Third Session, 42nd Parliament

(2022) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 145

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

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

M. Bernier

H. Sandhu

M. Morris

B. D’Eith

Second Reading of Bills

Bill 2 — Municipalities Enabling and Validating (No. 4)

Amendment Act, 2022

Hon. J. Osborne

D. Ashton

A. Olsen

R. Russell

B. Banman

J. Rice

M. Bernier

J. Sims

B. Stewart

J. Sturdy

P. Milobar

Hon. M. Farnworth

Hon. J. Osborne

Question of Privilege

(continued)

Hon. L. Beare

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

The House met at 1:02 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Farnworth: I call continued duress…. Address in reply to the throne

speech.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

M. Bernier: Thank you to the Government House Leader for that. Bit of a chuckle

before I get into my comments here.

Right before lunch, when I was speaking…. Maybe I’ll just try to

capture a little bit about what I was talking about right before lunch,

before I move into a different train of thought.

[R. Leonard in the chair.]

It was really around the struggles that we were talking about in the

province of British Columbia right now with families — individuals in every

corner of the province — on the management and the future planning, or lack

thereof that it appears to be, that we’re seeing on dealing with the

COVID-19 pandemic.

Look, I’m sure every MLA in this House — regardless of us in

opposition, government, third party — are getting the same emails. I’ll tell

you, the majority of the emails that I’m getting now start with: “I am

vaccinated, but I can no longer understand the rationale for some of the

decisions this government is making.” What people are asking for is a clear

path forward — the data to be presented — so people can understand the

rationale for the decisions that are being made.

People have spent the last couple of years — the majority of people —

trying to do the right thing. I look…. Even in my riding now, I believe

we’re up in the 80, 85 percent region now for being vaccinated. And the

frustration that many people are facing now is….

[1:05 p.m.]

You know, we always talk about the goalposts moving. Well, with this

throne speech, there aren’t even goalposts anymore. There’s nothing. There

was nothing presented that would say to people: “This is what we’re doing as

a government to get through the rest of the pandemic, so you can plan

accordingly.”

What we’re asking for…. I know what most people are just saying is:

“Look, show us the evidence. Show us the data. Explain to us now why these

decisions are being made.” We’ve forgotten about the people, I think, in a

lot of ways throughout this. People are asking these questions. “Do I get to

go to my child’s graduation?” “Do I get to go see my loved one who’s in a

care home, possibly dying?” The rules keep changing, and people don’t

know.

From a business perspective, I continue to have a hard time explaining

the rationale for some of the decisions this government is making, because

government is not pre­senting the data. By that, I say a clear

understanding of the rationale for the decisions they’re making. If you

close down a gym, where is the information that explains why that’s the best

thing to be doing? If you’re restricting the hours that a restaurant can be

open or having to prove vaccination status to go into a

restaurant….

All people are saying is: “Fine. I’ve been vaccinated, and I can go in

there, but explain to me how this is now still solving a problem.” People

deserve that information, because they no longer are trusting the Premier

and this government when they just stand up and say: “Trust us.” They want

to know. They deserve to know. People have been trying to do the right

thing.

I’ll go back to restaurants and businesses. Again, I know I’m not the

only one who is getting the cries in the office of “I’ve tried to do the

right thing, I’m trying to follow the rules, and because of that, I’ve lost

40, 50, 60 percent of my revenue. Because of that, I’ve had to lay off 50

percent if not more of my staff.”

Because of that, we’ve got businesses around British Columbia that have actually not

survived and have gone bankrupt and had to shutter their doors —

unfortunately most of them, I would say, permanently, and because of doing

that right thing, we have businesses that are on the brink — days, weeks

away from having to make that decision of “can I afford to stay in

business.”

They’re asking for clear direction from this government. If the

government is going to continue on having restrictions that are going to

affect businesses, then they need to understand so they can make a financial

decision now, not dig a deeper hole and then, six months from now, have to

go bankrupt with huge debts. That’s not fair.

It’s not fair for parents to have to be trying to decide now whether

they’re going to be able to plan or go to a birthday, a funeral, a

graduation. The reason why I say it’s not fair is because the government is

not giving clear direction. That’s what people are asking for. Government

owes that to them, and they should have the guts to say: “This is what we’re

doing, and this is why we’re doing it.” They’re forgetting the latter part.

They’re saying: “This is what we’re doing, but we’re not going to tell you

why.” That’s why people are losing trust and getting frustrated.

Again, nobody will argue the fact that we’re all trying to do the

right thing for the health and well-being of the citizens of this province.

We know that’s what this is about. But if that’s truly what it’s about, then

government needs to do a better job explaining what they’re doing and why

they’re doing it, for the health and well-being of people.

You know, in the throne speech, again, there wasn’t a lot, but I’ll

stay on a health care theme for a moment. As I mentioned in the first part

of my speech, a throne speech is supposed to be about what we’re doing going

forward, what the plan is, what the vision is, giving some hope for the

people of British Columbia that yes, you elected the right party, because

this is what we’re going to do.

Instead, this throne speech was: “You elected us, and we made a whole

bunch of promises. I’m so sorry, but we didn’t actually fulfil any of them,

but look how great those promises were.” This throne speech was unlike

anything that I’ve ever really seen before. It was a backwards-looking

throne speech, not a forward-looking throne speech. Really, it was all

slogans, but, I mean, you go back to: “Oh, we’ve got all this great health

care in our province.” In the middle of saying that, our health care system

is literally crumbling.

[1:10 p.m.]

How can government say that, as one of the few things in their throne

speech that was supposed to be optimistic? They said: “Look how great our

health care system is.” To me, what that shows is how out of touch this

government is with what’s happening on the ground. I’ve got a riding like

mine that would hear a throne speech that says, “Look how great health care

is,” and they’d turn around and say: “Have you not been

listening?”

We have hospitals in my riding, and all over the pro­vince, that

have been having to continually go into diversion. Women who were ready to

give birth were told: “Sorry, you can’t come to the hospital. Go find

somewhere else to go.” People who’ve been lined up for desperately needed

surgeries were told: “Sorry, we’re cancelling them.”

Now, we can get into a debate at a later time on the cause and effect

of what COVID has had on it. But that’s not what this about. This is about

lack of understanding and lack of commitment to fix a problem.

Interjection.

M. Bernier: Well, I appreciate the member acknowl­edging the new hospital

that I announced in Dawson Creek that got the ball rolling, and I’m really

glad that the NDP haven’t cancelled that project. I will give them credit

for that.

Interjections.

M. Bernier: I always appreciate to get heckled. Obviously, what that means is that

you hit a sore spot, that they’re not able to fulfil any of their promises

so have to dig up stuff from the past. I always really appreciate

that.

I mean, really, when you go back to the narrative and the issue that

we are trying to talk about…. I’ll get to the Minister of Energy and Mines

in a second and all the failures and the problems we’re having in my riding

with his ministry. But let me finish on Health first, before I jump into all

the challenges that he’s having.

When you look around the province…. I want to speak specifically to my

riding right now — hospitals on diversion, people not getting the basic care

that they need and deserve, health care workers who are stressed out, who

are having to go on sick leave, who are stepping away from the profession

because of the stress, mental anxiety, that they’re going through because of

shortages. This is nothing new because of COVID. This has been going on for

years. I’ll acknowledge that.

This government has done nothing. They’ve been in government for five

years, and every year they say: “We understand it’s an issue.” But they’ve

done nothing about it.

We have a small community like Chetwynd that’s trying to survive with

a hospital with two or three nurses who are having to work shifts and double

shifts, who are having to face people in the community and say: “I’m sorry.

I cannot work anymore right now. I’m exhausted.” And the hospital has to

close down for a couple of days because of that. The health care workers

don’t want to see that either. That’s not the profession they got into. But

they need help.

We have families on waiting lists all around this province. All people

were expecting of the throne speech is…. Don’t say how great it is when it’s

not and we’re struggling. Say what you’re going to do to make it better. You

can’t, as a government, keep saying there’s more to do when you’re not doing

anything to begin with. You’ve got to start somewhere. Five years into a

mandate, to start saying: “Don’t worry. We’re going to start governing….”

Well, what have you done for the last five years? People are paying the

price right now in the province of British Columbia.

Since I get heckled by the Minister of Energy and Mines, I think that

really opens the door for me to really talk about some of the struggles in

my riding. I’m one of the only places in the province, in the Peace region,

where we have oil and gas development. It’s something that has been

paramount for so long to bring revenue to the government, to employ tens of

thousands of people in B.C., to ensure it helps communities grow and thrive.

This government doesn’t even talk about it. Not only do they not talk about

it, it appears that they’re putting every barrier in place to get rid of an

industry that has helped build this province.

[1:15 p.m.]

The minister can chuckle all he wants. Maybe he’s not hearing from the

same companies that I talk to in boardrooms in Texas and in Calgary who are

saying: “Guess what. That $2 billion that we had planned to invest in

British Columbia has now been moved to Alberta. Those 800 people that we had

planned on employing this year through drilling and pipeline operations in

the Peace region…. We hate to say that’s on hold.” The uncertainty that this

government has created is scaring businesses away. There is no disputing

that. There’s no argument there.

If the minister wants to stand up later and explain to me that all

these companies who are publicly saying they’re moving out of the province

or not investing…. If those companies are wrong…. This is not me saying it.

These are the large corporations who employ and invest billions and billions

of dollars in our province who are saying: “We don’t know if our investment

is safe in British Columbia anymore. It is too uncertain to know that if

we’re going to start drilling operations, this government may or may not

even give us a permit to tie it in for gas to flow.”

You can look at the dollar figures that have diminished in the budget

because of resource development, the revenue that comes to this government,

that helps build schools, that helps build hospitals, and this government

has walked away from it.

I plead to the minister to prove me wrong. Please get these people

investing here. I want to see the people in my region working. I want to see

more families moving to my region so they can have a job, afford to buy a

house and continue on. But we’re not seeing that.

The government makes unilateral announcements about shutting down

swaths of the back country in my region for sports access — whether it be

hunting, snowmobiling, what have you — without listening to any piece of

consultation that was given to them when they were finally, basically,

forced to talk to people. They didn’t listen to anything.

We had snowmobile clubs that gave 500 hours of their time to give what

they thought would be a compromise, to say: “Look, we can still operate

here. We won’t go there because there are caribou or wildlife.” They were

trying to find a compromise. I thought it was very respectful, the way that

they were trying to approach the situation. What was disrespectful was how

they were treated by government.

It’s no wonder, when you see things like that happen, that the fear

that’s going across the resource sector, whether it’s oil and gas, forestry,

mining, all for different reasons…. But the overall arching theme is: “We

don’t know if investments are safe in British Columbia under this

government. We don’t know what the forward-looking plan is to support

us.”

Or maybe not. If that’s this government’s choice…. If they want to

continue shutting down oil and gas development, if they want to continue

reducing forestry operations, if they want to continue holding up mining

permits, well, I guess that’s their choice. They are the governing body with

a majority, but they also have to understand the consequences that has and

be willing to stand up and face that and be accountable for those decisions.

They’re failing to do the latter part of that.

Nothing really highlights more how people have been abandoned by this

government than what we’ve seen over the last 7½ months with the people in

Lytton. It’s appalling. I don’t know how members on the government side can

look in the mirror when they say, “We’re doing everything we can to help the

people of British Columbia,” when you have people, for 7½ months, who lost

absolutely everything, who are living in hotels, living in friends’

basements, living in cars, living wherever they can find a place to

basically stay alive and have been pleading to this government for help and

support.

