First Session, 42nd Parliament

(2020) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 6

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Tributes

Gary Steeves

Hon. S. Malcolmson

Introductions by Members

Tributes

Anton Kolstee

Hon. B. Ma

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill M201 — Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) Amendment Act, 2020

T. Stone

Bill M202 — Food and Beverage Delivery Fees Cap Act

T. Halford

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Cariboo-Chilcotin community response to COVID-19

L. Doerkson

Human Rights Day and work of Comox Valley Community Justice Centre

R. Leonard

Human rights and COVID-19 impact on vulnerable people

S. Cadieux

COVID-19 impact on racialized communities

R. Singh

COVID-19 impact and work of food banks

A. Olsen

Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park

D. Routley

Oral Questions

Eligibility for B.C. recovery benefit

S. Bond

Hon. S. Robinson

M. Bernier

Rural designation for southern Gulf Island communities

A. Olsen

Hon. R. Kahlon

COVID-19 response for small businesses

T. Stone

Hon. R. Kahlon

COVID-19 response for tourism industry and report recommendations

T. Wat

Hon. M. Mark

Access to shelters by vulnerable people during COVID-19

L. Doerkson

Hon. D. Eby

COVID-19 response and impact on vulnerable people

P. Milobar

Hon. M. Farnworth

Tabling Documents

Environmental emergency program 2019-20 report to Legislature

TogetherBC: British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy ,

Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. , interim report,

November 2020

Orders of the Day

Second Reading of Bills

Bill 3 — Finance Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 (continued)

E. Ross

M. Morris

J. Sturdy

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020

The House met at 10:04 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: G. Lore.

[10:05 a.m.]

Tributes

GARY STEEVES

Hon. S. Malcolmson: I invite the House to recognize the legacy and the loss of my

friend Gary Steeves.

I believe other colleagues will speak to his contribution to the

labour movement, but I want to recognize his service under the Islands

Trust Act. He served as an elected councillor with me on the Islands

Trust Council executive for three terms — a strong defender of coastal

communities, a strong, feisty advocate for human rights and social

justice. I know his North Pender community is mourning.

I send my love to his partner in work and life, Marina Horvath. We

are thinking of you, sending our love and grateful for Gary’s

contribution to British Columbia.

Introductions by Members

G. Lore: I’m absolutely thrilled to rise today for my first introduction and to

introduce my partner, Rob Lore, who sits in the gallery. Rob and I are tied

to this building. We both served as legislative interns, though he five

years before me. We were set up on a blind date 12 years ago by the director

of parliamentary education, Karen Aitken.

He’s a keen observer of politics, has a nerdy interest in good public

service and governance and has always had my back as I undertake the public

side of this work. Today is also Rob’s 40th birthday.

Would the House join me in thanking him for being so wonderful and in

wishing him a very happy birthday.

R. Singh: I would like to congratulate everybody on International Human Rights

Day. This day is even more special for me because it’s the birthday of a

very special person in our lives. My father, Dr. Raghbir Singh Sirijana,

turns 81 today. He has instilled strong human rights and social justice

values in both me and my sister. Would the House join me in wishing him a

very, very happy birthday.

Tributes

ANTON KOLSTEE

Hon. B. Ma: I’d like to introduce the House to Mr. An­ton

Kolstee.

Mr. Kolstee was born in Den Haag, in the Netherlands, and

immigrated to Canada when he was seven years old. Following an exciting

musical career and prior to suffering a debilitating heart attack in

1999, Mr. Kolstee was also a counsellor and a social studies teacher at

Carson Graham Secondary. It is in this role that many of my constituents

know him.

Sadly, Mr. Kolstee died earlier this week, when he passed away

from COVID-19. In the wake of his pass­ing, countless community

members, particularly Indigenous people with the Squamish Nation, have

come forward to remember him fondly and to share how he impacted their

lives.

They tell me that even before reconciliation was a common word

spoken in schools, Mr. Kolstee reached out as a bridge-builder between

Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. He fostered relationships,

spoke the language and created space for understanding. One Squamish

Nation member told me that he always made her feel like she had a lot to

be proud of because she was Indigenous.

I never knew Mr. Kolstee in life, but I mourn his loss today,

along with so many others in the communities I serve.

Introductions by Members

D. Davies: I don’t often get the chance to do this, as we’re not sitting in

December usually, but I want to wish my daughter, Hana, a very special 15th

birthday today. I also want to wish my son a happy ninth birthday on

December 5. These are my two motivating factors that keep me going every

single day. Would the House please help me in wishing them both a very happy

birthday.

[10:10 a.m.]

P. Milobar: We’re joined today by a former colleague of ours, a good friend of

many in this House and someone who…. I learned very quickly in 2017 that you

made sure, if you were on House duty, that you were here on time, or Mr.

Eric Foster was in your office as our Whip making sure you understood the

rules as they would apply.

An 11-year member of this House, served with great distinction for

Vernon-Monashee for all those 11 years, and a former mayor as well. Would

the House please welcome back again for a visit, Mr. Eric Foster.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

BILL M201 — ASSESSMENT

(SPLIT ASSESSMENT

CLASSIFICATION)

AMENDMENT ACT, 2020

T. Stone presented a bill intituled Assessment (Split Assessment

Classification) Amendment Act, 2020.

T. Stone: I move that the bill intituled the Assessment (Split Assessment

Classification) Amendment Act, 2020, of which notice has been given in

my name on the order paper, be introduced and read a first time

now.

I’m pleased to introduce this bill today for a third time. As our

urban centres grow, the resulting plans for significant densification

are placing huge pressure on small businesses through dramatically

increased property taxes based on the unused air space above their

heads. This is resulting in the hollowing out of many neighbourhoods as

an increasing number of small businesses make the painful decision to

lay off their employees and close their doors.

The good news is that a working group, including a number of Metro

Vancouver municipalities, came up with a solution. These local

governments are supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders,

including arts, culture, neighbourhood and small business organizations

as well as supportive UBCM and B.C. Chamber resolutions.

The solution proposed includes two parts. First is the creation of

a new commercial property subclass for the airspace above small

businesses and other affected organizations. Secondly is maximum

flexibility for local governments to set the property tax rate on the

new subclass as they see fit, from $0 to just below the existing

commercial property tax rate.

I’m proud that this bill provides for the exact solution that

local governments have asked for. This is an optional tool that they can

choose to use or not at a rate that they determine makes the most sense

for each unique situation that they’re trying to address. We urge the

government to call this bill for debate as small businesses, arts groups

and charities are counting on the government to take swift action by

empowering local governments to use this new tool as soon as

possible.

Mr. Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

T. Stone: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill M201, Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) Amendment

Act, 2020, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders

of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after

today.

BILL M202 — FOOD AND BEVERAGE

DELIVERY FEES CAP

ACT

T. Halford presented a bill intituled Food and Beverage Delivery Fees

Cap Act.

T. Halford: I move the bill entitled Food and Beverage Delivery Fees Cap Act,

of which notice has been given in my name on the order paper, be

introduced and read for a first time now.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly difficult for small

business, especially for those in the food and beverage sector. From

family-owned and -operated to long-standing community favourites, all

have been struggling to keep their doors open as the pandemic continues,

especially into the Christmas season, which would normally be the

busiest time of year.

In order to comply with orders from the provincial health officer,

restaurants have had to reduce seating capacity, increase food delivery

and takeout options and incur additional costs for PPE supplies or, in

some cases, close their doors altogether. Taking action now to place a

cap on fees that third-party delivery companies are permitted to charge

restaurants is an immediate way to provide some relief to these

struggling businesses. If passed, the legislation would regulate the cap

on fees charged to restaurants by third-party apps like SkipTheDishes

and Uber Eats. Currently these services charge as much as 30 percent for

the delivery price.

Both parties committed to taking action on this issue during the

election, and there is no reason this legislation couldn’t be

implemented immediately. The time for action is now. We can no longer

wait to make this important commitment a priority.

[10:15 a.m.]

Mr. Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

T. Halford: I move the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting after today.

Bill M202, Food and Beverage Delivery Fees Cap Act, introduced, read

a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

CARIBOO-CHILCOTIN COMMUNITY

RESPONSE TO

COVID-19

L. Doerkson: I would like to acknowledge all of the hard work and resiliency of

the people who live in my beautiful riding. On top of everything related

to the pandemic, the challenges that we faced during flooding and

wildfires in recent years have brought the best out of the people of

Cariboo-Chilcotin.

