Third Session, 42nd Parliament

(2022) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 154

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Orders of the Day

Presentation of Estimates

Estimates of sums required for the service of the province

Budget Debate

Hon. S. Robinson

P. Milobar

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill 6 — Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2022

Hon. S. Robinson

Tabling Documents

Government strategic plan, 2022-23–2024-25

Budget and fiscal plan, 2022-23–2024-25

Service plans, 2022-23–2024-25

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

D. Davies: I’m glad we have the opportunity to do introductions a second time in

the House, or I would feel really bad. It’s my mother’s birthday today, so I

want to wish my mom….

Interjections.

D. Davies: Hey, it’s still her birthday today, so I haven’t missed it.

I want to wish my mom, Maxine Davies, a happy 81st birthday

today.

Orders of the Day

Hon. S. Robinson: I move that this House, at its next sitting, resolve itself for this

session into a committee to consider the supply to be granted to Her

Majesty.

Motion approved.

Presentation of Estimates

ESTIMATES OF SUMS REQUIRED

FOR THE SERVICE OF THE

PROVINCE

Hon. S. Robinson presented a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor: Estimates of Sums Required for the Service of the

Province for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, and a supplement to the

estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, recommending the same

to the Legislative Assembly.

[1:35 p.m.]

Hon. S. Robinson moved that the said message and the estimates

accompanying the same be referred to the Committee of Supply.

Motion approved.

Budget Debate

Hon. S. Robinson: I move, seconded by the hon. Premier of British Columbia:

[That the Speaker do now leave the Chair for the House to go into

Committee of Supply.]

I would like to begin today by acknowledging the

Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ peoples, the Songhees

and Esquimalt First Nations, upon whose territory we are

gathered.

I also invite everyone to consider the 204 First Nations upon whose

territories we call British Columbia. To all those joining us, I would like

to extend a warm welcome.

Today I’m honoured to present Budget 2022, a budget that keeps us all

moving forward by holding steady to what we know to be true: that we are

stronger together. Budget 2022 meets today’s challenges while always

investing in a stronger British Columbia. It delivers action today with a

plan for tomorrow, a plan that responds to the difficult days we find

ourselves in.

We feel the weight of two continuing health crises: the poisoned drug

supply and the COVID-19 pandemic. We reckon with the grief that Indigenous

communities have known for so long — that children were taken away from

their families, sent to residential schools and never returned home. We

witness the destructive consequences of climate change as communities

scorched by heat and wildfires in the summer faced flooding and mudslides

only months later. These overlapping crises claimed lives and affect us

all.

To all those grieving: may your loved ones be for a

blessing.

In these difficult days, I am reminded of a story. It’s the tale of an

elderly father who asks his sons to break a bundle of sticks. Despite their

best efforts, they are unable to do so. However, once the bundle is untied,

each stick is easily broken. While this story has ancient roots, its message

of strength and unity holds true today. Just like that bundle of sticks, we

are stronger together, because it is when we are under pressure that we see

who we truly are as people and as a province.

British Columbians are caring. When a safe and effective vaccine

became available, millions of us rolled up our sleeves to protect ourselves

and others. Health care workers, like my friend Sharon, came out of

retirement to help with the largest vaccination program in our province’s

history. B.C. now has one of the lowest per-capita fatality rates from

COVID-19 and one of the highest vaccination rates on the

continent.

British Columbians are compassionate. When our neighbours, whether

across the street or across the province, need a hand, we are there. The

tools vary from sandbags to firehoses and community kitchens, but we get the

job done.

British Columbians are committed. Day after day those working on the

front lines of mental health and addictions fight a rising tide of need. On

the front lines of the pandemic, we see the commitment of health care

workers and hospitals, teachers and early childhood educators in classrooms,

and clerks in grocery stores.

My neighbour Carrie is a teacher. In the early days of the pandemic, I

would sometimes bump into her, as each of us, working from our homes, would

go out for a walk around the block. She told me about how she was not only

reaching out to students to see how they were doing, but she was reaching

out to their parents to make sure that they, too, were okay.

Time and time again British Columbians have stepped up for one

another, and our government is right there with you. When there are

challenges that threaten us as a province, we must respond as a

province.

Now, some would choose differently. Some argue that cuts and a reduced

role of government is the right way forward, but that’s not what most

British Columbians expect. And that will not be our approach.

[1:40 p.m.]

Instead of leaving people without support when times are tough, our

government steps up when and where we are needed. Hundreds of dollars went

directly to millions of people through the B.C. recovery benefit to help

them through difficult times and support economic recovery. Hundreds of

millions in safe-start funding helped communities maintain the services that

people count on, like public transit. More than half a billion dollars

supported the hardest-hit small businesses and their staff.

B.C. has provided some of the highest supports for people and

businesses, per capita, in Canada. Millions in funding provided a lifeline

for more than 8,000 tourism businesses, and additional funding will provide

support for non-profits impacted by the pandemic, as well as the arts,

culture and music sector. This year’s budget will continue support for the

tourism sector as it recovers, with $25 million earmarked for

them.

Instead of accepting the status quo, we are always looking for ways to

make life better for people today. In some cases, that means righting past

wrongs. Last summer we reversed a 20-year-old decision that ripped up the

contracts of thousands of health care workers, primarily affecting women and

people of colour. Today we are reversing cuts made two decades ago when the

previous government slashed funding for sexual assault services to help pay

for tax cuts for the wealthy.

I remember those cuts. I remember when they happened, because I was

working with the women and the children that were most affected. Now we are

making it right. Budget 2022 delivers $22 million to support survivors and

resource stable funding for 50 sexual assault service centres here in

British Columbia.

While some would choose to watch as ordinary British Columbians are

left behind, we are working hard to close gaps that were made worse by the

pandemic. Workers in B.C. now have access to a minimum of five paid sick

days every year, the most of any province in Canada. We also have the

highest minimum wage of any province, with a plan to tie future increases to

the rate of inflation.