[1:20 p.m.]

The opposition member that represents that area has stood up in this

House numerous times with emotional pleas, saying: “Help.” It’s not a

political issue. This should be about helping people, people in a

crisis.

I mean, we went through a heat dome. I won’t read into the record

again the comments from our Premier and government of their lack of empathy

towards people who suffered and lost their lives in the heat dome. We’ve had

unprecedented floods and massive wildfire problems around the province this

year that took communities by surprise, that had families and businesses

lose everything. Government can say it’s unprecedented; I’ll even agree that

a lot of that was unprecedented.

The difference is how a government handles a situation. You can’t keep

using the words, “it’s unprecedented,” and then hide from it — that’s not

leadership; that’s not governing — for 7½ months of waiting. Is it going to

be eight? Is it going to be nine? Is it a year? We don’t know, because this

government has given no hope to the people who have lost everything. We’re

going to have conversations later. I know I can’t discuss a bill on the

floor, but it’s around this exact issue of the misguided direction from this

government, of what the priorities are.

I listened to the throne speech, even though I did see members nodding

off. I understand why that would happen, because there wasn’t a lot of

substance there to keep people awake. It’s interesting when you have a

throne speech that’s full of slogans, where it’s a government patting

themselves on the back for things they didn’t do. I find that very

fascinating. It’s also a throne speech that was very silent, very void of

acknowledging certain promises that they’ve obviously backed away from and

that they don’t want to talk about.

We talk about affordability. Well, affordability is one of the huge

didn’t talk about the $400 rebate they’ve been promising almost every single

year. I’ll give them credit. Maybe it’s supposed to be a big surprise that

they didn’t talk about in their throne speech, because the $400 rebate is in

the budget that’ll be presented here in just less than two weeks. I guess

there’s still hope for the people here in the province, for this government

to finally, after five years, come good on some of their

promises.

One of the ones, I thought, was really interesting. Just a short year

or two years ago this government talked about affordability and said that

one of the hugest issues we need to tackle is cell phone bills: “We’re going

to task somebody in this House, in government, to make sure cell phone bills

are reduced.” Well, that never happened. Not only did it not happen — it’s

surprisingly absent from the throne speech — yet it was such a pillar of:

“This is what we’re going to do to make life more affordable.”

In the throne speech, it talked about “life more affordable” and tax

reductions, but they forgot to mention: “Oh, by the way, we’ve increased or

added 23 new taxes that mostly affect the lower and middle class in the

province of British Columbia.”

Interjection.

M. Bernier: Is it 26 now? My apologies. It’s 26. Yeah. Realistically, it’ll be 30,

probably, by the end of this year, the way it goes with this

government.

We cannot tax our way to affordability. As we heard, we cannot tax our

way to putting a roof over somebody’s head either. There’s a surprising

epiphany that only took five years for some members of government to

realize.

[1:25 p.m.]

I know I’m running out of time. I just want to, maybe, wrap up with

this. People expect their government to govern; people expect their leaders

to be leaders. These last couple of years have been challenging for

everybody in this House, when we’ve all been trying to work together. We

need to make sure, going forward, that we send a clear message to the people

of British Columbia of what the intentions of this government

are.

This government lost a massive opportunity to do that by putting

forward a throne speech of nothings. There is a reason why almost every news

outlet didn’t even cover the throne speech. There’s a reason why almost

every news outlet said there was nothing there. It’s because there was

nothing there. How is it fair — after five years of having a political

organization governing, or pretending to govern, the province — to not give

any hope to the people of B.C.?

People deserve better. People need to know what the direction is going

to be. As I was talking about, people are really struggling and really

suffering right now in the province, whether it be from COVID, whether it be

from mental health and addictions. This, as we’ve seen, has been a huge,

huge negative issue for this government because of the impacts that it’s had

on people and families. Many of us lived through it with loved ones or with

friends, yet hardly anything is talked about.

We need to start getting to what’s important for families, for the

future of this province, for the next generation, because having a

government that appears to be in a holding pattern on almost every issue is

not going to help families. It’s not going to help people want to stay in

British Columbia. It’s not going to help people prosper in this great

province.

I know that in my riding, I’m constantly hearing of people and

businesses that are now having to move to Alberta, which reminds me of the

last time the NDP government were in power. I want to see those people stay

here; I want to see those families stay here. We need to do a better job to

ensure that happens, and I’m asking government to do a better job for the

people of British Columbia.

Deputy Speaker: I want to recognize the member for Vernon-Monashee.

H. Sandhu: Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s so great to see you.

I would like to begin my response to the throne speech by

acknowledging that today I am virtually joining this session from the

traditional Syilx territory of the Oka­nagan Indian Nations. I want to

thank them for their stewardship of this land.

I always feel so grateful and humble to get the opportunity to

represent one of the most beautiful constituencies,

Vernon-Monashee.

I want to give a shout-out to the people of my constituency for doing

such an amazing job of showing kindness to support one another during the

difficult years — whether it was people helping vulnerable people during

COVID, neighbours opening their doors to the people who were evacuated

during fires, restaurants providing free meals, businesses like Vernon Teach

and Learn putting up little kids’ care packages to give to evacuees,

non-profit organizations ramping up their operations to support people in

need, or communities getting together every evening to cheer on firefighters

during fires.

[1:30 p.m.]

I had the opportunity to go there in the evenings with my son and my

kids to show support. It was powerful to see how communities come together.

I just want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who pulled together in

order to help us to get through the difficult times of the last

year.

I’d like to give kudos to our wonderful and hard-working staff at the

B.C. Legislature for everything they do, whether it’s making sure we have

both in-person and virtual access, for several other reasons, and for doing

important duties to help us all.

I also want to thank my LA, Pavanpreet, for his ongoing support. It’s

over a year now. He’s been amazing and so helpful.

I would be remiss if I did not, once again, thank my staff. I want to

congratulate my CAs and proudly acknowl­edge, at the Vernon

constituency office, Emily and Josh. It’s now well over a year since they

both have taken this role, and they are doing a terrific job. Despite many

challenges we had faced along with other communities, Josh and Emily worked

tirelessly to support people — not only people from Vernon-Monashee. They

also helped people from the neighbouring ridings when needed, especially

during fires and even now, at times.

Thank you, both, for your dedication and enthusiasm you show every

single day to work for the betterment of people and for being very

responsive.

It’s been over a year since I got elected. As we know, the last year

has been very difficult for people in B.C., as we faced many challenges due

to the pandemic and, later, fires, a heat dome, floods and the ongoing

opioid crisis. My heart goes out to the families who have lost their loved

ones during these catastrophic events, the pandemic and to the opioid

crisis. I know leaving a loved one and losing a loved one leaves agony and a

big hole in our hearts that never heals and a void that can never be filled.

I’ve been there. My condolences to each and every one of you.

That is why I speak in favour of this throne speech, because the work

we do as elected officials should always focus on keeping people safe to

prevent such losses and devastation. I am speaking to you to support this,

and I will highlight some of the key areas — why I think this throne speech

really focuses on people and focuses on the work we need, moving ahead. It

plans to support people.

In B.C., we’re already leading in the strongest economy and recovery

in Canada, and we need to continue our focus in the direction we’re moving.

In the year ahead, we will continue to improve health care, fight climate

change, make life more affordable and train our future workforce. We will be

tying minimum wage increases to the rate of inflation while working with our

post-secondary education to develop the talent B.C. needs over the next ten

years. Thinking ahead of time, being proactive, is the key to filling that

skill gap.

We will also continue with our historic expansion of child care in the

province, creating more safe, affordable and nurturing spaces for kids so

parents can pursue educational and career goals. Together these actions will

ensure that business owners can find the staff, the skills they need so

people in Vernon and in B.C. — in Vernon-Monashee and the surrounding

communities — continue to support our local businesses. These businesses are

the heart of our community, and I am glad that we are all working toward a

better future for B.C.

New hospitals are being built, modernized and expanded throughout B.C.

This includes Surrey hospital, Richmond Hospital. As members have mentioned,

the Kamloops and Nanaimo cancer centres, which are in concept building. We

are building many of the hospitals and hospitals that the previous

government refused to build when they sold the land to

developers.

It’s a reality. I know some members still get upset, but people need

to know, when they complain about the lineups in Surrey Memorial Hospital

and what’s happening now. They need to know what got us there. There is no

more passionate person than somebody who has been in health care for over a

decade and a half. They can tell.

[1:35 p.m.]

One can disagree. They can find these speeches empty, but there is so

much opportunity. We just need to look at it.

I will be giving examples of how my community has benefited from some

of the recent investment in all sectors — better housing, child care, mental

health, recovery beds — that are made. They are made right here in

Vernon-Monashee and many other ridings. I’ll be highlighting some of the

work, because I know some members in the opposition are having a hard time

seeing the positive outcomes and positive delivery — the impact these

investments are having. Again, I’ll highlight the positive impacts that my

community is having.

These important additions to communities are vital. Recently I took a

tour at Vernon’s ambulance paramedic station. I learned that before 2017,

they only had three ambulances. Now they have six ambulances, six duty cars

and two spares. This is how the resources are being added.

They also were very grateful and happy with the Health Minister’s

initiatives to add more services and improvement in Vernon and area. They

are reassured that more supports will be in place as needed, as they felt

supported since 2017, since our government became the government.

I want to acknowledge and thank front-line workers, including

paramedics, doctors, nurses, therapists and care aides and many unsung

heroes who often we forget to mention: our housekeeping staff; support

staff, from dietary to lab techs; imaging staff; porters; administrative

staff; and many more.

In the last couple of years, they have been so busy making sure,

saving lives, helping people. Many health care workers recently, as we

talked about, including my husband and community, accepted the redeployment

to long-term-care centres in Vernon, with COVID outbreaks, and in Lumby. I

want to thank them for showing their commitment to look after vulnerable

people when they need it the most. I get to hear every day, from my husband

and my older daughter, who also works at Vernon Jubilee Hospital in support

services, about how these amazing health care workers have been working

tirelessly.

I heard a previous member talking about the COVID guidelines being

unclear or people not knowing where to go. I want to remind all of us that

this new virus, which no one wanted or expected, is ever-evolving. It’s

called novel. It’s a new virus, and it’s been with variants. We are learning

about it as we go.

When we are frustrated about the changes or we want to plan our lives,

including myself…. We all want to plan our lives ahead, but we are not

there. I also want to remind the member that it’s not the government

officials, including the opposition members, who make these decisions. We

all know that we’ve given this authority to our health experts who are well

versed in the pandemic and these situations: Dr. Bonnie Henry and her

amazing team.

I agree. Some decisions…. Everybody may not agree, but they’re doing

their very, very best to keep people safe. There is a reason we have the

lowest per-capita mortality rate. But not seeing that every single person

who passed away was somebody’s loved one.

Sometimes during the argument, our offices get emails, and I empathize

with people who are exhausted. I want to remind them that every…. If

sometimes they say this percentage is small, that percentage had somebody’s

loved one. Those people are not just a number.

What we need to do: just be grateful, and be patient, and think about

the health care workers, as I mentioned, including my family members who

accepted, happily, the redeployment. We had a great discussion in the family

— what do we do? — because we have an almost-six-year-old son at home who,

at the time, didn’t have any shot. Now he’s got the first dose.

The impacts are on the older parents at home. We said: “Somebody has

to do it, and let’s do it.” So there are people who are putting themselves

in harm’s way to help save lives. That’s where we need to be

grateful.

