largely because of the purposeful narrative spun by the

Attorney General, Chinese money became synonymous with crime in our

province and served to further fuel racist narratives about B.C.’s

housing market.

This reminds all of us, as public figures, of the impact of our

words and actions on the people of B.C. The NDP capitalized on an ugly

sentiment that, unfortunately, was still held by some in B.C., and the

NDP did so for their own political gain. They made it socially

acceptable to complain about a group of people simply because of their

country of origin. Using this kind of racially charged language,

especially as elected representatives, is reckless and has real-world

impacts that are playing out in front of us in the worst possible

way.

As public leaders, we must be much more responsible and be held

accountable, and we must do better — much better. I hope that all

members of this House choose to stand with us on this issue and help

work to actively reverse these narratives as we fight anti-Asian racism

in B.C.

Deputy Speaker: Before I recognize the next member, just a couple of points.

Remember that you cannot use your electronic devices while you’re on

Zoom, so no telephones next to your ear and speaking.

Also, according to Parliamentary Practice , 6.11.1, based

on Standing Order 40.(2): “The conduct of a Member cannot be canvassed

in debate.” So I would ask members to avoid specifically identifying the

conduct of members through this debate. Thank you.

R. Singh: I thank the member for Vancouver-Langara for creating this space

to talk about this issue. For the last one year, we have been hearing

about the rise in anti-Asian racism. I just can’t tell you how

heartbreaking it has been. I’ve had a number of conversations with

community partners, with stakeholders and have heard numerous stories,

heart-wrenching stories about women being spat at, our seniors being

pushed and being targeted with racial slurs. These are our community

people. I understand COVID-19 has affected us all, but how

disproportionately it has affected our Asian community.

I have been talking about this for the last so many months. We

have been talking to the partners, as I said. We are, as government,

trying to bring out the resources to help eliminate racism. It is not

just with COVID-19 that we are seeing the rise of anti-Asian racism. As

the member has pointed out, systemic racism has been imbibed in our

society, and that’s what we need to tackle.

It is important to create that space. It is important to talk

about these issues. That’s why we started the anti-racism awareness

campaign, making that space, making talking about racism much easier,

because it is not an easy topic to talk about, even for a racialized

person like me. It brings a lot of emotions, a lot of trauma within

us.

I know that words are not enough. We need to bring in concrete

actions, and that’s what our government is doing. As I said, we have

launched our anti-racism awareness campaign, which was talking about

allyship — how, if you see a racist incident, to be a strong ally, how

to combat it, how to interfere in it in a safe way. We are creating that

education.

But along with that, we have heard from the community partners

that there should be a safe place where they can call and report these

incidents. The police are not always the right resource, not always the

safe resource for a lot of people.

[11:10 a.m.]

That’s why we announced…. As the member might recall, a few weeks

ago we announced that we will be launching an anti-racist hotline which

would be multilingual and, hopefully, would be operating 24-7. Talks are

happening for that line to be active as soon as possible.

Along with that, I’m so proud of the work that the government is

doing, especially in creating the legislation to collect the race-based

data. That will follow our anti-racism legislation.

I think these are very important steps for the government, first

of all, to recognize that the systemic racism is imbibed in our system

and to recognize the historical wrongs, whether that was the Chinese

head tax, Komagata Maru or the Japanese internment. We need to

take the steps. We need to recognize what has happened in our past but

also what is happening in our current situations, how to help people in

these situations.

I know racism is such a topic that it is not…. We don’t have a

magic bullet where, suddenly, we say the words, bring in the

legislation, and it will go away. That’s why we need the community

partnerships, and I really, really am very encouraged with the members

opposite talking about it and also giving the offer to work in

collaboration with all of us.

I don’t think this is a partisan issue. It is an issue that

affects us all. These are our communities, and we all need to stand up

together for that. I really appreciate creating this space, Member, but

also really hoping to work in a collaborative way with all of you, with

all the members of the Legislature, whatever side of the House they sit

on, to work on this issue, because it affects us all. These are our

communities. These are our people, and we need to work together to fight

racism.