These are choices that our government is proud to stand behind, and

they reflect the choices that have shaped this year’s budget. Budget 2022

continues our work to build a stronger British Columbia economically,

socially and environmentally. Despite a global pandemic, B.C. remains strong

on all three fronts. Budget 2022 continues building on these

strengths.

B.C.’s economic recovery is leading the nation. Among provinces, we

are tied for the lowest unemployment rate, and we have the fastest job

growth since the start of the pandemic. In fact, more than 160,000 new jobs

were created here last year. That includes important public services being

delivered by more people, like health care aides and teachers. It also

includes thousands of new private-sector jobs in communities right around

the province. To everyone who stepped up and kept our province strong: thank

you.

Across the province, B.C. is recognized as a great place to live and

raise a family. Last year we saw the largest net migration of people from

other provinces in almost three decades.

B.C. is also recognized as a great place to work and to invest. For

just one example, mining exploration in British Columbia exceeded $600

million in 2021. This is the highest level in a decade. As part of Budget

2022, we are supporting the continued growth of the mining sector with $18

million over three years.

Interjection.

Hon. S. Robinson: The minister is happy.

This new funding will keep B.C. mining at the forefront of

sustainability, create jobs and advance reconciliation.

Our province is also home to a thriving life sciences sector. Consider

the fact that B.C. scientists and companies were involved with almost every

COVID-19 vaccine that reached the final stages of development. We are

continuing to expand the sector, with almost $200 million for Genome B.C.

and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. This investment will

support continued growth, creating new scientific discoveries and economic

opportunities along the way.

[1:45 p.m.]

Here in British Columbia, local talent is driving global innovation.

We expect this to continue, especially as InBC, our strategic investment

fund, starts backing B.C. businesses. Good things are happening in our

province, and all signs point to a resilient post-pandemic

economy.

This is where the StrongerBC economic plan comes in. We are investing

in today’s talent to meet the demands of tomorrow’s high-care, low-carbon

economy. Within the next ten years, labour market forecasts estimate that

B.C. will have more than one million job openings. Almost 80 percent of

these jobs will require post-secondary education or training.

Preparing B.C.’s workforce is a generation-defining challenge. It’s

also an opportunity. Our StrongerBC economic plan commits to closing the

skills gap. The skilled trades are a very good example. We are supporting

better-paying, more stable jobs for apprentices and tradesworkers through a

new certification system. Budget 2022 advances these efforts with new

training seats and targeted programs for tradesworkers, along with more

monitoring and compliance activities at worksites.

Other high-growth areas, like health care and technol­ogy, are

the same ones our government has been focused on since 2017. We’ve already

created 2,600 new tech spaces at post-secondary institutions around the

province, from Simon Fraser University to Okanagan College and the British

Columbia Institute of Technology. Since 2017, we’ve had the fastest-growing

nursing workforce of any province. Our ongoing commitment to add 500 more

nursing seats will continue this trend.

These graduates are making an immediate difference. I think of Parm, a

nursing student at Douglas College that I recently met just a couple of

weeks ago. She told me how eager she is to bring her energy and her skills

to the job when she graduates this April. She’s really looking forward to

being a nurse right here in our community.

As we create new opportunities, we are also breaking down barriers for

underrepresented communities. This is part of our ongoing work to build a

more inclusive economy, and we are starting to see these results. More

women, youth and Indigenous people are working now than before the pandemic.

Thousands of Indigenous learners are accessing new training opportunities

for careers in early childhood education, health care and more. We are also

meeting a growing need for mid-career transition supports.

New micro-credentials are helping thousands of people land secure jobs

in established and emerging fields. BCIT’s course on mass timber is a great

example. Graduates will find work on a wide range of projects, from new

student housing to health care facilities. Programs like this one make sure

that workers, including those from B.C.’s forest sector, are driving

economic growth.

Forestry is and will remain foundational to our province’s economy. We

are embarking on a new, sustainable approach to protecting and managing

B.C.’s forests — one that prioritizes value over volume, and one that

protects our oldest and most at-risk forests for future

generations.

As we move forward with these overdue changes, our government will

make sure that no one is left behind. Budget 2022 delivers $185 million over

three years to support affected forest workers and contractors, industry,

communities and First Nations. For workers, this includes a bridging to

retirement program, creating new jobs through innovations like mass timber

and connecting people with skills training. For communities, this supports

partnerships with businesses, more diverse local economies and the creation

of jobs through new local infrastructure projects.

Additional opportunities for communities and First Nations will come

with redistributed forest tenures. We intend to double the amount of

replaceable forest tenure held by First Nations. This is just one example of

how reconciliation is moving forward here in British Columbia.

Now, this year’s budget creates a new Declaration Act secretariat,

with $12 million over the next three years. Its job is to ensure that

legislation is consistent with the United Nations declaration on the rights

of Indigenous peoples, which everybody in this House supported. It’s

developed in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous

peoples.

Additionally, Budget 2022 continues our government’s Indigenous

housing investments. We are, and continue to be, the only province building

homes both on and off reserve for Indigenous people.

[1:50 p.m.]

New funding for the Aboriginal Head Start program will support more

culturally based early learning opportunities. I think of a preschool in the

Gitwangak First Nation, where children are learning the Gitxsan language.

They’re playing in clan houses, and they’re taking

part in healing circles.

For Indigenous communities throughout the province, programs like this one

are benefiting the next generation.

A strong economy creates meaningful opportunities for everyone,

regardless of your age, your wage or your postal code. In today’s world,

closing the digital divide helps level the playing field. That is why

connectivity has been a major priority for our government since day one.

Record funding is already bringing high-speed Internet to 500 rural, remote

and Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia. It’s

transformational work. It’s happening right around the province.

Today two ships are making their way down the coast. They’re laying

fibre optic cable from Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii and southern Vancouver

Island. It’s difficult work. At the end of January, the crew laid the first

50 kilometres of cable just offshore from Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla and

Dodge Cove.