In terms of COVID-19, people like Tammy Tugnum and Joy Hennig with

the Cariboo Foundation Hospital Trust have used their imagination to

reinvent their annual gala three times due to heavier health

restrictions. It’s this kind of commitment and dedication to our

community that will get us through the pandemic.

How about key volunteers like Court and Pauline Smith and Tim and

Susan Rolph, along with so many of their board members and volunteers

with the famous Williams Lake Stampede, who, working in partnership with

our Williams Lake Rotary Club, led by Mike Austin and Guenter Weckerle,

hosted two drive-through pancake breakfasts and a rib carbecue? Yes, I

said carbecue. That raised a lot of funds for people who really need

this money in our community right now.

How about the Williams Lake Stampeders hockey club, who have had

an annual fundraiser, with Janna Gertzen and, of course, the Gertzen

family leading the way and making this a massive success this

year?

We all know that amateur sport has taken a beating during this

pandemic, but the 100 Mile House Wranglers have had some very

interesting barbecues with the Fun Chaser. Key volunteers — Donna

Barnett, Tammy Mikkelsen, Renee LaRochelle, Kathy Reid, Wayne Sharon,

Ken and Susan Fryer, Don Jones, Bill Harris, Maureen Pinkney and Dave

Mingo — have all made a big difference in 100 Mile House. The list goes

on.

I am very proud of the resiliency and the dedication of all of our

community volunteers in the Cariboo-Chilcotin who are making a

difference under extremely challenging times.

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY AND

WORK OF COMOX VALLEY

COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTRE

R. Leonard: Today is Human Rights Day. Since 1948, it’s a day to hold up the

rights of everyone to equality, justice and human dignity. This year’s

theme: “Recover better — stand up for human rights.”

Human rights are foundational to our recovery efforts. The impacts

of COVID-19 are unequally shared, and hatred and racism are on the rise.

We know it’s time to address the failures that have been exposed and

exploited by COVID-19.

Decades ago former B.C. MLA Rosemary Brown described her

experiences as a Black immigrant with the quote: “Subtle and polite

nature of Canada’s particular brand of racism.”

Today, in the crisis of the pandemic, we’ve seen and heard more

acts of hatred and racism in our hometowns that we believed only

happened somewhere else. Whether hatred and racism haunt our

institutions and systems or are manifest by individual actions, hate and

racism need to be named. They need to be acted upon.

The actions of the Comox Valley Community Justice Centre and

executive director Bruce Curtis present some shining examples of such

actions. They developed a critical incident response protocol with

individuals, businesses and institutions signing on to work towards

their own human rights policies and practices and to implement responses

to racist, homophobic and hate-based incidents. The number of

signatories continues to grow as the justice centre works to nurture a

more inclusive and welcoming community.

[10:20 a.m.]

The centre also developed a program with trained facilitators for

a short-term transformative dialogue with the parties, supporting people

who have been verbally assaulted and filed a police report. The centre

is finding ways to uphold the equal dignity and worth of every person

every day, including Human Rights Day.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND COVID-19 IMPACT

ON VULNERABLE

PEOPLE

S. Cadieux: Today I’m lucky enough to address this Legislature because of the

basic rights afforded to me in the human rights declaration signed 72

years ago today. Today is International Human Rights Day, and this year

we must focus to ensure that as the world recovers from COVID-19, human

rights are given special consideration by governments as they allocate

resources for recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating not only for those in

our communities but in communities around the world where individuals

don’t have access to the same basic rights. As we speak, we see

demonstrations around the world where people are still struggling for

the rights we enjoy. Not only has this pandemic ravaged economies, but

it’s had overwhelming impacts on society’s vulnerable

populations.

The pandemic has adversely affected families with children with

special needs. The report by the representative last week highlights the

dire reality that B.C. children and youth with special needs are

currently facing by not being able to access services and supports. It

breaks my heart still to share that earlier this year Ariis Knight, a

woman with cerebral palsy and a resident of South Surrey, died alone at

Peace Arch Hospital, unable to properly communicate with hospital staff

as her caregivers were prohibited from being with her due to the COVID

visitation restrictions that didn’t respect her rights.

Though British Columbia has made significant progress in promoting

equality and inclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that

supports and services required by vulnerable populations are still too

often an afterthought.

I pledge to continue advocating for governments at all levels to

rebuild a stronger, more vibrant, more inclusive British Columbia,

recognizing human rights protections not only in law but in

practice.

COVID-19 IMPACT

ON RACIALIZED

COMMUNITIES

R. Singh: Since February, COVID-19 has had a debilitating effect on our

province. Everyone, regardless of who and where they are, has seen their

lives transformed because of it, many turned upside down. Some

communities, however, have been at an increased risk of infection,

illness and worse.

Reports from different academics and researchers have found that

Indigenous, Black and South Asian people, among several other people of

colour, have a higher degree of susceptibility to this virus. A

Statistics Canada report released just three weeks back found that

places in B.C. with a higher density of visible minorities had morbidity

rates that were nine to ten times higher than other communities, which

implies that racialized communities have borne a disproportionate brunt

of the pandemic.

The impact on women of colour has been especially severe, with

sickness, unemployment and increased rates of domestic abuse. Many

people from these communities are in essential professions, and many

others are in occupations and life situations that require them to go to

work, increasing chances of exposure. Racialized communities also

disproportionately face housing and household income challenges, two

other factors that researchers have found to be major contributors to an

increased risk to the virus.

The inequality faced by these communities is not new, and it has

been amplified by this pandemic. It has presented additional challenges

to families that were already facing multiple barriers. I know that

there is substantive work being done by community organizations,

individuals and leaders throughout the province, and I also know there

is a lot more that needs to be done.

Today I would like to request that all of us join in shining more

light on this issue and working to make sure these disparities are

overcome, not just during but also after the pandemic.

COVID-19 IMPACT

AND WORK OF FOOD

BANKS

A. Olsen: This is a challenging time of year for many people. In addition,

COVID-19 is stressing and stretching our social fabric in many

previously unimaginable ways. Special legislative sessions to debate

desperate financial measures, which were once an exception, in 2020 have

become the norm.

[10:25 a.m.]

The gaps in government service delivery have been exposed. Systems

we once perceived to be solid are proving fragile. In the game of

partisan politics, the fragility is often blamed on decisions made long

ago. Words are volleyed back and forth across the aisle. This chamber is

the place we come together to embrace our shared responsibility, and the

weight of that responsibility is heavy on us now.

We have been sobered with the fragility of our modern society, the

life-sustaining ecosystems that we mine and harvest, the voracious,

consumptive craving of our capitalist economy. Everything around us

seems to be either breaking or broken.

I raise my hands in deep gratitude to our friends, family and

neighbours on the front lines who do the valiant work. I imagine they

care little about who is to blame. There is no good reason for the rates

of homelessness, poverty and depression in our wealthy society. That is

on all of us, on all sides of this chamber, to fix.

This past week British Columbians stepped up big-time to support

food banks across our province. Millions of dollars were raised to

provide the financial resources that are needed to fill the gaps. Food

banks are one of those unfortunate realities that should not exist in a

society so blessed with the riches we have. However, this holiday season

they are necessary, and they can only do their important work with

donations of non-perishable food items and money.

As we prepare to celebrate this holiday season, I raise my hands

to the volunteers and staff of food banks across British Columbia. I ask

that you please support your local food bank and know that I will be

resolved to work in this House toward a future where food banks are no

longer needed.

MORDEN COLLIERY

HISTORIC PROVINCIAL

PARK

D. Routley: I’d like to speak to the House about a very special place in my

constituency named Morden Colliery historical park. Now, about 50

members are rolling their eyes, which means I’ve got more than 40 fresh

audience members to speak to about Morden Colliery park. I’ve even bored

my dog to sleep.

Morden Colliery park is important because it is a historical park.

It has an important construction history. It was one of the first

reinforced concrete projects in North America, made possible only by the

specialized cement mined out of where Butchart Gardens is

now.

It has this important history in that aspect but also in the

labour history of this province. It was built during the coal-mine

strike in the Ladysmith, Nanaimo area some 106 years ago. Over 600

workers died in those coal mines. During that fight, they couldn’t work

underground. So the company that built the colliery worked above ground.

They invested in this revolutionary construction project and supported

the community with employment. So it has a very important history for

the families, the descendants of those….

Finally, after years and years of fighting for that mine and that

park, our Minister of Environment — thank you very much — invested $1.4

million in saving that park. It is a testament to our shared commitment

to our history, which is so important to keep our communities and their

character alive.