K. Kirkpatrick: I’m pleased to rise in the House today to support the motion: “Be

it resolved that this House stand against anti-Asian racism.”

My daughter has a Chinese name. She can use it if she wants. She

name. This is name discrimination. It’s systemic, pervasive, dangerous

and inaccurate. So it seems that non-Anglo names can have consequences

beyond constantly having to correct their spelling and

pronunciation.

Vancouver is the Asian hate crime capital of North America,

according to Bloomberg. Why is that? When populations are led to believe

that there are winners and losers in the economy and that this is caused

by immigration from a certain region, the local population begins to

equate people who look or sound like they’re from that region with

causing them some harm, with making them victims of something in their

economy or not allowing them to have something affordable, such as

housing. But it’s not just immigrants. It can be individuals or families

that have lived here for generations but have non-Anglo-sounding

names.

B.C.’s Chinese community has made significant contributions to

this province — to its economy, to its infrastructure and its cultural

fabric. In 2014, B.C. issued the Chinese Historical Wrongs

Consultation Final Report and Recommendations. B.C. had a long

history of anti-Chinese racism that included legal, professional, labour

and social discriminations as well as impediments to education,

land-ownership and business operations. Discrimination was systemic,

extending through economic, social and political life.

Now, that was, we said, the history of British Columbia, not the

future of British Columbia. When Vancouver’s housing market was

rocketing to high heights in the 2010s, some politicians looked to point

to a certain ethnic group to blame this on. At almost the same time that

our former government formally apologized for the treatment of the

Chinese in British Columbia’s history, the then NDP opposition critic

was promoting casual anti-Asian sentiment.

[11:15 a.m.]

In 2015, an NDP MLA critic participated in and pro­vided

information to a non-scientific survey which concluded that foreign

buyers were infiltrating Vancouver’s housing market and driving up

prices. Well, this conclusion was made based on one criterion — buyers’

names. This conclusion then became a study supposing the racial profile

of the buyers of 172 expensive homes in a small Vancouver neighbourhood.

Then this was extrapolated to represent buying trends across the Lower

Mainland.

The data provided for this research was from then NDP critic and

now the Housing Minister and Attorney General in the B.C. NDP

government, where media then reported “such as more than 66 percent of

the new owners had non-anglicized Chinese names.”

Statements like this from a politician result in broad

stereotyping with a large audience. I remember hearing this myself and

assuming this data came from a properly undertaken research study. It

must have been right, or we wouldn’t have an NDP MLA promoting

it.

Using non-anglicized names as the basis for a data set in research

is discrimination and nothing less. After reviewing this so-called

research, people spoke of the astronaut family phenomenon of moms and

kids being brought out from mainland China.

So anti-Asian discrimination didn’t just start this past decade,

but it was certainly perpetuated with false narratives about the Chinese

coming to Vancouver. The reality was…. Foreign buyers this last year

have barely registered, yet prices have been rising more quickly than

ever. In 2018, foreign purchasers represented only 2.92 percent of all

transactions.

Parents like me have to worry that their children will be

victimized simply because they’re Asian.

B. Anderson: I am grateful that we are speaking out against anti-Asian racism

today. Now, as a white woman, I have never faced anti-Asian racism

directed towards me, obviously. But I have witnessed others experience

racism.

I have learned more about racism in the past 18 months and

witnessed more racism than I have in my entire life. This shows my

privilege. As a white woman, I knew, of course, that racism existed, but

I was, for the most part, unaware of how much racism there was in my

community and across our province. The pandemic has only exacerbated it.

I hear about a woman at the grocery store in my community who was told

to go back to China. Nelson has been her home for decades. I have seen

racist tweets directed at some of our colleagues in this

room.

We all agree that in the B.C. Legislature, there is no place for

racism. There should be no place for racism in our province or in this

country. Our diversity is what makes us strong and resilient. My

question today is: when we witness racism, do we have the courage to

speak up?

