Third Session, 42nd Parliament

(2022) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Monday, May 2, 2022

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 193

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

Eid celebration

J. Brar

T. Wat

Primary care wait times

S. Bond

M. Elmore

The power of language: unsettling stigma

G. Lore

K. Kirkpatrick

New initiatives to assist with inflation

I. Paton

N. Sharma

Private Members’ Motions

Motion 11 — Youth leaders and support for young people

B. Anderson

R. Merrifield

H. Yao

M. Bernier

R. Leonard

P. Milobar

J. Sims

C. Oakes

K. Paddon

B. Banman

F. Donnelly

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022

The House met at 10:02 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: A. Singh.

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

EID CELEBRATION

J. Brar: Eid Mubarak .

With the holy month of Ramadan coming to an end, Muslims all over

the world have started preparing for the joyous festival of Eid ul-Fitr.

I’m really pleased to say that this year we are going to celebrate Eid

in this Legislature tomorrow, on May 3, 2022.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

The name of this Islamic festival translates to the “festival of

breaking the fast.” It is a celebration marking the end of the

month-long fast, signifying the need for a special celebration and

gratification. Eid ul-Fitr is actually a three-day-long celebration

after the end of Ramadan, every day, dawn to dusk.

Determining Eid ul-Fitr all comes down to a moon sighting. If the

crescent moon is not seen, Ramadan will go on for another day. If it is

seen, Eid Mubarak . Eid celebration begins at a special Eid

prayer in a mosque, surrounded by your family and friends that you

typically see during the month of Ramadan. After a prayer, everyone

congratulates each other for the ending of this blessed

month.

[10:05 a.m.]

Subsequently special foods are prepared, and friends and relatives

are invited to share the feast. Gifts and greeting cards are exchanged,

and children receive presents. Eid is also a time for remembering those

who are less fortunate. It’s a time to count your blessings, our

blessings, while also giving charity to those in need. Starting on

Monday evening and continuing today, Muslims in British Columbia and

around the world will observe Eid ul-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan —

or Ramazan, as it is referred to in South Asia.

On behalf of all British Columbians and members of this House, I

wish those who observed the holy month a joyous end to Ramadan. Many

people will celebrate Eid ul-Fitr through prayer and acts of service to

others. As we continue to navigate this pandemic, remembering and acting

on the values of charity and compassion is a great way to connect with

our friends and families. Ramadan teaches us the importance of

gratitude, while reminding us to be compassionate towards those who are

less fortunate.

As traditional prayers, food and well-wishes are exchanged, the

universal values of unity, charity and peace are also celebrated on Eid

ul-Fitr. These are the values this government shares. Whether through

volunteer work, charitable giving or working in local leadership roles,

the Muslim community in B.C. has helped build a better province for

everyone. Eid is also an opportunity to celebrate our province’s many

Muslim communities and the important contributions Muslims make each day

to our province.

With recent incidents in Surrey, we should take Eid as a chance to

stand in solidarity against anti-Muslim hate, Islamophobia and all forms

of hate — once again, we should stand in solidarity against anti-Muslim

hate, Islamophobia and all forms of hate — and to foster greater

understanding, acceptance and social cohesion among people of diverse

faiths in British Columbia. Racism and hate are hurting people in our

communities, and it takes all of our collective voices to stand in

solidarity against hate in any of its forms.

Our government is committed to tackling race-based and faith-based

hatred, as well as discrimination of all kinds, in the province. We will

continue working towards building a more welcoming, more equal and more

inclusive British Columbia for all people.

Allahu akbar . Eid Mubarak to all of

you.

T. Wat: I thank the member opposite for his comments.

It is such an honour to have the opportunity to recognize and

honour Eid ul-Fitr, an important time in the Islamic calendar,

celebrated by Muslims here in British Columbia, across Canada and around

the world. This is an important time for many families who call B.C.

home, a time of gathering to celebrate the end of the month-long fast of

Ramadan.

I know that the long month of fasting can be difficult for many

families, but that is why Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr are such celebrations

of community, to honour and celebrate the friends and families who have

supported one another as they commemorate Muhammad’s first revelation.

This is a coming together of whole communities. I have even heard of

restaurants that changed their hours of operation to help accommodate

those honouring Ramadan.

[10:10 a.m.]

It’s not just Ramadan and the Eid celebration where we witness

such an incredible display of generosity and caring from our province’s

Muslim communities. I’ve spoken many times in this House of the many

actions and initia­tives of our mosques and Islamic organizations

through­out the many challenges of 2020 and 2021.