At each of the stops, new opportunities will be unlocked for small

coastal communities, and today we are taking another major step forward.

With Budget 2022, our government’s total investments in connectivity will

reach half a billion dollars. That means that another 280 communi­ties

will have high-speed connection to today’s digital economy. By 2027, almost

800 communities will benefit from the province’s investments in

connectivity.

Just as we build new digital infrastructure, we are also building new

schools, new hospitals and child care spaces. New transit, roads and bridges

will keep people moving, keep goods flowing and keep our economy running.

Work is underway on the Broadway subway project, replacements for the Massey

Tunnel and Pattullo Bridge and improvements along Highway 14 on Vancouver

Island.

Today we are taking our infrastructure plan to new heights — a

record-level $27.4 billion over the next three years. This includes funding

to bring the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain all the way to Langley. It’s in

planning now. It is the first rapid transit expansion south of the Fraser in

three decades.

In addition to major transportation projects, our expanded capital

plan will build new schools, continue investments in post-secondary

expansions and bring health care closer to home.

The largest affordable housing investment in B.C.’s history is also

part of our infrastructure plan. British Columbia is the place to be. In

just the first nine months of last year, almost 85,000 people moved to our

province. With this success, however, comes additional pressure on our

housing market. Right now, too many people are still struggling to find an

affordable place to buy or to rent. We can’t afford to wait, and we

aren’t.

Our government has banned renovictions, and we’ve cracked down on

speculation. During the pandemic, we froze rents and then capped them

permanently. More than 32,000 new affordable homes are already built, or

they’re on their way. Thousands of new student housing beds are under

construction and soon will be easing pressure on local housing

markets.

Just last year more than 53,000 new homes were registered here in

British Columbia. In the last five years, we’ve registered more rental homes

than the previous 15 years combined. But we all know, whether from the CMHC

rental numbers that were released last week or the stories that we all hear

from people around the province about the challenge of finding a home that

they can afford, that there is still much work to be done.

Budget 2022 continues progress on our ten-year Building B.C. plan.

Total investments in housing and homelessness will reach more than $1.2

billion a year for the next three years. That’s three times the level of

funding in 2017. Last year we made $2 billion in low-cost financing

available through the HousingHub program, and we are already seeing

results.

[1:55 p.m.]

More than 4,400 HousingHub homes are open or underway for

middle-income families, and now Budget 2022 will add more staff to help

accelerate those HousingHub projects because there’s so much demand.

Similarly, this year’s budget adds $100 million to accelerate the community

housing fund. This will support the work of non-profit partners to build

even more mixed-income rentals and to do it faster.

The new Sunrise Centre in Kamloops is a great example of a program in

action. Three years ago I had the opportunity to celebrate with the

community when we broke ground on these new homes. Today the first

residents, mostly low-income seniors, take comfort in knowing that their

rents will always be capped at 30 percent of their income. The building is

right downtown, just a short walk away from the pharmacy, the grocery store,

making it very, very easy for seniors to use. These new homes and thousands

more like them provide an affordable future for British

Columbians.

Now, building the homes that people need supports B.C.’s economic

strength. It’s also part of our work to build a healthier society, in every

sense of the word. Budget 2022 commits a total of $3.2 billion over three

years to build an even stronger health and mental health care system for

British Columbians.

We are adding $300 million over three years to help with continuing

efforts to address wait-lists for surgeries and scans. We’re also committing

$875 million in the next year to get more people immunized, more PPE

purchased and more people tested for COVID-19. Almost $150 million will

increase the number of paramedics, call-takers and dispatchers to speed up

emergency response times.

Budget 2022 continues our government’s work to deliver better care in

communities throughout B.C. The Cowichan, Dawson Creek, Richmond, Burnaby

and new Surrey hospital projects are all moving ahead, including a new

state-of-the-art cancer centre in Surrey. More cancer care centres are being

planned for Kamloops and Nanaimo.

This year’s budget will continue to invest in urgent and primary care

centres. Our goal is to nearly double the number of centres by 2025. To

bring culturally safe care closer to home, Budget 2022 will add traditional

Indigenous health providers to local primary care teams. We are continuing

to work in partnership with the First Nations Health Authority to create new

First Nations primary care centres throughout the province.

We recognize that the pandemic has threatened more than our physical

health. It’s taken a significant toll on our mental well-being, and

tragically, the poisoned drug crisis has only worsened. Our government is

tackling this head on with the largest investment in mental health and

addictions services in B.C.’s history. A new comprehensive system of

treatment and care is being built. Five years ago one simply did not exist.

Despite heroic efforts from those working on and working in this new system,

the poisoned drug supply continues to claim lives.

While it’s hard to see past the tragedy, there are stories that do

inspire hope — stories like Daniel’s. After years of homelessness and living

with addictions, he checked himself into a new treatment bed in Nanaimo. “It

definitely saved my life,” Daniel says. He’s now excited about the future

and plans to take things one step at a time. His first step, I have to say,

was a meaningful one. For the first time in four years, Daniel spent

Christmas with his family.

It’s for Daniel and so many others that front-line workers remain

committed to this fight. So, too, has our government remained committed to

this fight. We are taking action by opening hundreds of treatment and

recovery beds just like the one in Nanaimo, by becoming the first province

in Canada to apply for decriminalization and offer prescribed safe supply,

and by operating free and affordable counselling services in Foundry centres

in dozens of communities.

For people living with a combination of addictions, severe mental

health issues or brain injury, Budget 2022 provides another pathway to hope.

New complex care housing already on the way for Surrey, Abbotsford and

Vancouver will be expanded to another 20 sites throughout the province. This

first-of-its-kind approach will help stop the cycle of evictions, shelters,

emergency rooms and jails for hundreds of people with complex care

needs.

It has often been said that while we are all in the same storm, we are

not in the same boat. The pandemic has only served to deepen pre-existing

gaps in services and supports, and we can see this playing out on streets

right across the country.

[2:00 p.m.]