I also want to thank the people involved. I want to thank

HeritageWorks and Heritage Masonry, the people who did the Kinsol

Trestle that many of you are familiar with, but three people in

particular: Chris Scholberg, who was assigned from the city of Nanaimo

to the Friends of the Morden Mine project, and Sandra Zuccolini-Larocque

and Mike Larocque, who fought for this, who led the charge and who even

parked their RV as security while the job was done.

It was a fantastic commitment by all involved, and I deeply thank

them all — and the members of the House for listening.

Oral Questions

ELIGIBILITY FOR

B.C. RECOVERY

BENEFIT

S. Bond: First he called an election during a pandemic. Then, on the

campaign trail, the Premier promised British Columbians they would

receive their recovery benefit money in the mail by

Christmas.

[10:30 a.m.]

British Columbians took this Premier at his word. They made plans

to pay their bills and budgeted for the holidays, expecting to see the

money, but on Wednesday, many British Columbians found out that

eligibility for this benefit is based on pre-pandemic, 2019 tax returns,

even though pre-pandemic income isn’t an indication of a family’s

current need.

To the Premier, what does he have to say to those families in

British Columbia that are struggling after having lost a job, having

lost their income, who are afraid for their families and now have

discovered that they may not be eligible for a single dime of the

recovery benefit money?

Hon. S. Robinson: I agree with the Leader of the Opposition. It’s been a very

difficult year for British Columbians. It’s been a very difficult year

for Canadians and for everyone around the world as a result of this

pandemic.

We know that people have been hit hard. It is why we brought

forward a workers benefit back in the spring. It is why we put together

a Stronger B.C. plan in September, and it is why we brought forward this

recovery benefit to help 3.7 million British Columbians. These are the

ones that have been hardest hit. These are the ones that we are

committed to continue to support, and I know that the members opposite,

as well, feel committed to support those folks. This benefit is going to

help 3.7 million British Columbians.

Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Official Opposition on a first

supplemental.

S. Bond: To the Finance Minister, British Columbians woke up on Wednesday

after the announcement, many of them realizing that for the very direct

support that was promised by this Premier during an election campaign,

they may not be eligible because it is based on pre-pandemic

circumstances. So the Finance Minister knows full well that many

families won’t be able to make ends meet this holiday season, and

everyone in the House is concerned about that.

What did the Finance Minister say that British Columbians would do

with their benefit money? Getting, you know, “their $5 latte, because

they haven’t been able to.”

Hundreds of thousands of British Columbians have lost income since

the onset of the pandemic, not 2019. They have lost income. Many of them

don’t know how they’re going to make their rent payment or how they’re

going to feed their families. And this minister references a $5 latte,

hardly on the minds of many British Columbians.

Again to the Premier, what does the Premier have to say about the

people who were counting on the money that he promised them during an

election campaign?

Hon. S. Robinson: Well, it’s so interesting to hear the member opposite cherry-pick.

What I said was it’s an opportunity for people to pay their bills, to

help buy clothes for their kids, to help pay for groceries, to buy

Christmas presents and perhaps even, yes, to treat themselves to a latte

if they haven’t been able to do that. I think it’s really important to

speak to the whole context.

I know that the members opposite are hearing from British

Columbians about how hard it’s been. We’re hearing that too. We’re

responding with a recovery benefit that we know 90 percent of adults in

British Columbia are eligible for. Of that, 85 percent of those 90

percent are eligible for the full benefit. That’s going to make a

significant difference for right now. People need help now, not

necessarily in the future.

We have a vaccine on the horizon, which I know certainly helped me

sort of get through the day yesterday. It’s been really hard on British

Columbians. We’re going to continue to be there for British Columbia and

for everybody here in this province, not just those at the top but for

every British Columbian. This has been a very, very, very difficult time

for so many. We’re going to keep doing what we need to do to help

British Columbians get through this.

M. Bernier: Let’s be clear. To the minister, what hap­pened to 100

percent? The Premier made a promise — $1,000 in everyone’s account by

Christmas. It looks like he’s going to break that promise.

[10:35 a.m.]

Many British Columbia families are expecting this money. They’re

expecting help from this government and support before this holiday

season. And why? Because the Premier made a promise on the fly. I think

that’s why this is not going to happen. He’s just making it up as he

goes.

A lot of families are going to notice, though. A lot of families

are struggling. A lot of families are hurting, and a lot of families are

looking for help from this government to fulfil a promise they

made.

Can the Premier tell British Columbians who are counting on this

money: will everyone still be getting the $1,000 that he

promised?

Hon. S. Robinson: We promised to deliver a recovery benefit to those who needed it

most. The numbers show that people with high incomes — people who,

perhaps, can buy yachts — were far less impacted than middle- and

lower-income earners. We know that those are the people who are most

impacted. Our focus is on those who need it most, those who need help to

pay their rent, which is why we were one of the few provinces that

provided a rent supplement to help folks.

That is why we helped those folks. We knew that the people needed

help. So we created programs throughout these nine months to make sure

that people could pay for groceries, to make sure that they could pay

their rent, to make sure that they could buy their children new running

shoes that they outgrew. We’re going to keep doing that for the people

who need it most in this province.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Peace River South on a supplemental.

M. Bernier: Well, the promise keeps changing day by day, it seems. The Premier

said everybody would have $1,000 in their account — “direct deposit,” I

believe, was his exact quote — by Christmas.

It’s clear this government does not actually understand what’s

happening on the ground when the minister seems to highlight a $5 latte

as being something that people are excited about getting if they get

this money — if they get this money. Look, some people are just trying

to survive.

In my riding, I know many people that were lucky enough to be

working in 2019 who lost their job this year because of COVID and now,

under these new rules, are going to get zero. How is that fair? How is

that actually helping people right now that are in need? They’re trying

to decide whether they can afford to pay their bills or buy a Christmas

present for their child this year.

This is completely wrong. There are only 15 days left now until

Christmas, which means 15 days left for this government and this Premier

to come good on his election promise.

Again to the Premier, what does he tell the men and the women here

in the province who believed him and hoped that they would be getting

support this Christmas for themselves and their families?

Hon. S. Robinson: Well, I’m very proud that applications will open on December 18. I

think we all need to express a little bit of gratitude and appreciation

to the public service that have been working diligently to develop this

application process so that it is quick, so that it is efficient and so

that people can start getting the supports that they need into their

bank accounts ASAP.

We’re going to start seeing that roll out on December 18. Within a

couple of days, people will see money in their bank accounts. That’s

going to make a difference right now for people — not six months from

now, like the members opposite would perhaps suggest, but right now.

People are going to start to get the relief that they need because we’ve

been responsive and we’re delivering.

RURAL DESIGNATION FOR

SOUTHERN GULF ISLAND

COMMUNITIES

A. Olsen: The southern Gulf Islands, Saltspring Island and Juan de Fuca

communities are rural, but because they are electoral areas within the

capital regional district, they are deemed urban. The urban designation

limits these communities from applying for important grants for rural

communities outside the CRD.

For years, electoral area directors Dave Howe, Gary Holman and

Mike Hicks have advocated for change. They could only be deemed rural,

though — they were told — if they were included within the Island

Coastal Economic Trust or ICET.

There has been an enormous amount of advocacy for change that

should have been done long ago. The province has consulted with ICET for

more than 3½ years. Wouldn’t you know it. On Sunday, September 20, on

the eve of the snap election called, the B.C. NDP issued

Order-in-Council 533 to pass a designation change for the ICET. However,

the NDP made only a change to the Premier’s riding. Juan de Fuca was

added while the Gulf Islands were left out.

[10:40 a.m.]

My question is to the Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and

Innovation. Has the minister issued the second half of that pre-election

order to change the urban designation of the Gulf Island communities in

my riding?

Hon. R. Kahlon: I want to thank the member for the question, my first question in

the Legislature. I appreciate him asking. I also appreciate his letter

that came to me, I think, 30 minutes after I was sworn in as the

minister for this file.

What I can commit to the member is that I’m happy to continue this

conversation with him after this chamber rises today. It’s certainly

something that we are reviewing right now. I’ve asked staff to get me a

full briefing on that, and it’s scheduled for next week.

A. Olsen: I appreciate the invitation to have another conversation. The

reality for the southern Gulf Island communities and for Saltspring

Island is that they’ve been conversing about this with this government….

I’ve been conversing with this government, with successive ministers in

that ministry, for the last 3½ years. The advocacy has been going on for

more than seven years.

