British Columbia Hansard — Monday, June 22, 2020 a.m. — Number 327 (HTML) (41st Parliament, 5th Session)
20200622am-House-Blues
British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Fifth Session, 41st Parliament
(2020) OFFICIAL REPORT
OF DEBATES
(HANSARD)
Monday, June 22, 2020
Morning Sitting
Issue No. 327
ISSN 1499-2175
The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.
The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.
CONTENTS
Routine Business
Speaker’s Statement
Special procedures for proceedings during COVID-19
pandemic
Tabling Documents
Agreement with respect to hybrid proceedings of the House and remote meetings of
the Committee of Supply
Motions Without Notice
Printing of agreement on proceedings during COVID-19
pandemic in Votes and Proceedings
Special procedures for proceedings of Legislative Assembly during COVID-19 pandemic
Hon. M. Farnworth
Orders of the Day
Private Members’ Statements
Serving Surrey
M. Hunt
R. Singh
Homeless count
R. Leonard
T. Stone
Seniors and affordability
D. Barnett
S. Chandra Herbert
Team-based medicine
S. Malcolmson
J. Thornthwaite
Private Members’ Motions
Motion 4 — Economic opportunity
C. Oakes
J. Brar
D. Davies
M. Dean
S. Cadieux
J. Routledge
J. Isaacs
D. Routley
M. Stilwell
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020
The House met at 10:03 a.m.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
Routine Business
Prayers and reflections: S. Malcolmson.
[10:05 a.m.]
Speaker’s Statement
SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR PROCEEDINGS
DURING COVID-19
PANDEMIC
Mr. Speaker: Members, before calling introductions by members, I wish to take a
moment to recognize the historic nature of the proceedings which are
about to unfold.
For the first time in the nearly 149 years that British Columbia
has been a province and in the 122 years that the laws governing our
province have been made in this very chamber, a large portion of the
members of this House will not be physically present in the chamber.
This arises from the unprecedented circumstances that our province, our
country and the world are facing due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
As an exercise of the Legislative Assembly’s exclusive right to
regulate its own internal affairs as they relate to its legislative and
deliberative functions, including control over the conduct of
proceedings of this House, many members will be participating in debate
and attending the service of the House remotely by video conferencing
technology. This new temporary reality was authorized by agreement of
the House Leaders and myself in accordance with the order of the House
of March 23, 2020.
I’d like to recognize the incredible work of the Legislative
Assembly staff who have made this new temporary reality possible in a
very short time frame. This includes assembly staff in Hansard
broadcasting, information technology and the digital information office;
legislative facilities services; the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms; the
Parliamentary Committees Office; and the Office of the Clerk.
On behalf of all members, I wish to thank all staff who have made
contributions to make a hybrid House a reality. A special, special
thanks for doing it so well.
Tabling Documents
Hon. M. Farnworth: On March 23, 2020, the Legislative Assembly resolved: “That, by
agreement of the Speaker and the House Leaders of each recognized caucus,
the location of sittings and means of conducting sittings of this House may
be altered if required due to an emergency situation or public health
measures, and that such agreement constitute the authorization of the House
to proceed in the manner agreed to. The Speaker shall give notice to all
Members of the agreement.”
Further to that resolution and in recognition of the public health
measures that continue to be in place in British Columbia due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, you, Mr. Speaker, and the three House Leaders have come
to an agreement with respect to hybrid proceedings of this House and remote
meetings of the Committee of Supply. You gave notice of this agreement to
all members on June 17, 2020.
I seek leave to table the agreement.
Leave granted.
Motions Without Notice
PRINTING OF AGREEMENT ON PROCEEDINGS
DURING COVID-19
PANDEMIC
IN Votes and Proceedings
Hon. M. Farnworth: By leave, I move:
[That the agreement of the Speaker and the House Leaders with
respect to hybrid proceedings of the House and remote meetings of the
Committee of Supply be printed in the Votes and Proceedings of
this sitting day.]
Leave granted.
[10:10 a.m.]
SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR PROCEEDINGS
OF LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY
DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Hon. M. Farnworth: By leave, I move the adoption of the Sessional Order establishing
special procedures respecting the regulation of the conduct of
proceedings of the Legislative Assembly in exceptional circumstances,
COVID-19 pandemic, a copy of which has been distributed to the House
Leaders of the recognized caucuses:
[ SITTING
SCHEDULE
1. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 2(2)(
a) and unless
otherwise ordered, the House sit the weeks of June 22, July 6, 13, 20,
27, and August 10, 2020.
2. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 2(1), the time for the
ordinary meeting of the House the weeks of June 22 and July 6, 13, 20
and 27, 2020 shall, unless otherwise ordered, be as follows:
Monday:
Two distinct sittings:
10 a.m. to 12 noon
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday:
Two distinct sittings:
10 a.m. to 12 noon
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday:
1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
3. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 2(1), the time for the
ordinary meeting of the House the week of August 10, 2020 shall, unless
otherwise ordered, be as follows:
Monday:
Two distinct sittings:
10 a.m. to 12 noon
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday:
Two distinct sittings:
10 a.m. to 12 noon
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday:
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Thursday:
Two distinct sittings:
10 a.m. to 12 noon
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Friday:
Two distinct sittings:
10 a.m. to 12 noon
1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
4. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 3, if, at the hour of
6:30 p.m. on a Monday and Tuesday, or 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday the weeks
of June 22 and July 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2020, the business of the day is
not concluded and no other hour has been agreed on for the next sitting,
the Speaker shall leave the Chair:
On Monday
until 10 a.m. Tuesday
On Tuesday
until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday
On Wednesday
until 10 a.m. Monday
5. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 3, if, at the hour of
6:30 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the week
of August 10, 2020, the business of the day is not concluded and no
other hour has been agreed on for the next sitting, the Speaker shall
leave the Chair:
On Monday
until 10 a.m. Tuesday
On Tuesday
until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday
On Wednesday
until 10 a.m. Thursday
On Thursday
until 10 a.m. Friday
On Friday
until 10 a.m. Monday
6. That any Standing Order reference to Thursday proceedings
be suspending for sittings of the House the weeks of June 22 and July 6,
13, 20 and 27, 2020.
QUORUM AND ATTENDANCE
7. That Members who are participating in the House’s
proceedings by the approved videoconferencing technology be counted as
present for the purposes of the quorum of ten Members, as set out in
section 42 of the Constitution Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 66) and
Standing Order 6, and for the purposes of determining a majority of
votes as set out in
section 43 of the Constitution
Act .
8. That Members who are participating in the House’s
proceedings by the approved videoconferencing technology must have the
audio and video functions enabled with their face clearly visible in
order to be counted towards quorum, to participate in debate, and to
vote.
VOTING AND DIVISIONS
9. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 16:
(1) When the Speaker puts the question, no further
debate on the question shall be permitted.
(2) When a division is requested, it shall be deferred
until 15 minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for adjournment of the
sitting during which the division is requested. If there are less than
30 minutes remaining prior to the ordinary time fixed for adjournment of
the sitting during which the division is requested, then it shall stand
deferred until 15 minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for
adjournment of the afternoon sitting of the following sitting
day.
(3) Notwithstanding Standing Order 25 and subsection
(2) of this order, if a division is requested during a morning sitting,
it shall stand deferred until the afternoon sitting of the same
day.
(4) If a division is requested in a Committee of the
Whole, the clause of the bill under consideration shall be postponed,
and the division shall be deferred in accordance with subsection (2) of
this order.
(5) If a division is requested in the Committee of
Supply,
Section B, the division shall be deferred in accordance with
subsection (2) of this order.
(6) If a deferred division is scheduled to take place
during a sitting, the Speaker shall ring the bells and recess the
proceedings 30 minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for adjournment
of the sitting. At 20 minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for
adjournment of the sitting, the Speaker shall call the House back to
order. No longer than 5 minutes thereafter, the Speaker shall again
state the question.
(7) If a division is deferred in a Committee of the
Whole or the Committee of Supply,
Section B, the House shall resolve
itself into the appropriate Committee prior to the ringing of the bells
and recess set out in subsection (6) of this order.
(8) No Member shall enter or leave the Legislative
Chamber or connect to or disconnect from the approved videoconferencing
technology after the final statement of the question until the division
has been fully taken, and every Member present shall
vote.
(9) When two or more deferred divisions are to be
taken during a sitting, the divisions shall be taken in succession in
the order they were deferred.
(10) During a sitting at which a deferred division is
to take place, no motion to adjourn the House shall be in order until
after that vote and the conclusion of any consequential business that
must be disposed of. If successive divisions are scheduled, the House
shall sit beyond the ordinary time of adjournment until the conclusion
of all divisions and until other business consequential to the division
has been disposed of.
DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS
10. That any Standing Order requiring that a document be
“handed in” or “laid upon the Table” or transmitted by other similar
physical means be interpreted to include the transmission of a document
by approved electronic means.
11. That the transmission of a document by the Office of the
Clerk to all Members by electronic means constitute for all purposes the
distribution and delivery of that document, regardless of whether a
Member has received the document.
12. That, notwithstanding Standing Order 25B(2) and the usual
practices of the House, at least two hours prior to the scheduled start
of a sitting of the House, the Whips shall provide to the Office of the
Speaker a list and, if applicable, the sequence, of Members wishing to
make an introduction or to participate in an item under Routine
Business, which shall be held in confidence. Independent Members shall
inform the Office of the Speaker directly with the same notice
period.