I am happy our government invested $900 million in the new funding for

testing, contact tracing, personal protective equipment.

[1:40 p.m.]

I think I mentioned during my previous speeches that since COVID came,

I personally worked from February until the end of November on a COVID unit.

I know that, initially, there were a lot of concerns, a lot of worries, a

lot of fear about what will happen. PPE was being locked to make sure….

People were taking away from the unit — not the staff. But there’s another

story. But later, as the government invested, we got the PPE we needed. Not

only that; we got the respirator masks, which are even way more effective

than N95.

Government and Dr. Bonnie Henry and the team have been doing such a

great job to support all of us, and we felt that. I still, as I said, get to

hear every single day, every evening from two of my family

members.

Some of these issues are…. We should put our politics aside and accept

it if there are questions. I had questions. Minister Dix and Dr. Henry

always answered those questions when in doubt and when constituents ask:

“Why this decision?” Most of the times, those concerns are addressed in

their briefing.

One day my daughter was saying…. By the way, she is doing her third

year in microbiology, so she will be a microbiologist next year. She said:

“These are, some of them, very simple questions, Mom. I wonder if some

people who are frustrated even watch the briefing. If they did, it would

help them a lot, and it’ll make sense. Some of the decisions will make a lot

of sense.”

As I said, not every decision you might agree with, but it’s an

ever-evolving virus, and their attempt is to keep people safe so we don’t

have any more loss of lives. I wanted to share these thoughts.

I want to say that whether members of the opposition agree or not,

what the reality is, is the historic investments to support health services,

mental health initiatives have helped a lot of people. Yes, we need to

continue to build on the progress, and that’s why we say we need to do more.

Why? Because prior to 2017, under the B.C. Liberal government, we had no

consistent supports or such investments in place. In fact, they closed

Riverview overnight, which left hundreds of vulnerable people on the street

with nowhere to go and no place to take care of them.

I chuckle when I hear members of the opposition talk like socialists,

which is great, yet they have the track record of continuing to slash

services, including privatization and chronic underfunding during their time

as government, which left us with massive challenges that we’re trying to

address.

Under jobs and opportunity, again, helping people for the jobs for the

future — the generational commitments to develop the talent B.C. needs over

the next ten years. As I said, moving forward not only in the job sector,

infrastructure. We have had an urgent primary care centre in Vernon, an MRI

in Vernon, which is helping lots of people to get quicker tests done,

quicker diagnoses.

Before, we would have to send people to Kelowna, wait for the

appointment. We were sending a nurse with them. We were calling another

nurse to backfill. We were paying for an entire team. So I always say

investments in people, upfront investments, save us a lot of money. And not

only money, it saves lives, and it improves better quality patient

care.

I also want to appreciate the initiative of our government moving

forward on reconciliation by working on implementation of the Declaration

Act and action plan drafted in collaboration with Indigenous peoples, and

improving management of lands and resources by creating a new ministry to

better support the goals of reconciliation, economic development and

environmental protection. These are the actions that we are taking to have a

meaningful reconciliation.

A previous opposition member was talking about health care, the

challenges. I want to respectfully remind the member that over the last 17

years, working with two different health authorities before getting elected,

in various health care settings, along with many of my colleagues, I have

personally witnessed and lived through the massive health care cuts,

austerity and privatization of their B.C. Liberal government.

[1:45 p.m.]

My LPN colleagues and many hospital support services staff in health

care struggled financially due to massive 10 percent wage rollbacks under

their B.C. Liberal government. So it seems pretty rich when I hear this, and

I just sit back and think of the flashbacks of those times.

I am grateful that we are continuing on the path that we’ve created.

There is nothing wrong with saying we have much more to do, because in order

to fix the disaster and mess that was caused by chronic underfunding and

privatization, it’s going to take time.

We are eagerly and continually working to make the difference and add

those services. We’ve seen it, whether those services are hiring mental

health substance use teams or opening up the safe drug supply sites. We have

one in Vernon. I’m confident that having a dedicated group of people in this

House will focus on working together, as all of us are here to serve our

constituents and to make lives better.

Now I’ll touch upon child care. Our government’s commitment to expand

our child care and early learning to create jobs, stimulate the economy, to

make sure children can have the best possible start in life, is a much

appreciated effort by many parents. I talk to many parents and I have a

young child of my own. The nurturing care and investment…. Our government

acknowledged that the early years of a child’s life leads to lasting and

positive impacts. This also enhances their mental health from early on.

Investing in child care is investing in B.C.’s future.

In B.C., thousands of families are already benefiting from $10-a-day

child care. Our government has opened and plans to open hundreds of new

child care centres. I think it’s over 300 child care spaces and more in

Vernon and Coldstream, which is going to help many parents. Recently I got

the opportunity to join the mayor of Coldstream and other local leaders to

do their groundbreaking for Coldstream hall and child care centre, with 84

spaces.

When some members say: “Where are those spaces…?” We just need to look

around in our own constituencies, and we’ll find them. We need to talk to

parents, I agree. We are continuing to build on the promise we’re making.

These 84 spaces in Coldstream are in addition to hundreds of other child

care spaces that have been added to our communities.

During fall 2021, our government released a robust economic recovery

plan, which is already supporting businesses. Tourism, farming and small

businesses are some of the major contributions to our economy in

Vernon-Monashee. Steps taken by our government to support our businesses

through property tax cuts, deferred tax payments and B.C. Hydro rate relief

and small and medium-sized business recovery grants during COVID was much

appreciated. It helped businesses to stay afloat.

I do appreciate our government’s ongoing support to provide millions

to child care providers, school boards and health authorities to help them

deliver COVID-safe care and renovations to create more spaces.

Our government has also delivered hundreds of affordable and

supportive and accessible housing units in Vernon. These have changed many

people’s lives. I greatly appreciate the addition of, I believe, 464 or more

affordable housing units in Vernon and area since 2018 — so merely within 3½

years — plus 100 units of student housing at the Okanagan College, Vernon

campus. That investment is expanded to Salmon Arm with 60 units.

This is the first student housing of its kind ever. We never had any

student housing in Vernon. Let alone, our government also invested in, I

believe, 236 housing in Okanagan College campus in Kelowna, which we’ll

probably never hear about from other members. I know during the announcement

of this is when I learned that, and I did go to that Okanagan College campus

during the last summer and got to hear more from the team there — and

housing at the UBCO campus.

These are the initiatives…. The reason I’m highlighting…. Why can’t

some members find these investments?

[1:50 p.m.]

These 100 housing units in Vernon will free up the housing within the

town, which can go to individuals and families in need. I thank our

government for paying attention to this long overlooked and ignored issue of

affordable housing in Vernon-Monashee. Measures taken to address the long

overlooked housing crisis, implementation of a speculation tax, which freed

up approximately 18,000 houses for people to live. The foreign buyer tax was

another tool and addressing money laundering in the housing

market.

It’s important to know what got us here, and we need to work together

to find solutions instead of talking about abolishing the speculation tax,

protecting people buying homes in volatile markets by introducing a cooling

off period on home purchases — another tool that our government is going to

add in the kit in order to address the housing crisis.

At the end, I would like to remind everyone that once this pandemic is

over, life will be back to normal. But people will remember how we make

others feel and how we behaved or supported one another during these

times.

Let’s be kind and understanding toward each other, regardless of our

beliefs or political affiliation. Let’s not judge others or hate each other

based on our own biases or for being disagreed with each other. Behind those

beliefs or political affiliations, there is a human being whose journey

might have been so tough, or maybe they are having a hard day, as we all do

at times. Our kids are also witnessing these times and watching our

behaviour.

Let’s try to have respectful conversations in order to understand each

other better and to build bridges to end divisiveness, rather than attacking

each other or being verbally abusive at someone, which we witnessed, who is

just doing their job. Let’s remember that everybody is equally exhausted, as

we all are. Yes, we all want this to end. None of us wish this pandemic. We

need to show unity, kindness and understanding more than ever.

Once again I would like to end my speech with my favourite quote from

John Mark Green: “Everyone has a history. What you do with it is up to you.

Some people repeat it. Some learn from it. The really special ones use it to

help others.”

I do hope that 2022 will be a kinder and better year for everyone. I

do welcome the announcements and the progress that we’re making in

Vernon-Monashee. People I talk to, they’re very appreciative. Recently I had

the chance to attend a parade. My heart was full to see so much

appreciation, clapping, shout-outs for the work we’re doing. I don’t take

credit. It’s teamwork. It’s all of us, no matter where you sit. It’s all of

us. Let’s continue to do the work. We are all here to represent

people.

I would say the investments — what’s made or what’s not…. Sometimes we

often forget in order to criticize, we are in that mode to forget to

highlight the services people have that they can access. During fires, we

noticed people came to our office from other areas. They didn’t know the

services that were in place, because they were told there were no such

services. My staff graciously connected them with the services. So we need

to be mindful.

It’s okay. I know we all have jobs. Opposition has a job to criticize

and highlight the gaps or what. I respect that. But it’s also okay to

appreciate what initiatives are being taken, what services we have in place,

so we can tell people and so people can benefit, rather than, when we as

leaders, say there is no such thing. If I am standing here saying there is

no daycare space in my community, there is no housing…. But those units that

are built, people will never get to go explore the options to submit their

applications.

Once again, thank you, everyone in this House, for doing the amazing

job you do, no matter which side you sit on. Thank you to my staff. Thank

you to the community of Vernon-Monashee. I would say thank you, hon.

Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak and share my

thoughts.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Be kind to yourself and others.

[1:55 p.m.]

M. Morris: It has been mentioned a couple of times by my colleagues and, I think,

probably by some commentators out in the media about how boring this speech

was. I sat here listening and expecting, any moment now, that I would be

invigorated and I would be enthused, but I wasn’t.

I mentioned this to one of my colleagues when I was leaving here. It

reminded me more of when, years ago, somebody was trying to introduce me to

some dietary biscuits. They were fat-free. They were gluten-free. They were

sugar-free. It was like biting into air. I got absolutely nothing out of it.

That’s the metaphor that I got out of this throne speech.

The throne speech is traditionally a visionary statement. It lays out

the path forward for government and an opportunity for us in opposition to

have a look and see what direction that government is going and see if we

can help guide them in another direction, perhaps, or support them,

depending on where they want to go.

As I heard a commentator say on Tuesday morning, this speech had very

few forward-looking statements, and there was more time spent looking at the

past. There is more time speaking about past commitments that have not yet

been accomplished. I tend to agree with that.

In all the leadership courses I’ve taken and all the direction I’ve

received from many good mentors over the years, true leadership articulates

that vision for the future and establishes a path forward for everybody to

follow. I was looking for a vision about, perhaps, better economic times,

environmental stability throughout the province, a zero opioid death rate

across the province, and perhaps mental illness treatment centres across the

province. But I didn’t see any of that in there. No, this speech was not

about finding a pathway.

I’ve said this before. I had a mentor inculcate this into my brain

when I was getting into more senior leadership roles, and he said that by

continually looking backwards at where you’ve come from, you will

continually run into the obstacles of the future. I think they’re right, and

we have a lot of obstacles in front of us. That is the importance of

establishing the pathway of where we want to go and how we’re going to

negotiate around the obstacles that we will certainly come

across.

One of my mentors, Stephen Covey, talked about whitewater. When you’re

heading down the rivers in the whitewater, you’ve got to look way ahead. You

‘ve got to make your decision long before you get to the rapids. Otherwise,

you won’t make it down in one piece.