The idea that these communities in the southern Gulf Islands are

anything but rural…. I know that many members across the way know very

well how rural these communities are. To think that we would have to be

continuing a conversation about whether or not these communities are

rural is absurd. The reality here is that without this designation

change, these communities do not get access to grants that they rightly

deserve — for example, for COVID recovery.

These communities are tourism-based communities that have been hit

so hard by COVID. They are in and having an existential crisis right

now, this moment. We can continue to converse about this, or we can just

do the order that needs to be done that was done easily.

In fact, what’s really crazy about this is that there was

an act.

There were words on paper. All they did was exclude the communities from

my riding. This is excluding them from being able to apply for broadband

access which is going to help diversify their economy. This is likely

going to exclude them from applying for money that this government

announced earlier this week for mental health and addictions

treatment.

We’re done having a conversation in the southern Gulf Islands. We

need action. My preference is that the minister put through the order to

complement the Premier’s advantage that his communities got.

My question is to the minister. When is he going to do

it?

Hon. R. Kahlon: Again, thank you to the member. As I said, I’m happy to have our

first conversation, not a continued conversation.

What I would say to the member…. He raises concerns around

tourism. I know that many people in the tourism industry have been

greatly impacted by the challenges of the pandemic. We have $19.4

million available for tourism-dependent communities. I’m sure we can

talk to the member, also, about how some of those communities can have

access to that funding.

Again, to the issue that he raises, as I committed to him in the

previous question, I’m certainly happy to meet with him. I look forward

to my briefing with my new deputy minister as well, and we’ll get back

to him shortly.

COVID-19 RESPONSE FOR

SMALL

BUSINESSES

T. Stone: Last March $1.5 billion in economic recovery supports for business

was unanimously approved by this Legislature. The government then wasted

six months of time before announcing $300 million in funding for the

small and medium-sized business recovery grant a week before the recent

snap election. Disappointingly, this government’s only grant program for

small businesses is a red-tape disaster.

Among 18 eligibility requirements, businesses must be currently

operating, have been in operation for at least three years, have had a

revenue loss of 70 percent during March and April of 2020 and revenue

losses of at least 50 percent every month since.

My question to the Premier is this. How many small business

applications have actually been approved, and how many small businesses

have actually received funding from this program to date?

[10:45 a.m.]

Hon. R. Kahlon: Thank you to the member for the question. No doubt, small

businesses are hurting throughout the province. Some are doing well, but

many are not. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to many small business

owners over the last two weeks — in fact, even before that in my

community.

One of the things that I think I’m particularly proud of is that

we have one of the most comprehensive plans in all of Canada when it

comes to supporting small businesses throughout this province. The

member will know that we brought in tax credits for small businesses

that were wanting to hire either new employees or also bring back

employees. The member will also know that we brought in 25 percent

property tax cuts.

When it comes to this, we’ve got 1,400 businesses that are in the

process. But it’s important for the member to know this. The process was

set up in a two-part process. First, it was to ensure…. We provided

dollars to small businesses so that they can get a proper consultant to

come in and give them advice on how they can become viable after COVID

has passed. Also, to provide them up to $30,000, and up to $40,000 if

they’re a tourism operator. So it is my hope that we will see many, many

more small businesses apply.

I recently had a call with tourism operators, folks from ABLE-BC’s

restaurant association. They wrote a letter to my office. We discussed

how we can make this program more accessible to small businesses

throughout this province. It was a very fruitful conversation. I

appreciate the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture for being at that

meeting and for being a strong advocate. I look forward to that dialogue

that continues.

T. Stone: Again, $1½ billion of funding approved on March 23 of this year.

The government sits on its duff, until six months later, before they

finally announce a $300 million small and medium-sized recovery grant

program specifically focused on small businesses one week before an

election campaign.

We then get into a snap election campaign, and another two months

of time is wasted. Now we’re sitting here just before Christmas, and he

has the audacity to stand up and suggest that the 1,400 businesses which

have applied for funding — that that’s good enough. These are businesses

in every community around this province that are barely getting by.

They’re not sure that they’re going to make it to the other side of

Christmas, to the minister.

One thing that the minister could do is he could call the bill

that we tabled in the House here today — which has been called, by the

restaurants across the province, a critical lifeline — to cap delivery

charges. We’ve suggested a recovery grant with a really simplified

application process. We’ve suggested that the government return excess

WorkSafeBC funding to small businesses. We’ve suggested that the

government help with PPE costs.

In fact, we’ve suggested dozens of actions over the last eight

months, and this government has failed to act. Not only has the

government not taken any of our ideas, but the government has also taken

all this time and has failed to figure out how to push these dollars out

the door for small businesses in this particular granting

question.

My follow-up question to the Premier is this. Small businesses

across B.C. are hanging by a thread. They’re unsure whether they’re

going to be in business only months from now. We’re talking about tens

of thousands of mom-and-pop shops, little boutiques, restaurants and

other shops in communities all over the province.

Will the Premier throw small businesses a lifeline? Will he

finally step up and provide funding supports that are so desperately

needed to ensure that these small businesses are still here in our

communities only months from now?

Hon. R. Kahlon: Clearly somebody who’s running for leadership over there. Thank

you for that speech.

We understand, on this side of the House, how businesses are

impacted. My family ran a small restaurant here in Victoria for close to

a decade, and it was a difficult time then. Imagine the challenge that

businesses are facing right now.

I appreciate that the member now claims to want to run and lead

the free enterprise coalition and that they propose bills that affect

the marketplace. We have agreed…. We have committed, on this side of the

House, to bring that legislation in. We will be doing consultation on

that.

I know the Solicitor General, on that piece….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, order. Order, please.

Members. Come to order.

Hon. R. Kahlon: It didn’t take long….

Interjections.

[10:50 a.m.]

Mr. Speaker: Minister, hold it.

Okay. Minister will continue.

Hon. R. Kahlon: I guess I hit a soft spot there. It didn’t take long for them to

return to the ways that they normally are in this House.

I will say this. We know small businesses are greatly

impacted.

Interjections.

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

Hon. R. Kahlon: We know that small businesses are impacted. Let me be clear to the

members of the House. Our goal is to ensure as many small businesses get

access to the grants as possible, but we want to do it in way that we

can make sure that there’s public accountability in that measure. The

conversation we had with tourism operators, members of ABLE-BC and many

other stakeholders last week was about how we can find that, how we can

find a way for more of their members to get access to these

grants.

It was clear on that call that they were grateful for all the

supports the province has already brought into place, and they wanted to

find ways to have more of their members get access to those grants. I

look forward to continuing that work.

COVID-19 RESPONSE FOR TOURISM

INDUSTRY AND REPORT

RECOMMENDATIONS

T. Wat: The one sector that has been hardest hit by COVID-19 has been the

tourism industry. The government has consistently only offered promises

without actually delivering support. The industry, back in the summer,

was asking for $680 million in aid, and the Premier ignored that

request. Now the Premier has another report.

To the Premier, will he not just accept the recommendations but

actually implement them immediately?

Hon. M. Mark: I’d like to thank the member for Richmond North Centre for the

question.

There is no doubt that the tourism sector has been hit hard by

COVID and that all of our constituencies have. To remind everyone in

this chamber, because we started just a few days ago through the throne

speech, all 87 of our ridings are being crushed by COVID.

Everyone is going day by day to get through — the good news that

we heard from Dr. Bonnie Henry about the vaccine coming to our

neighbourhoods and close to home. So when the member asks the question,

“Have they been hit?” yes, they’ve been hit.

With the accusation that the report is just another report…. I

received the report yesterday. The member’s referring to The Future

of Travel: Positioning B.C. to Accelerate Recovery and Growth .

It’s a task force that the government put together. They’ve met 11

times. They met in September.

The member opposite…. I appreciate the member opposite for

heckling. This isn’t a time to heckle. I take this issue seriously.

There are seven recommendations in here. I got the report yesterday, and

as minister, I’m going to get to work to take action on the

recommendations.

They want dedicated funding for tourism. We are going to move

quickly, but they’re not decisions that I make alone. They’re decisions

that I make with Finance. They’re decisions that I make with the

Minister of Jobs and Economic Recovery. They’re decisions that we make

with the Minister of Indigenous Relations. There is a call to action for

funding dedicated to Indigenous tourism. I hope the members aren’t

laughing about that.