A new, comprehensive approach is needed to shift from reactive to

proactive solutions for homelessness. This year’s budget delivers with $633

million to tackle homelessness over the next three years.

When COVID-19 first hit, we acted fast to bring more than 3,000 people

in off the street and into temporary shelters. Now we are working to make

this move permanent by funding hundreds of new homes with supports and

connecting people with spaces in newly finished buildings. To give people

stability while new permanent homes are being built, we are extending leases

on some temporary spaces. Additionally, new rent supplements will help

thousands of low-income people find secure housing in the rental market, and

it comes with wraparound supports.

While an immediate response is vital, we must also shift our attention

upstream toward prevention. The late Katherine McParland was a fierce

advocate on youth homelessness. She also became a friend and adviser to this

government and to me. As Katherine described it, foster care is a

“superhighway to homelessness,” and she called on government to be part of

the solution. Our government is listening to people like Katherine, and

things are going to change.

Today we’re making good on our promise to support all youth who are

aging out of care. Budget 2022 provides more income supports, new earning

exemptions and a whole host of housing, health and life skills supports that

will continue for youth aging out of care until the age of 27. The bottom

line is this: as a mom, I know that the responsibility that I have to my

children did not end on their 19th birthdays, and neither does government’s

responsibility.

Government’s responsibility to youth doesn’t just apply to youth aging

out of care. Giving every child the best possible start is key to

strengthening the social fabric of our province. As K-to-12 enrolment

continues to grow, we are continuing investments to match. Budget 2022

commits an additional $664 million over three years to respond to increased

enrolment.

Work also continues on state-of-the-art classrooms around the

province. This past year 20 new or improved schools opened in communities

like Courtenay, Smithers and Surrey, and more schools are under construction

now. Many will include child care spaces, which is good news for families.

Parents know there will always be a space for their child in public school,

and we are working hard to bring the same certainty to child

care.

With this year’s budget, we are embedding child care within the

Ministry of Education. This is all part of our government’s work to

establish child care as a core service that’s available to any family that

wants it when they need it, at a price they can afford.

Already, thousands of families are paying less for child care than

when we first formed government. We funded over 26,000 new spaces,

surpassing our original target. Taken together, this work has established

B.C. as a national leader on child care. And it meant that when the federal

government came to the table, we were ready. A historic agreement is now in

place that brings B.C. closer than ever to $10-a-day child care.

Within seven years, another 40,000 spaces will be funded in

partnership with the federal government. And by the end of the year, parent

fees for children aged five and under will drop by an average of 50 percent.

This is a huge win for families and one that our government has pushed for

since day one.

Budget 2022 takes another big step forward on making child care more

affordable for families. We are going to lower the average fees for

preschool and before- and after-school care to less than $20 a day for the

’23-24 school year.

As child care becomes a core service for B.C. families, we must also

train more skilled professionals. Already we have doubled the number of

early childhood educator seats over the last three years, and now Budget

2022 will add hundreds of new seats to train even more ECEs.

[2:05 p.m.]

This year’s budget will also extend the wage enhancement to even more

child care professionals. It will now include ECEs who split their time

between working with children and supervising staff, answering calls from

parents and helping with the other behind-the-scenes work.

The last year has been a powerful reminder of how closely connected

people’s health and well-being are to that of our natural environment. In

this year’s budget consultations, I heard a united message from British

Columbians. Action is needed now both to fight climate change and to protect

people and communities from the effects of climate-related disasters. Budget

2022 will help keep people safe today while building a better, more

climate-resilient British Columbia for generations to come.

Three years ago our government introduced CleanBC, one of the

strongest climate plans in North America. We then accelerated the fight

against climate change with the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 . Today an

additional $1 billion for CleanBC will help us reach a low-carbon future

faster. This year’s budget strengthens the CleanBC program for industry to

help decarbonize our economy. We are also creating a new clean buildings tax

rebate to support deep energy retrofits of larger rental and commercial

buildings.

While most people want to make the right choice by the environment, it

isn’t always the most affordable option, and we are working hard to change

that. Budget 2022 will remove the PST from all electric heat pumps while

increasing the PST on fossil fuel heating equipment so that these revenues

will offset the cost of new incentives to make heat pumps more affordable

for homeowners in rural and northern British Columbia.

Electric vehicles are another example of how we are making

climate-smart decisions more affordable. B.C. leads North America in the

transition to electric vehicles. To build on this momentum, Budget 2022 will

continue the popular Go Electric program. To make used EVs even more

affordable, we are going to remove the PST.

This year’s budget also launches a clean transportation action plan

and continues growing the province’s network of bike lanes and multi-use

pathways. We’re also expanding exemptions to the motor fuel tax to include

hydrogen-powered vehicles. This will benefit companies like B.C.-based Hydra

Energy as it works to transition heavy-duty vehicles to hydrogen

power.

While the fight against climate change continues, recent disasters

show that we must strengthen our defences at home. While we’ve all

experienced the realities of climate change this year, I can’t help but

think of the Indigenous people in the Nicola Valley, farmers in Abbotsford,

the residents of Merritt, Princeton and Lytton. No single community can

rebuild on its own. We are going to get through this together.

This year’s budget delivers more than $2.1 billion to help us prepare

for, respond to and recover from floods, heatwaves and wildfires. It begins

with $1.5 billion to support people and communities with flood recovery. A

total of $400 million will cover known costs, from removing debris to

providing financial assistance for hard-hit people, businesses and

communities. An additional $1.1 billion is earmarked in contingencies to

support additional recovery costs in the months ahead.

difficult times. An allocated $5 billion in federal assistance will help

backstop B.C.’s flood recovery efforts. As a sign of what we can accomplish

together, the largest financial recovery package ever for B.C. farmers is on

the way.

There is a long road ahead, and rebuilding what we have lost is only

part of the job. We must act now to protect people and communities against

future climate disasters. A total of $120 million provided this year will

support the community emergency preparedness fund and Indigenous-led

emergency management. This will help power local emergency services and

operations centres, map flood plains, support flood risk assessments and

more.

