British Columbia Hansard — 24 February 2026, p.m., Issue 124 (43rd Parliament, 2nd Session)

20260224pm-Hansard-n124

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Second Session, 43rd Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 124 THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Wendy Cocchia, CM, OBC Second Session, 43rd Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Raj Chouhan EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ................................................................................................... Hon. David Eby, KC Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities .......................................................... Hon.

Brittny Anderson Minister of Agriculture and Food ..............................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General and Deputy Premier ............................................................................................................... Hon. Niki Sharma, KC Minister of Children and Family Development ......................................................................................................Hon.

Jodie Wickens Minister of Citizens’ Services ......................................................................................................................................Hon. Diana Gibson Minister of Education and Child Care ............................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness ................................................................................ Hon.

Kelly Greene Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions .................................................................................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Minister of Environment and Parks .................................................................................................... Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson Minister of Finance ......................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Brenda Bailey Minister of Forests .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Ravi Parmar Minister of Health ........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Josie Osborne Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs ...........................................................................................................Hon.

Christine Boyle Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ........................................................................Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert Minister of Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Bowinn Ma Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth ...................................................................................................................... Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies .................................................................. Hon. Rick Glumac Minister of Labour .............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Jennifer Whiteside Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals .....................................................................................................................Hon.

Jagrup Brar Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills ........................................................................................Hon. Jessie Sunner Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................ Hon. Nina Krieger Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services ........................................................................ Hon.

Terry Yung Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction ...............................................................................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport ............................................................................................................. Hon. Anne Kang Minister of Transportation and Transit ................................................................................................................ Hon.

Mike Farnworth Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship ............................................................................................... Hon. Randene Neill Minister Without Portfolio ..............................................................................................................................................Hon.

Grace Lore LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition ......................................................................................................................................Trevor Halford Leader of the Third Party .................................................................................................................................................Jeremy Valeriote Deputy Speaker ......................................................................................................................................................................

Mable Elmore Assistant Deputy Speaker .................................................................................................................................................Lorne Doerkson Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ......................................................................................................................George Anderson Clerk of the Legislative Assembly....................................................................................................................................Kate Ryan-Lloyd Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel ......................................................................................................................Seunghee Suzie Seo Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly...............................................................................................................

Artour Sogomonian Clerk of Committees .............................................................................................................................................................. Jennifer Arril Committee Clerk ......................................................................................................................................................................

Karan Riarh Committee Clerk .........................................................................................................................................................................Darryl Hol Senior Legal Counsel .................................................................................................................................................................Hayley Hill Sergeant-at-Arms ..................................................................................................................................................................

Ray Robitaille Director of Hansard Services .......................................................................................................................................D’ Arcy McPherson Legislative Librarian ...............................................................................................................................................................Peter Gourlay

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS BY PARTY BC NDP Anderson, Hon. Brittny ........................................... Kootenay Central Anderson, George ................................................ Nanaimo-Lantzville Arora, Rohini ....................................................................Burnaby East Bailey, Hon. Brenda ................................Vancouver–South Granville Beare, Hon.

Lisa .......................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry .................................................................Surrey-Guildford Blatherwick, Jennifer ....................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Boyle, Hon. Christine .............................Vancouver–Little Mountain Brar, Hon. Jagrup ......................................................Surrey-Fleetwood Chandra Herbert, Hon. Spencer ..................... Vancouver–West End Chant, Susie .............................................

North Vancouver–Seymour Choi, Paul ..................................................Burnaby South–Metrotown Chouhan, Hon. Raj ................................. Burnaby–New Westminster Chow, George ....................................................Vancouver-Fraserview Davidson, Hon. Tamara / Laanas ...........North Coast–Haida Gwaii Dhir, Sunita .............................................................Vancouver-Langara Dix, Hon. Adrian .................................................. Vancouver-Renfrew Eby, Hon. David, KC .......................................

Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable ................................................. Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike .................................................Port Coquitlam Gibson, Hon. Diana ........................................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Glumac, Hon. Rick ...................................... Port Moody–Burquitlam Greene, Hon. Kelly ..............................................Richmond-Steveston Higginson, Stephanie ........................................Ladysmith-Oceanside Kahlon, Hon. Ravi .............................................................. Delta North Kang, Hon.

Anne ......................................................... Burnaby Centre Krieger, Hon. Nina ...............................................Victoria–Swan Lake Lajeunesse, Dana ..............................................Juan de Fuca–Malahat Lore, Hon. Grace .................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Ma, Hon. Bowinn ................................... North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Hon. Sheila .........................Nanaimo–Gabriola Island Morissette, Steve ...................................................Kootenay Monashee Neill, Hon. Randene ............................

Powell River–Sunshine Coast Osborne, Hon. Josie ....................................... Mid Island–Pacific Rim Parmar, Hon. Ravi ...............................................Langford-Highlands Phillip, Joan / Amshen .....................................Vancouver-Strathcona Popham, Hon. Lana ........................................................ Saanich South Rotchford, Darlene ...............................................Esquimalt-Colwood Routledge, Janet .............................................................Burnaby North Sandhu, Harwinder ......................................................

Vernon-Lumby Shah, Amna ............................................................. Surrey City Centre Sharma, Hon. Niki, KC ....................................... Vancouver-Hastings Sunner, Hon. Jessie ....................................................... Surrey-Newton Toporowski, Debra / Qwulti’stunaat .......................Cowichan Valley Whiteside, Hon. Jennifer ...................New Westminster–Coquitlam Wickens, Hon. Jodie ............................. Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Yung, Hon.

Terry .................................................Vancouver-Yaletown CONSERV ATIVE PARTY OF BC Banman, Bruce .......................................................... Abbotsford South Bhangu, Harman .................................................. Langley-Abbotsford Bird, Rosalyn .............................................

Prince George–Valemount Block, Lynne ..............................................West Vancouver–Capilano Chan, Hon ..................................................................Richmond Centre Chapman, Brent .................................................................Surrey South Clare, Sheldon .................................... Prince George–North Cariboo Davis, Pete ..................................................................Kootenay Rockies Day, Brennan ...........................................................

Courtenay-Comox Dew, Gavin ..................................................................Kelowna-Mission Dhaliwal, Mandeep .......................................................... Surrey North Doerkson, Lorne .....................................................

Cariboo-Chilcotin Gasper, Reann .......................................................Abbotsford-Mission Giddens, Kiel ..............................................Prince George–Mackenzie Halford, Trevor ......................................................Surrey–White Rock Hartwell, Sharon ..............................................Bulkley Valley–Stikine Hepner, Linda ................................................Surrey–Serpentine River Kindy, Anna ........................................................................North Island Kooner, Steve ............................................Richmond-Queensborough Loewen, Kristina ..........................................................

Kelowna Centre Luck, Tony ..........................................................................Fraser-Nicola Maahs, Heather ......................................................... Chilliwack North McCall, Macklin .........................................West Kelowna–Peachland McInnis, Scott ......................................... Columbia River–Revelstoke Milobar, Peter ............................................................

Kamloops Centre Mok, Lawrence ...........................................................Maple Ridge East Neufeld, Korky ............................................................Abbotsford West Neufeld, Larry ...........................................................Peace River South Paton, Ian ..............................................................................Delta South Rattée, Claire .................................................................................Skeena Rustad, John ...................................................................Nechako Lakes Stamer, Ward .........................................Kamloops–North Thompson Tepper, Br yan ............................................................

Surrey-Panorama Toor, Jody ............................................................Langley-Willowbrook Van Popta, Misty..............................................Langley–Walnut Grove Warbus, Á’a:líya ..............................................Chilliwack–Cultus Lake Wat, Teresa .........................................................Richmond-Bridgeport Williams, David ...............................................Salmon Arm–Shuswap Wilson, Donegal ............................................Boundary-Similkameen BC GREEN PARTY Botterell, Rob .......................................Saanich North and the Islands Valeriote, Jeremy .....................................

West Vancouver–Sea to Sky INDEPENDENT Armstrong, Tara .....................Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream Boultbee, Amelia .............................................Penticton-Summerland Brodie, Dallas .................................................... Vancouver-Quilchena Kealy, Jordan ............................................................. Peace River North Sturko, Elenore ......................................................... Surrey-Cloverdale PARTY STANDINGS Total seats – 93 BC NDP – 47 | Conservative Party of BC – 39 | BC Green Party – 2 | Independent – 5

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF RIDINGS A Abbotsford-Mission ........................................................Reann Gasper Abbotsford South ........................................................... Bruce Banman Abbotsford West .............................................................Korky Neufeld B Boundary-Similkameen .............................................Donegal Wilson Bulkley Valley–Stikine ............................................... Sharon Hartwell Burnaby Centre ...........................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Burnaby East ......................................................................Rohini Arora Burnaby–New Westminster .................................. Hon. Raj Chouhan Burnaby North ..............................................................Janet Routledge Burnaby South–Metrotown .................................................. Paul Choi C Cariboo-Chilcotin .......................................................Lorne Doerkson Chilliwack–Cultus Lake .............................................. Á’a:líya Warbus Chilliwack North ..........................................................

Heather Maahs Columbia River–Revelstoke ...........................................Scott McInnis Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .............................. Hon. Jodie Wickens Coquitlam-Maillardville .................................... Jennifer Blatherwick Courtenay-Comox ............................................................ Brennan Day Cowichan Valley ....................... Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat D Delta North ................................................................Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Delta South ...............................................................................Ian Paton E Esquimalt-Colwood ................................................Darlene Rotchford F Fraser-Nicola .......................................................................... Tony Luck J Juan de Fuca–Malahat ...............................................Dana Lajeunesse K Kamloops Centre ............................................................. Peter Milobar Kamloops–North Thompson .........................................

Ward Stamer Kelowna Centre ........................................................... Kristina Loewen Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream ......................Tara Armstrong Kelowna-Mission ..................................................................Gavin Dew Kootenay Central ............................................ Hon. Brittny Anderson Kootenay Monashee ....................................................Steve Morissette Kootenay Rockies................................................................... Pete Davis L Ladysmith-Oceanside ........................................

Stephanie Higginson Langford-Highlands ................................................ Hon. Ravi Parmar Langley-Abbotsford ....................................................Harman Bhangu Langley–Walnut Grove ..............................................Misty Van Popta Langley-Willowbrook ............................................................ Jody Toor M Maple Ridge East ............................................................Lawrence Mok Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ........................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim ........................................ Hon.

Josie Osborne N Nanaimo–Gabriola Island ..........................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo-Lantzville ................................................. George Anderson Nechako Lakes ....................................................................John Rustad New Westminster–Coquitlam .................... Hon. Jennifer Whiteside North Coast–Haida Gwaii ............Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson North Island ........................................................................Anna Kindy North Vancouver–Lonsdale .....................................Hon.

Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour ...............................................Susie Chant O Oak Bay–Gordon Head ......................................... Hon. Diana Gibson P Peace River North ..............................................................Jordan Kealy Peace River South ............................................................Larry Neufeld Penticton-Summerland .............................................. Amelia Boultbee Port Coquitlam ................................................. Hon. Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Burquitlam ........................................Hon.

Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast ............................. Hon. Randene Neill Prince George–Mackenzie ...............................................Kiel Giddens Prince George–North Cariboo ......................................Sheldon Clare Prince George–Valemount ...............................................Rosalyn Bird R Richmond-Bridgeport .......................................................... Teresa Wat Richmond Centre .................................................................. Hon Chan Richmond-Queensborough ............................................

Steve Kooner Richmond-Steveston ...............................................Hon. Kelly Greene S Saanich North and the Islands ....................................... Rob Botterell Saanich South ......................................................... Hon.

Lana Popham Salmon Arm–Shuswap ................................................David Williams Skeena ..................................................................................Claire Rattée Surrey City Centre ...............................................................Amna Shah Surrey-Cloverdale .......................................................... Elenore Sturko Surrey-Fleetwood ....................................................... Hon. Jagrup Brar Surrey-Guildford .................................................................

Garry Begg Surrey-Newton ........................................................ Hon. Jessie Sunner Surrey North ............................................................Mandeep Dhaliwal Surrey-Panorama ..............................................................Br yan Tepper Surrey–Serpentine River ................................................

Linda Hepner Surrey South ..................................................................Brent Chapman Surrey–White Rock .......................................................Trevor Halford V Vancouver-Fraserview .....................................................George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ........................................ Hon. Niki Sharma, KC Vancouver-Kensington ...................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Langara .............................................................Sunita Dhir Vancouver–Little Mountain ............................. Hon.

Christine Boyle Vancouver–Point Grey .........................................Hon. David Eby, KC Vancouver-Quilchena ......................................................Dallas Brodie Vancouver-Renfrew ................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Vancouver–South Granville ................................ Hon. Brenda Bailey Vancouver-Strathcona ..................................... Amshen / Joan Phillip Vancouver–West End .......................Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert Vancouver-Yaletown ..................................................Hon.

Terry Yung Vernon-Lumby ....................................................... Harwinder Sandhu Victoria–Beacon Hill ................................................. Hon. Grace Lore Victoria–Swan Lake ................................................Hon. Nina Krieger W West Kelowna–Peachland ..........................................Macklin McCall West Vancouver–Capilano ................................................Lynne Block West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ...................................... Jeremy Valeriote

CONTENTS Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members ............................................................................................................................................. 4991 Orders of the Day Budget Debate (continued) ............................................................................................................................................. 4991 Stephanie Higginson Ward Stamer Hon. Rick Glumac Bryan Tepper Hon. Anne Kang Elenore Sturko Rohini Arora Kristina Loewen Hon. Jennifer Whiteside Dallas Brodie Darlene Rotchford Hon Chan Dana Lajeunesse Harman Bhangu

4991 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2026 The House met at 1:32 p.m. [The Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Introductions by Members Ward Stamer: Sorry for the…. Great news. My youngest just gave birth to a baby boy. The Speaker: Congratulations. Orders of the Day Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call continued debate on the budget. [Lorne Doerkson in the chair.] Budget Debate (continued) Stephanie Higginson: I’m trying to remember where I left off. We were talking about the importance of com - munity safety.

The riding of Ladysmith-Oceanside is made up of a number of small towns in rural areas, where people choose to live the small-town life so that they can leave their doors unlocked and their car keys on the passenger seat and know their neighbour. Budget 2026 provides $139 million more over three years to reduce repeat violent offending and chronic prop - erty crime and supports timely access to justice. It in - cludes $16 million for a new chronic property offending intervention initiative that strengthens monitoring and enforcement for crimes such as vandalism and shoplifting that are hurting businesses.

We know that these measures that we’re implementing are working. In Ladysmith-Oceanside, we have seen an 80 percent reduction in break and enters to local busi - nesses over this time last year. Small businesses are central to the identity and vital - ity of Ladysmith-Oceanside. They provide employment, foster creativity, and they sustain the unique commun - ity character that is Ladysmith-Oceanside.

Budget 2026 includes measures that encourage business stability and growth, helping entrepreneurs adapt and thrive in evolv - ing economic conditions. [1:35 p.m.] This includes a new, temporary 15 percent manufactur - ing and processing investment refundable tax credit for businesses investing in buildings, machinery and equip - ment used in manufacturing and processing. We’ve also heard a lot about the $400 million strategic investment fund, which has never been seen before in B.C.’s history and allows us the opportunity to respond to the moments we’re in — the unpredictable, rapidly changing moments we’re in.

That strategic investment fund is there for us to be able to make sure that we can respond to the unique opportunities that are being pre - sented to us during this time. Supporting small enter - prises ensures that communities retain their distinctive - ness while generating economic momentum. Tourism remains particularly important for Lady - smith-Oceanside. Visitors are drawn to us by our natural beauty, numerous cultural events and coastal experiences.

My calendar in the summer is so full because of all the incredible events that happen in this riding, filled with tourists that contribute greatly to our local economy. This government’s continued investment supporting tourism promotion and infrastructure ensures that these oppor - tunities will continue. When small businesses succeed, the effects ripple on - ward through employment, mentorship and community engagement. This budget recognizes their importance as the engine of local prosperity. As a small business owner myself, a family supported by a small business, we wel - come these opportunities.

British Columbia is served by over 15,000 volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers, including marine search and rescue. The Ladysmith marine search and rescue station is one of the busiest in the province. We are so thankful to them for their service. In order to recognize the critical contribution that these volunteer first responders provide to the safety of British Columbians, this government has doubled the in - come tax credit from $3,000 to $6,000. I’m particularly proud of this. This is an initiative that started in Lady - smith-Oceanside with a local town councillor.

Our local MP took it to the feds. He is the one who got it changed to $6,000. I was so happy to pick up the torch and bring it to us, to the provincial government, to see that tax credit doubled by matching the federal tax credit for volunteer first re - sponders. This government is saving families up to $900 a year when the provincial tax credit and the federal tax credit are combined.

Since Ladysmith-Oceanside is served entirely by volun - teer and paid on call fire departments, search and rescue and RCMSAR volunteers, this is recognition of the critical work those volunteers do for the people of Ladysmith- Oceanside. Also, I’ve heard from our local governments that the tax credit will help smaller local governments re - cruit and retain volunteers at a time when those calls are increasing. Budget 2026 reflects steady leadership and thoughtful planning during unprecedented times. It balances pru - dence with progress, ensuring that services remain strong

4992 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 while strategic investments continue. For the people of Ladysmith-Oceanside, this budget signals recognition of growth, potential and the contribution to provincial prosperity. It addresses priorities that matter locally while advancing broader provincial objectives during rapidly changing times. I stand in support of Budget 2026 and the opportun - ities it represents for communities throughout British Col - umbia and for the residents of Ladysmith-Oceanside, who I am honoured to represent. Ward Stamer: Thanks to the member previously for her remarks.

First off, I’d like to thank everybody in Kamloops– North Thompson for entrusting me as their member of the Legislature for the last year and a half. It has been a great thrill and privilege to be able to do that.

Today I’d like to delve into Budget 2026 with the under- standing that, very similar to what we had last year, there seem to be an awful lot of promises in this budget, with not a lot of substance, because, again, it’s a three-year budget. [1:40 p.m.] A lot of times when we’re starting to determine exactly what is going to be spent or provided this fiscal year, there’s a lot of grey area, because it’s a three-year budget.

Now, people will say: “Well, that’s how we do things around here.” Well, obviously, from the looks of the deficit and the way it’s growing, that’s really not what our side would want to continue. That’s why most of us, if not all of us, have been very critical on the delivery of this budget. So today I rise to speak to Budget 2026, a budget that will not define only the fiscal direction of the province but also the living reality of our seniors, working families, for - estry communities and patients across B.C. Again, budgets are not abstract documents. They’re incredibly important.

No, as the Finance Minister has stated, this is not a bal - anced budget. Only the NDP would believe in alternative truths. A balanced budget is revenues and expenses that balance equally, not a bunch of talk about: “We’re trying to balance our investments and keep our economy roll - ing.” Well, that is not what a balanced budget is, certainly not for people that try to balance their chequebook on a weekly and monthly basis, like many of us do.

A budget determines whether a senior can afford to re - main in their home, a forestry worker can keep their job, a family can manage their mortgage renewal, a patient can find a family doctor and a rural emergency room can stay open. This budget is actually asking British Columbians to pay more — through higher taxes, frozen indexation and expanded consumption taxes — while offering no credible path back to balance. Not in the foreseeable fu - ture. Certainly not in the next three years.

No comprehensive forest stabilization plan, which we’ll get into a little bit later, and no structural reform to fix a health care system under serious strain. Our B.C. deficit is now pegged at $13 billion. Debt con - tinues to grow at a pace that was unthinkable a decade ago. Interest payments are now hovering around $5 billion a year. To put this into perspective strictly from a structural perspective, at the end of this year, we’ll have a structural deficit of $154 billion. In three short years, that will climb to $210 billion. Structural deficits require structural reform, not just new taxes.

When a government normalizes deficits, they normalize tax increases. Again, the truth is that only 8 percent of this budget is actually going to capital invest - ments. The other 92 percent is basically in expenses. Just think about that for a minute, when we talked about a balanced budget and the minister trying to bal - ance investing money into our future in infrastructure projects. According to the budget, only 8 percent of our total budget is going into capital expenditures. The other 92 is in expenses and operating costs. When the government normalizes deficits, it lets every - body down.

It lets our seniors down. It lets our retirees down. As an example, our property taxes across the board in most locations in B.C. are rising between 5 and 10 per - cent per year. Home insurance has doubled in the last five years. Utilities, same, 5 to 10 percent. Also, just as a reminder, our municipalities, both big and small, are under the strain from this government, be - cause unlike this provincial government, municipalities, as I was fortunate enough to be a part of for many years, have to balance our budgets. That’s what this government should be doing as well, but we’ve lost sight of that.

When we look at increases in costs — groceries, fuel, prescription medications…. Many of our seniors are liv - ing on fixed incomes. They can’t absorb shocks. They can’t absorb these sudden increases. Yet this budget will increase the lowest income tax bracket; freeze the tax bracket indexation; and, obviously, expand the PST to way more services. I’d like to talk about that just a little bit, if I could. This is right out of Securing B.C.’s Future.