13. That, notwithstanding the usual practices of the House,
any Member who intends to move a motion in amendment to a bill at
committee stage, of which notice is not typically required, shall, if
possible, provide at least one hour of notice to the Office of the Clerk
prior to introducing that motion in the House, which shall be held in
confidence, to ensure the electronic distribution of that motion to all
Members forthwith after it is moved.
SPEAKER’S DISCRETION
14. That, for greater certainty, the Speaker be empowered to
exercise discretion on the applicability of Standing Order 17A as it may
relate to the facilitation of participation of Members in proceedings of
the House.
15. That, for greater certainty and further to Standing Order
19 and Standing Order 20, the Speaker be empowered to intervene on any
matter of decorum on the Speaker’s own initiative or on a point of order
raised by a Member, including by muting a Member’s microphone and
excluding Members from the sitting in cases of serious
misconduct.
16. That the Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion in
the
interpretation of the provisions of any Standing Order requiring
Members to stand or speak in their assigned place as this requirement
may relate to Members participating via the approved videoconferencing
technology and to Members participating in person in the Legislative
Chamber.
17. That the Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion, in
consultation with the House Leaders or the Whips, in the
interpretation
of any provision of the Standing Orders or Sessional Order that may
require leniency or alteration in order to allow all Members to be able
to fully exercise their duties and rights in the proceedings of this
House conducted in a hybrid manner.
OTHER
18. That, should any provision contained in this order be
inconsistent with the Standing Orders, the provision in this order
prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
19. That this order expire on August 31, 2020.]
Leave granted.
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: Members, another motion. I apologize; it should have been put to
you earlier. That is the motion “of the Speaker and the House Leaders
with respect to hybrid proceedings of the House and remote meetings of
the Committee of Supply be printed in the Votes and Proceedings
of this sitting day.”
Motion approved.
Orders of the Day
Private Members’ Statements
SERVING SURREY
M. Hunt: It gives me great pleasure to speak today at the Legislature as we
resume this sitting. I welcome everyone back here and welcome some of
you virtually as we continue to serve our constituents and realize that
our province as well as we, as elected officials, have certainly
persevered through a whole set of unique situations in the past few
months.
[R. Chouhan in the chair.]
While British Columbians have had our share of challenges to
overcome, we still have a long way to go. We also have an immense amount
of good being done by citizens and our communities as we rally together
to lend a helping hand to each other.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate
the efforts of our community members in their fight to mitigate the
effects of the pandemic and support for the most vulnerable. I am
particularly proud to be here representing the people of Surrey who have
stepped up during the pandemic in the most profound of ways. Seeing
neighbours going out of their way to help each other, organizations
going beyond their scopes of duty to fill in the gaps left in the
community in the midst of this crisis is incredibly
heartening.
There are thousands of volunteers and many organizations that have
come together to increase support for those in need all across Surrey,
but there are a few that I would like to highlight here
today.
The City Dream Centre is a Surrey-based organization that works to
support the underprivileged and the vulnerable who live in Greater
Vancouver. Thanks to the City Dream Centre, 3,000 food hampers
containing one week’s worth of food each have been delivered to
struggling families throughout Surrey. The residents of Surrey are
getting the extra support they need to get through these difficult times
because of the generous donations, committed employees and volunteers of
organizations such as the City Dream Centre.
[10:15 a.m.]
The Cloverdale Kitchen, which prepares and serves meals for the
homeless and the seniors in Cloverdale, also runs the Fraser Valley Food
Bank, along with other community initiatives. They have stepped up
during this period of time and added additional support to those in
need.
The food bank saw a huge surge over a short period of time when
the pandemic initially hit, and it was quickly able to adapt their
operations to run in a safe, physically distanced way to ensure that
people were still able to get the food that they needed. In a recent
food drive, they raised more than $4,500 and collected more than $5,000
worth of non-perishable food for the community. Now, talking about food
banks, we have to give a shout-out to all of the food banks throughout
the province of British Columbia which have done a great job in dealing
with this crisis.
Another organization I’d like to acknowledge is NightShift, a
not-for-profit organization that provides outreach services such as
meals, clothing, basic nursing and counselling, and a safe space for
conversations for people stuck in the cycle of poverty, addiction and
homelessness in the Whalley neighbourhood of Surrey. As a province, we
have seen the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis exacerbate the
ongoing opioid overdose health crisis that we have. The wraparound care
that this organization delivers is critical in supporting those who have
been impacted most by our two public health crises.
There’s also the Surrey Urban Mission, which is another fabulous
not-for-profit that selflessly serves our city. Now, organizations like
these truly make a difference in people’s lives. They provide support,
consistency and hope during times of uncertainty and give people the
comfort of knowing that they’re not alone.
In Punjabi, there’s a word, seva . The Sikh community has
certainly demonstrated the spirit of service. Their gurdwaras, which
normally serve food, had to go into the takeout mode and delivered
thousands upon thousands of meals.
Also, community groups like Our Global Village. This is a group of
ladies that got together on the weekend to sew face masks. They have
made over 10,000 face masks that they have distributed throughout
Surrey.
We’ve also seen the innovation and efforts from small businesses
and individuals contributing to the fight. Breweries in Surrey shifted
their production to meet the need for hand sanitizers. A teen in Surrey
also was sewing homemade masks to raise money for the hospital
foundation. Neighbours were shopping for neighbours to keep each other
safe. These seemingly small acts have made a huge difference, and most
importantly, they sent a message from one to another that we
care.
During one of the worst crises our province has faced, the people
of Surrey and the people of British Columbia have risen to the
challenge. In a time of adversity, the goodwill in people has prevailed
above all else. People have stepped up, and continue to step up, to help
the elderly and the most vulnerable in our communities. It has been
incredible to witness how we rally together with compassion, innovation
and perseverance to get through a challenging time together.
The success that this province has seen in responding to the
COVID-19 crisis is because of the joint effort of each and every one of
us working together. We know we’ve not done everything that needs to be
done, but as each one of us continues to play our part, we will continue
to be proud of the collective efforts of all of us working
together.
We have weathered this storm so far, and we recognize that each
one of us has a responsibility to each other — a responsibility to keep
each one safe. The selflessness exhibited by British Columbians to
follow health care orders and put others over ourselves speaks to the
identity of us as a province. We have witnessed kindness over hate,
compassion over chaos.
I am proud to be here today to bring light to the exceptional work
that has been done in my community. I believe our community is stronger
and more resilient, as we have proved to each other our ability to rise
up together in the face of this emergency. Our community has shown
outstanding compassion for one another throughout this epidemic, and I
am proud to be a part of the wonderful community of Surrey. I hope we
continue as we embark together in working on the next stages.
[10:20 a.m.]
R. Singh: I would really like to thank the member for Surrey-Cloverdale for
what he talked about. For the first time, I can say that I completely
agree with the member opposite.
We know the crisis that we have all gone through, and along with
him, I would like to thank the people of Surrey and the way they came
together to fight this pandemic. How the community, beyond the…. It did
not matter what party, what religion, what culture they belonged to.
They all came together to fight this.
The number of sacrifices that our community has made…. As we know,
Surrey is one of the most culturally diverse communities that we have.
We have a lot of cultural celebrations. We saw the community recognizing
the need of the time and putting a halt on those celebrations. We have
one of the largest Vaisakhi celebrations that happens in Surrey. People
from all over the world — I would say, mostly from all over North
America — come to Surrey to celebrate Vaisakhi. For the first time in a
number of years, keeping in mind the safety of people, that celebration
was cancelled.
Also, they came up with different ways to celebrate. They came up
with a virtual Vaisakhi concert. That is to help and feed the vulnerable
section of our society who were struggling during this
pandemic.
Then we had a huge event. We saw that Ramadan came and then how
the Muslim community came together. They brought the spirit of Ramadan
and were donating and collecting food hampers and serving the most
vulnerable in our communities.
As the number of organizations that my esteemed colleagued has
already mentioned, I would like to talk about a few organizations in my
community, like the Progressive Intercultural Society. They came
together. That is a society, a non-profit organization in the community,
that was helping any senior who needed the help, whether it was doing
the grocery shopping or it was any kind of support that the seniors
needed. This organization stepped up, and their volunteers, their staff,
were helping the seniors and the vulnerable sections during this
time.
Also, we knew that although a lot of things were closed, our
essential care workers…. How they came up. The grocery stores…. When I
was going to my local grocery stores like Fruiticana, those people, not
caring about their own well-being, were serving the community. They were
making sure that nobody is left behind, that everybody has food on their
shelves, food in their kitchens. So I would really…. My hat is off to
all of the essential care workers. Definitely our health care workers,
who were keeping us safe, but also the grocery workers who were stepping
up and providing all of the services that we needed.
The member has already mentioned about different organizations
coming up. We know, during this pandemic, the need to wear masks. It was
something that a lot of people wanted to keep safe. They were wearing
masks. So many organizations…. I had the opportunity to visit one
organization just this last weekend, Our Global Village Charitable
Foundation. The women members of that organization have been getting
together for the last nine weeks, making masks and distributing freely
in the community. The teenagers, like Tavisha’s Helping Hands…. She was
making masks, taking nominal donations for the masks, and the money that
she collected she gave to the Surrey Hospital Foundation.
So many examples. I’m so proud of my community, the way they have
come together, whether it was with religious organizations, non-profit
organizations or normal citizens in the community who were working
together to keep us all safe and to help to flatten the
curve.
[10:25 a.m.]
So very proud. Without their help, we wouldn’t have been able to
deal with this pandemic. My hat is off to them. Thank you so
much.