I’m going to focus a lot of my discussion on forestry. But before I go

into forestry, I want to focus on a couple of other little things. One of

them is that government talks about high employment, and that’s great. We

all want high employment and, currently this province is experiencing some

pretty good employment figures. But someday…. I don’t know whether this

government is preparing for that. What happens when LNG Canada is completed,

and those thousands of workers who are employed in the constructing that

particular facility no longer have jobs in British Columbia?

What happens when the Coastal Gaslink project, which cuts through my

riding and several other ridings in the province, is completed next year,

and those workers are no longer employed?

[2:00 p.m.]

What happens when the Trans Mountain Pipeline extension gets completed

in the not-too-distant future, and those workers no longer have employment?

What happens with Site C, when that’s completed?

There was nothing in this throne speech that gave me any comfort as to

how government plans on employing everybody once all these projects are

completed — nothing. That’s problematic, because people plan on

that.

You know, there are a lot of workers right now in construction, and it

doesn’t matter what part of the construction they’re in, who know that they

have an end date coming pretty quick. What are they going to do after that?

They may end up having to leave this province if there are no other projects

in the works and go somewhere else.

We just had another mine cancelled on us, through the environmental

review process. That’s not going ahead. When we look at this government’s

statements that they’ve made in the past about electrifying British

Columbia, bringing more smart cars or electric vehicles online, more

charging stations online, that only comes from the ground. That copper comes

from the ground. The aluminum for our transmission lines that we’ll soon be

hooking up to Site C comes from the ground. So we need to be pursuing these

with vigour.

I once had a pretty good working knowledge with the Charter of Rights

as a police officer. Of course, it came in, in ’82. I’d been a police

officer for about ten years by that time. That really changed how we looked

at things. But then as a senior manager in the RCMP, I also had to stay up

to speed on the various court decisions that impact the Charter. We have

done a tremendous job in this province and this country with the Charter of

Rights and Freedoms. It came in, in 1982 but has had all kinds of challenges

against it and

definitions rendered through various Supreme Court of Canada

decisions. I look at the decades of work that has been done defining

section

35 of the Charter, Aboriginal rights.

The current haze that we see around this as a result of the UNDRIP,

the piece of legislation that…. I remember when we discussed it, and it was

voted unanimously in the House. But the minister confirmed several times

during the debate on that particular statute that it had no force and effect

in law, and it doesn’t. But one of the reasons I voted for it and, I’m sure,

many of my other colleagues voted for it was that just about every

article

in UNDRIP or in the Declaration Act is covered off under the Charter of

Rights and Freedoms in Canada — every single one of them — and, in fact, in

a more fulsome way. That was established in 1982.

When I say “in a more fulsome way,” I go back to…. I was in charge of

the Nass Valley RCMP detachment in the late ’80s. Frank Calder popped up for

a visit one time, and I was able to have a chit-chat with him. Frank Calder

was one of the first…. He was an MLA. He was an NDP MLA years ago, and then

he became a Social Credit member as well.

He took a case to court in British Columbia, and it ultimately landed

in the Supreme Court of Canada, the Calder case. That particular case from

1973 determined that Aboriginal land rights survived European settlement and

remain valid unless extinguished by treaty or otherwise. That was an

earth-shattering decision back in that particular time.

Then in 1982, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,

section 35, came

into force. In 1984, Guerin vs. The Queen was another monumental

milestone case that addressed sovereignty of Canada on the lands. And 1990

was the Sparrow decision, confirming that the

section 35 Constitution Act

protected all Aboriginal rights that had not been extinguished prior to

Then in 1996 were ones that I started getting involved in as a senior

manager. The Gladstone decision recognized that in order to reconcile the

existence of distinctive Aboriginal societies within the assertion of

sovereignty, limitations on some Aboriginal rights may be

required.

[2:05 p.m.]

Then, of course, in ’97…. We heard the great tributes to Chief

Delgamuukw yesterday in this House here. Again, that was one of the

decisions that…. I think I had four briefings on that decision in one week,

from the Department of Justice, from the RCMP lawyers, from the provincial

lawyers and from the First Nations lawyers that were involved in that

case.

Then we went on to 2004, which was another very meaningful case, which

was Haida . I think my colleague from Skeena has talked about that

case many, many times in the past. The Tsilhqot’in decision in 2014

was another one that distinguished Aboriginal title and a three-part test

that was required to determine what Aboriginal title was. Then in 2017, the

Ktunaxa Nation was another one that summarized just about

everything. It was more into the consultation process.

These are all things that define what our Charter is and what it’s all

about in a very meaningful and complete and fulsome way. Now, there are

going to be more Charter challenges over the years, because that’s what our

system’s all about — to clarify. Things change. Societies change. The courts

take all that into consideration. All legislation in B.C. and Canada needs

to be in compliance with our Charter.

I look at the statement that was in the throne speech that

government’s working on their declaration action plan. I applaud them for

that. I applaud them for the steps that they’re taking in involving First

Nations in the discussions, in moving forward in the agreements that they

have with the First Nations. But the Charter overrides that, and the Charter

will guide that. We need certainty.

Now, on page 9 of the throne speech, government says: “The goal from

the beginning has been to deliver better care, faster and closer to where

you live.” They’re referring to health care. I’m assuming that they mean,

when they talk about the beginning, that is when they assumed government in

My colleague from Peace River South brought this up when he was

speaking about the hospitals being on diversion. Mackenzie hospital, in my

riding, a small community. It used to be well over 6,000 people; now it is

barely meeting the 3,000 mark. It’s been on diversion dozens of times in the

last few years. Granted we have COVID, but it’s a hospital that is two

hours’ drive from the nearest hospital, which is in Prince George. To have

it diverted and the doors closed….

There are a couple of very tragic circumstances that have happened

with the doors being closed and people having heart attacks and having to be

transported by ambulance and no ambulance available. It caused a number of

various issues there.

I have to think that if we have qualified health professionals working

in the hospital…. Policy states that you have to have X number of people

working on the floor at any given time, and if you don’t have that, then you

have to divert to the nearest hospital two hours away. Well, if they are

qualified, if we have a doctor and we have a nurse in there — maybe we’re

supposed to have three nurses and two doctors; I don’t know what the numbers

would be — surely to goodness, if somebody is possibly dying outside from a

heart attack, somebody could help them.

That leads me to the other part of what I want to talk about. Northern

Health is the largest health authority in British Columbia. It covers the

most geography — three-quarters of the province. It is the only health

authority in the province that doesn’t have any cardiac services — the only

one. Anybody that does require those kinds of services has to be medevacked

down to St. Paul’s or some other hospital in the province. Of course, that

takes time.

I had a family member, my mother-in-law…. She’s passed away now, but

she had a heart attack. She waited ten days in the hospital in Prince

George, waiting to be medevacked down to St. Paul’s hospital for surgery to

have stents put in. Then my wife and I had to drive back down and pick her

up and bring her home again.

That’s part and parcel of living in the North and living in remote

areas of the province here, but it still doesn’t discount the fact that we

need to look at the Prince George hospital. We need to ensure that it’s got

the same basic services that other major hospitals have.

[2:10 p.m.]

The Prince George hospital is a training hospital. University Hospital

of Northern B.C…. We have the northern medical program, where we train our

northern doctors and our medical professions in the North, and they stay in

the North. We still don’t have enough.

It was subject to reconstruction in the late 1990s. We had a 400-bed

hospital at the time, and it was reconstructed. We now end up with a 200-bed

hospital. The operating rooms weren’t touched at the time. They’re 1950s-era

operating rooms that don’t accommodate all the modern equipment that our

surgeons need in order to do the job. So we need much bigger operating

rooms.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

Our northern medical program needs to expand. Our nurses are burned

out because we don’t have enough. We can’t recruit enough in the North. Down

south, everybody enjoys the warmer climates we have in the Okanagan. They

enjoy what the cities have to offer. Trying to attract them north is very

problematic.

I think government needs to step up to the plate. There is nothing in

the throne speech about this. To enhance the northern medical program, train

more nurses in the North, more physiotherapists in the North, more

occupational therapists in the North, more lab techs in the North so that

they stay in the North to accommodate all the hospitals that we have.

Whether it be Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Smithers, Terrace,

Smithers, Prince George — it doesn’t matter where. We have got all kinds of

room to accommodate our trained medical staff in those areas.

I could go on and on about a number of things — B.C. Ambulance and

other things — but I think I’m going to talk a little bit about forestry now

for the last ten minutes or so that I have left. It’s an industry in crisis

right across our province. It has been for quite some time here now. I look

at Mackenzie. Mackenzie started in 1968 with the creation of the W.A.C.

Bennett dam, which supplies the water to turn the generators in Sites A, B

and soon C. It supplies power to 40 percent or more of British

Columbia.

Ray Williston, as the Forests Minister of the day, said: “We’ve got an

opportunity here. We’ve got all kinds of wood up in this area here. We’re

going to build pulp mills.” Three pulp mills were built in Prince George — a

couple more in Quesnel, another one in Mackenzie — and lumber mills. The

annual allowable cut went way up to accommodate all that. Mackenzie was a

going concern. It was a municipal contract for the RCMP that I oversaw as

part of my duties. It had a population of well over 6,000 people. The latest

census has it hovering right around 3,000.

A couple of years ago one of the major licensees working in the area

says: “I’m not going to cut any more dead spruce. My clients don’t want dead

wood. They want green wood.” There was a number of other things that were

involved in this process as well, but they ended up shutting down their mill

— a modern mill. They had spent several million dollars modernizing it about

2010. They shut it down, putting several hundred people out of work. They’ve

sold it. It’s being dismantled, and pieces are being shipped to different

areas down in the States and other areas of the country.

That represents probably about $1½ million of annual revenue tax base

for the district of Mackenzie that’s gone. Shortly after that, the Mackenzie

Pulp Mill shut down, employing a couple hundred people. It permanently

closed — $1.3 million in revenue to the district of Mackenzie.

The Premier put together a coalition of licensees to try to address

all these downturns here a couple of years ago. That’s fallen flat. The

coalition — I don’t know — must be nonexistent. I haven’t heard of anything

happening there. I know the mayor, who is a great supporter of government,

has been on the phone with the minister and the Premier and other people

over the last few years. But there has been nothing that Mackenzie has been

able to garner from this government to help it out in the time of

crisis.

We have people that are out of work. We have the Mackenzie Counselling

association, a group of great people in there, that are overwhelmed from

work from people with anxiety and some of the other concerns that they have

with losing that.

[2:15 p.m.]

Besides ignoring Mackenzie, the timber supply area has been hit

significantly hard by the spruce beetle. That’s a midterm timber supply, but

it’s been overharvested. I had complaints to me about five years ago that

the southern portion of the Mackenzie timber supply area had been

overharvested. I think part of the problem with the Mac­kenzie Pulp

Mill is they can’t find fibre anymore. That’s a growing concern.

There are options. I don’t have enough time to get into the options

here. This is something the government should be looking at. If the forest

sector is going to fizzle in Mackenzie and other locations in British

Columbia….

We have a townsite in Mackenzie with rail access that has access to a

24-inch natural gas pipeline that feeds all of British Columbia and into the

northwest United States with natural gas that contains ethane, butane,

propane — a number of liquids in there that can be extracted out of that

pipeline. We have a proponent that says that he can take $2 million a day of

product out of that pipeline and turn it into polyethylene, polypropylene,

fertilizers that are sorely needed for our agricultural services.