I take this issue seriously. We’re going to move to work on an

action plan. If that means, as the member opposite from Kamloops was

talking about, that we need to make amendments to the small and

medium-sized business recovery grant to make it more accessible, we’ll

do so. We’re fully committed to taking action on moving forward so that

all of our communities have the support that they need.

I just want to close by saying this isn’t the time…. The members

opposite talk about partisanship. This is a very, very difficult time

for everyone. Let’s not forget that we’re in the middle of a global

pandemic.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members will come to order. We are wasting very precious

time in question period, Members.

The member for Richmond North Centre on a supplemental.

[10:55 a.m.]

T. Wat: Just for the information of the newly appointed Tourism Minister,

the tourism industry actually started talking to this government way

back in the summer, in July. It’s because of the snap election that the

Premier called for his self-serving agenda. That’s why requests have

been put on hold. So I hope that the minister will study the file and

get up to speed.

The tourism sector is being decimated, and the Premier pats

himself on the back. It took more than ten months to get this report.

The second wave is ripping the industry, and we have a government that

wants to take another four months off of the job. We are talking about

small family-owned businesses in every corner of the province. They

don’t have four months to wait.

Again to the Premier, will he provide immediate support to the men

and women working in the tourism sector who now face ruin?

Hon. M. Mark: Again, I’d like to thank the member for her advocacy. It is her

job as the official opposition to advocate.

We will work together. This is not a report that’s going to sit on

a shelf. The deadline was December 31. I received it on December 9,

which was yesterday. I am committed to moving forward on the

actions.

To make it political about whether I care, as an MLA, as well,

about my small business operators and the tourism operators….

Interjection.

Hon. M. Mark: I know that I’m a member of cabinet, but we’re all MLAs who have

constituencies with tourism and small business operators that are very

deeply worried about keeping the lights on. They’re worried about

keeping their employees on the payroll. To suggest that I don’t care

about that is so irresponsible.

It’s ten months that we’ve been in the middle of a global

pandemic. The member opposite threw out a whole bunch of numbers — four

months here, ten months there. It’s been ten months that the public

service has been working around the clock.

Interjections.

Hon. M. Mark: The members opposite can heckle all they want, but I’m

acknowledging that the public service has been working around the clock

for ten months. We rolled out money for destination development so that

some of those small business operators could keep the lights

on.

ACCESS TO SHELTERS BY

VULNERABLE PEOPLE DURING

COVID-19

L. Doerkson: One of the unintended consequences of the pandemic regulations has

been the capacity reduction of local shelters across British

Columbia.

In Williams Lake, that leaves ten people with no place to lay

their heads at night. I think of Amber who has no choice but to live

outside in temperatures that are plunging to minus 20 and lower. Winter

isn’t coming to the Cariboo or the Kootenays. Trust me. It’s here

already. As a community, we’re looking for support from the province so

that these people know that they’re not alone.

My question is to the Premier. What plans does he have to make

sure that Amber and many like her don’t have to spend the night outdoors

due to these pandemic regulations?

Hon. D. Eby: Thank you to the member for the question about such a vitally

important issue — namely, the people, the men, the women who are living

outside in our province. It’s an inexcusable situation, and it’s

unfortunately due to a long-time underinvestment in affordable and

supportive housing in our province.

Fortunately, we are turning that corner. We’re investing literally

billions of dollars in housing. We’re housing thousands of people with

modular housing that can be built very quickly. One of the things that I

can commit to the member, if he’s interested, is a briefing for him,

directly from B.C. Housing — not spin — about the work that B.C. Housing

is doing in his community for people like his constituent that he told

us about.

I want to recognize the impact that COVID has had on the

availability of shelters because of social distancing requirements. It

has meant that B.C. Housing has had to work extra hard to identify cold-

and wet-weather shelter beds in many different communities. One of the

areas where they need support, or government would welcome support, is

in working with local government to identify spaces. This is an area

where all MLAs can provide support, if they’re interested and able to do

so, in working with local governments.

Thank you very much to the member for the question. This is a very

serious human rights issue on Human Rights Day, and I’m grateful to him

for raising it.

[11:00 a.m.]

COVID-19 RESPONSE AND

IMPACT ON VULNERABLE PEOPLE

P. Milobar: Let’s look at the week that has happened down in Victoria here and

the days leading up to this session.

We have a government that has cut funds for families with children

and youth with special needs.

We have a government and a Premier who have cut the funding for

people with disability payments in half, under the guise of saying it’s

not really a cut when we know that if they qualify for the $500 benefit

and got their $300 a month over those three months, it would be $1,400.

Instead, they will qualify for $950. That’s a $450 cut, any way you

slice it, for people with disabilities, from this Premier.

Today nothing but platitudes about people in shelter spaces that

are over capacity. It should have been well known leading into the

colder seasons that this was going to happen, with no plan in place. No

plan in place for tourism yet. No plans, period. Yet we stand here

today, being called back to this Legislature, and the only piece of

legislation this government wants to talk about is how to delay doing

the work of the budget for two extra months, until May, which means no

more supports for people until May of this coming year.

Again to the Premier, what is his plan to restore all of these

cuts to our most vulnerable populations in British Columbia immediately,

to make sure people have the supports across the board that have been

taken away over this last week and a half by this government?

Hon. M. Farnworth: It’s my pleasure to rise and respond and answer a question about a

government that is more committed to ensuring that people get the

resources and the supports that they need than ever occurred during the

16 years that they sat on this side of the House.

Since the start of the pandemic, this government has worked day

and night with the public service to ensure that supports are in place.

To ensure that not only have rates been increased for those on social

assistance, which never happened when that side was sitting over here….

It was frozen. To ensure the largest affordable housing program in the

history of this province was undertaken. To ensure that right across

this community, people are getting the housing and the supports that

they need.

That’s what’s been taking place. That’s why this government is

taking action. The $1,000 and the $500 for single people — the public

knows that that money will be coming. The Premier has indicated

it.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: It is a commitment that is being followed through by this

government. And there will be more good news in the weeks and months

ahead to ensure that British Columbians, as families, as individuals,

get through this pandemic together. This province has got its act

together, and that opposition doesn’t. That’s why they’re over there,

and we’re over here.

[End of question period.]

Tabling Documents

Hon. M. Farnworth: I have a number of reports to table. Some may find these reports kind

of interesting.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. All right, question period is over now. Let’s do other

business.

Hon. M. Farnworth: On behalf of the Minister of Environment, I rise to table the

Environmental Emergency Program 2019-2020 report.

On behalf of the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction,

I rise to table TogetherBC: British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction

Strategy 2019 annual report.

The third report. On behalf of the Attorney General, I rise to table

the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. interim

report.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Farnworth: I call continued second reading debate on Bill 3.

[11:05 a.m.]

[N. Letnick in the chair.]

Second Reading of Bills

BILL 3 — FINANCE STATUTES

AMENDMENT

ACT, 2020

(continued)

E. Ross: Picking up from where I left off last night, to those new MLAs, it

happens, at times, when you’re given a half-hour of time for a debate,

and 15 minutes in, you’ve got to end it. So you better reserve your

right to pick up where you left off the next day by saying: “I reserve

my right.” It’s kind of difficult to keep the momentum going when you

know you’ve got a good 12 hours to wait to resume your

speech.

Anyway, we’re talking about Bill 3, I believe. Just listening to

the comments in QP, as well as reading what’s out there in the media,

for some reason, the government needs to remind us that we’re ten months

into a pandemic. You don’t need to remind us. You don’t need to remind

the public.

We’ve been trying to remind the government for the last ten

months. That’s why we’ve been proposing all these suggestions in terms

of how to help the individual, how to help the small businesses. But

what the government chose to do was, basically, to do nothing — to sit

on the $1.5 billion that was approved by all parties in the Legislature,

to wait for studies and reports and everything else and, slowly, to

maybe start to do something in December. So no need to remind us. We’re

the ones out here living and seeing and hearing the stories

firsthand.

In terms of this $1,000 vote-buying initiative that the Premier

said was not a vote-buying initiative, because of the snap election, not

necessarily a snap election that was called by the Premier himself…. If

it wasn’t a vote-buying initiative, then, surely, the government had a

discussion about this before they called the snap election. There had to

be some kind of analysis, even at a high level, to understand what this

would mean in terms of rollout, as well as consequences.

Now, I’ve had experience with this type of issue. Before we made

an announcement back in our community about some type of dividend to

help out our band members with the cost of living, we quickly understood

that we had to do some research. It sounds like the government did no

research if, in actuality, this wasn’t just a snap decision on the part

of the Premier to actually give taxpayers back some of their own money

for a vote-buying scheme.