Last year it was: “Let’s build a stronger B.C.” So now we’ve got a new tag line: “Securing B.C.’s future.” [1:45 p.m.] It says right here: “Removing PST exemptions from some goods and services that were once deemed essential but are not commonly used anymore, such as clothing re - pair materials, services related to clothing and footwear, knitting, basic cable television and land-line telephone services.” They will now have PST added. Well, guess who uses just about all those services still. Our seniors. So thank you very much for doing that. I would suggest that those are essential.

There are also stealth taxes, when we look at some of the other pension adjustments that are pushing seniors to the brink. They also talk about credits, but again, that only applies to a very small percentage of our population.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 4993 The other thing they need predictability in is health care and accessibility to that health care. They also need help in more medicines being available in medicare. How many people here in this room know of people that have ended up, as they age, getting into a health care situation and now having to pay five, six…? It’s $1,000 a month on prescriptions that aren’t covered. That has to change.

We have to make sure that it is affordable for our sen - iors to be able to stay in their homes as long as they can and not have to be going to the hospitals because there’s nowhere else to turn. Let’s talk about working families, if we can, for a bit. Deputy S peaker: Member for Kamloops–North Thompson, apologies for the interruption, but I believe the member for Richmond Centre may have a question. Hon Chan: I would like to seek leave for an introduc - tion. Leave granted.

Introductions by Members Hon C han: I would like to take this moment to warmly welcome a group of students from Richmond Secondary School, from the riding of Richmond Centre, sitting up there in the chamber. Welcome to the chamber of the Legislative Assem - bly today. Today we are primarily debating Budget 2026, which was introduced by the government last week. As the official opposition, it is our role to carefully examine the budget, to discuss what we agree with and what we disagree with and to ensure accountability on be - half of the people of British Columbia.

I understand there are three groups of students visiting today, and I will try my best to greet all of them today. Welcome to your Legislative Assembly. Deputy Speaker: Indeed, welcome. Welcome to every - one in our chamber today. Debate Continued Ward Stamer: Great to see our school kids here, seeing democracy in action. Appreciate that very much. We were talking about families and some of the sig - nificant challenges that we have with working families. I mean, mortgage renewals now are coming back, coming up for significant interest renewals. Grocery bills rising. Child care expenses rising.

Transportation costs rising. Insurance premiums rising. As I mentioned earlier, many housing insurance premiums have doubled in just a few years. Again, our wage growth hasn’t been outpacing inflation. Is there anybody in this room or anybody out there in TV land who honestly believes that our inflation rate is 3 per - cent? I don’t. I don’t think any of my colleagues do. That’s the challenge. There’s no way, if we don’t get a rein on some of these costs, that we’re going to be able to afford it not only for ourselves but for our families and for our seniors.

Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, near and dear to my heart. For - estry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational in - dustries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire com - munities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern com - munities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in B.C. is touched by forestry. What was mentioned by my colleague from Skeena just a little while ago….

That was one word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026: forestry. That’s a shame, an in- credible shame. It’s not an oversight. It’s on purpose. This government has driven forestry into the ground. Into the ground. We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth to try to resurrect the forest industry, but I would suggest that it’s just mere pen- nies on the dollar. [1:50 p.m.] Forest jobs are often family-supporting jobs. They sus - tain local businesses, schools, volunteer organizations.

In many cases, in smaller communities, they are a major tax base, taxpayer in those communities. As an example, the Crofton pulp mill that just went down after being in business for almost 70 years. Imagine all the ups and downs that pulp mill has gone through in 70 years. Finally, under this government’s watch, it had to close its doors. That’s a $5 million municipal tax hit to North Cowichan this year, next year and every other year that that pulp mill remains shuttered. What do you think the implications are going to be for the taxpayers in that region? I would suggest it’s going to be significant.

When we talk about our forest industry, I’m not the only one that has been trying to push back hard. Everyone in the industry has been saying, loud and clear, that we need certainty in this industry. This government is basic - ally relinquishing their responsibilities. We’ve got a multi- tude of issues in our forest industry right now and the cost structure that is associated with it. We hear from the other side that the trade dispute and the ongoing issues in the world have a bearing on that. Of course they do, but we’ve always had tariffs with the Americans, and we probably always will.

I understand the Premier wants to take the Americans to court again, as I heard the other day. Well, we’ve never been successful in the past. What makes him think that we’re going to be successful in the future? We have to make sure that we are cost-competitive in

4994 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 this industry in this province and be responsible for what we can do, not what other people can do. Unfortunately, that’s what’s not happening. You know, we have jurisdictions where we had offices around the world for international trade. Finally, the lightbulb has gone off, and in the last six months to a year, the Forests Minister and this government have decided to open a couple of our foreign offices that used to be open. That’s great.

I congratulate them for doing it, but it’s cer - tainly taken them a long time to realize that we shouldn’t be just putting all our eggs in one basket. When we talk about our costing structure, even per - mitting, which used to be $3 or $4 a cubic metre, has now tripled in just a few years. Just that alone can make us un - competitive. That comes because of all the extra consul - tation processes that are involved, all the back-and-forth and the realization that most permitting isn’t even ap - proved by the district managers anymore.

It’s being ap - proved by First Nations in consultation with the licensees, not the other way around. Those are bringing significant challenges to our industry right now. Many international processors and producers have di - versified their markets, and we’re just starting to see that, particularly in our value-added sector. When regulatory complexity increases, capital investment slows. I would suggest that most of the capital investment has stopped. That’s why we’re having difficulties in this province right now, across the board, on all our natural resources. It’s be- cause of the uncertainty in this province.

When companies cannot predict the fibre access or ten - ure stability, they will hesitate to modernize. Now, I heard a member talking earlier about the $400 million invest - ment fund that is going to be used — we call it a slush fund — basically to try to maximize dollars with the federal dol - lars. But that’s not necessarily so, and it isn’t specifically identified for the forest industry or any other industry. It just allows, as they said, the ability for the government to have flexibility in the budget. Well, then, why did they have to put an extra $1 billion into a contingency fund?

That $1 billion is a significant amount of money, which does not require any oversight in this House. On this side of the House, we don’t believe in that. We believe in accountability and transparency, not just adding more money to a slush fund. When we become uncompetitive in our forest industry, these are some of the results that we’ve had. You might have heard these numbers before, but I’ll tell them again. We’ve lost over 15,000 full-time jobs in our forest in - dustry in the last four years. Our harvesting levels have been reduced by 50 percent in that same time.

This is an industry that should be sustainable, with a renewable re - source, and we’re only doing half of what we did four years ago. Now, many will say: “Well, that was partly responsible — a pine uplift and bugs.” That was part of it, but that just goes to show you how badly this government has managed our forests, now that we’re only doing half of what we did four years ago. [1:55 p.m.] That was the same government four years ago that promised 30,000 new jobs. So I’m not going to try to pre - tend with the numbers and say we’ve lost 45,000. We’ve lost 15,000 full-time jobs.

You multiply that by a minimum of three to five across the board because of the structure of those jobs, and we’ve lost anywhere between 45,000 and 60,000 jobs. Those are real numbers, not just made-up numbers. When we talk about forestry, when we talk about some of the responsibilities in that, I think we can all agree that one of the programs that has been very successful, and we will give the government some credit on that, is FireSmart.

FireSmart was developed with our municipalities to try to look at reducing fire risk and fuel reduction in our inter - face, particularly in our areas surrounding our towns and cities. It’s been a fairly successful operation, I would suggest — I believe, $178 million since 2018. But again we have struc - tural challenges. Just two weeks ago UBCM announced that the intake was going to be abruptly cancelled for this year because the fund has basically run out of money. In this budget, they’ve allotted $25 million to try to get it up to where they think it should be for this year.

But un - fortunately, there are no other moneys identified for FireS- mart in the subsequent years in this three-year budget. My question to the Finance Minister is: why not? They’re talking about restructuring. They’re talking about doing different things. We have municipalities through - out B.C. wondering how they’re going to be able to con - tinue with these home-saving municipal saving programs to reduce fire risk in their communities without adequate funding from this government.

I would suggest that that is money well spent, and the Finance Minister should have found a way to make sure that those programs continue. The other thing I’d like to leave with forestry, too, just to explain a couple of things…. When we talk about value- added, we all agree that we should be getting more value out of every cubic metre in this province, out of a tree. Un- fortunately, that’s not happening. We need to be able to restructure our forest system so that we can incentivize companies to be able to get the most out of the fibre.

No, we don’t need the government to start hiring log - gers to try to bring wood to a sort yard and then try to figure out how to sell that wood to somebody. That’s never going to work. We have the potential to lead in engineered wood prod- ucts. We have success stories all over the province in be - ing state of the art in engineering structural beams and structural building, mass timber, advanced manufactur -

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 4995 ing. We’ve also got opportunities in bioenergy, yet this government doesn’t believe in bioenergy. This government had to be forced to continue to have the operation in Williams Lake still running to be able to supply electricity to the grid because it’s “dirty fuel, dirty energy.” This side of the government doesn’t agree with that. And when we’re government, we’re going to change that. Value-added also requires confidence.

If companies fear unstable fibre supply or unpredictable policy shifts, where we’ve seen shifting all over the place, then we’re not going to have the investment necessary for us to move this province forward. One of the other things that I’d like to talk about is some of the money that we have seen going to forestry in this budget. Even though it wasn’t mentioned in the budget, yes, they did identify $15 million.

They tried to wrap it around a $50 million joint fund with the feds, which they love to do, trying to get somebody else’s money in and claiming credit for it, under the auspices of: “We’re working together.” [2:00 p.m.] Those three segments of the $15 million…. I just wanted to share with everybody, to give you an idea, when I talk about pennies on the dollar, that $5 million is to go to our First Nations Forestry Council, and $5 million is going to go to our compensation fund. That is going to be compensating contractors so that where a tenure goes broke, $5 million is going to be set aside to pay the bills.

Well, I’m going to suggest that $5 million is not going to be able to cover the costs of any of those costs. The third one was the Wildfire Reduction Equipment Support Trust. Again, that is totally underfunded as well. Of all the moneys that are going to be going into the forest industry, those are the only three targets that have been identified in that $50 million. That’s it. I also wanted to talk a little bit about some of the cap - ital plan projects that have been delayed.

This is a govern - ment that doesn’t like saying “delayed.” In their futures budget, they talk about delivering beds more efficiently, long-term beds. But they’re going to adjust the timing of the delivery of those because they’ve now determined, and it’s because of their policies, that they can no longer afford $1.8 million per bed. These are the facilities that may be affected on the tim - ing of delivery, with no end dates: Abbotsford, Campbell River, Chilliwack, Kelowna, Delta, Fort St. John, Squamish. They also say “re-paced.” Again, they don’t like using the word “delayed.” Now they’ve got a new word.