Today I want to specifically address my white colleagues in the

Legislature. When someone makes a racist comment, do we correct them, or

do we let it slide? Do we laugh along, especially as leaders, or use our

voice to let someone know that what they have said is inappropriate,

hurtful and hateful?

Our words matter. Our reactions matter, especially when we are

talking about racism. Our actions speak louder than words.

I’m sure my colleagues are going to talk about the statistics, so

I’m going to use my time here today to tell you a story. I have a friend

who was attending an event. My friend was speaking to a colleague who

was not able to hear well, so they leaned in to ensure they could have a

conversation and that their colleague could hear what they were

saying.

[11:20 a.m.]

Now, most people in this room, in this province would think

nothing of it, except the woman is a younger woman of Asian descent, and

the man, an older white man.

Upon this man’s retirement, his colleagues were hosting an event

to honour his work. One of his colleagues brought up this story about

the interaction I spoke of earlier. The younger woman of Asian descent

had shown kindness to the older white man and was now being laughed at

and sexualized because of her kindness.

What makes it worse is that not one person stood up and said:

“What you are saying is racist and sexist, and the fetishization of

young women of Asian descent needs to stop.” No. They all laughed

along.

Today I ask you when you witness racism, please say something and

do it immediately.

Our actions speak louder than words.

B. Stewart: I rise in support of this motion, and I hope that every member in

this House can agree on how im­por­tant it is to stand

against racism and hate in all its forms. It is our responsibility, as

elected officials and public leaders, to condemn racism whenever it’s

observed, to hold ourselves and our colleagues accountable to a high

standard, and ensure that the words that we use within this chamber and

that we engage with the public have the effect of making our communities

more inclusive spaces, rather than sowing greater division.

Unfortunately, we know this has not always happened. As Housing

critic, I spend a lot of time studying the housing market and how past

critics have responded to the challenges in the housing market. It is

deeply troubling to me that when the Attorney General was in my

position, he decided to blame foreign buyers for all the problems he

observed in the housing market. The narratives he and the NDP

constructed, the connections they made, served to galvanize prejudicial

and racist attitudes towards people of Asian descent, giving these views

greater legitimacy in the public sphere.

Deputy Speaker: Member for Kelowna West, just a reminder that the conduct of

members cannot be canvassed in debate. You may, however, bring charges

of a personal character by substantive motion.

So we just caution all members to be careful on their debates.

Thank you.

B. Stewart: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To galvanize prejudicial and racist attitudes towards people of

Asian descent was giving these views greater legitimacy in the public

sphere, when such sentiments should never have been seen as acceptable.

The NDP have never been quiet about their disdain for people that they

described as foreign buyers. They never shied from resting most of the

blame of the housing crisis squarely on the shoulders of this

group.

In a 2015

article in the Globe and Mail , the now Attorney

General said: “The outbidding is happening because the market is now

international…. What an awful vision for the future of our city.” In a

2016 interview with the BBC, he further characterized the influence of

foreign buyers in our housing market as: “An international freak show….

It’s so obvious what’s happening in our market here.”

This kind of language was seen throughout the NDP messaging and

demonstrates the extent to which the NDP was set on adopting this

narrative, which struck a chord with many British Columbians who felt

disenfranchised in the changing demographics of their communities.

Instead of working to close these divides, they were used as a political

opportunity.

It was clearly evidenced through the now Attorney General’s

participation in the flawed 2015 study, with racist methodology aimed at

showing the impact of foreign ownership in our housing market. The

member was so insistent about rising housing prices….

Deputy Speaker: Member for Kelowna West, again, for a second time, I would ask you

to move away from describing the Attorney General in these ways and also

by impugning any false motives to his actions.

By the way, this will be the last time I caution members of the

opposition on this. Next time I will just stop the debate and move on to

the next speaker.