M. Hunt: Thank you to the member for Surrey–Green Timbers for her gracious
comments.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I’m extremely proud to be a
part of the community of Surrey. I know that Surrey is simply one
example amongst many throughout this province that have shown what it
means to be a community. I’m sure that all the members of this House are
proud of the areas that they serve as well. Together we’re committed to
putting people’s health and safety above all else.
As we navigate these uncertain waters, we know that the time has
come for all of us to continue keeping each other safe while we address
the work that must be done in rebuilding our economy. As the province
moves forward through the recovery from this pandemic, and as we begin
the whole process of rebuilding our economy, I have no doubt that the
community of Surrey, as well as those throughout British Columbia, will
continue to overcome the challenges that we have met along the way — and
we will be.
The city of Surrey is finding this balance between ensuring public
safety and getting people back to their livelihoods. This transition
must be made in a thoughtful and deliberate, responsible way. As Surrey
continues to reopen parts of the community, we are doing it in a
cautious manner that involves listening to the people who live here. We
must recognize that everyone has a different comfort level and varying
ideas on how the transition to the new normal should look, but we must
keep being patient, understanding and empathetic to each
other.
Because we do all have different comfort levels, we may not all
agree on everything going forward, but we can all agree that moving
forward is necessary, and we need to acknowledge and recognize the
differences that we all have. We can agree that we need to recognize the
efforts of individuals, organizations and businesses that continue to
positively contribute to the success of our communities’ reopening. We
may not get it perfect, and we may need to be willing to admit mistakes
and take corrective actions as we move forward, but now more than ever
the province is relying on us, as elected officials, to find solutions
that work for everyone.
I look forward to continuing the work that we’ve started to help
get this province back on track. Again, I want to thank everyone for the
exceptional work that we have done over these past weeks working
together to keep each other safe. We’ve been calm, we’ve been collected,
and we’ve been caring. That’s what community is all about.
HOMELESS COUNT
R. Leonard: Hon. Speaker, I’d like to add my voice of appreciation to everyone
in British Columbia for responding so well to Dr. Henry’s advice,
everyone continuing to practise all the necessary precautions. It’s the
successful formula that has made it possible for the Legislature to
resume today.
Our return is also a reflection of a new normal, and it is a
privilege for me to be able to be virtually present in the House today.
I’m also thankful for the incredible work of everyone at the Legislature
who has made possible this innovative opportunity for our democracy to
function and to thrive, to see public debate return to the Legislature
and to witness the passage of laws.
As we left the building in early March, we had declared our topics
for today’s statements. Communities were preparing to complete their
point-in-time homeless counts. It would be only the second time that
such a comprehensive count would be conducted throughout B.C.
Unfortunately, many of the counts were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic,
though I’m happy to report that the Comox Valley was one that managed to
complete the count early.
The federal government had previously developed a point-in-time
model for counts for some of our more major urban centres. Some
communities, like the Comox Valley, saw our dire housing need and human
tragedy unfolding year after year and took the initiative to find ways
to do their own local counts. With no national housing strategy, with
severe cuts for those living in poverty and with skyrocketing poverty
rates, the numbers of people without a home were growing. The injury to
individuals, to communities and, indeed, to the whole of society needed
to be quantified and held under a microscope to trigger the right
measure and fit of solutions.
[10:30 a.m.]
At an annual community resource fair in my community, hundreds of
people in need come to learn about the services available, many of them
families. One year, a new organization participated, with people
staffing it who hadn’t traditionally attended. After hours of witnessing
so many people come through the door, one gentleman turned to me and, in
a disturbed and a haunted voice, said: “I didn’t know.”
The belief that the face of homelessness is only in the Downtown
Eastside is a myth. It’s a myth that’s been busted in community after
community that’s undertaken point-in-time homeless counts. The previous
government’s Minister of Housing did not support point-in-time counts.
As late as 2016, he criticized the counts as inadequate. But saying that
point-in-time counts are less than perfect is simply an excuse to do
nothing.
I recall the frustrations of people who were desperate for action.
They recognized the value of consistent and standardized counting to
give a sense of scale and scope of our homelessness crisis. They
recognized the value of being able to compare year over year, community
by community, to inform action. But again, the previous government would
not and did not support action for a poverty reduction strategy or a
homelessness action plan.
The previous government consistently refused to support
point-in-time counts throughout their time in office, and by 2014 even
stopped collecting data on how many people were turned away from full
shelters.
Deputy Speaker: Member, let’s keep these statements non-partisan.
Thank you. Continue.
R. Leonard: Birders who love birds count birds that are constantly on the fly.
Stream stewards who care about the state of salmon count fish swimming
in the streams. Who doesn’t count? The answer is: those who want to
pretend that a problem doesn’t exist — those who wish to turn a blind
eye.
In 2016, Victoria’s point-in-time count revealed a sharp increase
in the number of homeless. Undaunted, the then minister set out to carve
a smaller number to represent only those living on the street. He left
behind nearly 1,200 people who had been identified as having no fixed
address, without a permanent roof over their head, living in constant
limbo. Why didn’t these people count?
It’s not enough to do a patchwork of guesses and opinion to guide
what the government thinks is necessary. Government needs to be informed
by reliable information. That’s why, at our first opportunity, our
government supported the first provincewide coordinated and standardized
point-in-time count in 2018. So 24 communities, working on the ground in
a 24-hour period, revealed that nearly 8,000 people across B.C. were
experiencing life without a home. The count informed the development of
B.C.’s first poverty reduction strategy, which does include a
homelessness action plan.
As Jill Atkey of the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association
confirmed, the cross-province count provided the basis to track the
impacts of our provincial government’s historic investments and to guide
our collective efforts in solving the crises in housing and social
supports that exist in every corner of the province.
The homeless crisis did not arrive at our door overnight. Every
year of delay in the past has compounded the crisis, increasing human,
economic, environmental and cultural costs. A regular provincewide
homeless count is an important step to giving everyone who wants a
permanent address a proper place to call home.
T. Stone: Thank you to the member for Courtenay-Comox for her statement. I
certainly appreciate her perspective on this incredibly important issue.
It goes without saying that all members of this House want better for
all British Columbians.
Everyone in B.C. deserves a place to call home, a place to feel
safe, and one that provides them with a firm foundation to live a
healthy and fulfilling life. Unfortunately, there are thousands of
people across our province for whom this is not the case today, and we
all, collectively, need to do everything possible to change this
reality.
[10:35 a.m.]
However, we must remember that support for those experiencing
homelessness doesn’t end with housing alone. You cannot just give
someone a roof over their heads and expect that every other challenge
they’re facing will suddenly be solved or will disappear. This is why we
support increased access to mental health and addictions recovery for
those who need those supports. It’s why our previous government built
and preserved a mixture of thousands of supportive housing units for
those experiencing homelessness as well as those with mental health and
addictions issues.
The past few years have seen slow progress in the creation of new
supportive housing units. In addition to only 2,963 out of 114,000 units
of promised affordable and supportive housing being built over the past
three years, there have been zero units of Indigenous housing open to
date, and 65 percent of those units are unfunded. Also, 70 percent of
women’s transition housing fund units remain unfunded, and only 80 units
have been opened to this point.
At this rate, it will take 100 years before the government’s
housing goals are fulfilled. It is clear that this pace is far too slow
to address the housing needs that are prevalent across communities in
every corner of British Columbia.
When it comes to truly addressing homelessness in our province, we
cannot narrow our focus simply to building homes. As I mentioned
earlier, a roof over a head will certainly make someone’s life easier.
It’s a very important action. But in and of itself, it will not solve
the underlying causes of homelessness. Every supportive housing
development must include full wraparound supports to address the mental
health and addictions needs that are widespread among many of those
experiencing homelessness.
We have seen that the government relies heavily on a patchwork of
off-site supports related to some of their supportive housing projects,
but this is not enough to meet the needs of all the residents. People
need and deserve better.
Right now we are seeing proof of the problems with this approach
play out in the city of Vancouver. B.C. Housing recently made the
decision to decamp the Oppenheimer Park tent city — last month — and
move residents into hotels in the Yaletown neighbourhood of downtown
Vancouver.
I will add that this action, this decision, of B.C. Housing was
done with absolutely zero consultation or warning for the residents of
this neighbourhood. Suddenly, hundreds of people were moved into this
high-density residential neighbourhood that has the second-highest
number of children per square kilometre in the city of
Vancouver.
Point of Order
Deputy Speaker: There’s a point of order by Maple Ridge–Mission.
Would the member for Maple Ridge–Mission like to state a point of
order?
B. D’Eith: Yes. This is partisan, Hon. Speaker.
Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.
Members, as we have instructed everybody earlier, these statements
must be non-partisan. Thank you.
Member, please continue.
Debate Continued
T. Stone: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
And all of this without having a plan in place to provide the new
residents with the supports for their own well-being and to keep the
entire community safe. Not only is this unfair to the broader community,
which was not given time to prepare for this sudden change, but it’s
unfair to those who have been moved into these hotels and left to fend
for themselves in an unfamiliar environment without the supports they
need to live a safe and healthy life.
This situation underscores the need for careful planning in
supportive housing projects, inclusive of 24-7 on-site wraparound
supports along with careful planning and advanced engagement with
communities to be impacted.
I wholeheartedly agree that we need to do more to address
homelessness in our province. Everyone deserves a place to call home.
But we simply cannot move people around from community to community and
hope that this solves the underlying challenges people face. Rather than
relying on patchworks and band-aid solutions, we need to be diligent in
our approach and make sure that we are addressing the whole
picture.
R. Leonard: First of all, I’d like to thank the member for Kamloops–South
Thompson for his comments on homeless counts, I think.