Even with strong preventative action, British Columbia must be ready

to protect people, property and communi­ties from climate disasters.

In moments of crisis, the B.C. Wildfire Service and emergency management

B.C. have been unwavering in their response. We owe them our thanks and so

much more.

Budget 2022 commits $145 million over three years to increase staff at

both agencies and move toward a more proactive approach. For EMBC, this

means a stronger provincial response to emergencies and more coordination

with communities and First Nations. For the B.C. Wildfire Service, this

marks a transition toward year-round firefighting and risk

mitigation.

[2:10 p.m.]

To support these efforts, Budget 2022 delivers nearly $200 million to

support wildfire prevention activities. This includes $90 million in new

funding to help more communities participate in programs like FireSmart.

When the Tremont Creek wildfire threatened the community of Logan Lake, we

saw what it meant to be a fire-smart community and the difference it can

make in an emergency. Taken together, these measures will help British

Columbia stand strong in the face of a disaster.

While extreme weather events get the most attention, we know that even

the gradual effects of a changing climate can have significant implications.

From the kind of food we grow to the design of our sewers and roads, we must

be prepared for change on both fronts. This is where B.C.’s climate

preparedness and adaptation strategy comes into play. Budget 2022 will begin

implementing this strategy provincewide with $83 million.

What does that look like on the ground? It looks like more

state-of-the-art climate-monitoring stations along B.C.’s rivers, lakes and

shorelines. To better predict what is coming, we need to start collecting

the best data possible.

It looks like a new extreme heat response framework that will better

predict where and when heatwaves will hit and how we can help the most

vulnerable.

It looks like an expanded river forecast centre and provincial

floodplain mapping program. Finally, it means strengthening our partnership

with local governments and Indigenous communities to work together to

understand, monitor, manage and reduce climate risks. While the fight

against climate change continues, we can and we will ensure that we are

ready to protect people and communities.

We have all learned a great deal over the last two years. Through each

challenge, we have seen, time and time again, that we are stronger together.

There is a long road ahead. As we all rebuild and repair the damage left by

these difficult times, if patience wanes or hope waivers, remember that you

are not alone in this. You have another five million or so people ready to

lend a hand. Just as the bundled sticks would not break, neither will

we.

While we all know what we’re fighting against — be it COVID-19,

climate change or a poisoned drug supply — we cannot lose sight of who and

what we are fighting for. For first days of kindergarten and graduations.

For people taking a brave step — their first step — on their path to hope.

For small businesses to bank on growth. For communities built to withstand

any storm. For the health care workers, the child care professionals, the

teachers and the bus drivers who got us through these last two years. We

will reach those better days ahead by continuing to build on today’s

strengths, and together, we will discover the opportunities that tomorrow

holds.

P. Milobar: Now for something completely different.

I would like to thank you for this time to make some initial comments

on behalf of the official opposition. I will be our designated speaker. I

will provide a few comments today, just to give a quick overview of what we

have seen in the budget over the first couple of hours that we were able to

review it ahead of the speech.

First off, thank you to the minister for providing her comments and

the budget, and especially to the ministry staff. It’s no small feat to pull

together a budget, and especially…. This is not an annual budget this year.

This has been built in a ten-month time frame, because, if we all remember,

last year’s budget was two months later than normal. So congratulations to

the staff for being able to work under incredibly tight timelines to be able

to bring forward a budget in only ten months’ time.

Budget 2022 really seems to be a picture into some priorities that

this government has had over the last five years, and not necessarily in a

good way. It really does and should be setting the tone for a post-pandemic

British Columbia, but frankly, it falls short in many areas.

[2:15 p.m.]

It’s important, I think, for everyone watching to understand the role

of opposition. We really do dive into the budget books. We don’t see them

ahead of 10:30 this morning, and we’re left on our own to start digging

through and trying to find where exactly these programs are coming from, how

they’re being funded and whether or not it’s substantially new from previous

years.

I have to say, frankly, given that this is the government with the

dubious distinction of being the most secretive one in Canada, sometimes

that job can take a lot of digging and starting to go through the very back

pages of the various books we have to dig through.

When we look at things around key issues that people in their everyday

lives are very concerned about right now — be it affordability, child care,

health, mental health and addictions, job creation — there are a lot of

promises. But frankly, we’ve heard those promises for five years now. This

is the sixth budget under this Premier’s watch, and we’re hearing a lot of

the same language, a lot of the same programs and, frankly, a lot of missed

deadlines or questionable deadlines at best.

There’s a difference between talk, and there’s a difference between

action and deliverables. If we look at the housing crisis as one example,

that crisis is deepening. It’s deepening every year. It’s deepening every

month, and there’s no relief in sight. In fact, last year, it was going to

take an unacceptable 34 years, a record number of years, to be able to

afford a down payment in Vancouver. This year that number is now up to 36

years. Again, that is under this Premier’s watch.

Prices are up 43 percent in Chilliwack. They’re up 34 percent on the

Island and 49 percent in the Peace region. This is truly a provincewide

issue and a provincewide problem, and there does not seem to be any hope on

the horizon. That’s just on buying a house. Housing affordability is also

key to renters.

Time and again we have seen report after report — in fact, the

minister, thankfully, acknowledged those reports in her comments today,

because they certainly don’t acknowledge them when we bring up those same

reports in question period — about the skyrocketing rents around this

province. Affordability in housing is impacting every single person in this

province that’s trying to have a safe, affordable place to live. We do not

see, in this budget, meaningful, tangible steps to address that.

I’ll give you some examples on that. It’s good to hear the Minister of

Housing and the Attorney General finally acknowledge that no tax policy is

going to put a roof over someone’s head — finally. Finally, an

acknowledgment that supply is critical to try to make sure that people have

access to safe, affordable housing, be it a renter or be it for

ownership.