B. Stewart: Mr. Speaker, I think the message we’re trying to raise here

today…. The fact is that these anti-Asian racist sentiments are a

derivative of the fact that direct attacks on this community have been

taken by the government. I don’t think that that’s acceptable. These

quotes are a fact. They’re published; they’re public

information.

[11:25 a.m.]

We’re not necessarily trying to suggest that any one member of

this House…. The bottom line is that we need to do better. That’s what

we’re here to try to say. I think that the fact that the methodology of

this information, in the way it was calculated, is clearly not factual,

and it is insinuating that this particular group of British Columbians

had an influence on rising house prices when, in fact, as of today, they

represent less than 1 percent of the housing market, with the prices the

highest that they’ve ever been in British Columbia.

I think what we’re really trying to do is…. The fact is that this

resentment towards Asians in our community, in British Columbia, cannot

be tolerated. That’s what we’re here to try to suggest. I think that the

situation is that this type of anti-Asian rhetoric has been

characterized, in discussions about housing and money laundering, and

the bottom line is that it’s incredibly harmful. The fact is that this

group and many other diverse members of our community should have the

opportunity to participate openly in British Columbia, in whatever

markets they see fit.

J. Brar: I’m pleased to speak to the motion, introduced today by the hon.

member for Vancouver-Langara, that this House stand against anti-Asian

racism. Hate has no place in B.C., but it has a long and painful history

regarding the treatment of Asians and Asian immigration — and others.

Vancouver came to exist as the Pacific coast terminus of Canada’s first

Transcontinental railway. Two Chinese workers died for every mile laid

on the final stretch through the Rockies in the late 1800s, according to

records at UBC.

Other disturbing examples range from the hefty head tax on Chinese

persons entering the country, to a decade-long ban on Chinese

immigration, to the forced internment of some 22,000 Japanese Canadians

during World War II, to the forced departure of the Komagata

Maru in 1914 and heartbreaking stories of Indigenous children

at residential schools. These are painful, disturbing, dark chapters of

our history that took place between the 18th century and into the early

20th century.

It is even more concerning that after almost a century we are not

free from racism, even today. The past year has been challenging for all

of us, particularly racialized communities who have been impacted by a

rise in incidents of racism. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen

specific communities targeted by hate crime, particularly the Asian

community and Indigenous People. Vancouver has also seen a 700 percent

increase in anti-Asian hate crime. This is not acceptable, and it must

be stopped.

We are the leaders of this province. We all have an important role

in eliminating racism, whether it is speaking out or taking action. That

work starts now. This is not the time to get into the blame game but to

work together. It is completely unacceptable to blame someone who is not

in the House and who is not able to respond to the members on the other

side.

I am very pleased that our government is taking actions to address

racism in B.C.….

Deputy Speaker: Member for Surrey-Fleetwood, you cannot mention if someone is in

the House or not, please. Thank you.

[11:30 a.m.]

J. Brar: We have made some progress, Mr. Speaker, together by creating

Resilience B.C., a network across the province to respond to racism and

provide anti-racism tools; bringing back the human rights commission to

help promote human rights and raise awareness of systemic issues;

increasing grants to more than 190 organizations to tackle racism in

their communities, including organizations dedicated to eliminate racism

in Asian, Indigenous and Black communities; and starting an anti-racism

public education campaign. But we know there is still a lot more that

needs to be done.

We will continue to tackle racism by taking actions moving

forward. Our government will be introducing B.C.’s first anti-racism

act. With B.C.’s Multiculturalism Act now more than 25 years old, it is

time to transition to more active and focused anti-racism efforts. My

sincere thanks to our Attorney General and to the Parliamentary

Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives for working hard on this very

important file.

We will legislate race-based data collection. Race-based data

collection is about dismantling systemic racism by patterns, identifying

where gaps and barriers exist so that we can provide more equitable

services for our communities. We also note and support the initiative to

mark May 10 as the Day of Action Against Anti-Asian Racism.

We must all stand against racist words and actions and speak out

against hate when we see it. It is an opportunity to honour and

celebrate the rich Asian culture that makes our province rich in

cultural diversity.