If that’s not the case, where’s the analysis that was done? What

I’m talking about is if there’s no research done into terms of the

consequences of this type of payment going out, this actually makes

living harder for the individual.

I’m not talking just about qualifying. I’m talking about what

happens if this affects social assistance, if it affects employment

assistance programs coming through the federal government, if it affects

family maintenance, if it affects pensions.

Now, as a small little Indian Act band, we understood that we had

to do this research before we made announcements, because we didn’t want

to subject our band members to some type of bureaucratic system that

actually prolonged their suffering or, actually worse, put them in so

much debt because they couldn’t qualify for social assistance for a few

months or employment insurance or even some of the training programs

that they were eligible for.

This wasn’t just an election vote-buying campaign promise. Where’s

the analysis? And if this analysis was done, then surely the government

knew that the people that needed this most would be the people that lost

their jobs during the pandemic. Surely, you knew that.

[11:10 a.m.]

Now we’ve got admissions from the government that say: “Yes,

that’s true.” The people that need this most will probably not get the

full benefit of this rollout of this payment plan. And to talk about

this from a very privileged point of view…. It’s beyond unacceptable to

joke that some people will probably be qualified for $10 of this payout

plan and that they can go out and buy a $5 latte. How privileged are

you? How insensitive and disconnected are you?

Growing up the way I did and trying to deal with some of the

issues that I had to deal with, I knew full well what was going to

happen when people lost jobs and when they lost income. Ask any

Aboriginal leader: “What kind of social issues come up when people are

unemployed, when they have no income?” Unfortunately, a large majority

of B.C.’ers and Canadians are going to find this out firsthand now, and

we’re already seeing reports of it. Social issues go up. Domestic abuse

goes up. Child abuse goes up. Crime goes up. Everything goes up. And the

answer we get from the government is: “Well, at least you can buy a $5

latte.”

The clock on the consequences coming out from COVID started ten

months ago, and we’re not even into the end of this. We’ll probably not

even be seeing the end of the social consequences of this for another

year, if we’re lucky on how we recover. Those people that are out there

voicing their concerns — that are angry, that are trying to find a way,

because they’re suffering these stresses — are wondering: “I’m already

in default of my mortgage for the past three months, for the past six

months.” And what is this government saying? “Well, we want to remind

everybody that it’s ten months that we’ve been through the pandemic, and

don’t worry. Your $5 latte is coming up.”

If there was no analysis done for these very simple questions,

then it leads me to believe that yes, this was a vote-buying initiative,

using taxpayers’ dollars to buy the taxpayers’ vote. If that’s not the

case, show the analysis — the data and the analysis before the election

— on where this discussion took place. There have got to be some emails.

There have got to be some memos.

These are really serious questions we’re talking about when we’re

talking about the social impacts of people losing their livelihoods,

losing their houses. If anything, that’s where this discussion should be

going. Maybe $1,000, which was the original promise, could have helped.

It could have alleviated some of the problems coming up, especially for

those people that are wondering: “What do I buy my family for Christmas,

let alone make my mortgage payment?” But no. What we get from this

government is a self-serving election, and then they called everybody

back to Victoria to do this one…. Now it seems like a non-promise, which

people aren’t going to be able to qualify for. They called us back for

that.

Then on top of that, they say that they need an extra month, on

top of the other month that was already given to them, to provide a

budget. Other jurisdictions are getting by with their budgeting. We’re

not unique here in B.C. What is it about this government that actually

makes all these false promises but then says: “We need a month, on top

of the month you already gave us, to produce a budget”? That’s your job.

You’re government, and you’ve already had three years to do this. And a

number of those MLAs sitting across on the government side…. You’ve been

here more than eight years. You know how this system works.

[11:15 a.m.]

I mean, there are a lot of critics that sat on this side of the

table and that now became government. There’s no excuse for you now

pleading ignorance on how to produce a budget. A lot of the MLAs came

from different jurisdictions that included budgeting. They came from

municipal governments. I’m sure there are some that actually had sat on

boards. You had to do budgeting. It’s a fundamental core job of

government.

If we’re going to talk about the ten months of a pandemic…. I

mean, let’s not use it as another stalling tactic, because there are

people suffering out there, and it’s going to get really bad during

Christmas. We’re already seeing, outside my office in Terrace, the kids

that are wandering by. It’s absolutely inexcusable for this government

to actually joke about it, in terms of a $5 latte, when people are

losing their houses, when people have already lost their

businesses.

For those businesses that went under…. A lot of us that had the

luxury of keeping our jobs and keeping our income…. You have no idea

what these businesses are going through, what these business owners are

going through, because they don’t have a safety net. They can’t go apply

for unemployment insurance. Anybody that’s run a business knows

this.

When you lose your business, you lose your only income. In terms

of this pandemic recession, what are you going to do? Where are the

jobs? What kind of job are you going to take that can actually make that

payroll payment or that PST payment that you’re in default of or that

GST payment? Everything that’s associated with business, there’s no

safety net for. So a $5 latte is little comfort, and it’s nothing to

laugh about.

We’ve got a lot of work to do in this Legislature, a lot of work

that could have kept on going before the snap election, including this

payment. Instead of going into a snap election, we could have been

debating this in the Legislature.

This payment could have been rolling out last month, especially

when the NDP government had the right amount of votes in the

Legislature, and they proved that time and time again. The Green Party,

along with the NDP party, had enough votes to actually push everything

through. They proved that over the last three years. The only vote that

was really lost by the NDP government was when the NDP tried to get rid

of the requirement to bring major project agreements to the Legislature.

That’s the only vote they ever lost.

To say that you needed a snap election to make some of these

measures available to B.C. citizens is false. That is wrong. You didn’t

need that majority to actually roll out this election promise of $500,

$1,000, whatever it may be now. Now it sounds like for those that most

need it, you’re going to get $10. You didn’t need a snap election for

that. We could have been in the House debating this. All these questions

that are coming out now and all these concerns…. We could have hammered

this out. But no. No, it all came out during the election.

If the government truly stands by the idea that this was not a

vote-buying initiative, then show us. Show us the proof, because this is

no joking matter. The social issues that are coming up now — we’re going

to have to deal with that for a long time. A lot of the services that

we’re providing through government, both federal and provincial…. We’re

going to have to deal with this.

Now more than ever the advocacy groups are going to be busy in

terms of addressing the social issues. The RCMP are already getting more

and more busy as we speak, and they’re going to get more busy as more

and more people feel the pressure of not having an income.

[11:20 a.m.]

M. Morris: I go back to yesterday and our colleague from Abbotsford West and

the wealth of knowledge that he displayed. Of course, he’s been around

for a long time in this House. He’s been Finance Minister, and he’s done

a multitude of different jobs here.

I appreciated the historic overview that he provided on the use

and the abuse of special warrants back in the ’90s; the unscrutinized

budgets that took place back in those days and, of course, the infamous

fudge-it budget; and all those things that led to the Budget

Transparency and Accountability Act. It was brought in, in the early

2000s, to compensate for that, to mitigate the opportunities for the

fudge-it budgets and the unscrutinized budgets and the use of those

special warrants.

You know, back in the ’90s, I was a senior police manager with the

RCMP. I was in charge of the northern 75 percent of the province. I was

also on the provincial budget committee for the RCMP and the HR

committee, a number of other senior management positions that we had

there. One of the most frustrating experiences I encountered — it wasn’t

only me as a senior manager in the force; I think all public

institutions were subjected to this kind of budgetary practice that the

government of the ’90s had back then — is that they would present the

budget to us in February or March sometimes, quite late, and we would

allocate the money out.

As a district officer, there were about 1,200 folks working under

my command in that area, a number of municipal detachments included. We

knew where every nickel of that budget went at all times. So with the

budget being presented to policing, to corrections, to social services,

a number of the other different public institutions in February or

March…. Every year — as I experienced it, anyways — from about 1997 on

till 2001, the budget got clawed back in June or July of the same year,

sometimes 4 percent and 5 percent.

That led to investigations not being completed. That led to police

cars being parked. It led to airplanes being left on the ground. A lot

of work didn’t get done because the money wasn’t there. It led to

deterioration of technology. Our computer systems were

outdated.

There were a number of factors that revolved around that kind of a

budgetary system. Where they were putting the money back in those days,

I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention to politics. As any good public

servant would be at that particular time, I was non-partisan, on the

outside. But I see the same things trending today as we move

forward.