It’s called “re-paced” or “TBC.” They haven’t even told us what that is. It could be continued, cancelled — whatever. One of them that is significant, particularly in the Lower Mainland, is the phase 2 project at the Burnaby Hospital. Now, we’ve heard all kinds of excuses and ex - planations of why, but unfortunately, that is a major build that is not happening in a timely fashion. Yes, I will thank the government for finally — after almost, I think, 30 years since it started between subse - quent governments — getting a cancer clinic in Kamloops.

I want to thank the government for at least starting our cancer clinic in Kamloops. Again, as the member for Kamloops Centre and myself have said, they should be to the same standard as what’s being built in Nanaimo and in Surrey, and it’s not hap - pening. We want to make sure that we’re on the same level playing field as all our municipalities of similar size. We should be making sure that that cancer clinic is built properly. Interjection. Ward Stamer: Thanks for the enthusiasm. Some of the things…. Where the interconnection and disconnection come from in this budget is that these issues aren’t isolated.

Again, when forest jobs disappear and our resource jobs disappear, our families are im - pacted the most. Our health care benefits are affected. Communities shrink. I mean, I just went through 100 Mile a couple of weeks ago. I know how devastating it is for that community to lose the last mill that they’ve had in that region for so many years and how hard it is for everybody living there. Yes, we will do everything we can. The member will do everything that he can to be able to help turn things around. But that is a significant economic driver in that region.

Again, when that mill went down, a pellet plant in Williams Lake went down. We’re all interconnected in this province with forestry. Then when we talk about health care, yes, the govern - ment is trying to make improvements in health care. We have seen more doctors added to the health care oppor - tunities. Yes, slowly people are getting access to doctors, but, I think, we’re still at almost less than one million people that don’t have a family doctor.

Even if you have a family doctor and you have a child that has a fever tonight, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re not going to be able to go see your doctor. You’re going to have to go to an emergency room and could wait for six or eight or ten hours just to get a prescription for something to bring that fever down. Those are the kinds of challenges that we have in this province. We need more walk-in clinics, and we’re not seeing those results, specifically on the investments that this gov - ernment is saying that they’re making.

We’ve got seniors that are on longer wait-lists for everything from knee re - placements to hip replacements. [2:05 p.m.] Again, when we talk about debt, if we start looking at what’s going to happen in the next two or three years

4996 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 and we start approaching in the neighbourhood of 8 to 9 to 10 percent of our overall budget being used for inter - est payments, that is going to diminish the ability of us to be able to continue with the service levels that we are enjoying today. That’s the realization of what happens when you start growing the debt exponentially, and that’s exactly where we are right now. The other side will talk about growing the economy. That was one of our election campaigns, and we had ways and had policy to show exactly how that would occur.

Now they’re just trying to pick up the ball and say: “Yeah, we’re going to try to do that too.” Well, if any indication of how they’re going to be able to do it was last Friday at the board of trade, there was a resounding no from the business community. “We don’t believe you. We don’t trust you. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to follow your policies.” Opposing this budget is not opposing the compari - sons between what we would do and what they would do.

Now, we hear lots of chirping from the other side about, “Oh, you guys would do this, and you guys would do that,” without really looking strongly at our policy. During the last election, one of the falsehoods that was put forth was that we were going to cut $3 billion in health care. That was a complete fallacy. It was…. There’s an - other word for an exaggeration, but I’m not allowed to use it here. And that’s exactly what it was. When we asked the media, “Why don’t you ask the Premier where he’s getting this $3 billion from? Quantify it. Explain where they’re going to cut,” he didn’t have an answer.

So the media just walked away. That’s unfortunate, because we were going to expand health care. We were going to change the way health care is delivered in this province, and we’d be utilizing equip - ment that isn’t even being used 100 percent of the time right now. Because of the system that’s in place, we can’t use it. Those are some of the structural changes that this side would do when we are government. When we have a fiscal budget that’s done responsibly, it has measurable outcomes. This budget does not. We should have health care outcomes. We should have rural economic stabilization.

We should have stabilization across the board. How much money was, in this budget, identified to all those municipalities that are trying to bal - ance their budget and all the pressures that they’re receiv - ing right now in water and sewer and schools and roads and hospitals? We’re only seeing a fraction of that, and we haven’t seen any new money in this year’s budget — none whatsoever. Budget 2026 expands spending without adequately re - storing affordability. It increases debt without a clear path to balance.

The minister is famous in saying: “Well, we’re going to balance the budget someday.” Well, when is that someday? I don’t know if I’ll live long enough, if this gov- ernment stays in power, for that ever to happen. It fails to deliver transformative health care reform de - spite record spending — another $1 billion a year this year in health care alone. It neglects a comprehensive forest re - covery strategy. For seniors that are struggling between groceries and heat, many of them are now looking at food banks. I’m almost ashamed to say that. After working so hard, they’ve had the result of that.

It’s disappointing for our forest workers, with the mill closures and the curtailments — knowing there are some structural changes that the Forests Minister and this gov - ernment could do, but they’re unwilling to do it — and for so many families that are stretched thin, families that are trying to work within their means, working extra shifts, trying to balance child care, trying to balance everything under the sun and still having a tough time at the end of the month. In the old saying, there’s lots of month at the end of the money.

British Columbians deserve better, and until we, I, can see a plan that restores affordability, revitalizes our nat - ural resources, including forestry, improves health care access and exercises some kind of fiscal responsibility, I will continue to stand in opposition to this budget. [2:10 p.m.] Hon. Rick Glumac: I’m honoured today to stand in this House and speak about the budget. The budget is about choices. We’re making choices that are responsible, modest revenue measures, disciplined spending and ag - gressive economic growth.

The context of the situation that we’re in right now is that we are not the only province in Canada that is facing a budget deficit. Nearly every other province in Canada is running or projecting a budget deficit this year, Ontario being the largest with a deficit of $14.6 billion. Prince Ed - ward Island has the largest in terms of percentage of GDP with 3.2 percent. B.C. is less than those, and we are mak - ing choices to bring ourselves to a balanced budget in a time frame that is responsible. The question becomes: how do you do that? I’ve heard a lot of criticisms coming from the other side.

But one thing I haven’t heard from the other side yet, and I’ve been lis - tening to speeches, is solutions. What would they do? Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members, the minister of state has the floor, and I’d appreciate hearing his debate. Hon. R ick G lumac: The reason why I think we’re not hearing solutions is because I don’t think they want the public to know what they would do if they were govern - ment in this fiscal situation. Quite frankly, I think it would be devastating to our province, so they don’t really want to talk about it. One thing that we can all agree on is that we do want

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 4997 to lower the deficit and get to a balanced budget. How do we do that, and how quickly do we do that? We basically have two ways of doing it. We can either increase revenue, or we can reduce spending. When we’re talking about increasing revenue, you could take a very aggressive approach on that. There are jurisdictions in North America, like in New York, where the mayor there ran on a campaign of increasing revenue on the most wealthy people in New York and was elected on that campaign. That is not what we’re doing in this budget.

We’re tak- ing a very modest approach. I’ll just outline what some of those measures are. I’ll highlight the two biggest revenue increases in our budget and talk about that a little bit. The first is a small 0.54 percent increase in our income tax, which is offset by a tax credit so that increase falls mostly on the most wealthy British Columbians. This tax measure generates the province approximately $353 mil - lion after the tax credits are taken into account. The second measure is expanding the PST to certain professional services. Why are we taking this measure?

It’s because it aligns with nearly every other province in Can - ada in terms of what is taxed by their provincial sales tax as well. This generates approximately $261 million this fiscal year. In total, in this budget, in this first year, the taxation measures add up to a very modest $757 million. Now, I’ve received feedback on this. I have friends across the political spectrum. I had one friend text me, and he said: “We need to attract wealth, not tax it out of the province.” I asked him: “Do you know how much tax we’re talking about here, per individual, on this income tax increase?” He didn’t.

He’d heard talking points, but he didn’t know. So I told him this is an average of approximately $76 per year, and $76 is not driving investment out of this prov - ince. But strong schools, modern infrastructure, a growing tech sector — those will bring investment into this prov - ince, and that’s why we’re prioritizing those things in this budget. [2:15 p.m.] The second item is reducing spending. Conservative governments, right-wing governments, are famous for go - ing to the absolute extreme end on this in terms of spend - ing cuts.

You only need to look at the last time we had a right-wing government in British Columbia. When they needed to balance the budget, what did they do? We can look, and we can see what they did. They cut $360 million from health care budgets in 2009 when they needed to balance the budget — cancel - ling MRIs, cancelling surgeries — causing a deep trough in which we are still digging ourselves out in terms of health care funding. They cut wages, and they fired 10,000 health care work - ers. They refused to expand aging hospitals and, instead, sold off land for hospitals.

They froze capital school budgets for eight years and closed 267 schools. So 267 schools were closed — 267 — and not only that. They sold off…. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members, the minister of state still has the floor, and I appreciate hearing his debate. Hon. Rick Glumac: They sold off school lands. I mean, we have students up here today who should be aware of what these previous governments did. They sold off school lands, and the value of those lands appreciated so much that we could never buy them back. In case any of the members opposite use the excuse, “Well, that was the B.C.

Liberals; that’s not us,” that they’re different somehow…. Well, the current MLA for Fraser- Nicola said, just a few days ago, that if education and health care are the two biggest line items in the budget, they’re the ones that are going to have to take the brunt of this somehow. I wonder how. We should all be very concerned about how the B.C. Liberals would balance a budget. Interjection. Hon. Rick Glumac: Well, sorry. The B.C. Conserva - tives. I get them mixed up so much. It’s hard to distinguish. The quote that I just quoted….

As far as I can tell, that’s the only time any member of the opposition let it slip how they would deal with the budget. They’re being very quiet about it otherwise. They’re not saying very much. They’re very quiet. Very quiet. I hear complaints. I don’t hear any solutions. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members. Members, the minister of state has the floor. Hon. R ick G lumac: Well, once again, what we’re talk - ing about is a very modest approach. Across government…. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members. Members, I would appreciate hearing the minister of state’s comments. Please.

Interjections. [The Deputy Speaker rose.] Deputy Speaker: Members, I would prefer not to ask again. I would like to hear the comments by the minister of state. Please, can we hear them.

4998 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 [The Deputy Speaker resumed his seat.] Hon. Rick Glumac: Across government, we are stream- lining operations so that we can utilize tax dollars to ac - tually protect core public services like health and educa - tion, exactly the things that they would cut. I want to share some examples of how we are stream - lining government operations, just a few examples, be - cause I think it’s pretty exciting. [2:20 p.m.] We are launching Connected Services B.C. This is a new, centralized, user-focused organization in govern - ment.

The goal is that, by 2030, there will be one place where people can go to interact with the government on - line for anything that you need help with. This will reduce delays and duplication. When you interact with this, you only need to enter your information once, and data will be shared securely across government. You’ll be able to find and get access to government services in a more straightforward and easy way than ever before, and you’ll benefit from the latest innovations designed around the needs of British Columbians. Through the B.C.