T. Halford: I rise in the House today to speak in support of the motion, “Be

it resolved this House stand against anti-Asian racism,” brought forward

by my colleague and friend from Vancouver-Langara.

This House has heard many speeches by now about the unprecedented

nature of what has occurred in our communities since the pandemic began

more than a year ago. While most have come together to support one

another through this difficult time, a more troubling pattern has

emerged.

Recent statistics have shown that in Vancouver alone, there has

been a more than 700 percent increase in anti-Asian-related hate crimes.

Last year more anti-Asian hate crimes were reported by police in

Vancouver than in the top ten most-populous U.S. cities combined. That

number is staggering.

To all of us in this House, it’s reflective of the seriousness of

the situation that we’re talking of today. As public leaders, we not

only have an obligation to meet a high standard, but we must ensure that

we’re doing everything in our day to try and combat racism in our

communities.

In fact, the situation has got so dire that it has attracted

attention from around the world. To quote a recent Bloomberg

article

entitled This Is the Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America,

“COVID-19 was the trigger, but the resentment has been building for

decades.” This raises a lot of questions for us on how we get to the

point where we are today. Perhaps we have to hold each other accountable

and make sure that we do everything in this House to ensure that we are

speaking out when racism occurs.

In 2015, a study with researcher Andy Yan, which has since been

panned wildly for being racist through its methodology, determined that

nearly two-thirds of houses in a relatively small sample size in his

riding were bought by people with non-anglicized names.

It’s important to note that just because someone has a

non-anglicized name, it doesn’t make them less Canadian than their

neighbour. However, this study directed and created a fear of

foreign-sounding names in the B.C. housing market. To take 172 names out

of 42,000 sold homes and come to this conclusion is reckless and

irresponsible. We need to do better.

[11:35 a.m.]

We need to ensure that British Columbians realize that anti-Asian

racism will not be tolerated. Tying the housing market to racism is

irresponsible. Having an Asian name should not make you guilty. As we

come to the other side of the pandemic and look towards recovery, we

must all reflect on what kind of society we are building. None of us can

stand for casual racism, and we must all do our part to speak

out.

M. Elmore: I’m pleased to rise and speak in favour of the motion: “Be it

resolved that this House stand against anti-Asian racism.”

I note that this morning, the opening prayer was delivered by

Elder Butch Dick of the Songhees Nation. He gave an opening prayer to

honour the 215 Indigenous, the terrible tragedy that has been uncovered

in Kamloops. It’s a moment that I want to reflect for all of us and a

challenge, in terms of British Columbians and Canadians, to reflect

deeply and reconcile with the reality of residential schools and

colonization.

When we talk about this issue of anti-Asian racism — certainly,

we’ve heard from all members about the rise of these incidents,

particularly in the context of COVID-19 — we also know that the history

of British Columbia and Canada is founded on the premise of racist,

patriarchal, white supremacist norms. It’s our challenge to understand

that, to reconcile that and to move forward.

Certainly, I have had many folks in Vancouver come to my office

and share their experiences of racism in their communities and their

businesses and at work. I wanted to address those issues at a systemic

issue. We know that racism is an ideology that asserts that one group is

inherently superior to others. It operates at many levels. We’ve heard,

certainly, of the individual, societal and systemic levels and the

challenges in addressing that.

I want to talk about and recognize particularly the impact of

racism on racialized, marginalized workers in precarious employment. We

know COVID-19 has brought to light the experience of many temporary

foreign workers and migrant workers who are racialized. Certainly, the

issues of systemic inequality that they face contributes to their

precarious experience.

I want to talk about what our government is doing to address and

take on systemic racism. We know that for the last 16 years, the

experience of temporary foreign workers was ignored, and our government

made the commitment to bring in the temporary foreign worker registry.

We know that for racialized, precarious workers, their experience became

more difficult under the previous government, for the last 16 years, and

our government has moved to adequately fund employment standards and

ensure that employment standards are able to be enforced and

upheld.