[10:40 a.m.]
Earlier I mentioned that the Comox Valley was quick out of the
gate to do this year’s homeless count, as many of the challenges of
homelessness continue to persist. Our homeless seniors population is
growing. Women are overrepresented in the numbers of
homeless.
Our government worked with the city to bring 48 homes to people
without a home in its supportive modular housing. There are other
projects that have been supported to house women, children and youth
fleeing violence, as well as to bring more affordable rental units on
stream.
Increasing assistance and disability rates, increasing the
subsidies of SAFER and RAP, bringing more services to those in need and
making life more affordable put us on the right path, but everyone
recognizes that there is still so much more to do, and they’re eager to
get on with it.
I remember the early days of figuring out how to count those
without a home. Efforts have been made for point-in-time counts to
become more standardized and to add more details. By covering more
communities, 88 percent of B.C.’s population this year will be covered
with this second count. The counts continue to better reflect the extent
of homelessness and the scope of needed support.
We can always do better. There are some limitations to the
point-in-time approach. That’s why this year alternative approaches will
be piloted in two communities, Cranbrook and Port Alberni. They’ll delve
deeper to explore hidden homelessness or those who might be missed by
the point-in-time counts. Enhancing the information from the 24-hour
count, it’s expected, will enrich the understanding of the differences
between population categories.
More work will also be undertaken to better understand Indigenous
perspectives and
definitions. A video project will delve into individual
stories behind the count, and a quantitative analysis will be taken of
data from the self-identified Indigenous respondents from the
point-in-time count.
The new office of homelessness coordination’s goal is to move
beyond reactive emergency responses toward preventing people from
becoming homeless in the first place. The goal of homeless counts is not
to simply gather figures. It informs government about services needed,
where to build homes, how many and for whom.
Our government stepped up quickly to begin to provide housing for
those struggling to find a roof over their heads and to provide the
necessary supports. There’s no question that there’s much more to do.
This global pandemic may be challenging us, but our commitment
continues.
SENIORS AND AFFORDABILITY
D. Barnett: First, I would like to recognize the great work of Bonnie Henry
and to thank the constituents of the Cariboo-Chilcotin for adhering and
making us all safe. On behalf of my constituents, though, I am pleased
to bring forward an important statement this morning regarding seniors
and affordability.
I gave notice of this statement prior to the outbreak of the
pandemic. However, seniors in B.C. and, indeed, across the country and
around the world have been the hardest hit by COVID-19. People over the
age of 65 are the most vulnerable segment of the population, and we
think government needs to be doing more for them.
I will provide you with some examples in my riding later in my
comments. But it doesn’t matter if you are a senior in rural British
Columbia or the Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island: these people are
scared, they are isolated, and they fear a second wave could be just
around the corner.
I first want to draw your attention to the fact that as official
opposition, we have been trying to provide the government with much
support throughout the pandemic. This includes pointing out which people
are falling through the cracks and why seniors need more help than
ever.
Our seniors have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and,
tragically, represent the majority of deaths our province has
experienced. B.C. families have had to endure the heartbreak of losing
loved ones. For these reasons, the Leader of the Official Opposition
wrote to the Premier on June 10. The letter expresses our deep concern
for seniors in long-term care facilities and the hard-working staff
responsible for protecting and caring for them.
[10:45 a.m.]
Our seniors and staff in our long-term care homes have been at the
forefront of our fight against COVID-19. These people have experienced
some of the hardest realities of this ongoing pandemic, and they
continue to. The heartbreak felt by families is only amplified by the
current circumstances that keep family members apart from our loved
ones. We have heard from many families eager to see their senior parents
residing in care as soon as it is safe to do so. We strongly feel that
this government is duty-bound to keep British Columbians up to date and
provide guidance to care home operators, staff and family members. They
need plans for resumption of in-person visits with appropriate physical
distancing measures in place.
We therefore suggest launching a thorough independent review of
long-term care facilities in British Columbia to clearly define where
our long-term care system has performed well and where we have failed,
creating a comprehensive resource strategy to meet the growing demand
for staffing in seniors’ care, providing support for residents and staff
incurring the costs of implementing COVID-19 health and safety measures
in senior care facilities and, as I’ve already mentioned, establishing a
timeline and resources strategy that will allow families to visit their
loved ones in senior care while adhering to the appropriate physical
distancing measures.
MLAs on both sides of this House have heard from families and
advocacy groups across B.C. who believe that more must be done.
Regardless of party politics, every member serving in our Legislature
shares a collective goal with all British Columbians. We want the best
for those who gave us so much.
We hope your government will listen to the ideas of the official
opposition and advocacy groups as well as the concerns of British
Columbians whose parents, grandparents, siblings or loved ones occupy or
staff these homes. We hope that together we can provide our elders with
the care and support they need. I look forward to hearing from the hon.
member on this deeply important issue.
S. Chandra Herbert: Thank you to the member for Cariboo–Chilcotin for sharing her
words and care for seniors at this time.
I want to start, I think, by thanking the seniors in my community
of Vancouver–West End and all those that look out for seniors across
this province. As the member rightly noted, COVID-19 has harmed seniors
and those who take care of seniors and watch out for seniors more than
everyone else. We all know of the fear and the concern but also the care
and the incredible love and attention that seniors have given to each
other and have felt in their communities.
I want to thank the member first. I prepared my remarks based on
the title, which was affordability and seniors, which didn’t get
addressed in the opening remarks. But I can understand, given the change
of COVID-19, that the member wanted to focus on that urgent demand and
that urgent need.
I want to thank the unofficial elders council in my community,
whether it’s the West End Seniors Network, the West End Seniors Planning
Table, the blind seniors group that meets in my office once a month — or
has, prior to COVID-19 — and the many seniors who have given me advice
in the coffee shops, street corners, elevators and laundry rooms of the
West End and Cole Harbour.
One thing that I know that they have told me strongly around
COVID-19 is their concern about our long-term care facilities, which the
member noted. Haro Park Centre was one of the worst hit so far in my
community of the West End, and I want to honour and thank the staff who
worked so hard to look after our elders and to remember them — those
that we lost due to this crisis — and remember their families and their
friends who could not see them in these final moments.
[10:50 a.m.]
I also want to thank those that continue to try to make the system
better, because unfortunately, as we know, the system was not a good
system, not a full system, at the beginning. That’s in part why we had
this challenge. Workers who were trying their best but having to work
multiple jobs and having to go through multiple sites in order to make a
living.
Thankfully, thanks to the leadership of Dr. Bonnie Henry and the
Minister of Health, they’ve moved to a single-site model, which should
have always been the way. I understand that seeking the lowest cost,
trying to save money and cut budgets led to a system of greater risk.
Our seniors never should have been put in that place, but they were.
That’s not a partisan remark. It’s just the reality.
Thankfully, that leadership is changing things. That leadership is
making the seniors the priority once again, which is what they should
have been to begin with — and, of course, those that look out for them
in those care homes. I know we’ve increased staffing in the care
facilities and, to the end of affordability, cut a lot of those extra
costs, the bells and whistles that were putting those who had more money
ahead in the line of those who did not, making a mockery of a universal
health care system that I think we all, hopefully, value and continue to
work for, because our seniors deserve that kind of care and
treatment.
In terms of the questions of affordability and some of those other
underlying issues, I just wanted to say thank you for the advocacy to
the seniors in my community, for doing things like the last ten years of
listening to me talk about wanting to eliminate the MSP but,
unfortunately, seeing it double in that ten years. They told me: “We
want it gone.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t, and nor could the official
opposition at the time, get that message through.
Thankfully, we’ve now completely eliminated the MSP so that
seniors in our communities can put more money towards their housing,
their food, their grandkids, should they have them — just the
necessities of life — and changing things like eliminating PharmaCare
fees for low- and middle-income seniors, in many regards.
One issue that I just have to mention, because the seniors would
not have it any other way, is standing up for seniors who rent, making
sure that we don’t go back to the days of 100 percent rent increases,
fixed-term tenancies, geographic increases, that we continue to focus on
affordability for senior renters, including looking at things like SAFER
and other ways to find that they can have more money in their pockets as
well.
Thank you to the member for raising these issues. I look forward
to continuing to advocate for seniors’ affordability, as I have since I
first began over 12 years ago.
Deputy Speaker: Members, again, I just want to remind everybody. Make sure that
everybody remains non-partisan during their
statements.
D. Barnett: I thank the hon. member for those comments. As I mentioned in my
opening remarks, I have had a growing number of seniors and their loved
ones expressing concern about their future. Seniors, and I am one, are
the most vulnerable.
Here is a prime example of one senior in my riding. My constituent
first contacted our office because her 87-year-old father-in-law was
being transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops for surgery. This
was his first time in a hospital, ever. Can you imagine, at 87 years
old? No one was allowed to go with him in the ambulance because of
COVID-19, but the family went in their own vehicle and followed anyway.
They were not allowed to be with him, in any way, before or after his
surgery. Like most people, they could only use Skype — the family has
since learned he has now had to have further surgery — and Skype didn’t
work for them.
The daughter-in-law was told once again they could not have
visitors. As a result, this poor man had given up, and the family feels
he was failing quickly. Fortunately, we were called. We were able to
intervene and arrange a meeting with Interior Health. As a result, two
family members are now able to provide the support that will make a huge
difference in the world of this 87-year-old man. It makes me wonder how
many people out there are currently suffering from a similar situation,
or worse, with loved ones. I have had many contact my office.
[10:55 a.m.]