Another casualty…. I bring it up because it does have relevance to

this bill and the reasons why we’re before the House here today. I just

want to talk about the Prince George hospital. It was the government of

the day back in the late ’90s that had decided to build a new Prince

George hospital. The Prince George hospital at that time was a regional

hospital. We had 400 beds. Partway into the whole process, once the big

green button had been pushed to move ahead on this, they cut the budget

significantly, and we ended up with a hospital that had 200 beds, which

we have to this particular day.

We have a hospital today that still maintains ’50s vintage

operating rooms that don’t have room to accommodate the new technology

that is so important to have in our modern-day operating rooms to

provide the level of service that our folks need when they’re doing that

job there. Cramped quarters, you know. There are a number of things that

resulted from their obscure budgetary processes.

Hard to believe that you get into a project and you cut it back

because you find out you don’t have any money or you put the money into

some other pot. I think perhaps maybe that’s what’s taking place here

today.

[11:25 a.m.]

We’ve got a government today that is embarking on its second term.

They’ve been around for three years. I haven’t heard a vision from

anybody in government. They have no discernible plan, no describable

plan that I’ve been able to find. We have a government who has

obfuscated their intent. We don’t know what their intent is. They’ve

abandoned the people of British Columbia at a time of the greatest needs

during COVID, during a worldwide pandemic.

They’ve put politics ahead of COVID. They’ve put politics ahead of

people. They’ve called a superfluous election and abandoned their post

for two months, prior to this House coming into session here in December

of the year — abandoned their post for two months. There was nothing

done. There was no need for that election. The people of British

Columbia were forgotten about. They were pushed to the side in favour of

political gain for the government that’s here today.

The public has lost their trust in this government as a result of

that. Assistance to the British Columbian people that really need the

assistance, to our small businesses, was put aside in favour of

political gain. These people will not be getting their assistance before

Christmas.

They’re not going to have a good Christmas anyways because of

COVID. It has just exploded. The number of cases has exploded across the

province since the time of the election. It’s in our schools. It’s in

our communities, in our small communities throughout the province here

as a result of that. The provincial health officer has provided some

excellent leadership over the past ten months on this file. But now

people are paying the consequence of not adhering to a lot of those

requirements of social distancing.

Christmas is going to be lonely for many people. My wife and I

will be spending Christmas by ourselves, with five grandchildren in our

community and our sons and daughters-in-law and other family members and

good friends. Everybody will be suffering the consequences of

this.

The bill that’s before us right now amends an amendment that they

presented to us earlier in this year. At that time, they extended the

time limits to 30 days for making quarterly reports. There were a couple

of other amendments at that particular time too.

The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act states that they

have to make quarterly reports — I believe it’s on September 15 of the

year, November 30 of the year and again on February 28 — to let British

Columbians know where they are, where they spent the money, what their

plans are for the future, how much they might have left in that

taxpayers’ bucket that they’ve been bailing money out of at record rates

to places we don’t even know.

There’s about $15 billion in deficit that we have in this province

right now. We have no idea where that money went. We’re in opposition.

We should be knowing. We have to hold government to account, and we

haven’t been able to access that information for the past 12 months,

since the estimates were provided earlier this year. We won’t be able to

access that information probably until April of next year, which is

wrong. It’s totally wrong.

This government has shown they are not accountable to the people

of British Columbia that elected them. The people of British Columbia

elected them hoping that they would be providing all of these various

services at the end of the day, which aren’t there. We’re going to get

hit with tax increases. I have no idea how this government plans on

paying the bills that they’ve committed to this at particular time.

Their economic recovery plan does not include anything to do with jobs.

It will be interesting to see once we do pop the hood open on the books

and have a look at the data and just see how far we have tumbled into

that deficit situation from where we were even last summer.

[11:30 a.m.]

This is kicking the can down the road. In fact, this government is

a “kicking the can down the road” kind of government. They’ve done it

ever since they got in three years ago in their first term, their track

record. In their first term, they avoided all the tough decisions by

initiating over 100 reviews, consultations and diversions and postponing

critical decisions that government needed to do.

Oftentimes what I saw was… You know, there were some of these

committees that came back with information to government, and government

totally ignored those suggestions from these various groups. We found

out through letters to us from these various groups that claim that

government talks about going out and consulting with everybody, but at

the end of the day, they don’t follow up on that. They weren’t really

serious about looking at that in the first place.

It appears to me that this government is forcing us back into the

’90s, back to overt budgeting, no transparency, no accountability. Prior

to this unnecessary election that we had this fall, all the parties were

cooperating. Everybody was fully involved in trying to address COVID,

get the help out there that the public needed. We gave government $5

billion. “Go ahead and get the job done. Look after the small

businesses. Look after tourism, which is suffering so immensely through

this province and across the country.” That hasn’t happened to this day.

Nothing has happened there.

By the time the election was called in September, I think there

was still around $1½ billion left in the pot that was not spent. So we

understand. We’ve got no idea. But $1½ billion…. A billion is a lot of

money.

Now we go, and this bill…. When we look through some of the

details on this bill, they’re asking for another $2 billion, but out of

that $2 billion, they only need, you know, $1.5 billion. So if we add

that $1.5 billion to the $1.5 billion that they had in September, that’s

$3 billion. You can do a lot with $3 billion in today’s times, under

these stressful conditions that we’re all living in. So why do they need

$2 billion to provide anywhere from $10 and up, based on the 2019 data,

to help these poor folks that’ve lost their jobs in 2020, not

2019?

We’ve got tens of thousands of British Columbians who are out of

work as a result of COVID, and they’re going to be out of work over

Christmas. They’re going to be out of work into the new year. For how

long after that, we don’t know. We’ve got a vaccine coming, and

hopefully that is going to provide significant relief for everybody

around the world, but it’ll take a while to roll out. It’s going to take

a while before our tourism sector rebounds again and people feel safe to

travel and experience beautiful British Columbia, what we have to offer

here.

In the meantime, thousands of B.C. businesses, small businesses,

are becoming insolvent. They’re closing their doors every day. They’ll

be closing their doors over Christmas. They’ll be closing the doors into

2021, with no real relief in sight.

This is something that this government could have addressed. I

think my colleague from Skeena mentioned it and that other colleagues

have mentioned it before. Where government had the full cooperation of

the House, there was no reason to call the snap election that they did

and stall the process and impede the process of providing help to

British Columbians — again, for their own political

satisfaction.

[11:35 a.m.]

They could’ve had all these things in place. People would’ve been

enjoying a better Christmas with the results of some kind of COVID

recovery plan in place and in motion at that particular time. A lot of

families would have been a lot happier. Perhaps we wouldn’t have seen

this spike that we’ve seen in COVID cases around the province since the

election took place, as well.

When I started, I talked about the impact to our public

institutions back in the ’90s, under the fudge-it budget days — the

obscure warrants that were being used to cover off some of the expenses

and the effect that it had on our public institutions. We have health

authorities right across this province that are stressed to the maximum.

The doctors are stressed. They’re working to the maximum, every hand on

deck. The nurses are working to the maximum. They’re working

overtime.

The cleaning staff cleaning all those facilities, trying to make

them COVID-safe, keeping up with the WorkSafe requirements, keeping up

with the orders that the provincial health officer has implemented.

They’re the ones that are making sure that all of us stay safe, and my

heart goes out to them. I thank cleaning workers not only in our public

institutions but everywhere that are doing their level best to make sure

that they mitigate the spread of COVID as much as possible in all our

facilities.

Laboratory staff working overtime, trying to keep up with the

testing requirements as well as all the other requirements that they

meet from day to day to keep us healthy. I’ve had recent work. I’ve gone

in to see my doctor and had various tests done. They’re very

professional and very quick to provide the level of service that we

expect.

Our schools, our teachers — stressed. There’s some myth that

perhaps COVID doesn’t spread as quickly in our schools as it does in

other community areas. I think that’s been proven wrong. Students going

home. Parents stressed out, some of them keeping students at home. The

inability to learn and to socialize is causing a lot of mental health

issues for students, for staff, for parents. Busing. How do we keep our

students safe and COVID-free with busing transportation?

The other one that’s really surfaced in the last little while —

but they’ve been stressed for years now because of our opiate crisis —

is our paramedics and our first responders. Here we have, again, an

issue where people have been dying by the thousands in this province

because of opiate overdoses, because of fentanyl overdoses. Eighty

percent of the opiate deaths in British Columbia are the result of

fentanyl. Eighty percent. That’s pretty high. Our first responders have

been tied up attending these kinds of situations now for several

years.