Our government has also raised the minimum wage, which has

contributed, as well, to benefit those workers working on the margins.

Certainly, that’s important.

When we talk about addressing the systemic nature of racism, which

undermines and is embedded in our institutions, and contributing to

working to end racism, we also have to include the commitment to looking

at ensuring that our public service is adequately reflective of our

communities and that adequate hiring is available and opportunities are

available for people from diverse backgrounds, particularly racialized

communities, who are not well represented.

Our government has made a commitment to community benefits

agreements, which give priority hiring to local people, Indigenous

people, racialized folks, women and people living with disabilities to

address their underrepresentation in these areas, which has been

exacerbated. That’s the record of the last 16 years. These are some

concrete steps and commitments to addressing systemic and

institutionalized racism in our province.

As well, we know that racism is experienced by Indigenous people.

Our government, in a great show of solidarity in the House, adopted the

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the legislation

underlying that. Our government is committed to bring in the first

anti-racism legislation to look at providing a legislative framework to

address these issues and move forward and to reconcile our history of

racism and provide opportunities for all British Columbians.

[11:40 a.m.]

Previous speakers have mentioned, as well, implementing bringing

back the independent human rights commission, which the previous B.C.

Liberal government cancelled.

These are clear steps, in terms of solidarity, that we need to see

across this province, standing up against individual acts of racism in

our society and, also, institutionally to really bring change and to end

racism.

T. Stone: “This Is Why Vancouver Has Become North America’s Anti-Asian Hate

Crime Capital.” This is a headline in the May 12, 2021, story in

Bloomberg News, and it’s a headline that every member of this House and

all British Columbians should be ashamed of.

Last year more anti-Asian crimes were reported to police in

Vancouver than in the top ten most populous U.S. cities combined. Many

in the community have increasingly faced verbal assaults and insults,

have been spat on and have had their property damaged. Sadly, most

incidents go unreported, with almost one out of every two residents of

Asian descent in B.C. experiencing a hate incident in the past

year.

The historical context of anti-Asian sentiment, which has existed

in one form or another for generations in British Columbia, is important

to understand: the terrible treatment of Chinese labourers, who worked

in mines or helped build the railway through British Columbia; the

infamous head tax; a decades-long ban on Chinese immigration; the forced

internment of 22,000 Japanese Canadians during World War II; the

Vancouver covenants on land titles banning the sale of certain

properties to those of African or Asiatic descent; the more recent rise

in anti-Asian sentiments due to increasing levels of Asian immigration

to B.C.; and, starting around 2014, a growing chorus blaming Asians as

the primary reason for skyrocketing housing prices in B.C.

In 2014-15, researcher Andy Yan did an infamous report utilizing

Multiple Listing Service area and land titles raw data. It assumed that

a buyer was from mainland China if they had a non-anglicized Chinese

name. It was based on just 172 sales out of over 42,000 transactions in

2015. More than 66 percent of the new owners involved in these 172 sales

had those non-anglicized names or Chinese names.

Now people pushing these conspiracy theories had their report.

This report fuelled a suspicion that foreign buying, especially by

people of Chinese background, was the main factor driving up housing

prices for everyone else. Despite others frantically pointing to a

series of other factors that were actually driving up housing prices,

like a tight supply of new housing at the local level or ongoing net

immigration of Canadians moving to B.C. or historically low interest

rates and a sharply increased money supply, those that were wedded to

their useful political conspiracy theory refused to be

swayed.

Some did push back on this false and destructive narrative. “This

can’t be about race. It can’t be about dividing people,” said then Mayor

Gregor Robertson to the CBC.

Evan Siddall, then head of CMHC, in a 2016 speech in Vancouver,

pointed to evidence that Canadians were more likely to buy investment

properties than foreigners, saying: “It makes for a tempting narrative.

Them, not us.” The scapegoat is obvious. Blame foreigners.

Ng Weng Hoong told the Georgia Straight : “Having

contributed significantly to Chinese scapegoating in the Vancouver

housing discourse, the Yan study remains influential.”