We have brownfield sites in there, with these mills that are no longer

working. We have three-phase power going into there. We have a railway going

into there. We have highways going into there. We have people living there.

I think it would be an excellent alternative.

Forestry is broken. You know, what I find a little bit puzzling is

this government has not…. They’ve been in government now for five years.

There is no definitive plan on fixing forestry. I heard the Attorney General

this morning during question period going back in history and talking about

the 16 years of the B.C. Liberals, when we were in government, and making

some kind of comment about that.

I’d like to say that they were in opposition for 16 years, and not

once did they come up with a plan on how they would change forestry. Not

once did they look ahead to see what the problems were in forestry and have

a plan ready to go when they took over government in 2017 to fix forestry.

No, not one thing.

Here we are now in 2022, and they still haven’t completed what they

need to do. All they’ve done is confuse people across the province. They

have chased investment out of the province. Anybody that wants to invest in

mining and forestry and natural gas — they’ve left. They’re not

here.

What are they doing with forestry? We understand that something might

be coming, but in the meantime, we’ve got communities like Mackenzie that

are losing millions of dollars in tax revenue. We’ve got hundreds of people

out of work. We have issues where old growth is being deferred from the

harvest.

One of the major things…. I’ve driven around the province. I’ve driven

around the timber supply area. The Prince George timber supply is the

largest in the province. It provides 40 percent of the softwood for British

Columbia, and I’ve been trying to find the wood. The chief forester set the

annual allowable cut at 8.3 million cubic metres back in 2017, and I can’t

find it. I’ve gone to the forest inventory folks and asked them to show me

where it was, and it wasn’t there. So I think our forest inventory system is

broken.

We have government now promising First Nations across the province

access to volume that they are going to reallocate from some of the

licensees. I don’t think that volume is there. I think a lot of these First

Nations are being sold a bill of goods. They need to wake up and realize

what is going on out there. I don’t think the forest inven­tory system

has kept up with a lot of the different things that we’ve had out there with

the spruce beetle, with the pine beetle.

There was a credit program that was in effect for British Columbia. If

you harvested some wood and the logs, once they arrived at the mill, weren’t

good enough or of the quality required for sawlogs to make into dimension

lumber, they would be turned into chips or pellets or whatever the case

would be for the pulp mills or wherever they were going to go. Then that

forest company, that forest licensee was able to go and harvest an

equivalent amount of green wood or suitable wood, and it didn’t come off of

the annual allowable cut.

[2:20 p.m.]

I’ve heard calculations where the discrepancy, that delta between what

the AAC was and what this credit program brought to bear, is probably close

to 500,000 cubic metres, maybe one million cubic metres over the past number

of years, just in the Prince George timber supply area by itself, which is

pretty significant.

I want to talk quickly here about some of the problems associated to

the amount of forest cover that has been removed in the province. This

part

is near and dear to me — the hydrological effect that we see on the

ground.

I take the Chilako River in my riding as one of the examples. Back in

the ’90s, government established that we could only have what they called an

equivalent clearcut area equal to 20 percent if it’s a community watershed,

25 percent if it’s fishery sensitive, or 30 percent in the other watersheds.

The Chilako River in 2011…. A private consultant had a look at it. It was 80

percent in 2011 already.

When I dug into that, it was because the farmers, the landowners,

along the Chilako River where it entered the Nechako were being flooded out

all the time from the spring freshets. They were enormous freshets. There

was nothing left to hold them back.

Hydrological reports that I’ve read recently indicate that it takes 85

years for a tree to grow back to the point where the branches, and the

canopy that it provides, provide the same level of shade or protection from

the sun’s radiation that the old forest used to provide — 85 years. We don’t

have 85-year-old wood in British Columbia. We started clearcutting in 1966

or so, 1965. We’ve cleared about ten or 20 million hectares of land, of

forests in British Columbia. Our forests are only 50 or 60 years old at

most, but most of them have been harvested in the last 20 years, and those

forests are still quite small.

Government needs to have a look. Look at the hydrological impacts.

Look at the Coldwater River. How much of that was forested? How much of that

is clearcut in today’s terms? The Nicola River. Every major river that we

have, every major watershed in British Columbia needs to be reviewed by this

government in an urgent manner in order to determine whether or not there is

sufficient ground cover to protect from the melt of the snow. Because that

will impact our spring freshets, and that will have an effect on our

emergency management across the province every spring. It will have an

effect on our fires in the summer.

Those are the things that I was expecting to see in the throne speech,

particularly after the last few years of wildfires that we’ve had across the

province — particularly in the last few years of massive spring freshets and

the damage that they’ve caused across the province. I know that government

has commissioned a few hydrological studies that they haven’t released to

the public yet in regards to the Quesnel timber supply area, in regards to

the Merritt area, and I’d be curious to see what those reports say with

regard to the threat and the risk that these particular areas have for

British Columbians living in those areas.

Government needs to step up to the plate. There is a lot of work that

needs to be done out there to protect British Columbians. I know there are

some amendments coming to the Emergency Management Act for British Columbia.

That won’t stop the flooding from happening. There are people out there that

are still waiting for relief from the damages to their homes and their farms

from flooding back in 2017. They still haven’t seen that yet. And from the

fires of 2017 and 2018.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done out there, and I’m

surprised that none of that was included in this year’s throne speech. It’s

had very little mention, at least up until this point. Maybe government will

surprise us in the coming days and weeks and months ahead of us as to what

kind of action they’re going to take on that.

Mr. Speaker, government has a lot of work to do. We’re going to be

encouraging them to get that work done as we move forward with this

session.

B. D’Eith: I rise to speak to the Speech from the Throne, but before I speak, I

did want to take a moment to give a few thanks.

I’d like to start with thanks to everyone in my constituency — every

single person who has done what they needed to do during the pandemic. I

know, having talked to so many people, that everyone is getting tired and

frustrated. I just want to reach out to all of you and say thank you for

doing the right thing, for getting vaccinated, for doing all of the things

that Dr. Bonnie Henry has asked of us.

[2:25 p.m.]

I also want to thank, of course, Dr. Bonnie Henry and the Minister of

Health, who literally have been working around the clock for two years to

create policies to keep us all safe. I really think that’s

important.

I also would like to thank all my colleagues in the House,

particularly the new members, who really haven’t known anything other than

being in the House during a pandemic. I just wanted to really say how

appreciative I am of them, particularly, and how they’ve adapted to this

really, really difficult situation and just seeing amazing growth in our

members on both sides of the House. It’s been quite a challenging time for

all of us as members. I wanted to thank all of you for everything that

you’ve done. I really feel that a lot has been done.

Of course, I’d just like to take the opportunity, as well, to thank

some of the people who have been helping me as an MLA in Maple

Ridge–Mission. One of them is Alysa Huppler-Poliak, who has recently decided

to move over to Vancouver–False Creek, which is wonderful, but she will be

sorely missed, because we have an amazing team in Maple Ridge–Mission, and

she was a very important part of that, so she will be missed.

Staying behind, and someone who will be stepping up to a more senior

role as a CA, is Sunny Schiller and my long-term friend and other CA and

also former campaign manager, Sophia Kreuzkamp, who continues to step up

whenever needed and fill in the blanks. I’d also like to take a moment to

thank my legislative assistant, Patrick Vachon, who’s done a wonderful job

for me at the Legislature, especially during these difficult

times.

Just so people know, who are listening, I was very honoured to be

appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Arts and Film. One of the

wonderful things when you’re parliamentary secretary is that you also get

access to ministerial staff, and I did want to thank Diego Cardona, who has

just been doing a great job for me, and of course the minister and deputy

minister and all the staff at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and

Sport for really working so hard during this period of time.

When I thank those people, I also think we need to look at the

extended family and some of the key stakeholders that I’ve had the honour to

work with over the last couple of years and particularly the last year as

parliamentary secretary. One is Prem Gill and all of the staff at Creative

B.C. — just an amazing organization, having adapted so well during the

pandemic. Of course, the executive director, Brian Jonker, and the new

chair, Dr. Stan Chung, and vice-chair, Dana Claxton, of the B.C. Arts

Council, who are doing amazing work.

The executive director of DigiBC, Loc Dao. The executive director of

the B.C. Alliance for Arts and Culture, Brenda Leadlay. She has done some

amazing work as well. Of course, Music B.C., my old position, Lindsay

MacPherson. It’s so wonderful to work with you, and thank you for everything

you’ve done. Tracey Friesen and Liz Shorten from the CMPA, in film, and of

course Peter Leitch and all the staff at MPPIA, who are also in the film

sector. Heidi Waechtler, who’s the executive director of the Association of

Book Publishers of B.C., and of course my friend Sylvia Skene, from the

Magazine Association of British Columbia.

This is an amazing group of organizations that have done incredible

work, especially during the pandemic, because many of the sectors have been

the hardest hit, when we look at music or theatre. The film industry had to

do an incredible amount of heavy lifting to come back, and they came back

strong. It was just a real testament to see the resilience of our creative

industries, our arts and our culture. Again, I’m very proud to be part of

that.

Part of my mandate letter was to work with arts and culture to ensure

that there was proper funding during the pandemic for relief and recovery.

I’ve got to say that it’s also part of my mandate to make sure that when we

return, we’re actually more resilient than before, as part of Stronger B.C.,

and actually building better when we come back. A number of steps were

taken, because we took a lot of time to talk to folks. In February to

November of 2021, we had consultations with the creative sectors, including

CMPA and Live Nation Canada.

[2:30 p.m.]

We also talked to all of the festivals, including B.C. Music Festival

Collective and MPA-Canada and DigiBC. In May of 2021, we did consultations

around Amplify B.C., and I was able to lead a program there, where we

consulted. We had 17 meetings and met with nearly 100 people, including the

FPCC, First Nations and Music B.C.

This really resulted in programs and initiatives that actually were

able to show that we were able to adapt quickly to what the industry needed.

The same thing went with the performing arts and regional roundtables which

I led in June and July of 2021. We had many meetings. We had 67 performing

arts organizations and 19 regional meetings, with over 160 organizations

participating. The point here is that it’s important to listen.

As with many ministries and many parliamentary secretaries, I really

have to give credit to the very hard work that has been done to make sure

that we do a few things. Some of the things I heard were…. In the restart

and recovery, we need funding for that. Things that we noticed during the

pandemic…. Moving into the future, as we noticed in the throne speech, we

need to have some paradigm shifts in how we do things. That means looking at

our infrastructure, looking at equipment but also looking at things like

equity, diversity, access and reconciliation. These are all really important

themes moving forward.

Also, it’s important to mention that the minister met with the major

studios — Netflix, Sony, Walt Disney, HBO, NBC and CBS. That is really

important, because they bring millions and millions and millions, billions

of dollars of revenue to British Columbia.

From listening to all that, in addition to the federal funding, there

was quite a bit of funding that went out through the B.C. Arts Council.

There was an extra $44 million in recovery money, and $35 million from

StrongerBC was reallocated from the base budget and $4 million for an

infrastructure program. These funds supported arts and arts organizations

during the pandemic.

Also, in June of 2020, Amplify B.C. was pivoted to provide operating

and innovation support for the live music sector to make sure that we would

have our venues and our festivals and our associations and our musicians. We

got input from, as I said, over 160 stakeholders in that.

One of those things that we were able to do was a $750,000 Showcase

B.C. microgrant program that gave $500 to emerging artists and $2,000 to

established artists for live streaming. This was very, very well received

and very important at a critical time, when artists were not able to play

live, and still aren’t.