So imagine my surprise. At a time when the Housing Minister finally

saw the light, after years of insisting it was everything but government

policies that would have any impact on housing supply, one would think

there’d be an acknowledgment in this budget that the government has a part

to play in this.

Let’s look at what this budget lays out for the situation with housing

for the coming year. Again, these are directly from the budget documents.

This government’s budget is built on a projection to moderate housing

prices, of interest rates going up, making borrowing more unaffordable for

people. It’s also predicated on housing supply, housing starts, to drop over

the next year.

Just when we finally have a minister willing to accept that supply is

a fundamental part of this, their own budget is projecting a drop in supply,

a drop in new builds, a drop in new starts for housing — be it rental

housing, purpose-built rental housing or purpose-built market-ownership

housing.

However, if you want to look at the revenue side of the equation on

government policy that could, at least in some small measure, help with

affordability, the budget is projecting to collect an all-time high of

property transfer taxes. So the government budget is balanced, or is trying

to get to balance, on the backs of property transfer taxes. They’ve

projected an over-$600-million increase over last year’s projection for this

year. And we all know that the current fiscal we’re in is going to skyrocket

through any of their initial projections.

[2:20 p.m.]

We’re looking at record levels of property transfer tax at a time of

declining new builds and interest rates rising, and that is what this budget

is built on. That is how this government is addressing housing.

That is how this government, with a ten-year plan for housing that we

are now halfway into, under their watch, that has 5,200 units that people

are actually living in out of a 114,000 goal…. Forget about the “under

construction,” if you even want to look at that. That’s nowhere near on pace

for the 114,000 we need. In fact, if they’re projecting that housing starts

are actually going to reduce, it seems like the government wants to be the

only one in British Columbia building homes this next year.

They say that they are the champions of renters, but the facts simply

don’t add up. In 2017, the Premier promised in the election a $400 renters

rebate. In 2020, the Premier promised a $400 renters rebate. Last week the

Attorney General promised that they were working on it. Some thought that

meant it was in the budget that would be released today, but in fact, it’s

not.

The sad

part is, if you look at the mandate letter for the Minister of

Finance, it actually says she’s supposed to deliver one. Now, it’s supposed

to be means-tested, and it’s supposed to be for anyone that doesn’t actually

already get some form of rent support from the provincial government, so

it’ll probably qualify a few thousand people. But even that they can’t seem

to figure out a program to get in place to at least say they met a

commitment made not once but twice by this Premier. As I say, the minister

has acknowledged that people in Surrey are paying $2,700 a year

more.

It’s not just the cost of housing that’s weighing on people. We know

the cost of living is up over 4 percent. Gas prices are higher than ever. No

relief from the Premier, even though he has said multiple times that he had

a plan to bring prices down.

When you actually look at the revenue line items, when you look at the

carbon tax, the carbon tax is now projected to increase even more this year.

I’m not talking about per tonne. I’m talking about what the government is

planning on collecting overall, which means the government once again is

budgeting for emissions to increase in this budget.

They’ve done it year over year over year while touting CleanBC as this

great green document that is delivering for the people of British Columbia.

Yet they keep budgeting their revenue projections based on emissions

increasing. In fact, fuel taxes are going up under this budget as well.

They’re increasing. The only way fuel taxes increase, because it’s a

per-litre tax, is if this government is anticipating people spending more

time on the road driving to and from work, with record gas prices, while

they rake in record fuel taxes. Again, not much help for the average

person’s affordability.

Groceries are up. Phone bills that were promised to be cut by this

Premier still has not happened. Then we get to the long overdue economic

plan.

Now, they say things come in threes. If I look back to the throne

speech from two weeks ago, there wasn’t a whole lot of forward-looking

vision in that document, a lot of backwards looking. Then we got to the

economic plan, same thing. We have matrix charts in there that stop two

years ago. Unless it’s housing — then they stop four years ago. Wouldn’t

want to actually look at anything in real time going on in the housing

file.

This is a plan…. When you think about five years ago when this

government took office, everyone knew back then that there was going to be a

skills shortage in British Columbia. It was mounting, it was mounting, it

was mounting. Here we are, five years later, with a ten-year plan to address

something everyone knew five years ago. Only the NDP could think delivering

a ten-year plan in a 15-year window is fast-paced progress.

Why do I say that? Because when you look at the signature piece, it’s

a trades building at BCIT. It is incredibly important, and we need it to

build capacity. But that’s been the signature piece out of this plan. We

have more details, based on this budget, now on that. That’s not slated to

be open for five years. There won’t be a graduate out of that program for

seven years, at the earliest.

[2:25 p.m.]

Now, I guess the bright side is for all those families that are still

looking for the child care that’s never happened, at least their kid might

be able to go straight into the program at BCIT when it opens up in six or

seven years. But that’s the detail in this budget that is always missing

when this government decides to move things forward.

In fact, there’s only $11 million that we can find for the economic

plan in this year’s budget. So you have a plan, a ten-year plan, where the

first graduate, the signature piece of it, won’t actually come out of that

school for seven years. It doesn’t address what’s happening in real

time.

We need child care to get people to work. Everyone in this House

agrees with that. Again, we’ve had five years of the same words. In fact,

the Premier made it very clear that in year 1 of his mandate, there would be

$10 child care for infants and toddlers. Now they’re not even 100 percent

sure, in this budget document, that they’re going to meet the mandated

federal targets by the end of the year to make sure that the federal subsidy

comes in to help offset the costs. We know, just like with COVID relief,

that if the federal government doesn’t come in and fund things, this

government struggles.

The promised savings for child care have not materialized at this

point. We don’t know when they will materialize. There are about five

different areas within the budget that you have to try to ascertain what

exactly it is they’re doing.

That doesn’t help the parent at home who is simply wanting to know a

very clear answer of when, in their town, they will be able to access

affordable child care for their child. That’s actually what they want an

answer to. That’s what we would like an answer to. But you can’t get one.

There is just simply no direct commitment around that. There is no cohesive

plan that’s easy to follow, easy to understand, that shows us exactly where

these spaces are going to happen.