Jennifer Bradshaw of Abundant Housing Vancouver said: “This smells

heavily of extremely skewed data provided to a ‘researcher’ to extract a

favoured conclusion.”

The sad reality today is that the Metro Vancouver housing market

is hotter than ever, even with a sharp decline in immigration and a

slowing economy during the pandemic. The current government isn’t doing

anything about it, despite promising to make housing affordability their

number one priority.

It’s not good enough to simply express regrets. The 2015 study in

question should have never been published, and those who played a role

in it should acknowledge their

part in building this conspiracy theory

that foreign buyers, especially Chinese, are responsible for

ever-increasing housing prices. They should acknowledge their role in

spinning this conspiracy theory and how it has stoked anti-Asian racism,

and they should apologize publicly and unreservedly.

For anyone, let alone elected officials, to come to a conclusion

that impacts so many people in so many ways is reckless. Tying someone’s

name to a responsibility for rising housing prices is harmful. To

continue to perpetuate such a damaging conspiracy theory is

wrong.

[11:45 a.m.]

Leadership is about bringing people together, not dividing them.

That starts by standing with our friends, co-workers, neighbours and,

indeed, all British Columbians against anti-Asian racism.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you to the member for respecting the ruling of the

Chair.

J. Sims: It’s my pleasure today to rise and speak in support of the motion:

“Be it resolved that this House stand against anti-Asian

racism.”

I’ve been sitting here listening to my colleagues stand up in the

House to speak against this. I cannot imagine one person elected who

would not be supporting this motion as it stands. At the same time, I

will say that I have heard debate today and insinuations and pointing

fingers which I do not agree with. I disagree with it very, very

strongly, with the representation and with the kind of divisiveness that

that kind of debate feeds.

I want to talk about what racism is. I looked in Wikipedia.

“Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different

behavioural traits corresponding to physical appearance and can be

divided based on the superiority of one race over another.” A belief

that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities

and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a

particular race.

It is no news to any of us that we are all historically part of

colonialism. Canada, like many other countries, was colonized. During

that colonization, the oppressions that occurred were absolutely

horrific. When we look at the recent finding of the 215 kids, some of

the horrors of colonialism come to the front.

Whether I look at the history from where my roots are in India….

Look at what happened there, where people were gathered into a contained

area, and then cannons were shot at them. Whether I look at our own

history here in Canada, where people born in China had to pay a special

head tax just to keep them out. The Komagata

Maru was not allowed to land, but for the Chinese, the

discouragement was: “Let’s put a head tax on.” Or the horrific number of

lives that were lost building the railway lines.

When I look at our history, our history is, let me say, not nice.

Racism is inherent in so many of our systems, and it’s still there.

Collectively, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to address

systemic racism. At the same time, we also have to stand up.

Yes, there are things we have to do as governments, and we should

be doing them together. We do not do the area of racism or the kinds of

attacks, the growing attacks on Asian Canadians that have been

happening…. We do not do that justice when we try to link it to the

money laundering or to the rising prices of houses, as I have witnessed

today.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Those are very serious issues that Chinese Canadians, Canadians

from India, wherever they’ve come from…. Everybody was concerned about

the money laundering. Everyone was concerned about the rising prices of

houses. No matter where we come from, we want our children to be able to

have a roof over their heads and to have affordable housing.

What is it that we all have a duty to do? Yes, we have to stand up

and speak out. That isn’t enough. As a government, we’ve got to look at

some concrete actions. I’m proud of the fact that our government is

looking at bringing in legislation to address some of those issues. The

human rights commission was brought in.

We always want to be known in the world, but I’ll tell you. There

were many Canadians, British Columbians, who were absolutely devastated

to be named as the Asian hate centre when Vancouver got identified that

way because of all the attacks on our Asian community, on those of Asian

descent. What I will say is that every one of us has a role to play, and

we need to start by modelling that ourselves — how we talk to each

other.

[11:50 a.m.]