We were really fortunate in April 2021 that Amplify B.C. was actually

renewed for three years. That means that, moving forward, in this throne

speech, we actually are already funded for the next two years. This will

really help in continuing the recovery that we’re doing.

Another important thing that was actually…. One of the reasons that I

ran in 2008 was the cuts to arts and culture and cuts to the creative

industry. One of the things that was cut was the B.C. Film domestic film

production budget. It went from $5 million to zero. We were really, really

pleased to bring back $2 million for domestic production. That’s really,

really important for the domestic film production.

Also, we renewed the book publishers tax credit for five more years.

These are all forward-looking initiatives that will help create stability

moving forward.

There have also been some really targeted funds. There was the

COVID-19 closure relief grant that was announced, between $1,000 and $20,000

for those organizations that were closed recently, during the PHO orders.

There was also a fairs, festivals and events recovery fund that gave up to

$250,000 for festivals. Consider what festivals have had to go through over

the last couple of years. It’s unbelievable.

Now we’re beginning again to do this outreach. Moving forward, as part

of our commitment as a government, we are going to go out again to the arts

community and review the updates and things that have been done and build,

as we’ve said, better, have more diversity, more inclusion, with an eye to

empowering the arts so that the arts can be a vehicle to help with true

reconciliation with Indigenous people.

[2:35 p.m.]

Our government has shown an incredible commitment to arts, culture and

the creative industries during the pandemic and will continue to support

this amazing sector that contributes $5 billion in GDP and employs over

100,000 people a year. One of the things that’s important to know is, as

part of this support, I’m working as one small piece of the whole

government, and I’m focusing, of course, on arts, culture and the creative

industries.

Of course, the same level of attention and care is being put into all

the other ministries. We’re actually able to see plans right across

ministries that support people during this important time. Part of that —

and I alluded to it earlier — is how important everybody in British Columbia

was to getting vaccinated.

I think if we look at how we’re leading the country with one of the

strongest economic recoveries, that has so much to do with people doing the

right thing and getting vaccinated. Now it’s quite incredible how many

people — over 90 percent of people — are vaccinated in British Columbia.

It’s quite a testament to everyone. But it also shows how important public

health is to our economy. In fact, the steps that were taken have really

helped our economy to continue to thrive.

Deputy Speaker: Member, by agreement, I think we’re going to move on to the next order

of business. If you wouldn’t mind reserving your place. We would love to

hear more of your response to the throne speech, but I believe we’re going

to move to another bill at this point, as agreed by government and

opposition.

B. D’Eith: My apologies. I wasn’t aware of that.

Deputy Speaker: Not a problem. I was just made aware of it myself.

B. D’Eith: I move to adjourn debate and reserve my place to speak

again.

B. D’Eith moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. B. Ma: I call second reading of Bill 2, intituled the Municipalities

Enabling and Validating (No. 4) Amendment Act, 2022.

Second Reading of Bills

BILL 2 — MUNICIPALITIES ENABLING

AND VALIDATING

(N o . 4)

AMENDMENT ACT,

Hon. J. Osborne: I move that the bill now be read a second time.

I’m pleased to rise in the House today to speak to this important

piece of legislation. I’m honoured, as the Minister of Municipal

Affairs, to be tabling a bill that supports the village of Lytton

following the devastating fire of June 30, 2021. As a result of the

fire, Lytton lost the majority of its records and all server backups,

including full copies of bylaws that support the governance and

administration of the village. This bill represents one of the next

steps our government is taking to support the village and its

residents.

As everyone in the chamber knows, bringing forward legislation is

no small endeavour. I am thankful for the skills and expertise of the

staff in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and across government who

make this work possible. Bill 2, the Municipalities Enabling and

Validating (No. 4) Amendment Act, 2022, or MEVA, is an important piece

of legislation to support Lytton as they work through the task of

re-establishing a full suite of bylaws for their governance and

administration.

These legislative amendments will provide the village with the

legal certainty to move forward with their governance, operations and

recovery, including the repealing and replacing of bylaws where there is

currently uncertainty about the content of those bylaws. These

amendments will clarify that Lytton may repeal and replace lost bylaws

for ten years.

We know that Lytton has worked hard to recover and itemize as many

bylaws as they can, but we cannot fully anticipate situations or

challenges regarding the bylaws that may yet still arise. For that

reason, this legislation provides flexibility with the

Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council regulation-making authority to waive,

exempt or modify legislative requirements for the adoption of specific

bylaws if Lytton is unable to meet the requirements for a particular

lost bylaw. This regulation-making authority may be used more than once

and will be considered on a case-by-case basis upon request by

Lytton.

Finally, the amendments will also enable the validation of actions

taken under bylaws lost in the fire. This amendments will only come into

force at a later date if this is required. The validation of actions is

intended to be applied only if necessary.

For example, if Lytton identifies that they have taken actions or

decisions under a bylaw that was lost in the fire, but they had not yet

repealed or replaced the bylaw, and only so long as the action or

decision was taken in good faith.

[2:40 p.m.]

We have also been attentive to the requirements of the Declaration

on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act as we have developed this

legislation. As a result, we have notified area First Nations about the

proposed amendments — in particular, the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal

Council, which includes Lytton First Nation. Future consultations with

Indigenous peoples will be taken as necessary for specific bylaws that

require the proposed Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council regulation

authority.

We know that the village operates as a regional service centre for

the 1,500 members of the Lytton First Nation and the eight neighbouring

Indigenous communities in the Thompson-Nicola regional district. Our

government is committed to supporting a successful rebuild of Lytton to

support the entire region.

We recognize that the situation in Lytton continues to be

incredibly difficult for the residents of Lytton. That’s why our

government is continuing to take the necessary steps to support Lytton

with their recovery.

Yesterday we announced that Lytton will benefit from $8.36 million

in new funding to help council sustain core village operations and fund

significant wildfire response costs, and $6.26 million of that funding

will immediately help Lytton respond to the challenges of high wildfire

response costs and severely reduced revenues. And $2.1 million will

support the village’s core operations so they can focus on planning,

recovery and rebuilding, rather than revenue generation, over the next

three years.

This bill, along with the new provincial funding, will provide

Lytton with the tools and funding they need to recover as quickly as

possible. But these actions build on our ongoing supports for the people

of Lytton. Since day one, we’ve ensured that emergency support services

were available for Lytton residents, and to date, we’ve provided over $6

million in ESS funding to ensure that individuals and families had

access to temporary housing and meals. We’re ensuring that this support

continues through the work of the Canadian Red Cross.

In addition, we’re funding numerous staff positions focused on

temporary housing, local government recovery, safe return and re-entry

and financial and in-kind support. Staff across government, including

those in my ministry and emergency management B.C., have and will

continue to work to support Lytton as they move forward with recovering

and rebuilding their community.

Last December we announced $1 million in funding for economic

recovery and operating funding to ensure that municipal wages continue

to be paid and that the funds are available to support the village’s

economic restart.

My colleagues and I continue to be in close contact with Mayor

Polderman, and we will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure

that the village and its residents are supported. I know that recovery

can’t happen fast enough for the people of Lytton, and our government

will be there and continue to be there as we tackle this

together.

I’m sure that all members of this House recognize that this

legislation is a critical next step to support the village as it moves

forward with recovery and rebuilding. I hope all members in this House

will join me in supporting Bill 2.

With that, hon. Speaker, I want to thank you and all members of

this House. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues in the

continued debate today on the second reading of this bill.

D. Ashton: I appreciate the minister’s comments.

I rise today to speak to this bill, which we understand will help

the village of Lytton repeal and rescind bylaws, as well as create new

ones, something that has been a challenge following last June’s

devastating wildfire, which caused so much devastation, including to the

village records, servers and backup servers. That is a point that we

have to think about in the future.

Just before I start at this, I would like to thank the minister,

her ministerial staff, research staff and other MLAs that were on the

call with myself and her ministerial staff. It’s greatly appreciated,

when we’re dealing with bills like this, to have that opportunity to

have a ministerial briefing. It does make a difference.

I would like to say I was raised in a family with a golden rule.

We had a lot of rules in our family, but the number one rule in our

family was the golden rule: you always treat people how you like to be

treated. So I would like my peers in here and maybe those that are

listening out there to ensure that I am not talking about individuals

directly, but I am going to be expressing my frustration, and more

importantly, the frustration that all of us have heard from the people

of Lytton about the ongoing delays. So, please, I would just like that

to be taken under heart.

[2:45 p.m.]

I would also like to say that fire has touched our family. My mom

was 15 years old, lived on the farm in Leaso, had to ride her horse to

school every day. I’m starting to date myself. My mom is 96 years old.

She quit working at 83 years old, in our family business. But she came

home from school one day, and the house was gone — gone. All that was

left was the barn.

She now has an opportunity…. She’s in a home in Summerland, and

she has a chance to reminisce. Thank God, touch wood, she still has her

mind, and she knows all of us and that. But she does have a chance to

talk about it, especially after the fires that we experienced in the

Okanagan. Touch wood, in our area nothing happened to habitats or to

livestock. But it did happen just north of me, in another peer’s riding

— again, for the West Kelowna side.

My mom reminisces and tells me that she had nothing. She had

nothing before 15 years of age. Absolutely nothing. Every memory that

she had, every picture that was in the house — everything you can think

about as a child that was written down, pictures that were taken, or

drawings or paintings — was gone. That’s why my heart goes out to the

people of Lytton.

On the business side of it, we had two business fires, not caused

by us. One in Trail was started three buildings away from us, and it

took us in the onslaught. Another one in Nelson started above us, with a

dentist’s office and a plumber, and it took professional offices. It

took another business beside us, and our business. Nelson is my peer

across the way. It’s a beautiful community. You opened the door, and you

could look at the stars. You could look at the dirt in the basement.

That’s it. It just took everything, and it takes forever to

recover.

Those fires were about ten years apart. For a business, we were

fortunate. We had additional stores. But it still took the wind out of

our sails for a long time. I can relate personally to what those

businesses in Lytton are going through.

I do have questions. Many of the people in Lytton have questions

about why it has taken so long, not only so long just to bring this bill

forward, but so long to get them back in their homes, so long to get

them back to a place that they’ve called home forever, most of them.

What they would like to know is that since the fire occurred on June

30…. It was more than seven months ago — 225 days ago as of

tomorrow.

We had a fall session. We were here in September through November.

I’m just curious. I ask this to government — why it has taken so long to

get this bill brought forward.

I was so incredibly fortunate. I started off as a councillor in

Penticton after all of the other adventures that I had done in my

lifetime and was able to get into the regional district, along with my

peer from Boundary-Similkameen — a similar position. I enjoyed it

thoroughly and also became a mayor.

I fully realize how powerful MEVA can be. I can see the benefits

and had the experience of being able to see those benefits. But what I

want to make sure, in my discussion and to government, is…. MEVA

legislation allows government to do a lot, especially local government.

We cannot forget those people that were affected in that Lytton area. We

cannot forget that Lytton has an elected mayor and council.

We cannot forget that there is also a very decent Aboriginal

population — very nice people, and a wonderful chief, I’ve been told —

around that area who we have to take into consideration. I know that

might be on the federal side, but we — all of us in here, with UNDRIP —

have taken a step in the right direction, a long overdue step in the

right direction. We have to be able to work together.