Public Service HR integration, we’re moving HR functions that used to be within different ministries to an integrated HR function in the B.C. Pub - lic Service Agency. This reduces duplication, drives effi - ciency and delivers a consistent, high-quality workforce across ministries. We’re also doing a health authority review to improve efficiency and increase resources dedicated to patient care.

Non-clinical services will be centralized to streamline ad - ministrative costs, which include legal, supply chain, fi - nance, human resources, information management and information technology, data and analytics, health system planning and digital communication services across the health care system. This, of course, opens up the opportunity to bring more innovation into the health care system in a way that we’ve never been able to do before, where a good technology that’s used in one hospital in a pilot project could maybe propagate throughout the health care system more easily.

Maybe we can even get rid of fax machines one day. Through the post-secondary system review, we’re also going to examine all aspects of institutional operations and administration, as well as the structure and govern - ance of the whole sector. In many of these examples, by streamlining adminis - tration through the use of technology, it also gives us the opportunity to bring in, as I mentioned, the latest innova - tion. Some of this innovation is created by some amazing companies right here in British Columbia.

The Ministry of Citizens’ Services is looking at ways of streamlining procurement to more easily bring that in - novation into government. This is a very important point. Making government services better can also help support our own companies here in British Columbia, which helps support our provincial economy. Through our Look West strategy, we have a clear set of goals, one of which is to attract $200 billion in private sec - tor investment in the next ten years. What that means is good-paying jobs and stronger, more resilient growth for decades to come.

We’re building on B.C.’s strengths: our clean energy advantage, our global transportation corri - dors, our highly educated workforce and our strength in technology and innovation. We’ve identified key sectors for growth within this eco- nomic plan: marine industries, life sciences, artificial in - telligence, quantum computing, aerospace, construction innovation, trade and logistics infrastructure, agriculture, food processing and tourism. We’ve set a ten-year goal to double the tech sector employment in British Columbia to 400,000 jobs and increase the GDP of that sector by 75 percent.

We’re aligning our work with federal investments to maximize those opportunities for businesses in B.C. Over $11 million in federal funding has already supported B.C.- based quantum initiatives within the last couple of years, including 1QBit, SFU’s Quantum Fabrication Centre and UBC’s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. The Digital Research Alliance of Canada has invested nearly $41 million in the Fir supercomputer at SFU, now the fast - est supercomputer in the country.

Coquitlam-based Pho - tonic has been selected for phase 1 of the Canadian quan - tum champions program, with the potential to receive up to $23 million in funding. These investments are important. They help retain tal - ent, they strengthen our national security, and they ensure that emerging technologies reflect Canadian values. [2:25 p.m.] Through our budget, we’re taking actions to leverage these federal investments.

We’re allocating $400 million to establish a new B.C. strategic investment fund, allowing the province to partner directly in projects of provincial interest when participation makes economic sense. We’re continuing to deploy the $500 million in our InBC invest - ment fund, supporting early-stage and growth-stage com - panies and anchoring them here in British Columbia. We’ve strengthened, already, our small business ven - ture capital tax credit by increasing that annual credit, the maximum amount, from $120,000 up to $300,000 and raising the program’s annual cap from $38½ million to $53½ million.

We’re removing the sunset clause from the provincial SR&ED tax credit to provide long-term cer - tainty. And we’re increasing the refundable expenditure limit from $3 million to $6 million while raising taxable capital thresholds to encourage greater research-and- development investment. These are structural changes designed to make British Columbia more competitive, not just today but well into

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 4999 the future. But competitiveness is not just about invest - ments; it’s about protecting ideas as well. That’s why, back in 2023, we launched British Columbia’s intellectual prop- erty strategy. It helps B.C. innovators protect their ideas, grow their businesses and remain competitive globally.

In this budget, we’re also beginning consultation on a patent box regime in B.C., which could potentially pro - vide a tax incentive on income derived from qualifying in - tellectual property, lowering taxes on profits from R and D developed and patented here in British Columbia. When B.C. businesses develop world-class technology, the value of that technology is most important when it stays here in British Columbia. I want to also mention integrated marketplace.

I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk to companies that have worked with integrated marketplace, and it has been a really huge success here in British Columbia. Through in - tegrated marketplace, companies get to test out their tech - nology and bring it to commercialization in places like the airport, the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, health care and forestry. One example I can give you. I went on a tour recently to the airport, YVR, and I had a chance to visit with a company called A&K Robotics.

They have created autono - mous robots that can help people with mobility challenges navigate their way through the airport. They worked closely with integrated marketplace to test and commer - cialize their technology in the real-world environment of the airport, and it was a huge success. They’ve since re - ceived interest from airports all around the world. There are many examples like this where we’re helping companies grow and find new customers, not only here in B.C. but all around the world. Companies like MarineLabs are deploying AI-driven marine weather systems at our ports.

Companies like Open Ocean Robotics are testing zero-emission autonomous vehicles on the ocean. Digital pathology tools are being expanded to improve diagnostic access for patients across the province as well. The integrated marketplace includes as much as $41½ m illion from the province and $11.7 million from the federal government, helping de-risk technology adop - tion while accelerating commercialization. This is what modern economic development looks like. Modern economic development also means helping our companies compete globally.

Through our trade diversifi - cation strategy and programs like trade accelerator and export navigator, we’re helping local companies and start- ups prepare to access new markets globally. [2:30 p.m.] We’re making sure that when B.C. companies scale, they scale outward but not away from British Columbia. Initiatives like Web Summit Vancouver shine a global spotlight on our technology ecosystem here in B.C., con - necting B.C. entrepreneurs and investors and partners from around the world.

Our next Web Summit will take place May 11 to 14 of this year, and it’s another opportun- ity to show the world what British Columbia has to offer. As our tech sector grows, we’re making sure our B.C. talent grows with it. That’s why this budget invests $283 million over three years to expand access to family- supporting jobs — $241 million to double skilled-trades funding; $12 million to expand apprenticeship opportun - ities; and $30 million to train highly qualified profession - als in engineering, geology, computer science, biology and aerospace.

We’re also providing $50 million to Mitacs to support 10,000 internships in priority sectors, including clean technology and life sciences. All of these investments…. I’m happy to go through them. There’s a lot there. They all point in one direction, to a stronger economy for British Columbia — an econ - omy that attracts capital; that grows companies here at home; that turns research into real jobs; and that ensures British Columbians benefit from the industries of the fu - ture, from AI to quantum computing, to clean energy, to advanced manufacturing, to life sciences.

We are positioning British Columbia to lead, to give businesses the confidence to invest, to give workers the skills to succeed and to give our province the resilience to compete in a changing world. This is what these invest - ments do. Look West sets that direction. The budget deliv - ers the next steps. But going back to what I was saying earlier, when the opposition talks about taking the brunt of cuts out of health care and education…. That’s not the right way to go. It means fewer nurses. It means fewer teachers. It means longer wait times. It means closed classrooms and cancelled procedures.

We have seen that before with another right-wing gov - ernment that many people running for leadership were part of, for the B.C. Conservatives. When they faced a deficit, what did they do? They cut $360 million from health care. They laid off 10,000 health care workers. They closed 267 schools. They sold off public land that we’ll never get back. That’s the record. Now they want British Columbians to believe that somehow things will be different because they changed their name. But you’ll notice they aren’t talking about how they’ve changed. They’re not saying what they would do differently than the B.C.

Liberals. Deputy Speaker: Member, I’m not certain what the name of another party has to do with the budget here to - day. If we could get back to the budget, it would be helpful. Hon. Rick Glumac: How we make choices in this budget, Mr. Speaker, is very important. It is important, when we hear a lot of things being said about the choices that we are making, to also talk about how those choices could be different if another government was in this place. We’re protecting core services in this budget. We’re fo-

5000 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 cused on opportunity. We’re modernizing government. We’re building an economy that attracts investment. We’re creating jobs of the future. We’re doing it without sacri - ficing the important services like health care and educa - tion that British Columbians rely on. That’s responsible leadership.

That’s how you manage a deficit without shrinking your future, and that’s exactly what we will deliver for British Columbia. [2:35 p.m.] Bryan Tepper: I would start by saying that I do have some suggestions on what we could do further on in this, to answer the previous one, but he’ll have to wait. In the meantime, maybe a quick example would be: “Just throw out the budget and start again.” Anyway, this NDP government tabled a budget that isn’t just a fiscal failure; it’s a declaration of war on the people of Surrey-Panorama.

While my constituents hide from extortion threats, while our police force is stretched to a breaking point, while seniors watch their life savings get eaten away by government greed, this government handed us a document of broken promises, reckless debt and deliberate neglect. Let’s cut through the spin. Every line in this budget is a reminder that this government has no guardrails, no plan and no respect for the people who elected them. A former NDP Finance Minister, someone who knows this government’s inner workings, put it best: “There were no guardrails.

This is a pickle of their own making.” In Sur - rey, we’re the ones stuck in that pickle. The government talks about GDP growth, but they don’t seem to understand or want to put in GDP per cap - ita. GDP goes up if we let in somebody with $100 in their pocket, but it also drags down the GDP per capita and burdens all of our overstretched services. Let’s start with the numbers this government buried in the back of their budget. A $13.3 billion deficit this year, more than twice the deficit during the height of COVID.

Provincial debt set to climb from $154 billion to $235 bil - lion in just three years, nearly doubling as a share of our economy since this NDP leadership took over. Fifteen thousand public sector jobs cut over three years, with zero details on who will lose their jobs or how critical services will survive. This isn’t austerity; it’s incompe - tence. The former NDP Finance Minister said that, under her, she fought for balanced budgets, for guardrails, for caution. We all know what happened to her. This government threw those guardrails out the win - dow. They spent like there was no tomorrow.

Now tomor - row is here, and we’re all paying for it. You know, there’s a phrase: “spending like a drunken sailor.” When the head sailor starts saying, “Maybe we should look at what we’re spending,” we’re all in trouble, especially if they keep run - ning up that debt. Let’s talk taxes. This government claims B.C. is the lowest-taxed province for low- and middle-income fam - ilies. However, they’re raising the universal income tax for the first time since 2008. They are freezing tax brack - ets, which means every time your salary goes up, you pay more in taxes.

Starting October 1, they’re adding PST to basic land- line service, cable TV and even yarn for seniors who knit to stay connected. All of this means we are definitely not the lowest-taxed province. Let’s not forget the job numbers they’re touting — 36,000 jobs created in 2025. But how many of those are private sector? How many are just temporary public sec - tor positions to pad their stats? They won’t say because they know the truth. Their spending spree hasn’t built a sustainable economy. It has built a house of cards, and it’s about to collapse. I looked at a report from Stats Canada.