We need to have these tough conversations in our communities,

because racism is insidious, it does hurt, and it goes in many different

directions. Nobody from the ethnic community is looking for pablum.

They’re not looking for a sweet, magic pill. They’re looking, wanting,

to be treated like Canadians, as equal citizens, with just as much right

to be here as anyone else.

T. Wat: I have dedicated much of my career as an MLA to promoting

multiculturalism and ending racial stigmatization and hate in B.C. I’d

like to believe that every MLA goes into public service for the right

reasons. Regardless of our personal politics, I believe we put our names

forward with a desire to make B.C. a better place to live for

all.

When I first learned about the past action of the member, I was

absolutely shocked and heartbroken. The member was so fixated on

achieving a personal political objective, so determined to weave this

dark narrative about our housing market being destroyed by dirty,

foreign, Asian money. The member was willing to use whatever means

necessary to achieve this goal. Along the way, he clearly lost sight of

the very real harm this would do to the people we have sworn to

serve.

Thirty years ago I chose to call Canada home because I respected

our multicultural policy, because I felt this province was taking steps

in the right direction to make every aspiring British Columbian feel

welcome. Now, I’m scared to walk the streets alone, and many Chinese

Canadians share the same fear.

British Columbians are opening international newspapers like

Bloomberg to see our city labelled as the anti-Asian hate crime capital

of North America. To learn that we have seen a 700 percent increase in

anti-Asian hate crimes, and experienced more racist incidents — just

Asians — than the ten most populous U.S. cities combined, I am at a loss

for words.

For a political leader to use his influence as an MLA to

participate in a study that is now widely considered to be racist is

shameful. The fact the member intentionally focused on a small sample

size of foreign-sounding names to help reinforce a racist stereotype is

unconscionable. As a result, the Chinese community has been all lumped

together, with all Chinese-looking people being seen as culprits for the

skyrocketing housing crisis. Is this fair?

As responsible as the member is for feeding this anti-Asian

narrative, this government is just as responsible for supporting him

every step of the way. Just listen to this passage from this

government’s economic framework, which scapegoats foreign workers and

immigrants for their failures to provide affordable housing: “Much of

B.C.’s technology sector is currently concentrated in downtown

Vancouver. This constrains growth, as technology investment in B.C.

often requires significant immigration or temporary foreign workers,

which adds to pressures on the availability and cost of housing in

Vancouver.”

Last year, despite foreign purchases making up less than 1 percent

of housing sales in Vancouver, housing prices reached an all-time high.

What did happen, though, was an unprecedented rise in anti-Asian racism

and hate crimes. I don’t want to live in a province where our children

will face more discrimination or have to overcome more barriers because

their last name is Lee, Chen, Chow, Kang, Yao, Ma or Wat. But this is

the reality we now live in.

Asian Canadians who have worked and saved their entire lives to

buy homes and start families are facing more suspicion and scrutiny from

sellers and neighbours. All of a sudden, they need to explain where

their money came from, because heaven forbid they are simply

hard-working British Columbians.

[11:55 a.m.]

Every day Asian Canadians are facing actions and aggressions

intended to make them feel less Canadian and less welcome in their own

homes. I feel the same, too. When you think of B.C.’s legacy, how

horrifically we have treated those who have done so much to build our

province — the Chinese head tax, residential schools and the

Komagata Maru incident….

I think it’s time for this member to stop and reflect on what he

has done, and what legacy he truly wants to leave in B.C. history

books.

Mr. Speaker: Members, I’ve been watching the debate this morning. We will be

watching the Hansard, and I’ll review all the comments made

more carefully.

People, keep in mind that Standing Order 40 clearly states that

the conduct of a member cannot be canvassed in debate, nor can charges

of a personal character be made, except by a substantive motion. So

we’ll be carefully reviewing all the comments made today. It seems like

some members crossed the line, so I’ll have further comments later

on.

Member to adjourn the debate, noting the hour.

T. Wat moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. B. Ma 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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