That’s a two-way street, and that’s what I ask. It’s that we all

put our collective heads together. No matter what we represent in this

House or what party we represent or what our thoughts are, we all have

to work together to get those people in Lytton back into their homes or

into their new homes that, hopefully, are going to be created very

quickly in the future.

[2:50 p.m.]

It does surprise me. I’m going to come back to stating this, and

this is not at any individual MLA. But government has not had a good

track record on this. I would just hope that the inexcusable delays in

getting supports to the people of Lytton — who, again, have lost

everything — are expedited to the best of everybody’s

ability.

For so many people in that community, getting back into the

community that they loved and getting back to a place where their home

was and a place where those memories were…. Yes, they’re going to be

distorted, those memories and that, but Lytton will rise from the ashes.

Trees will come back. Families will come back. Opportunity for

friendships will come back. But it’s got to start, and in my opinion, it

should have started earlier.

Again, I would just state that I think government has mobilized to

address a bureaucratic matter, where I think this could have been done

quicker, and I think that a lot of other things could have been done in

Lytton and the Lytton area to get people back. Bureaucracy can help in a

lot of ways, but it can also hinder, and the people of Lytton do not

need anything else that is going to hinder them in getting back to their

communities.

I would like to say, also, that there are priorities that I think

the government has to address. To focus right now on burnt paperwork,

which is awful in a lot of ways, but not as much as helping people to

get back in…. I had said when I started this conversation it was

something to think about. Nobody…. What do they say? It’s an exact

science, the past? Boy, there are a lot of communities, mine included,

where I call home, where I’m sure hoping that we keep our records and

backups in two different places.

Poor Lytton. Not having that backup, again, has enabled the

government to bring forward MEVA legislation — or, hopefully, bring MEVA

legislation forward — to give them the opportunity to recreate a lot of

those bylaws, etc., that are missing at this point in time because of

the fire. I think it will be a lesson well learned for many communities,

in this province and elsewhere, that recordkeeping is incredibly

important. Let’s not put all our cards in one basket — i.e., not all our

paper in one premises.

I have had several calls from individuals that are actually from

Lytton but that are housed in Penticton right now. Again, my hat is off

to all of the agencies, including government, that took the response to

get people in with a roof over their heads, but these people have told

me that they just want to get home. Home, to them, is that Lytton area.

So I’m really, really hoping that the government will step forward with

rebuilding a portion of Lytton.

I really hope that the government, working in unity with those

that are required to move the debris, working in unity with those in the

surrounding area — i.e., our dear Aboriginal friends and partners, I

hope, in this — will ensure that.

Yes, this may be a site deemed of archaeological interest on it,

but it’s also a place that people call home. The band lost homes. I

think what we have to do is really work together to ensure that we can

get people in as quickly as possible, while being prudent and diligent,

ensuring that appropriate measures are taking place archaeologically,

and also ensuring that the debris and the contamination from the fire is

addressed properly so that people can come back to their community

safely.

I’ll say again that I think there’s a lot of good work being done

on the ground at this point in time, but we’ve got to get up out of the

ground. We’ve got to get that construction underway. I would like to say

that I’m not the only one. I know the insurance companies had pegged a

figure of approximately $78 million, but it’s my understanding that the

Insurance Bureau of Canada has said these costs have increased to over

$100 million due to the delays.

[2:55 p.m.]

As we all know, the cost of building is going up and up. With our

forests — my peer was speaking before about the problems in the forests

these days — the cost of lumber probably isn’t going down. So as we

create and hope to help re-create Lytton, the quicker that we can get

there, the better it is.

Some may have seen that I had posted a picture, with the approval

of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, that showed a picture from Fort

McMurray and a picture from Lytton, six months apart. Fort McMurray was

well underway with construction — homes almost in completion stage —

whereas in Lytton, fences preventing people from getting to their

properties are still there. I understand they’re apples and oranges —

again, because of some of the situations that the people of Lytton are

having to deal with.

It just goes to show you that if the will is there, there is the

opportunity to get people back into their homes a lot quicker. I’m not

singling anybody out here. We, collectively again, have to ensure that

we are going to do everything, starting immediately, to speed this

process up, to get this underway, so that people can get back into their

houses, back into their homes and back into their businesses.

We have talked…. I apologize. I may just be dry. If I could excuse

myself for one half a sec.

My peer is looking at me. No, I don’t have a sore throat, and no,

it’s not a COVID cough, so there you go. It’s the emotion. I mentioned

my mom.

I can only feel for those people that have lost everything and

what that toll is, because it’s your dwelling every day. Where the

individual is staying in Penticton is a very nice place, a hotel. But a

hotel room isn’t a home. It’s like for us here, where many of us —

myself included, earlier on — stay in a hotel. It’s difficult. You’re

coming, and you’re going, and it’s not a place that you want to call

home.

Again, I would say that — the ministry is introducing this bill

saying that the government has been listening to the people and the

village needs — I think the people of Lytton need a lot more than MEVA

legislation at this point in time. They need the help that this

government, this House, this Legislature and the government entities can

give them. It’s really time that we step forward with that.

I know that the bill is a step, and it’s a step in the right

direction, but again, I’m going to say that this bill could have taken

place a lot earlier, and it may have expedited some things a little bit

quicker. I know that there are a few technical elements to the bill, and

I look forward to exploring these in committee stage with the minister.

We’ve always had a good rapport, especially with the ministerial staff,

and I think that there will be a few questions — good questions — about

why this is being brought forward and how this bill will progress in the

future.

This bill is coming forward for a ten-year period — a ten-year

period. I just hope that our words that we say here, the minister’s good

words and my peer’s words…. I’m sure that with the government having

other MLAs stand up and talk, those good words get quickly forgotten in

this place. Ten years from now, while MEVA is still in place, I hope

those issues that are brought up in this Legislature will have been

remembered or at least looked at.

I think MEVA, again, can be in good hands. It can be a very good

process for getting things done quicker, without a lot of input from the

public on it. But we, here in this Legislature, are here because of

input that we have put into the public in our past careers, and we stay

here with the input that we give back to the public on a continual

basis. When we don’t, I can assure you that there’ll be a few empty

chairs in here — mine, probably, included.

I know that there are more steps — they may be bigger steps — that

have to be taken by this government. I really, really hope that this

government understands the value and understands what it means to the

contributions that, hopefully, they are bringing forward to get people,

I know, in here.

Lytton was a commerce…. It was an economic hub. It was a

crossroads to many people. Some 2,500-plus people in the area counted on

Lytton. The business people in there know to maintain it, not only for

the people of Lytton but the people of the surrounding Aboriginal lands,

the people that are crossing through Lytton all the time. These are

their livelihoods.

[3:00 p.m.]

[R. Leonard in the chair.]

I really think that government has to realize that the loss of the

businesses in Lytton that has taken place has affected farmers. It’s

affected ranchers. It’s affected tourism operators. It’s affected all

kinds of professionals throughout the valley. It’s affected many that we

don’t even realize today.

Madam Speaker, nice to see you in the chair. It’s always a

pleasure.

I would ask that this government take some steps immediately, not

only with MEVA legislation — and I know that that’s a bill that we’re

discussing — but we’re also discussing the livelihood and the homes of

the people from Lytton.

In my opinion, the theme of too little, too late…. By the way, I

greatly appreciate the money that has been put forward by the government

and the recent announcement by the minister that it’s going to help to

facilitate this. But a lot of that money is going into government

organizations.

The people of Lytton and area will say, respectfully: “That’s

great. We can do this, and we can build a new city hall, and we can keep

our councils working. But I” — not me, personally — “as a citizen of

Lytton want to get back to my property. I want to start the process of

getting my home back to what I remember. I want to start the process of

getting my memories back from where I probably raised my kids or grew up

or moved to Lytton, to enjoy my livelihood and especially, maybe, my

retirement.”

To me, less talk, more action is needed, and that should start

today. I want to thank the minister for bringing this forward, but I

would also like to ask the minister to use everything in her power. I

would also like to ask every member of the government — right here, who

I’m looking at, plus the seats where everybody else is busy in their

offices but, hopefully, listening to the TV — let’s all put our

collective hats together. Let’s all work for the people of Lytton. Let’s

get them back into their homes. We cannot forget about the other

calamities that have taken place. Let’s do the same for those

people.

Thank you very, very much. Let’s get a distinct timeline for

Lytton. Let’s keep to it, and let’s keep our noses to the

grindstone.

I reserve my opportunity in the future, during committee stage, to

ask lots of pertinent questions about the MEVA bill.

A. Olsen: Thank you for the opportunity to speak to Bill 2, the

Municipalities Enabling and Validating (No. 4) Amendment Act, 2022. I’m

just echoing the comments of my colleague from Penticton.

I think that it is important to recognize that it’s been 225 days

since we first heard the reports on the radio of a very fast-moving

fire. It’s unknown what the ignition point was. Lots and lots of

unknowns. Listening to the radio, to the terrified residents of Lytton

and the surrounding areas as they were being evacuated — scattering,

literally, in all directions…. It’s been 225 days since that fateful day

for Lytton, British Columbia.

We now see a bill that comes forward that will help the local

government of Lytton deal with some of the tragic results of that fire.

I also am a former local government elected official, as are many

members that populate the seats of this chamber now. I could not imagine

if this incident happened in the community that I was elected to

represent. It would be absolutely terrifying.

As a local government official, I am thinking back to how I would

respond to that. I don’t know that we come equipped with the skills to

be able to address something as devastating as an entire town burning to

the ground. I have sympathy for this provincial government in the

effort, which is a monumental effort, in rebuilding a town that, in a

few moments, ceased to exist in its built form.

[3:05 p.m.]

Clearly, the citizens of Lytton don’t feel that their town ceased

to exist. It’s part of who they are. A lot of pride. I know a lot of

people from Lytton and just how disruptive, of course, this

is.

I can’t help but think back to the fall session of this

Legislature, seeing the emotion and the words of our colleague from

Fraser-Nicola and trying to put into perspective how I, as a member of

the Legislative Assembly, would represent the citizens of a town that

burned to the ground. Very clearly, it was weighing heavy on our

colleague, and that should be of no surprise. Frankly, I think that we,

as MLAs, deal with much smaller issues than this one.

To hear the member for Fraser-Nicola repeat day in and day out in

question period — 90 days, then 100 days, 120 days, and now we’re at 225

days — pleading with this provincial government to take more speedy

action than they have taken….

This legislation that we look to today — and will be debating over

the next couple of days here in second reading and, as well, at

committee stage — begins the process of the administrative aspects of

being able to start to rebuild the town. It allows for bylaws that are

completely in ashes, frankly. For the community to start to put those

back together again, recognizing that…. As my friend from Penticton

said, it is prudent to ensure that records in all of our communities are

in more than a single place. This is a lesson, I think, to be learned

from that.

Municipal permits. The ability to actually start to get a building

permit and, once it’s been approved, to start to rebuild your home or

your business — this bill is indeed an essential step. But I do have to

echo the comments that have been made previously in this debate. I have

to ask similar questions as to why a bill of this nature did not come

forward in the fall session. We spent six weeks in this House debating

legislation. This would have been a welcome bill at that

time.

I will be asking the government questions. I’ll be asking the

government, through the Minister of Municipal Affairs, what the delay

was to this piece of legislation that’s in this bill that’s in front of

us now. I think it is also important for us to recognize that while this

has happened one time in the recent history of this province, we have to

begin preparing for the inevitability of more severe weather events in

the future due to climate change.