In conclusion, government has an obligation to act on behalf of
all the families and loved ones who are suffering from similar
situations. We owe so much to our parents, grandparents and our seniors
who laid the foundation for this province. Their hard work and sacrifice
are what gave us the quality of life we currently enjoy. Now is the time
to act on behalf of all our seniors to make their lives more
comfortable, more affordable and more accessible to their
needs.
TEAM-BASED MEDICINE
S. Malcolmson: I’m honoured to stand here to represent the people of Nanaimo in
the Legislature at this historic time.
We know that many people in Nanaimo, like other places around the
province, find it difficult to receive the adequate health care that
they need when they need it. For too long, British Columbians struggled
to be seen by a family doctor quickly. They faced growing surgical
waiting lists and had to turn to overcrowded hospitals and emergency
rooms. Our government knew that the way health care was delivered had to
change.
Instead of relying on the old model of health care, we knew we
needed to be forward-looking and harness the power of teams to better
meet the needs of British Columbians. So I jumped at the chance to visit
the Snuneymuxw First Nation’s new health care clinic this winter. They
had successfully developed a health centre that provides team-based
primary care alongside traditional cultural practice. They refer to it
as the One Canoe model of care.
Physician services came in 2017, in partnership with the Nanaimo
Division of Family Practice, to this health care centre that had been
offering preventative services and advocacy since 1998. For some
community members, it was the first time they’d seen a doctor. This new
place where they moved just this winter will have more space to house
physicians and, eventually, a pharmacist and a dentist.
Their One Canoe principles provide clear guidance that every
member of the team is essential to achieve the goal of health, but the
patients are the skippers, and it’s they who decide the direction of the
canoe according to their own health care goals. Now, that team-based
health care is….
I want to especially acknowledge Snuneymuxw nurses Connie Paul and
Cheryl Mooney. Their leadership is just beautiful to witness.
Here’s what the One Canoe model means, and this is what’s so
important, I think, for the rest of us in the province to hear. This is
based on the rule of tribal journeys. They say that the gift of each
enriches all. Every story is important. The bow, the stern, the skipper,
the power puller in the middle — everyone is part of the movement.
Secondly, we all pull and support each other. Nothing occurs in
isolation. When we aren’t in the family of a canoe, we are not ready for
whatever comes.
Never could we have imagined how vital it would be to pull
together, to paddle together, to work as a team to hold back COVID-19.
So I raise my hands to every health care worker, every one of them, and
every job from cleaner to lab tech to front-line emergency room worker.
You have saved lives, and your work has been extraordinary.
Now, before COVID-19, I heard the Premier, in almost every
government caucus meeting, talking about how he was making progress on
the things that people cared about. He would say to us: “I get out of
bed every morning thinking, ‘What can I do today to make people’s lives
better?’” In a minority parliament, every day is a gift. We were so
focused on change that would affect people at a day-to-day level. But I
can’t imagine how we would have weathered the pandemic without some of
the team supports that we were able to put in place before the
pandemic.
Our primary care network strategy was a major part to harness the
power of nurse practitioners, doctors, everybody working together. In
Nanaimo, our urgent primary care centre was one of those pieces. It
opened a year ago at the Medical Arts Centre in Port Place Mall. At that
time, more than 15½ thousand people in our region didn’t have a family
doctor, and for those who did, same-day access was really difficult to
give. The idea is that you go in, and you’ve got access to addictions
counsellors, pharmacists, social workers, nurse practitioners, physio,
mental health supports. People work together.
[11:00 a.m.]
Our focus so far has been on high-risk and complex medical
patients; 805 of them between September and the beginning of March have
been attached to primary care providers at the urgent primary care
centre. Another 150 patients monthly get referred through this structure
to be able to be attached to someone that will act kind of like a family
doctor used to in Nanaimo.
When we opened this, or announced it a year ago, we thought there
would be 25,000 people a year that would come to the urgent primary care
centre. There have been 22,000 just since September — well, between
September and the beginning of March. We know that once COVID hit, the
place was just…. I wouldn’t say overwhelmed, but the community response
and how many people got expert care and navigation from them is
extraordinary.
Meanwhile up the hill, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital was one
of the COVID-designated hospitals for Vancouver Island. From a team
perspective, everyone at NRGH had to change the way they did their work
completely to learn new procedures and new protocols in a very short
amount of time. They had to, obviously, work safely together and care
for patients. Everything shifted. When surgeries were cancelled, then
some of the staff became ambassadors, doing screening as people entered
the hospital.
In every place, people have worked together in our region. It has
saved lives. The way that the Medical Staff Association at Nanaimo
Hospital describes it, it then opened doors.
Another area of teamwork is between Island Health, Nanaimo MSA,
our community leaders and the Ministry of Health working together to
identify needs. They’ve already achieved the basis of a neurology
program, the beginning of a gastroenterology program and implemented a
complex medical care unit for internal medicine. Particularly because of
the pressure that was brought by COVID-19, everybody has agreed that we
need a high-acuity unit.
It’s something that I’ve been advocating for as an MLA. It is kind
of an in-between — people that don’t need to be in ICU but need more
care than a hospital bed. That temporary space is going to open in
October. It’ll be done in association with our intensive care unit, also
a new addition for Nanaimo, also badly overdue. The need was identified
for it back in 2013. The previous government did not act on
it.
Deputy Speaker: Member, no partisan comments.
S. Malcolmson: I will just say, just to pause, how deeply reliant we are on
working together and how important it’s been to have the cooperation of
the B.C. Liberal and Green parties working together, again as a team, to
save lives and look after people in our community during an extremely
challenging time.
J. Thornthwaite: Thank you to my colleague for her comments on team-based medicine.
I would like to first begin my comments by acknowledging the work that
has been done by the teams of health care workers, first responders,
grocery store workers, recovery home workers, home care nurses and, of
course, our long-term-care workers, all during this pandemic.
[S. Gibson in the chair.]
Some health care workers, in particular, could not even see their
families for fear they would put them at risk. Significant sacrifices
from health care professionals and all those who work in the field
deserve our credit.
It is also necessary to recognize that we are in the middle of two
public health emergencies right now, and that while the COVID-19
situation improves in the province, the opioid crisis has worsened
significantly. This pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated many of the
gaps that exist in our current system of care, which is evident in the
most recent increase in overdose deaths.
May was B.C.’s worst month for overdose deaths in our province’s
history, and 170 people died that month. These were our brothers, our
sisters, our moms, our dads and our daughters. But mostly, it was our
sons dying alone at home.
Individuals with mental health and substance use issues should not
have the additional burden of navigating a complicated, broken system if
they wish to seek help. There is possibly no better place to implement
team-based care than in mental health treatment. We need a
single-point-of-entry system where individuals can access all of the
care that they need immediately, rather than being referred to other
professionals and waiting even longer. Sadly, this is still not the
case.
[11:05 a.m.]
We need to commit to creating a more integrated wraparound
approach to mental health and substance use issues in this province. To
achieve this, we need to increase funding for the Ministry of Mental
Health and Addictions so we can effectively respond to the crisis in
areas that are currently lacking.
We need a mental health and addictions strategy that will allow a
single point of entry for those who are ready. We need a drug monitoring
program to prevent addictions in the first place and funding for
scientific research to determine best practices, and that includes safe
supply.
Finally, we need to invest in a pathway to recovery for people
with addictions. Getting to the root of the addictions requires a
significant commitment, but we could start out by funding more addiction
recovery beds — the ones that are already sitting empty.
Far more people have died in B.C. of overdoses than COVID-19. Yet
we do not seem to have the same sense of urgency in addressing this
severe and ongoing public health crisis, 170 deaths in May. This is
versus 168 deaths, sadly, with COVID, totally. This has highlighted that
we only have 30 specialized addiction treatment beds today. That’s it,
30, and we had 170 deaths in May.
The pandemic has opened our eyes to the fragility of the system
and the need to create a strong foundation which can stand the effects
of any emergency that may come at us. For example, simply moving people
into hotels, out of Oppenheimer Park, carries over the crime, the
vandalism, theft, assaults, needles, sexual assaults, public urination
and defecation from the park to the steps of the condos and businesses
in Yaletown, Coal Harbour and all of downtown Vancouver.
Unless there are true wraparound supports for mental health and
addictions, these problems are not going to get better. Sadly, it is
clear that the current system is not working. The band-aid approaches
that continue to be addressed are not working for mental health and
those with addictions. It is costing lives and family grief.
Going forward, we must recognize the flaws in our system and work
to repair them. As elected officials and representatives of the
communities that are affected, we have the responsibility to lead this
change. We cannot allow others to fall through the cracks when there are
solutions that could be implemented.
I look forward to continuing our work to bring about action on
this issue, which deserves government’s urgent and immediate
attention.
Deputy Speaker: The Chair recognizes the member for Nanaimo to close discussion on
this.
S. Malcolmson: Speaking to the power of teams as a way to deliver health care in
our region, I have to point out the number of lives that have been saved
on Vancouver Island by workers in long-term care. It’s been a huge
success that — looking at the rest of the country and how many lives
have been lost — on Vancouver Island, we haven’t had a single case of
infection. We haven’t had a single death. Thank goodness. We don’t take
that for granted. We’re not complacent about it. But it’s a testament to
the dedication of both families and the care home workers, under
extremely difficult circumstances, that our seniors have been well cared
for and able to not fall to the fate that seniors in other parts of the
country have.
Huge credit to HEU, HSA, B.C. Nurses Union. Almost 9,000 workers
across British Columbia formerly worked at multiple sites for care
homes, potentially tracking the disease between homes. When Dr. Bonnie
Henry ordered that they all work at a single site…. Nine thousand of
them now are all working at a single site. I’m grateful to the Health
Minister for topping up wages and making sure that we’re able to look
after both workers and the elders that are under their care.