Whether it’s the truth about what they’re hiding…. Last year British Col - umbia’s private sector appears to have bled 8,000 jobs. The lifeblood of our economy is shrinking. Every single one of those new jobs, and thousands more, were on the govern - ment payroll. I actually went further into that. It looks like, since this leadership of government took over, the unemploy - ment rate went from 4.2 percent to 6.6 percent. Youth un - employment, far worse. Men 15 to 24, unemployment in - creased from 8.9 to 12.7. [2:40 p.m.] If you think that’s bad, women 15 to 24, unemployment increased from 6.3 to 14.9 percent.

It says self-employed individuals saw a decrease of 6.6 percent of their jobs. That’s 31,000 jobs. The lifeblood of our economy is shrinking. Every single one of those new jobs and thousands more were on the government’s payroll. They’re borrowing billions to hire bureaucrats, public sector workers, while the real job cre - ators — the small businesses, the tech firms, the builders — are laying people off. This isn’t a jobs plan. It’s a bailout of their own failing reputation using the public credit card. They haven’t built an economy; they’ve built a government payroll.

When the borrowing stops, the NDP layoffs will begin. If there’s one group that the budget targets with spe - cial cruelty, it’s our seniors, as I said earlier, with increases to cable, land-line telephones and even yarn. For decades, seniors could defer their property taxes to stay in their homes — their largest investment, their legacy for their kids and grandkids — but this government just changed the rules. Starting in 2026, interest on deferred property taxes will jump from prime minus 2 to prime plus 2 and now compounded monthly. That’s a 4 percent hike in inter - est rates.

Just a few years ago it was 1.7 percent. That to - day would be 5.7 percent, but with the current prime rate, it’s now 6.45 percent that they pay, again, compounded

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5001 monthly. A retired investment adviser said: “This isn’t a deferral. It’s a loan shark’s deal.” I kind of wish I came up with that one myself, but…. Seniors will lose their equity faster than they can blink, and what do they get in return? The government paused work on at least seven new long-term-care homes. The B.C. seniors advocate says we’re already 2,000 beds short. By 2036, that gap will be 16,000. This government is making it more difficult for seniors to stay in their homes while also driving them to no other option.

The former NDP Finance Minister also said the per - ception was that the NDP couldn’t manage a popsicle stand. This government has brought that perception back with a vengeance. For our seniors, it’s worse than that. It’s a direct attack on their dignity, their savings and their right to age with respect. Let’s talk about health care. So 1.4 million British Col - umbians don’t have a family doctor, and this government claims 4,200 people a week are getting new doctors. Sounds great, but they don’t mention how many are losing their doctors to retirement and burnout. It’s a shell game, and patients are the losers.

Doing some quick math, if it’s cor - rect, that’s 6½ years to get those people a doctor, although I highly suspect the retiring doctors and those leaving for more favourable work will take away from that 4,200. What I find most intriguing about this government is that they can cut, cut and keep cutting.

Then they stand up in this very room and say that they are working, con - tinuing to work on health care. “Not like those guys on the other side,” as we just heard, “who are going to cut fund - ing.” They did this in the last election, knocking on doors telling people that we’re going to cut funding despite the budget platform showing a huge increase in spending. As for addiction care, even worse. Last year this gov - ernment managed to open just 28 functioning addiction treatment beds. They claim 123 more are coming, but they’ve no plan, no timeline, no accountability.

Our com - munities are drowning in addiction. This is part of the reason people don’t feel safe. They go out of their homes, and they find people on the streets, living homeless, be - coming drug addicts. [2:45 p.m.] It’s time that we need to start fixing things, and this government is handing out band-aids. We just saw that there’s extra funding for nasal naloxone, which is great, but we have no more funding for treatment and addiction. I think it’s far cheaper to keep people out of addiction, away from homelessness, than putting the band-aid on. And autism funding? They’re cutting that.

While kids with autism need more support, this government is taking it away. This is cruelty. Let’s not forget the $10-a-day daycare promise that they made ten years ago. It’s still not here. Instead, they’re now touting an affordable child care benefit that doesn’t come close to covering the cost of care for families. What about housing? This government says they’re reversing damage to the overheated market. But they’re using a bulldozer, not a repair kit. They’re driving up costs for renters and homeowners alike while failing to build enough affordable homes to make a difference.

I can’t stand to hear people say that the NDP care about people. This is a budget completely devoid of empathy. They take away from people that produce and people who genuinely need support and then enable those who make harmful choices in the belief that those people have no choice. Let’s get to the crisis that keeps my constituents up at night: public safety in Surrey. I remember back when the police transition was being proposed. It was supposed to be two years.

I remember looking at the situation without the benefit of inside documents and overall figures, but I said: “What they’re proposing looks like a 14-year transi - tion plan.” Although I don’t think it was a plan. Well, it looks like I was closer than this government and the So - licitor General at the time. When Surrey voted for a new mayor and council, largely based on keeping the RCMP, what did this gov - ernment do? They changed the laws and then forced the change on the people of Surrey and the municipal govern - ment. There was no plan, no forethought, just an ideo - logical urgency from this government.

Now the people of Surrey suffer under an extortion crisis that this government is doing nothing about. Last week the Surrey police service chief released a statement that should shock every British Columbian. This govern - ment is forcing the SPS to take over policing in Cloverdale on April 1, four months earlier than planned, even though the force says they don’t have the officers to do it. The SPS says they need 70 officers to police Cloverdale. But right now 40 of their officers are redeployed to fight the extor - tion crisis that this government has ignored for years.

Deputy S peaker: Member, I hate to interrupt, but I think we have someone about to seek leave. Hon Chan: I would like to seek leave for an introduc - tion. Leave granted. Introductions by Members Hon Chan: I would like to warmly welcome the third group and the last group of students from Richmond Sec - ondary School, from my riding of Richmond Centre, to the Legislative Assembly today. It is great to see the young people here learning about how our democracy works. Today we are debating Budget 2026, which the govern - ment introduced last week.

Our job as the opposition is to review it very carefully, to talk about what we agree with

5002 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 and what we disagree with and to represent the voices of people across British Columbia and the voices of you. Last but not least, go Colts. May the House make them feel very welcome. Deputy Speaker: Welcome to everyone in our chamber today. Recognizing the member for Surrey-Panorama. Apolo - gies for the interruption. Debate Continued Bryan Tepper: No problem, Mr. Chair. All right.

I was speaking about the SPS needing 70 po - lice officers to police Cloverdale and 40 of the police offi - cers that the SPS does have fighting the extortion crisis in Surrey. This government is forcing them to pull those offi - cers off of extortion investigations and put them on patrol, leaving our small businesses vulnerable to gang threats and our streets less safe. [2:50 p.m.] To add insult to injury, this government won’t let Surrey or Vancouver start their own police academies to fix the officer shortage. They’re forcing a rushed transition then refusing to give the force the tools they need to succeed.

As for the extortion crisis, this government created an advisory group to address it. It looks like almost every member has strong ties to the NDP. These are the same people who slept through the crisis for years. It’s a joke. My constituents aren’t laughing. A provincewide survey released last week found that 90 percent of British Columbians believe crimes are going unreported, and 71 percent say they lack confidence in the justice system. Prolific criminals are arrested and released immediately, only to commit more crimes.

Now this government is cutting the corrections budget, meaning even fewer people will be put in jail to protect our communities. This government is cutting public safety funding by $4 million this year. Who will be the next short-staffed? Which community will be left unprotected? The numbers for police responsible to be paid for by this government have not changed in years, and it does not change again this year. There was a promised increase for the RCMP to police our small communities. They have not been seen.

About people being arrested and released, I know it used to happen in the past, as well, when I was policing. However, it is now the norm, and people want to see ac - countability in our courts. Let’s talk transportation. Those of us living south of the Fraser seem to be a forgotten second class, but this government does seem to love separating people into dif - ferent classes. The replacement for the George Massey Tunnel has been one of the biggest failures of this NDP government. There was a great replacement.

It was a bridge, not only approved but underway, yet this government cancelled it, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars just to stick it to their political opponents. I’d love to hear the transport minister explain any other reason behind this decision, because he hasn’t given one that passes muster so far. Then they spent $87.5 million on the Steveston inter - change, double the initial cost estimate. Guess what. If this government showed a little common sense and went back to the bridge plan, that interchange would have to be removed.

More government waste, but I suppose that would be a drop in the bucket, since the cost of the bridge is still predicted to be almost half the cost of this mythical new tunnel. Either way, I say: please, get on with some - thing, anything. People sitting, idling, south of the Fraser, spewing ex - haust in the morning, heading in for their jobs. In the evening, stuck in traffic again, trying to head home. But perhaps that’s what this budget is trying to accomplish. If people don’t have jobs to go to downtown, we don’t have to worry about it.

We could have had a big, beautiful bridge with ten lanes, space for transit, space to grow. This budget is a betrayal of every promise this NDP government ever made. It’s a betrayal of seniors, of health care patients, of small business owners and of the people of Surrey. The former NDP Finance Minister said that this gov - ernment’s leadership has hurt the NDP brand.

But the hurt this budget does to the NDP brand is nothing com - pared to the hurt it does to the people of B.C. — to seniors who will lose their homes, to families who can’t get a doc - tor, to small business owners who are scared to open their doors, to people scared to leave their basements for being shot. [2:55 p.m.] This government must reverse course.

It must cancel the property tax deferral interest rate hike for seniors; pause the Cloverdale police transition until the SPS can safely take over; fund, not just allow, a Surrey police acad - emy to fix the officer shortage; reverse the corrections budget cuts; and keep violent criminals behind bars. Either deliver on the $10-a-day daycare promise they made ten years ago, or be honest and tell the families out there that it just isn’t going to happen. The people of Surrey-Panorama deserve better. They deserve a government that puts people’s needs first, not their own political ambitions.

This government has failed. It’s time for them to take responsibility or get out of the way. Can’t run a popsicle stand, indeed. Hon. A nne Kang: It is an honour to respond to the 2026 budget here today as the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport and the MLA for Burnaby Centre. I would like to begin by acknowledging that the B.C.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5003 Legislature is on the territory of the lək ̓ ʷəŋən-speaking Peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge the recent tra - gedy in Tumbler Ridge. My heart goes out to everyone in the community, especially the families who have lost a loved one.

This is a deeply shocking and painful time for so many, both at a local level and across the country, and we are committed to ensuring there is timely, coordinated sup - port available to the people in Tumbler Ridge, including counselling services, health resources and community as - sistance. Supports will remain in place as long as they are needed. As we stand with Tumbler Ridge, our commit - ment to all British Columbians remains steadfast. I would like to take this opportunity today to talk about Budget 2026 and what that means for the province and what my ministry has to offer.