While we will be in a kind of responsive mode here, 225 days after

the event has passed…. Certainly, I can only say that from the position

that I’m in. I don’t think the resi­dents of Lytton would suggest

that the instance has passed. They’re still living very much in the

middle of it. But it is a lesson for this provincial government to

learn, that we are going to need to become more proactive in our

preparation for severe weather events and for the more severe impacts of

those weather events.

While we move to pass Bill 2, the questions, of course, remain.

What are we doing in order to ensure that should an incident like this

occur again, we are more prepared to act in a more expedient

manner?

[3:10 p.m.]

I think it is also important to note that…. And it must be the

frustration that some residents of Lytton would be feeling. Just a few

months after the fire in their community took their community, we had

significant floods. Many of the residents that were displaced from

Lytton were displaced again because of the floods, whether they were in

Merritt or elsewhere in the region. I have to, I guess, raise my hands

to those people who have been displaced multiple times, and I can only

share love with them to hope that they are continuing and are doing

well.

We also watched a huge amount of infrastructure — the Coquihalla,

Highway 3, Highway 1 — get washed away in the floods. It must have been

frustrating for the displaced people from Lytton to watch as every

single effort was taken to reconnect. I want to raise my hands to all of

the crews that were working on that, to the ministry and to the

government for making those connections, once again connecting the Lower

Mainland with the rest of Canada.

However, I think that what we’ve seen here are two very different

responses — a response that is now 225 days in the making before we see

this bill, and the announcement that the Coquihalla had been reopened.

So I need to make the connection, because I think it’s important that

British Columbians see their government prepared, acting to become more

prepared than perhaps we have considered necessary in the past and, as

well, that we are consistent in the delivery of our response to

communities.

There’s no doubt that the highway infrastructure connecting the

Lower Mainland with the rest of Canada — and I would say the rail

infrastructure as well — is critically important to our economy. But so

is the town of Lytton, and the residents of Lytton need to know that. No

matter what we say in this Legislature, no matter what members of the

government say in this Legislature, no matter what is said in press

conferences about the response, ultimately, the people of Lytton and the

rest of the residents, our constituents, in British Columbia will

evaluate the government’s work based on the actions.

I think it’s important that we say the words in this House and we

say the words in press conferences but that we follow those up with the

appropriate level of action so that the people of Lytton can see that we

do indeed take the grave situation that they face very

seriously.

I will be asking questions in committee stage, as they come up, if

my friend from Penticton doesn’t ask them before I get the opportunity

to. I look forward to the passage of this bill and to the expedient

support and rebuilding of the beautiful town of Lytton. With that, I’ll

take my seat.

R. Russell: Thank you to both of the members opposite for their comments.

Personally, I appreciate leaving the partisanship out of it and

recognizing that this is a shared challenge that we are all facing

together to try to help the community of Lytton navigate this situation

that they are in and the disaster that they have faced.

It’s my pleasure today to rise and speak in favour of Bill 2, in

order to help establish the legislative framework for the community of

Lytton to rebuild their library of bylaws. As many of you know, our

Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and myself were asked

by the Premier to help serve as policy liaisons for the village, working

directly with Mayor Polderman and council to help to support that

community when they encountered obstacles in their path of navigating

recovery.

One of those obstacles that the village has identified and made

clear to us is the need to have some help navigating that re-creation of

that suite of bylaws for the village, because as, of course, we’ve

heard, those bylaws have all gone up in smoke.

[3:15 p.m.]

I appreciate the frustration, as well, that the member for

Penticton highlighted, and I want to reassure him and the House that

that frustration is shared by, I think, all of us, and there is a great

number of people on the government side of things and in the civil

service trying remarkably hard to help this community, however they can,

to navi­gate that.

I certainly have a bit of experience. As the member shared some

personal stories, I have some experience as well, having been in a

different but similar unprecedented disaster and trying to help a

community navigate recovery. That, for me, was a flood that covered over

300 kilometres of riverfront evacuations and lakefront evacuations in my

current riding. That was in 2018. We’re four years on now, and we are

still in the thick of recovery. So just to make sure, part of the

process of recovery is recognizing that it is not fast. That is

frustrating for everybody, but it is a reality of how recovery

works.

I would say that part of what I think is very important — again,

based on that experience for myself as well as Lytton — is recognizing

that local governments are really at the heart of recovery. And that’s —

for myself, certainly — a model that I think is extremely important,

because most of us that have had any experience in local government

recognize that local government really knows the community best and

understands the nuances of how to navi­gate through

recovery.

In this case, to address a couple of the questions that were

raised, among the myriad and very long list of other tasks that the

mayor and council and village staff have been working to work through on

behalf of their community, one of those tasks has been trying to

recreate and restore their suite of bylaws. So we needed to make sure

that that community had space and room to work through that

process.

They have since made it clear to us that they need more support

for that process. They’ve identified a need for a little more agility

for council to be able to rebuild that bylaw library, including their

regulatory administrative bylaws, their land use rules for building and

zoning, and so on. That’s why this legislation is in front of us

today.

Again, I would say that certainly, having navigated some of this

myself, I feel like I can empathize with some of the difficulties that

this community is facing and some of the challenges that the mayor and

council are facing. I would say that we’ve heard from not just mayor and

council but other community leaders in the village of Lytton and the

surrounding First Nations communities about just how fatiguing and

challenging it is to lead a community through recovery, through such

difficult times. As I’ve mentioned, it always takes longer than we might

hope.

I would also recognize that doing recovery properly takes an

enormous amount of trust. It also takes a lot of strong community

partnerships. It takes unity, like the member for Penticton mentioned.

And certainly — not the least of which — it takes dedicated and strong

leaders, like we’ve seen in Lytton and the surrounding area.

I would ask the House also to recognize and applaud those local

leaders for the work that they’re doing, because it is relentless and

exhausting and lonely work that Mayor Polderman, his council and the

local Chiefs are doing. It is exhausting. We’ve heard that directly from

those folks.

As the member for Saanich North and the Islands mentioned, those

of us that put our hands up for local government…. We didn’t step into

that equipped with the tools to navigate anything like this. It is

something that is placed upon us as leaders. So again, recognize and

make some space and appreciation for the hard work that that local

council is doing.

These amendments to the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act

provide, in a way that’s specific to the village, the tools to allow

them to rebuild that suite of bylaws. Once passed, this bill will ensure

that the community and the village have the legal ground necessary to

take important actions towards rebuilding.

[3:20 p.m.]

Legislation like this clears the way for those local leaders to be

able to focus on the vital recovery work that they have in front of them

to work through.

I would say no one navigating a recovery like this wants to be

slowed down by administrative friction. So this bill helps eliminate a

little more of that friction for those local leaders and helps the

community speed up, hopefully, that path to recovery.

I would also flag…. Yesterday we announced that the province will

be providing more than $8 million to Lytton in new funding to support

the village in recovery and ongoing operations. There were some comments

earlier about what the government has been doing and is doing. So that,

hopefully, will address that to some degree — more than $6 million to

help Lytton respond to the challenges of the costs of navigating

wildfire response and recovery as well as the challenges of just cash

flow in a community like that and severely reduced revenues.

And $2.1 million will also support the core operations so that the

village can focus…. Instead of on revenue generating in the next few

years, they can make sure that they can really focus on planning,

recovery and rebuilding, which is, again, critical for them to be able

to move forward effectively.

This announcement from yesterday adds on previous support that the

province has been providing. Again, it’s not all dollars, but it is the

staffing support that becomes especially important in, I would say,

rural communities. The province has funded more than a dozen positions

in the village’s recovery team. That’s the sort of

investment….

Really, again our role is to help support that local government

navigate through this process as best as we can. So those kinds of

investments or coordination of debris removal and housing supports to

residents are the sorts of supports that I think that are particularly

important.

I think we want to ensure to the House and the village residents

that we’re here for Lytton. We’ll continue to work closely with the

local leaders there to figure out what they need to help navigate this

process going forward. This bill today is just one more step that we are

taking to help make that process a little more fluid and a little less

challenging for them.

B. Banman: I’d like to thank those that have gotten up and spoken, on behalf,

to this Bill 2. As has already been mentioned, this is basically a

housekeeping bill for the village of Lytton because of the wildfires and

destruction. It helps with their recordkeeping, their bylaws and being

able to move forward.

I stand up today not on behalf of myself so much as I do for my

colleague from Fraser-Nicola, who, as we know, can no longer speak to

bills. My colleague got up many times and said: “It’s day 90. It’s day

120.” Here we are on day 225.

I was a mayor and on council. Like many of us, I cut my teeth on

local politics. I want to tell you that if I was the mayor of Lytton

right now, I think that my hairdo would be reflective of some of my

colleagues that are in the room right now, because I think I would have

pulled most of it out by now. Yes, I know. It would be that frustrating

as a mayor.

I’d also like to say that I, too, went through a fire. My family

lost their business to a fire. It was a moving and storage company. As

it would happen, we were building our dream home. All of our belongings

got lost in the fire in addition to the business. I know how devastating

it is to go through a fire.

[3:25 p.m.]

Thankfully, I did not lose my home, and there were certain things

that we had because we were living in a trailer at the time. But I

understand the heartbreak.

I also grew up rather rural. What many of those that live in

larger communities don’t understand is how interdependent communities

such as Lytton are — that connection to your neighbours, that connection

to your friends and how vital that is. They didn’t just lose their

homes. Their friends have scattered into the winds as they try and find

places to live, to weather through. One of the most frustrating things

about this is that they can’t really get anything permanent, because

we’re going to rebuild. It drags on, and it drags on, and it drags

on.

My question that I have is…. This bill should have been before

this House in week 7, not month 7. As was mentioned, Fort McMurray was

already starting to return. As was mentioned, we’ve already rebuilt much

of our major infrastructure that was washed away in record time because

we decided that was a priority.

This government has decided that the people of Lytton don’t seem

to be as high on that priority list. That’s how it feels to them. This

government talked in its throne speech about having your back. I’ve

slept on a hide-a-bed. Go ask these people how their backs are doing and

how they feel, where that bar comes across the middle of it.

Seven months of living with a friend. Seven months of living in a

hotel that is not your home. Seven months of waiting. It’s not as if we

did not have time to discuss this bill during the last session. We

rediscussed and debated the throne speech because of the bungling to be

able to put bills in front of this House.

Does this really say that the people of Lytton are a priority?

This could have been handled. It’s basically housekeeping. It’s not that

contentious.

We waited, and we let these people go through a winter without the

hope of rebuilding. We let these people go seven months as they watched

the price to rebuild increase by millions and millions of dollars. From

$78 million, the insurance companies are now estimating it will be over

$102 million. There is a certain limit that insurance companies say:

“I’m sorry. This is the maximum we can go.”

This lies in our hands, the hands of this House, because we have

not made them a priority. We made the Coquihalla a priority. We made

Highway 1…. We made things a priority, but not people. But I guess we

shouldn’t be that surprised, because, sadly, this government’s track

record stands for itself when it comes to getting things

done.

The people of Lytton still can’t go home. As a matter of fact,

they’re barricaded from going home. There is a fence that says: “Don’t

bother.” It took weeks for them to be able to actually go back and see

what was not left of the city that they love, of the place that they

call home.

[3:30 p.m.]

This is skewed priorities. We’re talking about paperwork. We’re

talking about getting $8 million to a city to rebuild a city hall.

What’s the point of having a city hall if there’s no one there? The

priorities are skewed.

We should be helping these people rebuild and recover. Fort

McMurray was already moving back by now, yet we get jeering from the

other side of the room.