Then we look at Mental Health and Addictions. We look at that side of

the equation and what it is that they’re doing. Every budget, every

government — it’s about how they choose to set their priorities. When you

look at the dollars involved, when you look at the tens of billions of

dollars — $60 billion, $70 billion — going to be spent…. There’s a lot of

room to set priorities in any budget. In this budget, there has been

prioritization to spend $44 million to set up a new ministry.

There has been prioritization on all sorts of areas. In fact, there is

a prioritization for a new piece of legislation to ensure that cabinet can

receive a 10 percent raise by not being held accountable for their own

budgets. No timelines on that. It’s just to get rid of that

requirement.

With the amount of detail they’ve provided, because again, they don’t

like to really provide that depth, any detail for the public to understand….

We could FOI, I guess, and maybe find the decision note behind that, but

good luck on that.

It’s about priorities. We’ve heard a lot about the priorities and the

worry around mental health and addictions from this government, but very

little in tangible action. In fact, what we’ve seen is for the last few

years, us repeatedly pointing out that the Minister of Mental Health and

Addictions’ budget is lower than the Premier’s office budget. Well, that

must have annoyed the Premier enough that they’ve corrected that this

year.

At first glance, you’d be very happy to see that the Minister of

Mental Health and Addictions now has a budget that’s increased by around $8

million, $9 million. It’s now higher than the Premier’s office.

That would seem like good news on the first cut. But here’s the thing.

This is one of those nuggets that we had to find on the back of the

estimates page, the third- or fourth-to-last page, somewhere in that range.

The ministry is getting more money. But $8 million of that increase — now,

this is quite remarkable — is for public communication and funding

engagement. It’s to explain to the public, I guess, why they’re not moving

faster as they watch, frankly, a death toll on an opioid pandemic go from

six people a day to 6½ people a day, marching sadly, quickly to seven people

a day.

[2:30 p.m.]

It’s about priorities: $44 million for a new ministry, $8 million for

communications. Entrenching in an accountability tool for cabinet that can

be wiped away, which would result in a 10 percent raise.

People need a coherent mental health and addiction strategy that will

provide meaningful help, and they need the resources put to it. They need

the prioritization put to it. But we don’t see that in this budget. We see

yet more communications staff. More messaging staff. I take nothing against

them for the work they do. They got hired to do a job, and I don’t fault

them from the least. They weren’t the ones that posted it. They weren’t the

ones that created the space for it. This government did, and this government

is not prioritizing recovery and a treatment that people can

afford.

They’re not prioritizing that those people should not have to be

choosing between groceries and sending a child or a loved one to recovery.

Only this government can answer for why they haven’t prioritized that within

their spending that they have.

We also see more health care promises and a rehash of projects. But

let’s take a closer look at some of those. The Richmond Hospital

improvements in last year’s budget were scheduled for completion in

Now, we won’t even get into the fact that in the election, they have a

member that promised that the ground would be breaking in 2021, but last

year’s budget said it was scheduled to be open and completed in 2029. This

year’s budget: 2031. No wonder they think fast-tracking the Massey Tunnel

means renaming it. That’s really what the work is on this year’s budget.

It’s renaming the title of the Massey Tunnel replacement.

Let’s look at Surrey. Surrey Hospital is still not due until 2027, so

at least that timeline hasn’t changed. There’s only $2 million in this

year’s budget to move that project forward in any substantial way. I can

tell you the planning dollars for the tower at Royal Inland Hospital, that

was $417 million that is nearing completion now…. I was the hospital board

chair at the time. The planning dollars are more than $2 million for that

project. Not quite sure how a $1.6 billion hospital gets substantially

planned with $2 million in a budget.

The interesting thing is the St. Paul’s Hospital project, which is

underway and being constructed, has the same finishing timeline as the

Surrey Hospital. So we’re supposed to believe that two hospital projects

that have, arguably, almost the same scale — $1.6 billion versus $2.1

billion…. At a certain point, the construction pace is the construction pace

of specialized construction. They’re going to catch up to that construction

schedule, with a $2 million piece in this year’s budget.

The reason we’re skeptical is we had passing mention of the Kamloops

cancer centre in this year’s budget. That’s good to see, although it’s in

the preliminary planning stage in this year’s budget. Last February, the

Premier was on Radio NL and said it’s already at Treasury Board. Previous to

that, in the election, he said it would be open and complete in 2024. You

can see where people start to get skeptical about the same projects being

mentioned budget after budget after budget.

There’s nothing in this budget about the promised second medical

school. I believe it was supposed to be at the SFU campus in Surrey. It’s

not mentioned in this budget. Where are all of those health care spaces that

Surrey was expecting to be located within their SFU campus? Nothing for the

Prince George Hospital is mentioned in this budget. That is why people have

questions around this budget. I’ll have a whole lot more to say about health

care funding tomorrow as well.

When you have the most secretive government in Canada, and you have

budget documents that are like playing Whac-a-Mole, trying to figure out

where the real dollars are — or not, because they’re tucked away, well away

from the glossy pages of the release — it does make people very skeptical.

We have COVID-19 data issues. We have FOI fees. We have non-disclosure

agreements. We’ve got stakeholders excluded from the lock-up

today.

[2:35 p.m.]

We have a wide range of issues leading up to today’s budget, and this

was the three. I referenced the throne speech. I referenced the economic

plan, which was a dud by all accounts. Now we have a budget that simply is

just rehashing previous budgets. About the only good news we’ve heard over

the last few weeks out of this government was when we saw restrictions get

eased.

The Premier doesn’t get to have it both ways. He’s either hands-off

with Dr. Henry and her decision-making around restrictions or he’s not. So

that actually wasn’t a government decision. That was Dr. Henry’s decision.

The Premier just did what he usually does. He shows up for the good-news

COVID announcements and stays away for the bad news.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Quiet, please. Shhh.

Continue.