It’s not getting better. It’s getting worse. There are far more

people dying from fentanyl than there have been with COVID to date.

That’s not talking about the other issues with the fentanyl and opiate

overdoses where people suffer from organ damage, brain damage, and are

hospitalized for weeks, sometimes months on end, and some who will never

recover. Some will always be dependent upon our health care system to

survive for the rest of their life.

Yet that didn’t seem to hit the radar screen of this government.

That didn’t prevent them from holding a self-serving election in the

middle of this COVID crisis, in the middle of an opiate crisis, in the

middle of a number of things that they should have been at the helm of,

doing the job that they were elected to do by the people of British

Columbia.

[11:40 a.m.]

They abandoned the people of British Columbia by holding that

election and taking two months of valuable time to let the election

cycle go through its legislated requirements, figure out who’s going to

be in cabinet, get everybody sworn in and get this House back in

December for this bill.

It was brought together under the pretext of: “We need to get this

legislation passed so we can get these cheques out to help the people.”

But that was not their intent. They don’t know, I’m sure, how much money

they’ve got left in the pot. They don’t know where the money is going.

They needed to extend, provide that 30-day extension, so they weren’t in

violation of their own Budget Transparency and Accountability Act. So

they add another 30 days to it, and they make it 60 days.

Now they don’t have to provide a quarterly update until next

spring, the spring of 2021. At that time, they’ll present a fresh budget

for 2021-2022. We’ll see what it offers, and we’ll see whether this $15

billion deficit balloons even further from that particular

time.

We have airports closing. We’ve got NavCan looking at the Prince

George Airport and a number of other airports around the country,

because they’re not being used. Air travel is down significantly right

across the province. We’ve got airplanes that have been parked now for

months. As a result of that, we’ll see further displacement of

opportunities for people and further displacement of transportation

requirements for the people of British Columbia, perhaps.

This bringing together of the Legislature in December for two

weeks…. I understand government was hoping that they would be able to

pass this bill within a day or so and get everybody home and out the

door and then get the bureaucrats working on doling out those cheques

before Christmas.

We’ve got some serious questions that we’ve been asking the folks

out there in government, and they haven’t been providing the answers. In

fact, nobody has stood up on the government side to offer any

explanation about this bill whatsoever.

This is second reading. They have all the opportunity in the

world. Every single one of those members in government has an

opportunity to stand up and represent the people that have elected them

and tell us what they think about this bill. Nobody has done that. They

sit quietly in the background, or they joke about it in question period.

But this is a very serious situation that we’re in. Government has

ignored people. They’re trying to get by with doing as little as they

can during this crisis, where all hands need to be on deck.

Now, we’re going to be leaving this House next week. Who knows

when we’ll be back again? It could be in February, could be in March,

could be in April. How many people are going to die from COVID during

that period of time? How many people are going to pass away as a result

of opioid overdoses? How many people are going to need the services that

are required, which are being ignored right now in a stressed-out public

service, with police stressed out to the maximum, our court system

stressed out to the maximum, our social services stressed out to the

max?

I look at a situation up in the north right now, up in the

Interior, where people that prefer to live on the street and socialize

with their friends on the street tested positive for COVID, were given

housing by B.C. Housing. But there’s no control over how they were

maintained. They circulated throughout the entire interior of the

province. We see community spreads now in areas around the province,

around the Interior, as a result of that. That’s because there’s no

staff available. Everybody is working to the maximum.

[11:45 a.m.]

They’ve had to bring a specialized paramedic team into a northern

community here to deal with the number of COVID outbreaks that they have

in that community, and all of this is taking place while we talk about

this $500, $1,000 or, in some cases, $10 going to a few select

individuals in the province — not the people that really need it but a

few select people — based on their 2019 income.

It’s unrealistic. It doesn’t really…. It’s unbelievable, in fact,

that…. I’d be embarrassed if I was a government that called people back

for this innocuous bill that is not going to do everything that they say

it will, at the end of the day. So the fact is left to be examined in

the future, when we get a chance to have a look at the books, pop the

vote open on those ledger sheets and see what the real numbers say at

that particular time.

This is unacceptable. The government was elected by the people to

serve the people, and they’re not serving the people right now. They’re

operating in a covert manner, and they’re not transparent, although they

like to think they are. They operate much like an undercover covert

team, even in the House. They don’t disclose much in the House. They

don’t disclose much to the public. They operate under a

blanket.

I think the voters are going to get very tired of that, if they’re

not tired of it already. I think they probably feel misled, as a result

of the promises made prior to the election and what’s happening here

today. We’ll see how this works itself through the system over the next

two or three or four months. I’d be curious to see how many people that

really actually need this money get the money at the end of the

day.

I’d like to see the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act

become fully transparent and this government fully accountable to the

public under the terms of that particular legislation. Maybe in the

spring they’re going to submit another amendment to the amendment to the

amendments and extend it another 90 days or longer. We’ll have to see

how that works out at the end of the day too.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

All in all, this is a bill that we certainly can’t support the way

it is. We have a number of things that need to be done as we work

through the rest of this bill. We’ve got the committee stage coming up,

where we’re going to examine everything in detail, and I look forward to

the minister’s response to this. I’m sure the people of British Columbia

are looking forward to the minister’s response on this. She will be

measured for the next several months on her responses to the questions

at the committee stage that we’ll see coming down here.

This really wasn’t a necessary sitting. It wasn’t a necessary

election. The people of British Columbia were abandoned for a period of

time, in a time of their greatest need. I think this government needs to

wake up to that reality. They need to do what they need to do to provide

the services to British Columbians in a timely fashion, not months down

the road but in a timely fashion — tomorrow. Get the help that they

need. Get them through Christmas. Try and brighten up their life as much

as we can under these dire circumstances that many are living in right

now, and we’ll hope for the best.

Like I said, I won’t be supporting this bill moving forward. I

hope that the people can get some relief, but I’m not optimistic that

this is going to do the trick. I think they’ve been misled.

[11:50 a.m.]

J. Sturdy: I wish I could say that I was pleased to rise to speak to this

bill. But for that to be the case, it would require that I’d generally

be supportive of the concept of further delaying the updating of British

Columbians on the state of the provincial economy, on any plans for

assisting constituents and businesses in weathering this pandemic that

is, frankly, turning people’s lives and business futures upside

down.

This is not a new government, despite the suggestions and

deflections by members of this government. If this amendment is passed,

then this government will have been in power pretty much four years by

the time the people of British Columbia are next updated on the state of

the provincial economy and the plans for the future.

This, I’m told, will be the longest period between fiscal updates

in British Columbia since, wait for it, the last time the NDP were in

power. This certainly does not build confidence in this

government.

Even more importantly, in my mind, is that it will be next May of

2021 that will be the first time that the 42nd parliament of the

province of British Columbia will hear what this government will be

detailing as a plan for the economic future of this province. This is

something, certainly, that I’ve been watching for and waiting for in

every throne speech and budget speech of this NDP government ever since

2017, when they were first sworn in. I’m still waiting.

In one respect, this government is economical, and that is with

the sharing with the people of British Columbia their vision for where

we are intending to go as a province. What are the plans for the future?

What does the future hold? What plans does the government have to ensure

that our citizens have jobs today and the jobs of the future tomorrow?

When will they articulate some of this?

Relying on the residual effect of the fiscal prudence of the B.C.

Liberal Finance Minister certainly gave Carole James the runway to

spend, and that has certainly happened. Provincial budgets and

expenditures have increased at an unprecedented fashion ever since

Spending truly has been the focus, spending that in many respects

has been welcome, for the most vulnerable, for child care, for health

care and education. But spending is only half the books. As any business

understands, spending is the easy part. Revenues are the hard part, and

this government rarely makes mention of where the money is coming

from.

Well, the 18 or 20 new and improved or increased taxes on people

and businesses have been the go-to so far. But a vision for the economy,

building the economy, like building any business, takes focus, a drive

and a vision for where to go. To paraphrase Lewis Carroll in Alice

in Wonderland , as Alice ponders which road to take, Cheshire

Cat responds: “Well, you know, if you don’t know where you’re going, any

road will get there.”

That’s what I’m concerned about. Where are we going, not just with

this pandemic response and recovery but beyond that — beyond government

spending and debt, beyond building the public sector? The public sector

supplies necessary and important services for the people of this

province.

Noting the hour, I reserve my place and move adjournment of

debate.

J. Sturdy moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. L. Beare moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

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