[11:10 a.m.]
We’re fixing the problems that were left behind not just for
people in Nanaimo but for everyone around the province through our
primary care network strategy and team-based care. By improving how we
connect people to care, we can make sure that British Columbians get the
health care they need faster and closer to home. In this case, we are
absolutely saving lives doing it.
Thank you to the workers. Thank you to the families who have made
great sacrifices at this time to keep our province safe.
Hon. M. Farnworth: I ask the House now to consider proceeding with Motion 4, standing
in the name of the member for Columbia River–Revelstoke.
Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, unanimous consent of the House is required to
proceed with Motion 4 without disturbing the priorities of the motions
provided on the order paper.
Leave granted.
Deputy Speaker: Further, unanimous consent of the House is required to permit the
member for Cariboo North to move Motion 4 on behalf of the member for
Columbia River–Revelstoke.
Leave granted.
Private Members’ Motions
MOTION 4 — ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
C. Oakes: I move, on behalf of the member for Columbia
River–Revelstoke:
[Be it resolved that this House encourage economic opportunity for
all British Columbians.]
It is well known that small business is the sector of the
provincial economy to be hardest hit by this pandemic. A recent survey
by Insights West indicated that 65 percent of small business owners are
very worried about the negative financial impact overall.
Earlier the member for Courtenay-Comox talked about the importance
of data and counting. To the member, I am looking at current data as it
surrounds the discussion around small businesses and, specifically, the
impact it will have disproportionately on women, whether they’re small
business owners or employees.
When you look at the data and you look at the statistics, small
businesses are incredibly concerned. Sixty-six percent are worried about
financing, 41 percent are afraid they will not have the ability to pay
their salaries, 43 percent feel that they will have difficulty paying
their rent or lease, and only 55 percent think that emergency federal
aid will be effective.
Most of all, it is uncertainty. That is the worst thing facing
small businesses in British Columbia. This will have impacts on
everything.
Starting June 25, each of us has the opportunity as an MLA to
demonstrate our support by joining the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business campaign #SmallBusinessEveryDay. Now is the time
for every single member to stand up and show our support for our small
businesses. Action is needed now.
In 2021, the Business Council forecasts the economy may have the
potential to grow by 4.8 percent. That means we will only be regaining
just over half of the economic output lost in 2020. The council also
indicates that the magnitude of job losses is especially concerning.
That affects every single area of the province.
[11:15 a.m.]
Since February, the number of people working in the province has
plummeted by roughly 350,000 people. B.C.’s greater exposure to hard hit
sectors, especially accommodation and food services, wholesale and
retail trade, resulted in the unemployment rate nearly tripling in three
months. It now sits around 13 percent. Unfortunately, many businesses
will not reopen, and several tens of thousands of jobs will be
permanently lost. The council concludes that for both Canada and British
Columbia, the 2020 downturn is shaping up to be the deepest in 100
years.
It is therefore very puzzling why the provincial government has
launched a questionnaire that will ask British Columbians to “share
their feedback as the province continues to build a strong, economic
recovery that works for people.” This six-week consultation process,
launched over three months after the pandemic began, will only serve to
delay British Columbia’s economic recovery. The people deserve more than
a questionnaire. They deserve economic leadership. That is why the
people of British Columbia — the small business sector — are crying out
for action on the part of their government.
The B.C. Business Council is also saying that the province is
likely to experience a net loss of 20,000 to 30,000 businesses with paid
employees over the next 18 months. Our neighbourhoods and our
communities will be changed forever. Until then, the Finance Minister is
sitting on $1.5 billion set aside for economic recovery.
Government has been quick to highlight the fact that they’ve been
meeting with the Small Business Roundtable and stakeholders. The
government claims to have held over 1,500 outreach sessions with
businesses, labour, not-for-profits and community leaders across British
Columbia. The Premier said: “Over 20,000 individuals have been talked to
about the challenges of COVID-19 and how we come through
this.”
So my question is…. Now is the time for government to act. We need
action. What has the government been doing? Do not dismiss what small
businesses have been saying. Don’t dismiss the Chamber of Commerce
MindReader and all of the information that they’ve gathered and the CFIB
surveys. Small businesses need action now.
J. Brar: I’m really pleased to respond to the motion introduced by the
member for Cariboo North asking this House to encourage economic
opportunity for all British Columbians. I see the shift on this topic,
right now, moving to small businesses. It’s not a bad one, by the
way.
As we return to the Legislature today, British Columbians are
worried about their health care and their livelihoods, whether it’s
small business people or a working person. COVID-19 has impacted all of
us in ways we never could have imagined. People feel isolated and
anxious about the future. Our friends and neighbours are out of work. So
it’s important for us to talk about what is next and talk about the
economic opportunity for all British Columbians moving
forward.
During the B.C. Liberals’ time in government, economic opportunity
really only meant opportunities for those at the top. The door to
economic opportunity was designed by the B.C. Liberals to be so narrow
that only the top 2 percent were able to enter the universe of economic
opportunity and prosperity. That includes a lot of small business
people, as well, who were not able to enter that door.
For years, the B.C. Liberals sent huge giveaways to
multi-millionaires and made everyone else pay for it with fee hikes and
service cuts, including cuts to health care and senior care that forced
staff to work at multiple facilities, contributing to COVID-19 outbreaks
that made this pandemic worse for our health care and our economy. They
refused to make an investment that would benefit everyone in British
Columbia. The minimum wage in B.C. was kept low, disproportionately
affecting women and immigrant workers.
[11:20 a.m.]
Health care wages were rolled back due to privatization, and
health care workers will never forget the painful era at that time under
the Liberals. Education opportunities and skills training were all but
eliminated. Not enough investments were made in affordable housing and
child care.
Now the surprising thing is that the Leader of the Opposition is
planning for big tax breaks for those at the top at a time when people
can least afford it. His plan helps multi-millionaires and makes
everyone else pay the price.
We know what these giveaways will mean. People will pay more taxes
and fees, just like before. They are planning to bring back MSP, which
they doubled while they were in power. That’s going to hurt a lot of
small businesses. As well, their cuts to health care and seniors care
would weaken our health care system when we need it the most. The Leader
of the Opposition’s tax breaks for the rich and powerful will mean that
everyone else pays for it. That is a risk that people can’t afford
now.
Our government is committed to sharing prosperity for everyone in
B.C., including small business people. We truly believe in it, and we
act on it. Before COVID-19, we were making progress on things that
people care about. People are the economy. We will build B.C. back
stronger so that everyone has a good job and a secure future and so that
small business can prosper in B.C.’s economy. We will build an economic
recovery around everyday people, including small business people — not
just the rich 2 percent, as it happened under the B.C.
Liberals.
Helping people get the training and education they need to get
good jobs is very important. Building infrastructure like roads, mass
transit and bridges will boost the economy and create good jobs and
opportunities for small business people in B.C. We have the largest
project in the history of the province, LNG, creating over 100,000 jobs
and opportunities for thousands of people.
I think my time is up. We have a vision for a strong, sustainable
economy that provides good jobs for people and quality public services
for people.
Thanks a lot for the opportunity.
D. Davies: I rise in this House today to speak to the motion: “Be it resolved
that this House encourage economic opportunity for all British
Columbians.” I think it is very fitting that on the first day of what
will surely be the most unique and historic parliamentary session that
this province has ever witnessed, I’m here today to speak on this
motion.
British Columbia is currently facing one of the greatest economic
crises in its history. Over 300,000 jobs have been lost. Businesses have
closed their doors, many of them for good. We have witnessed
unprecedented strains on our health care system and our essential
services. These next weeks are going to be crucial to put our province
back on the right path toward economic recovery. Promoting and investing
in economic opportunity has never been more important, and it is our
job, as representatives of the people of British Columbia, to lead this
task.
Fortunately for us, we live in a province that is blessed with
countless opportunities. British Columbia has an abundance of natural
resources: forestry, mining, fishing, oil and gas, agriculture and
hydroelectricity — the very things that we need to restart our economy
and get British Columbians back to work. We need to seize these
opportunities. Coming from one of the more rural parts of British
Columbia, in Peace River North, I know that natural resources are the
lifeblood of our communities.
Even before COVID-19, we have seen the impact of what a lack of
investment in our rural economies can do to these communities. After a
lack of supports and heavy-handed tax increases by this government, many
of our resource industries have lost their competitive edge on the
national and the global markets. Capital dollars are like water; they
will take the path of least resistance. And this government has created
a lot of resistance in British Columbia right now.
[11:25 a.m.]
This government’s ongoing mismanagement of our forestry sector has
led to a crisis for the industry and has done catastrophic damage to our
rural communities. Mills have closed, jobs are becoming more difficult
to find, people are forced to seek work elsewhere, and our communities
are suffering.
Now more than ever, we need to be actively promoting our natural
resource sector, including LNG. A thriving LNG sector will bring direct
economic benefits to our local Indigenous communities, rural communities
and, indeed, our province. We want to bring more benefits to the people
of B.C. while producing the cleanest LNG in the world, and it’s up to
this government to take action and promote these projects.
We need a government that is willing to defer stumpage fees for
our struggling forestry industry, promote and champion our LNG
industries, support mining and stand by the agriculture industry. But
make it easier to farm, not harder. COVID-19 is an ever-changing
challenge, and accountability and transparency to British Columbians are
as vital as support is.