P. Milobar: Again, budgets are about priorities. They’re about…. If you’re going

to cut back a project on scale, those savings should go to other priorities,

not cutting back a project on scale to then still pay more for that project,

as we’ve seen with the benefit agreements to the chosen inside friends and

supporters of the government. It should go to actually spread the money out

and get maximum dollar value for the taxpayer to provide the maximum amount

of services for government under any taxation regime.

In short, B.C., British Columbians deserve better. Just last week we

heard the Premier say: “Ambitions and the aspirations become a reality over

time.” Well, it’s been five years.

Interjection.

P. Milobar: It’s been five years. I’ve obviously struck a nerve with many on the

back bench, but that’s okay. We’re still waiting. It’s been five years —

five years of hearing the same promises. Five years. Sixth budget of seeing

the same, year after year after year, with no deliverable that anyone can

actually reasonably measure as an improvement moving forward. Five years of

affordability getting worse. Five years of it being harder to rent. Five

years of it being harder to own. Five years of mounting household

costs.

I thank you for the time to this point today. I will reserve my time

and move adjournment of the debate.

P. Milobar moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

BILL 6 — BUDGET MEASURES

IMPLEMENTATION ACT,

Hon. S. Robinson presented a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Budget Measures Implementation Act,

Hon. S. Robinson: I move first reading of Bill 6, Budget Measures Implementation

Act, 2022.

The bill consists of two parts.

Part 1 amends a number of statutes

in order to implement non-tax measures in Budget 2022.

The amendments are proposed to the Balanced Budget and Ministerial

Accountability Act to include the 2024-​2025 fiscal year and the

period of fiscal years for which budget deficits are allowed to be

forecast in the main estimates, consistent with similar amendments made

a year ago. Amendments are proposed to eliminate the holdback provision

on presenting a surplus at the end of the fiscal year while maintaining

the holdback provision related to ministerial accountability over their

budgets.

Housekeeping amendments are proposed to the Budget Transparency

and Accountability Act to remove an exemp­tion for education and

health sector organizations to report capital projects over $50 million

and to provide for a temporary delay in reporting capital projects over

$50 million where a late commitment has been made within a 30-day cutoff

before the main estimates are presented.

Amendments are proposed to the Financial Administration Act to

authorize Treasury Board to delegate powers, duties and functions to the

chair or vice-chair of Treasury Board so that they can act on urgent

matters.

Part 2 of the bill amends a number of statutes in order to

implement the tax measures in Budget 2022.

The Income Tax Act is amended to enable a new temporary credit to

encourage energy efficiency retrofits for multi-unit residential and

certain commercial buildings. The Income Tax Act is also amended to

extend or make adjustments to various tax credits. The scientific

research and experimental development tax credit is extended for five

years. The training tax credits are extended for two years, and the

shipbuilding and ship repair industry tax credit is extended for two

years.

The Motor Fuel Tax Act is amended to authorize regulations

expanding an existing exemption for hydrogen to include hydrogen fuel

used in internal combustion engine vehicles.

[2:40 p.m.]

This bill amends the Provincial Sales Tax Act to increase the

passenger vehicle surtax threshold for zero-emission vehicles. This bill

also authorizes regulations to be made in order to provide two pieces of

PST relief, a provincial sales tax exemption for used zero-emission

vehicles and for heat pumps.

As well, the act would remove the PST from all electric heat

pumps, while increasing the PST on fossil-fuel-heating equipment. These

revenues would offset the cost of new incentives to make heat pumps more

affordable for homeowners in rural and northern British

Columbia.

The Provincial Sales Tax Act is also amended to adjust how tax is

calculated on privately purchased vehicles. The bill also introduces new

provincial sales tax collection remittance and reporting obligations for

marketplace facilitators.

The School Act is amended to remove the industrial property tax

credit on major industry costs for 2023.

This bill also amends the Tobacco Tax Act to remove the PST

exemption for tobacco.

The speculation and vacancy tax is amended to temporarily expand

the exemption for hazardous or damaged residential property to apply to

properties that were damaged by the floods in late 2021, and to make the

exemption for strata accommodation properties permanent.

Finally, a number of tax-related statues are amended for clarity

and certainty, including extending filing deadlines related to certain

tax credits, simplifying appeal processes, clarifying various tax rules

and practises, ensuring ministerial powers can be delegated and ensuring

adequate appropriations for tax-related expenses.

Mr. Speaker: Members, you have heard the motion.

Motion approved.

Hon. S. Robinson: I move that Bill 6 be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 6, Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2022, 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.

Tabling Documents

Hon. S. Robinson: I have the pleasure to rise to table government’s overall strategic

plan and the Budget and Fiscal Plan 2022-23–2024-25 , which together

fulfil the requirements of sections 7, 8, 10 and 12 of the Budget

Transparency and Accountability Act.

I also table, on behalf of the ministers responsible, the service

plans, as required under

section 13 of the Budget Transparency and

Accountability Act.

The service plan documents are presented in two binders. The first

binder contains service plans for the Office of the Premier and 20

ministries. The second binder contains service plans for 30 service delivery

agencies and Crown corporations. The second binder includes a listing of

organizations that are exempt from the reporting requirements of

section 13

of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act and identifies one

exemption.

Mr. Speaker: I understand the member for Richmond North Centre is seeking leave to

make some introductions.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

T. Wat: Thank you for granting me the leave.

I am so happy that my two CAs, Tony Lu and William Tu, can make it to

the Legislature. Even though I cannot be physically in the Legislature to

welcome them, this is the first time that they see the budget presented by

the minister and also the response from the official Liberal Party. I hope

that they enjoyed the experience, and I wish you all to welcome them to the

Legislature.

A. Singh: Asking permission for leave to introduce.

Leave granted.

A. Singh: It is my honour to introduce my very good friend, a former member of

this assembly and currently a councillor from New Westminster. Chuck

Puchmayr is here with us today.

Hon. M. Farnworth moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 tomorrow afternoon.

The House adjourned at 2:44 p.m.

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