Budget 2026 comes at a time when many families, communities and sectors throughout British Columbia are feeling the impact of global uncertainty and rising costs. Over the past eight years, we’ve built strong founda - tions in our tourism, arts, culture and sports sectors, and those foundations matter now more than ever, because we have to be realistic and disciplined about the choices ahead, because every dollar must count. That’s why we’re taking responsible steps to strengthen revenues, grow the economy and secure long-term benefits for major projects.

With the Look West strategy, we’re moving fast, cutting timelines, unlocking major projects and creating good jobs across the tourism, arts, culture, sport and creative industries. Tourism, arts, culture and sports are pillars of our economy and essential to the cultural social fabric of this province. The people who work in these sectors are the heart and soul of communities throughout British Col - umbia. These sectors generate jobs, support local busi - nesses, strengthen local economies, build resilient com - munities and attract visitors and talent from around the world.

These industries fuel creativity, inspire innovation and spark solutions that benefit every region. They help young people find their path, help communities express who they are and help us stay connected to one another during difficult times. When COVID hit, British Columbians turned to these sectors, to local trails and parks, community sport, books, music and film for connection and hope. In today’s hard times, people are turning to them again.

These sectors also support reconciliation by uplift - ing Indigenous artists, athletes and cultural leaders and by creating programs where communities can heal, learn and build together. In a year where government must be careful with spending, our message is clear. These sectors remain vital, and we will continue to prioritize them. [3:00 p.m.] Tourism continues to be a strong contributor to B.C.’s economy. This sector is one of the largest small business generators and employers in the province, with almost 17,000 businesses directly providing services to visitors in B.C.

It also supports more than 113,000 direct jobs. When we include indirect jobs, that number increases to almost 163,000 full-time jobs in 2024. Last year we saw resiliency, incredible entrepreneur spirit and communities working hard to welcome visitors from around the world. Tourism generated nearly $9.4 billion to our provincial GDP and $23 billion in revenue in 2024. In 2024, B.C.’s tourism industry produced nearly $2.1 billion in federal taxes, nearly $1.8 billion in provincial taxes and more than $300 million in local government taxes.

We con - tinue to see growth in international visitors to B.C., with 5.4 million overnight visitor arrivals in 2024, up 7 percent from the previous year. This is good news. Last year’s hotels recorded an average provincial oc - cupancy rate of 70 percent. YVR landed its biggest year ever with a record 26.9 million travellers passing through the airport in 2025, which was supported by over 230 full- time jobs. We recognize that a skilled, stable labour force is essen - tial for strengthening communities and driving long-term economic prosperity through tourism.

That is why, through Look West, we will be delivering a tourism growth strategy to position B.C.’s tourism sec - tor for long-term growth and success by creating the con - ditions needed to attract investments in tourism infra - structure and experiences, by exploring opportunities to grow and diversify the industry, by extending seasons and expanding tourism offerings and by leveraging the global exposure from FIFA World Cup ’26 to generate jobs and deliver benefits to communities throughout British Columbia.

B.C.’s outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of this growth, attracting visitors from around the world to ex - perience B.C.’s mountains, forests, rivers and coastline. These experiences not only drive visitation but also sus - tain local economies and small businesses in rural and In - digenous communities. We’re committed to supporting our mountain resorts, adventure tourism operators and commercial recreation providers who deliver safe, world-class experiences that connect visitors with B.C.’s natural landscapes. Together these efforts strengthen our economy, and tourism is ready to lead the way.

That’s why it’s critical that we continue to work with our partners like Destina - tion B.C. to support a strong, sustainable visitor economy. In Budget 2026, we will be taking steps to ensure tourism operators — large and small, rural and urban — have the support that they need. This investment is supporting our government’s broader strategy to modernize permitting and regula - tory frameworks, ensuring continued, focused efforts to

5004 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 advance investment and the growth of our world-class mountain resort sector. Ski resorts drive investments in rural communities throughout B.C., including $2.02 bil - lion invested in ski areas on Crown land. To support our future workforce and economic de - velopment needs in key sectors such as tourism, we are investing in post-secondary institutions to help build cap - acity. These investments will build capacity to support fu - ture workforce and economic development needs in key sectors, including tourism.

This includes a $58 million investment at Kelowna’s Okanagan College campus for a four-storey, hybrid mass timber centre for food, wine and tourism, expected to be completed by 2027. This year we will also continue to support B.C. as a world-class destination, working with our Crown cor - poration Destination B.C. and other tourism partners to promote local travel, strengthen international markets, support major events and help tourism businesses remain competitive. [3:05 p.m.] People are fascinated by culture, our history, our herit - ages. Our museums do an excellent job sharing B.C.’s story to the world.

The province is committed to the conserva - tion and protection of its historical and heritage resources. I am so proud of the incredible work our government is doing with our partners to preserve our history through the conservation of provincial heritage sites. Since 2020, the province has provided a record invest - ment of more than $55 million to preserve and protect B.C.’s heritage assets.

Heritage sites are powerful tourism drivers, attracting visitors who seek authentic cultural experiences and encouraging travelers to explore beyond major urban city centres for deeper, more meaningful connections to B.C.’s history. Speaking of making history, as we look to host the FIFA World Cup, the world’s largest single sport event, we must capitalize on this unprecedented opportunity for British Columbia.

Through the Look West strategy, we are po - sitioning B.C. as a reliable and competitive destination for Canadians and global investors, leveraging the FIFA World Cup to showcase our expertise, strategic location and key sectors of strength to a worldwide audience. With the eyes of the world upon us, the tournament will shine a powerful global spotlight on British Columbia as a premiere destination for tourism, trade and long-term investment.

Beyond the seven matches being played in Vancouver, the tournament will leave lasting legacies that extend well beyond the pitch throughout British Colum - bia with an exciting announcement coming this March. This is about supporting local businesses, good jobs for British Columbians, attracting new investment and strengthening B.C.’s place on the global stage for decades to come. The seven matches are expected to attract more than 350,000 soccer fans to B.C. Place during the tourna - ment and generate over $1 billion in visitor spending for B.C.’s economy from 2026 through 2031.

In the five years following, we are expecting to see more than one million additional out-of-province visitors and potentially up to $224 million in direct, indirect and other related provincial tax revenues. We are supporting communities across the province to bring the excitement of FIFA to community celebrations throughout the prov - ince in addition to the FIFA fan festival. Research shows that visitors often return three or four times over their lifetimes. By showcasing our province during the moment, we ensure that people come back again and again for business, for travel, for trade and for investment.

It’s clear that we’re making strategic invest - ments, harnessing the social and economic benefits of these matches and making sure people all over the region of B.C. share in the benefits of hosting this sport. Sport is one of the most powerful tools we have to bring people together. Whether it’s high-performance compe - tition or weekend recreation, sport builds healthier com - munities and supports young people in every corner of B.C. Our government remains committed to making sport in British Columbia safe, inclusive and accessible for all.

That is why the provincial government invests ap - proximately $50 million annually in sport to help bring healthy living and community economic benefits to the entire province. This investment directly supports over 70 sport organizations and over 718,000 members of ama - teur sport organizations to get active and engaged in their communities. When playing sports, everyone deserves to feel safe. That’s why we are committed to strengthening safe sport measures, including the development of the PlaySafe B.C. program and establishing Sport Safeguarding B.C.

Sport is helping young athletes throughout British Columbia turn potential into achievement, from competing at the B.C. Games to representing Canada on the Olympic stage. By supporting sport, we’re not just funding competi - tion. We’re strengthening communities, creating jobs and driving local spending that stays right here at home, while bringing people together through the shared pride and spirit that only sport can inspire. [3:10 p.m.] The same passion that fuels our sports sector fuels our artists, bringing our communities together. Arts and cul - ture reflect who we are.

They help us understand our his - tory, celebrate our communities and share our stories with the world. From museums and galleries, theatre compan - ies and festivals, to grassroots organizations that keep cul - ture alive in every region of B.C., this sector enriches our lives and keeps our province vibrant. Over the years, we’ve built a strong foundation of pro - grams that British Columbians can count on, and we will continue to support the people who make arts and culture

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5005 possible, because their work strengthens communities and enriches lives across the province. At the centre of this support is the B.C. Arts Council. Through the B.C. Arts Council, we support programs that help artists and organizations thrive, from operating funding that keeps theatres, galleries and cultural centres open to arts training and community festivals that give kids their first chance to dance, sing, paint or perform on a stage. We will continue these supports.

Programs like the destination events program also help festivals and cultural experiences grow, reach new audi - ences and strengthen B.C.’s cultural landscape. I want to highlight the important role of community gaming grants. These grants reach deep into communities throughout B.C. Each year the province invests as much as $140 million through community gaming grants, supporting approxi - mately 5,000 non-profit organizations and strengthening communities throughout British Columbia.

Supporting arts and culture groups — such as youth programs, food banks, parent advisory councils, local sport clubs, capital projects and front-line human service organizations — the grants help keep the doors open at the places that families rely on every day. They make sure that people stay connected, supported and able to partici - pate in community life. Just as our arts and culture sector reflects who we are, our creative industries demonstrate what British Colum - bians can achieve.

B.C.’s creative industries — film, tele - vision, music, publishing, animation and digital media — are recognized globally as leaders in innovation and pro - duction excellence. Together these industries form a powerful cultural and economic engine, one that inspires, employs and elevates talent across the province. They employ tens of thousands of highly skilled people and attract major productions, like Shōgun and The Last of Us, that fuel local economies. We’ve seen incredible recognition this year, with B.C. talent front and centre.

From Nanaimo’s Cameron Whit - comb, a five-time Juno nominee, including Album of the Year, to the Golden Globe–winning animated film KPop Demon Hunters — powered in part by B.C.’s animation teams, who also contributed to Oscar-nominated titles like Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash — our creative industry showcased B.C.’s talent, diversity and technical experience on the world stage.

Last year we boosted support for the motion picture industry, including increased tax credits for our domes - tic sector and for productions coming from other jurisdic - tions, and we introduced a new bonus incentive for major productions. We also increased interactive digital media tax credits to support a strong digital media industry and ensure that B.C. remains competitive. These investments are working. B.C. continues to at - tract major productions such as from Sony, HBO and Disney.

Through Budget 2026 and in response to indus - try feedback, we introduced important improvements to the film and television tax credit programs. These include simplifying filing and certification requirements and re - moving the pre-certification requirement. We also strengthened our broader creative sector by making the book publishing tax credit permanent, pro - viding stable, long-term support for B.C.’s publishers and authors.