British Columbians are seeking better input and information from
the government so they can continue to adjust their daily lives to the
ever-changing norm. Since March, British Columbians have been seeking
forums to hear a viable plan from this government. So how is it that
after three months into this pandemic, government has now only decided
they should release a survey on what it should do? How is this adequate?
How does this support the people who are suffering right now and need
the supports right now?
This government has asked people to make extraordinary sacrifices
to help flatten the curve and help support our health care system. Now
it’s government’s responsibility to help these same people and
businesses recover from the economic fallout and to help position our
businesses to reopen safely and to flourish.
This government needs to produce a viable economic recovery plan
so that British Columbians know exactly where the $1½ billion of their
tax money is being spent. And they’re really wondering when they can
expect this support. Time is of the essence. British Columbians are
waiting for this government to help. We need that help now.
M. Dean: I do believe that we need to encourage economic opportunity for
all British Columbians. But let’s remember that even before the
pandemic, our economy was not creating opportunities equally for all
British Columbians. Here in the context of the current pandemic, I want
to recognize that it’s our people who are the economy of B.C. and to say
thank you to all of our front-line workers who have come to work every
day across so many sectors.
Thank you to all British Columbians for doing your bit, staying
home and helping to flatten the curve. While I’ve heard heartbreaking
stories during these times, I’ve also heard truly heartwarming ones too.
Pulling together, we have been taking care of people across our
communities. However, I want to recognize the loss for 168 families and
offer condolences to them and everyone who cared for them.
The economic impact of this pandemic is as bad as any we have ever
seen in the history of our province. Hundreds of thousands of British
Columbians have lost their jobs. We have seen staggering job losses in
food service, retail and accommodation sectors hitting young people,
women and low-wage earners such as racialized, marginalized and
immigrant people particularly hard. Youth unemployment rate is an
overwhelming 29 percent, and women make up more than 60 percent of the
job losses in the hardest-hit sectors.
Women are also more likely to be shouldering the greatest
caregiving responsibilities for their children and other family members.
In addition, economic insecurity associated with the pandemic is more
likely to be compounded by other factors and amplified for Indigenous
women, LGBTQ2S+ people and people with disabilities.
I also want to take a moment to absolutely condemn the racism that
we have seen to the south and also in parts of our province in relation
to policing as well as COVID-19. We are investing in Resilience B.C. to
build a strong antiracism network and tackle racism head on. We will
modernize the 45-year-old Police Act with a specific focus on systemic
racism. And there is more to be done.
[11:30 a.m.]
Since the effects of COVID-19 have not been the same for all
people, or all sectors of the economy, our rebuilding plan can’t be
one-size-fits-all either. As the Premier has said, we can build a
stronger, more resilient B.C. by putting people at the centre of every
decision we make. Our Minister of Finance says that by building on our
strengths and drawing on new ideas, we will restore economic growth and
achieve a vibrant, inclusive, competitive economy.
We also know we have a chance to address systemic inequities that
have been so clearly magnified during the pandemic and build an economy
that leaves no one behind. When we talk about the economy, we’re talking
about people. The economy isn’t an abstract thing separated from
people’s real lives. Although we often use numbers to measure economic
trends, behind those numbers are real people. As B.C. works to build its
COVID-19 economic recovery plan, it’s vital that everyone, especially
those who already face disadvantages, is supported and given the best
possible opportunity to be part of B.C.’s restart.
It’s critical that marginalized groups are not further impacted by
systemic inequalities. Economically, the immediate challenge is to get
people back to work as quickly and as safely as possible, starting with
those who have been hurt the most by the pandemic. Those are Indigenous
people, new Canadians, women, young adults, people earning less than $30
an hour and service sector workers. Significant investments in K-to-12
education, skills training and the new B.C. access grant will help
people respond to the current challenges in our job market while moving
towards a future in our province where opportunities are not defined by
your gender or gender expression, age, income bracket or home address.
Continuing our investments in child care and infrastructure also gives
us a strong foundation for economic recovery.
As we move from restart to recovery, we have the chance to address
existing gaps and to do much more. We can build back better than
before.
S. Cadieux: I’m pleased to speak today on the motion before this House. A
thriving economy, one full of opportunity for all, is an important sign
of a healthy province. It’s never been more important than now to
encourage activity that grows and strengthens that economy.
The very fact that I’m not giving my statement from the
Legislature is a sign of just how much COVID-19 has changed our daily
life in the province. It’s altered the way we interact with one another,
the way we do our jobs, the way we operate and frequent businesses. As a
result, thousands of businesses across this province are struggling. The
Canadian Federation of Independent Business has reported that because of
COVID-19, 32 percent of small businesses are behind on their major bill
payments.
As many as 36 percent have seen a 70 percent or greater drop in
revenue. This kind of revenue loss could be catastrophic for any
business at any time, let alone our favourite small, local businesses.
I’ve watched many over these past few months, in my own neighbourhood,
close their doors for good.
It’s heartbreaking to see the loss of such foundational pieces in
our communities. Instead of standing by and just watching as our
neighbourhoods are hollowed out, we need to be taking every step
possible to provide these businesses with the opportunity to recover and
become successful once more.
For the last four months, I and my colleagues in the opposition
have been listening to the concerns of thousands of British Columbians
affected by this pandemic. We’ve heard people talk about their
struggles. We’ve listened to what they’ve been asking for in terms of
support. In turn, we’ve taken their feedback and turned it into policy
recommendations that we’ve shared with this government.
Last month we wrote a letter to the Premier that suggested a
number of different actions government could take to support B.C.
businesses during this recovery. We suggested temporary tax breaks, not
simply tax deferrals, on the PST, the EHT and the hotel tax to give
businesses a break from mounting bills. We suggested a small business
hardship grant be implemented in B.C., as other provinces in Canada have
already done. We suggested a moratorium on new regulations and policies
that would add costs for business during this time and asked for funding
to help businesses secure personal protective equipment. In addition to
all of this, we recommended a short-term commercial rent relief plan
that flows directly to the tenants if the landlords don’t
apply.
[11:35 a.m.]
These are straightforward, commonsense solutions that, if
implemented, would make a real difference to the many businesses, and
ultimately workers, that are currently struggling to make ends meet or
to get back into employment. They are solutions that would provide
business owners the opportunity to continue to employ those staff that
they feel are family and to provide those much-needed jobs that the
member prior spoke about for those groups most impacted, women and young
workers.
There are nearly 40 recommendations we’ve made to government since
March. Unfortunately, the government has no interest in putting them
into action, it would appear. When I learned that the Premier would be
making an announcement last Wednesday, I hoped that government had spent
the last few months developing a solid economic recovery plan for the
province. But instead of announcing a comprehensive plan to get the
economy back on track, we have another six-week survey.
Now, I’m not against public consultation — not at all. But this is
only going to delay a process of recovery during an absolutely critical
period. It fails to understand the needs of British Columbians today.
The people of the province have been telling their government what they
need for these last number of months, and only now, when action is
needed most, does government decide to listen.
At the beginning of the pandemic, government asked the people of
B.C. to trust them, to trust that they had our best interests at heart
and that if we followed their instructions, we would make it through.
Businesses responded. They followed the directions they were given. They
made sacrifices, with many businesses closing their doors voluntarily,
for the public good.
Now, as a feeling of abandonment by government grows amongst the
business community, they’re starting to wonder if that trust was
misplaced. For the good of B.C., I hope that this is not the case. I
hope that we will soon see swift action from government to support the
businesses of this province so that they, in turn, can ensure that their
employees are back earning money, supporting their families, and that
the growth of this economy is on the right track sooner rather than
later.
J. Routledge: I’m pleased to rise in support of this motion: “Be it resolved
that this House encourage economic opportunity for all British
Columbians.” In fact, taken at face value, this motion expresses a
sentiment one would expect to hear from this side of the aisle. After
all, economic opportunity for all has been our rallying cry since the
1930s. It’s one of the fundamental values that unite us. It’s our
vision, our manifesto, our pride.
Now, I have a lot that I want to say about economic opportunity
for all, the kinds of decisions that create the conditions that foster
it and the kinds of decisions that put it out of reach for so many. I
may run out of time before I get to my conclusion, so let me say up
front that economic opportunity without economic equality is nothing
more than economic exploitation. Economic opportunity without economic
justice is simply empty words.
I want to give the members opposite the benefit of the doubt.
We’ve been through a lot as a province in the past few months. The
pandemic has changed us, how we relate to each other as a community of
human beings. For many of us, it’s strengthened our concept of what the
common good is, what we owe to each other as members of the same
society. The pandemic has taught us that we survive and thrive as
individuals only when the whole community survives and
thrives.
We didn’t compete with each other to be the healthiest during the
pandemic. We cooperated. So many British Columbians, front-line workers
and volunteers put themselves at risk to protect the health of the most
vulnerable amongst us.
Now, I would hope that what we’ve experienced together and the
fact this motion has been made today means that the members opposite
have come to see the danger of letting the market do our thinking for
us. I would hope that they’ve had a change of heart, that the so-called,
self-described free enterprise coalition has had a change of
heart.
[11:40 a.m.]
If they have, then I would like to hear them admit that their
trickle-down theory didn’t work. I would like to hear them admit that by
cutting taxes to the rich while raising them for everyone else, that by
gutting the labour code to make it near impossible for working people to
band together, support each other and secure their share of economic
opportunity was, in fact, being captured by what’s come to be called
“zombie economics,” beliefs that are dead and continue to walk amongst
us.
I would hope that they would concede that by doubling tuition
training, and dismantling skills training and apprenticeship systems,
they robbed working people of their best chance of economic opportunity
and education. I’d like to hear them admit that for the 16 years they
ran this province, if their goal was to create economic opportunity for
all British Columbians, then they failed.
Because by the time they left office, more wealth was concentrated
in the hands of those at the top than in any point in our history since
the 1930s. Because by the time they left office, 20 percent of children
were living in poverty. Because the number of people relying on food
banks to feed their families had doubled. Because 10 percent of the
people living in Metro Vancouver could be classified as the working
poor. They had jobs all right, but many of them had more than one job
and still didn’t earn enough to make ends meet.
That’s what happens when the market is free to determine social
outcomes. It’s humans who should determine social outcomes, with
deliberate, purposeful and proactive policies, programs and
incentives.
I see I’m quickly running out of time, so I will say again that
economic opportunity without economic equality is nothing more than
economic exploitation.
J. Isaacs: I rise in the House today to speak to the motion: “Be it resolved
that the House recognizes economic opportunity for all British
Columbians.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for British
Columbians. For many, a once bright and exciting future is now
uncertain. There are over 300,000 British Columbians who have lost their
jobs and many more self-employed and independent contractors who are
also uncertain as to what the future holds for them. Young people who
were once anxious to build their resumes are now facing the highest
youth unemployment rates in recent history.
There have been terrible financial impacts to small businesses.
Small businesses create jobs and contribute enormously to our local and
global economies. Businesses such as restaurants, sports and
entertainment industry, and personal service providers all contribute to
a healthy economy and have a positive impact on our social well-being.
Tourism and the hospitality industries have been particularly hard hit,
and it’s going to take time for consumer confidence to return and for
businesses to rebuild to pre-COVID-19 conditions.
Everyone in British Columbia has felt the strain of COVID-19 in
one way or another. While Dr. Bonnie Henry and her team have done a
great job leading us through the public health response, we must now
shift our efforts and shift our focus to providing economic opportunity
for all British Columbians. Now more than ever, it is urgent that
government deliver a comprehensive economic response plan.
Delays may be the difference between whether business owners fight
to keep their doors open, or whether they will be forced to close their
doors for good. Delays will determine if families need to seek work
elsewhere, move out of their homes, put their kids back to school or
seek daycare. It is critical that families and businesses have hope for
the future and can push uncertainty aside.
[11:45 a.m.]
Businesses want to open their doors and welcome back their
customers and their staff. It is government’s responsibility to assure
that everyone in British Columbia has the opportunity to get ahead once
again.
In March, billions of dollars of taxpayer money was given to
government to lead the response to the emergency and to produce a
unified plan for our province’s economic recovery. In the last four
months, ideas and input have come forward from countless business round
tables, member organizations, industry and regional groups, as well as
suggestions from British Columbians and small business owners all across
the province.
There have also been substantive solutions provided by the
official opposition, suggestions such as the 90-day tax break on the
provincial sales tax, hotel tax and employer health tax. They’re just
some of the meaningful suggestions that would go a long way to help
support businesses during these volatile times.
A short-term commercial rent relief plan would also help small
businesses, especially those which are experiencing a significant loss
in their cash flow. A reduction of red tape and excessive administration
costs would allow small businesses to focus their efforts on
successfully reopening their businesses.
Every day without a defined plan for economic opportunity is
another day of worry and stress for our small businesses. After four
months, rather than government launching a consultation survey seeking
public input, it’s time that British Columbians have a clear path
forward and the opportunity to succeed and get back to work. As a
business owner and business consultant for many years, I encourage this
House to swiftly move to provide economic opportunity for all British
Columbians.
D. Routley: Assuming that everyone can hear me, I have a suggestion. Perhaps
we could engage in heckling on the chat box, because it’s a little
unusual not to be able to contribute in the ways we have in the past.
But we’ll work with what we have.
I thank the Speaker and all the members for this opportunity. It
has been an amazing three months where we have seen British Columbians
face the greatest challenge that I’ve ever witnessed in this province,
certainly. It has been absolutely inspiring to see people come together,
cooperate, work together for a solution and make the sacrifices that
were necessary to flatten the curve for the betterment of all of us.
That involved so many sacrifices from people who might not have been so
directly impacted, like young people who have embraced the message of
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Dix. I think we have to give great
thanks to British Columbians for that.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
We’re also a province that was very well positioned to respond to
this pandemic in that our economy was the leading economy in Canada. We
have a very diversified economy. Obviously, very deeply impacted on many
levels, the food industry being one. My own daughter, a chef in a
high-end restaurant that’s small and isn’t open, is directly affected. I
and all the people on the screen are fortunate in that we aren’t so
directly impacted in terms of our income, but in every other way, we
are.
In this province, if you ask yourself what you need in order to
have people thrive economically, well, you need the institutional
supports of education, housing, agriculture, food security — all of
those things to be intact. You need economic justice, which was referred
to so eloquently by the previous speaker from the government
side.
Those foundational elements of our society are the ones that
required investment over the past 16 years, before our government. And
those are, in fact, exactly the areas in which cuts were made. Cuts that
disproportionately affected women, immigrants and people of lower income
levels. So it was our job, coming to government, to immediately begin to
turn that around with massive investments in housing and child care and
the kinds of supports that make an equal opportunity for British
Columbians to participate in their own economy, in their own province,
in their own communities.
[11:50 a.m.]
All of those steps were taken, and it actually further better
positioned us to respond to this. It is in exactly those same areas that
we need to make investments to support the recovery — that is, in child
care, in housing, in supporting small businesses — so that the words of
a friend of mine in the bicycle industry can be made ever more relevant.
He said, during the time of school closures in the previous government’s
term, that if he were considering opening a new bicycle shop, he
wouldn’t seek out a community that was closing its elementary schools,
that was cutting back on child care.
Those are important considerations for small business people. They
know, when we reduce the costs to British Columbians, eliminating MSP
premiums, giving actually quite huge supports for child care to
struggling families, that those are the elements that create the kind of
income in the community that gets spent in small businesses — not
massive tax breaks to the most wealthy among us, not advantages to those
who already enjoy such privilege but supports for people who actually
struggle. They will be spent in our communities. They will make better
and more healthy communities, and from that, everyone will prosper. I
have faith that our government will continue that.
I’d like to point out, just in Agriculture alone, relaunching the
Buy B.C. program, the program called Feed B.C., and Grow B.C., to help
support food security in this province — those were very timely
investments. They show that investments in the foundational services to
families are exactly the kinds of investments that pay direct dividends
to small business. That is why the Premier says to us, practically every
time we meet, that we have a vision in which all British Columbians find
a way to thrive in a thriving British Columbia. That’s, I think, the
most important goal for all of us.
Noting the hour, I would move adjournment of the
debate.
Mr. Speaker: Members, before we put the question formally, if we might hear
from the member for Parksville-Qualicum for a minute.
M. Stilwell: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion before the House,
before we adjourn the debate.
I start, this morning, by stating the obvious. We all want British
Columbians to have the opportunity for economic growth and success. We
collectively want what is best for British Columbia. I absolutely
acknowledge that the opinions may differ between members in this House,
but at the end, the ultimate goal remains the same.
We all recognize that COVID-19, of course, affected our collective
opportunity. It has shuttered businesses, it has resulted in rampant job
losses and has shaken the confidence of many British Columbians.
People’s dreams have reduced in scope; future plans have been put on
hold, on the back burner. Unfortunately, in many, many cases, that has
disproportionately impacted those who can least afford it.
That being said this morning, I would like to focus on an area
that a few months ago was the pinnacle of opportunity in this province
but that since then has been the hardest-hit sector. In my role as
co-critic for Tourism, Arts and Culture, I have become acutely aware of
the monumental challenge facing people in the tourism industry. With a
harrowing 130,000 job losses, countless operators are facing bankruptcy
and, for many, complete loss of business.
Over the past few weeks, I have hosted a number of virtual town
halls, along with my colleagues, speaking with people from the tourism
industry to get a better sense of what it is that they are facing and of
where government needs to step up its supports. What do they need most?
The response has been pretty clear. There’s a lack of clarity around
reopening rules, a lack of support financially, and a general lack of
understanding from this government as to what the industry is facing day
to day.
[11:55 a.m.]
The tourism operators, in many ways, feel lost, left out to sea
without the proper economic recovery supports that they have asked for —
and which they are still waiting for — from government. This all starts
with action and intent. Since April, we have been calling on this
government to include a tourism industry representative on its economic
recovery task force — someone to help them outline their specific needs
— but this has yet to happen.
We brought forth feedback from the town halls to the government
requesting urgent action to solve the liquidity and cash flow problems;
to clear up the areas of confusion, including the status of future
bookings; insurance disputes and the absence of PPE support; and the
lack of an industry-tailored recovery plan.
The tourism industry is still waiting on government to respond to
these needs, to these areas of support. I’ll tell you, time is running
out. Simply put, the tourism sector is feeling deeply, deeply hurt in
every corner of this province. One of the greatest sources of economic
opportunity in this province, one that generates billions in revenue and
employs hundreds of thousands of people, is on life support right
now.
To that end, I hope that over the coming weeks — while we are here
actively participating, both physically and virtually, in the
Legislature — we can get a clear picture of what government’s plan is to
support this industry to ensure that there is a clear path for
opportunity, for the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have
been impacted. The people of our province are counting on it.
M. Stilwell moved adjournment of debate.
Motion approved.
Hon. M. Farnworth: I want to thank everyone. Clearly they learned the lessons of the
test runs, so a good job, everyone.
With that, I move the House now adjourn.
Hon. M. Farnworth moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.
The House adjourned at 11:58 a.m.
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