Together, these changes make it easier for productions and creative companies, both locally and internationally, to access the supports they rely on, while keeping B.C. competitive and production-ready. [3:15 p.m.] This support is critical in creating high-paying jobs in the sector and expanding opportunities for thousands of people living in British Columbia. To build on this momentum, we are working with cross-ministry and industry partners to develop a provin - cial film and television strategy. This strategy will help the sector stay strong and competitive as global markets con - tinue to shift.

It will build on the strength of our people and our studios so B.C. stays a place where productions want to film and where our own creators can succeed. I want to take this opportunity to talk about Burnaby- related projects and to emphasize that budgets don’t just announce projects; they deliver them. The most meaning - ful measure of a government’s commitment is whether the things we promised in past years are built, opened, staffed and used by the public, especially when times get tough. Global uncertainty is not just a headline.

It is a reality that shows up in grocery bills, in rental cheques and in anxiety about the future. That’s exactly why our approach matters. In this moment, the province has chosen to make careful, disciplined choices to protect what matters most, like education and health care, and to keep building a stronger future. We are protecting core services and con - tinuing to build across the province, including in my rid - ing of Burnaby Centre.

We are safeguarding health care and education, sup - porting people who need care and assistance, and mov - ing forward with a substantial and sustainable capital plan that creates jobs and meets the real needs of British Col - umbians. It means being honest about fiscal pressures that we are facing while refusing to compromise on essential community needs. In Burnaby, one of the clearest examples of that com - mitment is BCIT. BCIT has a special place in my com - munity as one of the cornerstone institutes that help shape our community and the future of our workplace and workforce in British Columbia.

Everyone has a place in BCIT, from a newly graduated high-schooler to a mid- career professional looking to change careers or advance in their own career. As a proud MLA for BCIT, I can confidently say that

5006 B ritish Columbia Debates T uesday, February 24, 2026 when we talk about the future-proofing of our economy and creating more opportunities for skills training, BCIT is an example of what it looks like on the ground. That is why I’m proud to highlight the south campus infrastructure renewal project at BCIT. The province has committed $48 million for this work, replacing aging electrical, stormwater and other critical infrastructure. Construction is expected to be completed in 2029. This is foundational work.

Renewing the backbone of a campus is exactly what responsible governments do when they say they will safeguard what we have built. Another exciting project happening at BCIT is the an - nouncement of the trades and technology complex, a col - lection of new and renovated buildings that will add 1,200 student trade and technology seats in modernized learn - ing spaces. The province is providing $151.6 million, and it will be completed in 2027.

It is expected to generate 738 direct jobs and 406 indirect jobs, those numbers repre - senting paycheques, apprenticeships, contracts for local suppliers and years of economic activity. The bigger point is this. Every seat in a trade program is a concrete response to labour shortages that are holding back housing construction, infrastructure projects and business expansion. It is a plan to secure good-paying jobs and economic prosperity for people and families. If we want to talk honestly about affordability, we also need to talk honestly about student housing.

British Col - umbian families know how tight the rental market has been for years — low vacancy rates, rising rent and a high demand in rental housing. When students can’t find hous- ing they can afford, it pushes demand into the surround - ing neighbourhoods. That is why the Tall Timber student housing project at BCIT is so important.

It creates 470 new affordable student housing spaces with a provincial investment of $129 million, helping reduce pressure in lo - cal private rental housing. [3:20 p.m.] Alongside the student housing investment, I want to highlight an accomplishment that will matter to thou - sands of Burnaby families: 4277 Norland Avenue. This project delivers 155 affordable homes for seniors and sen - iors with disabilities. The province provided $16.9 million through B.C. Housing’s community housing fund, and the project was completed in 2025.

This means that a sen - ior who wants to stay in Burnaby can do so, and a couple living on a fixed income can remain close to their friends, their cultural community and their family. These investments matter to the families and commun - ities directly affected, but they also matter to every British Columbian, because we are starting to see the impact of the housing supply across the region. The CMHC reports that the greater Vancouver rental vacancy rate more than doubled in 2025, rising from 1.6 percent to 3.7 percent.

Projects like Tall Timber and 4277 Norland Avenue are part of the reason we can point to progress, because when we invest in affordable and student housing, we ease pres - sure, slow rents and help people tackle everyday costs. If there is one project in Burnaby that captures the heart of what people want from the government, espe - cially in uncertain times, it is the Burnaby Hospital re - development and the construction of the B.C. Cancer Centre. When people talk in Burnaby about health care, they talk about the emergency department. They talk about the surgery wait times.

They talk about the crowded hallways and about whether their loved ones can get care close to their home. This redevelopment is transformative. It will add two new patient care towers with new units and operating rooms, resulting in 399 beds, a bigger emergency depart - ment and a new cancer treatment centre. This province is investing $633.3 million in phase 1 and $1.7 billion in phase 2, which includes the B.C. Cancer Centre. The second patient care tower is expected to have 160 new beds and a state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre and a new six-storey pavilion, which will house the new surgery centre.

Together both phases are expected to create 17,548 dir - ect jobs and 6.5 thousand indirect jobs. Even when budgets are under pressure, we will pro - tect the most critical services people rely on every day by strengthening health care and ensuring the system re - mains responsive to the needs of people. I want to underline something from the province’s strategic direction. We are facing global uncertainty and high cost that puts pressure on public finances. But disci - plined choices are being made so that we can prevent cuts to critical services and focus resources on what people depend on.

This government is choosing to step forward with investments that expand access to modern equality and care. I am incredibly proud of the work that people across our sectors and our province do every day. Their creativ - ity, their resilience and their passion are the reasons Brit - ish Columbia is known across the world for its culture, its people and its experiences. Even in uncertain times, our province remains strong, diverse and full of opportunity.

Our government is taking a careful and responsible ap - proach to this year’s budget, but we are not stepping back from the work that makes people’s lives better. We will continue to stand with our partners, our communities and our sectors, and we will continue listening, learning and collaborating. Together we will build a strong, sustainable future for tourism, arts, culture and sport in British Colum - bia. When we invest in this sector, we are not only mak - ing strategic investments to our economy; we are also in - vesting in the well-being and pride of this province.

No matter what challenges come our way, British Columbians will meet them together. I support this Budget 2026, and so does my ministry.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5007 [Mable Elmore in the chair.] Elenore Sturko: Thank you for this opportunity to speak to Budget 2026. [3:25 p.m.] My constituents in Surrey-Cloverdale are diverse fam - ilies. We have seniors, small businesses. We have business owners and leaders from large companies, all of whom de - serve a government that manages our province’s finances responsibly and invests in their future. Today I rise to re - spond to this 2026 provincial budget, and it’s a budget that unfortunately falls short of that mark.

This budget projects a staggering $13.3 billion deficit, the largest in British Columbia’s history, with the provin - cial debt skyrocketing to $234.5 billion by 2028-2029. It’s a plan riddled with tax hikes, hidden cuts and delays that will burden families and seniors while failing to ignite the economic growth that our province needs. This government claims to be making disciplined choices to protect core services, yet what we’re seeing is a ballooning deficit, $3.1 billion higher than last year’s pro - jections.

Despite raising taxes and slashing 15,000 public sector jobs over three years, the debt-to-GDP ratio climbs to 37.4 percent, increasing borrowing costs and risking further credit downgrades. It’s not only Independents and opposition MLAs who are pointing out the shortcomings of the 2026 budget. Business organizations and leaders across the province have come out very strongly to voice their disapproval. The B.C.

Chamber of Commerce calls this budget “a sobering economic outlook” with “little in the way of needed economic incentives.” They highlight the alarm - ing deficit increase and the debt climbing from $154 bil - lion to $235 billion. Jen Riley, the chamber’s president and CEO, noted that the budget offers no meaningful plan to kick-start our economy or generate prosperity for citizens and businesses. Similarly, the Vancouver Board of Trade gave this budget a failing D grade, the lowest in over 20 years, citing slow growth, higher taxes, runaway spending.

Bridgitte Anderson, the CEO, warned that it confirms “slow growth, higher taxes and continued runaway spending.” Business groups, like the B.C. Business Council, echo these concerns, saying that the budget fails to stabilize our fiscal trajectory by restraining spending or improv - ing conditions for private sector investment. The Can - adian Federation of Independent Business, or the CFIB, criticizes the expansion of the provincial sales tax to additional professional services, calling it “a move in the wrong direction.” It adds that cost pressures to small busi - nesses are already struggling.

The Independent Contractors and Business Associa - tion describes this budget as a “mess” and “awful for con - struction.” They point to delays in major projects like hospitals. I believe that the hospital that the Minister for Tourism and Sport was just talking about in her own rid - ing is, in fact, one of the projects that’s delayed. While it’s a source of pride for her, I think, it’s, frankly, embarrass - ing for this government that they would have to “re-pace projects” that they then go on to brag about in their own speeches.

I’d also add that the NDP’s decision to add commun - ity benefits agreements in their decisions added an esti - mated 4 to 7 percent onto the cost of every government infrastructure project. Over the last couple of years, B.C. has had a record number of people migrate out of the province, citing the high cost of living. A significant number of those who are choosing to leave our province are young people.

They don’t see a future for themselves here, and this budget’s projected modest economic growth of just 1.3 percent in 2026 means fewer opportunities for young people starting out and more uncertainty for those trying to make ends meet. I’d like to talk for a moment about public safety. I was very disappointed to see a lack of greater investment in public safety. Cloverdale residents have been targeted by violence with multiple extortions, multiple extortion-re - lated shootings.

I was very disappointed, frankly, that I didn’t see a greater investment both to fund the police for special teams that deal with enforcement against gang ac - tivity and also without an even greater investment to com - bat illegal firearms. [3:30 p.m.] Extortions have had a tremendous impact on people who live in Cloverdale. We’ve had some victims of extor - tion that have been hit multiple times in their same resi - dence. Just, actually, a couple blocks from where I live, we had a home that was targeted for a shooting, and a gar - dener got a bullet lodged in their face.

There is no doubt this government is actually taking the extortion crisis seriously, but the way in which they are funding public safety is not going to be adequate to address the depth of the problems that we currently have. One of the ways that they’re failing is by not increas - ing the number of provincially funded RCMP officers. A couple of years ago the government did make an invest - ment in increasing the number of police officers on the provincial business line, but this simply filled vacancies that they had let go vacant for years.

The fact is that the provincial business line of the RCMP in B.C. has been stuck at 2,602 members since 2012. These are the members who respond in communities like Tumbler Ridge, for example, small communities, and also are part of provincial teams that have been tasked with joining the provincial extortion task force. When we keep the number of police officers at the provincial busi - ness line stagnant, it actually also puts a disproportionate cost onto municipalities, who t

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20260224pm-Hansard-n124
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20260224pm Hansard n124
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	799c816a1df164a7787eff9c47bc6e328f747333

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