I personally have had the honour of working closely with

organizations like MTO Shahmaghsoudi, who helped provide food, toys, PPE

and all forms of support to our hospitals, charities and British

Columbians in need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw our Muslim

communities translate COVID resources, share information, transition

prayers and events to virtual formats and support those in need, any way

they could.

We also remember the members of various mosques who cooked and

donated thousands of meals to families in need during the devastating

flooding last fall. With all the incredible work and support our mosques

and Muslim communities have done throughout the fires, floods and

ongoing ways of the pandemic, they have exemplified the spirit of hard

work, selflessness and community that we pride ourselves on as

Canadians.

Recognizing that this is a celebration of community and

togetherness, we also recognize how challenging of a time it has been

these past two years, when the pandemic has kept so many friends and

families apart. But thanks to the strength, initiative and advocacy of

B.C.’s Muslim communities, who have encouraged us to practise safe

social distancing and to all get vaccinated, we are finally at a place

where friends and family can safely come together, like we used

to.

We also recognize that we are not completely out of the woods yet,

and we would like to thank everyone who continues to take precautions

during this time to keep themselves and each other safe.

Meanwhile, while Eid ul-Fitr is a celebration of togetherness and

community, we must acknowledge that Muslim British Columbians continue

to face racist and discrimi­natory acts that are intended to make

them feel unsafe and unwelcome in this province.

Just last week Ramadan worshippers exiting a mosque in Surrey were

attacked by motorists who threw substances at the congregation from

their car and even threatened to run them over with their vehicle. This

is less than a year after Canada was shocked and devastated by the

London terror attack which claimed the lives of a young Muslim family.

These attacks are nothing short of heinous and have absolutely no place

in our society.

Every British Columbian has a personal responsibility to stand up

to racism, hate and intolerance, no matter what form it takes. We must

stand with Muslim Canadians and show them the support and kindness that

they have shown our province and our country.

I wish all Muslims and all British Columbians who observe the

joyous end to Ramadan a very healthy Eid ul-Fitr.

Eid Mubarak .

J. Brar: Thanks a lot to the member for Richmond North Centre for her

response and words of wisdom for the Muslim community.

We are blessed to live in a diverse province where we get to

celebrate a number of major religious festivals during the month of

April. Our society and every one of us is richer because of

this.

I’ve spoken about the Eid festival earlier. Now I would like to

talk about other major religious festivals we celebrate during the month

of April.

Happy Easter. Easter commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection

of Jesus Christ, while reminding us of the enduring values of

self-sacrifice and love for one another.

[10:15 a.m.]

As a separate and holy time for people of the Christian community,

Easter weekend also brings the first signs of spring. As Christians

celebrate Easter, many families today also hold Easter egg hunts for

their young children, and all of us look forward to eating all that

chocolate.

Happy Vaisakhi. Vaisakhi diyan lakh lakh vadhaiyan .

Vaisakhi marks the establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh ji

in April of 1699.

This was truly the evolution of the Sikh faith by the order of the

Khalsa, which cemented the values of equality, fighting for justice and

protection of the weak. Vaisakhi is celebrated across Punjab, India, and

the world, with large Nagar Kirtans and religious prayers. The largest

Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan outside of Punjab is held in my city of Surrey, as

well as in the city of Vancouver. A feature of these celebrations is

food from the Langar, or communal kitchens, that is distributed freely

to all the participants.

Happy Passover. British Columbians also celebrate happy Passover,

or chag sameach . Passover is a major Jewish holiday that

celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in ancient

Egypt.

Friends and family will gather together on the first night of

Passover around the Seder table to commemorate the exodus from slavery

in ancient Egypt. It is an opportunity for reflection and renewal,

reminding those of Jewish faith of their history and fight for freedom

from oppression.

We honour the many contributions of the Jewish community to our

province since they established one of the earliest synagogues right

here in Victoria in 1862.

Similar to Ramadan and Eid, Easter also marks the end of Lent, a

time of fasting and charitable giving, where Christians are called to

participate in the redemption of the world through repentance and

forgiveness.

I would like to conclude my statement by wishing all British

Columbians Eid Mubarak , happy Vaisakhi, happy Passover and

happy Easter.

PRIMARY CARE WAIT TIMES

S. Bond: Today I rise to speak about an issue impacting people throughout

our province, one that is central to the well-being of all British

Columbians.

In every corner of our province, we are seeing the results of an

overwhelmed health care system. Health care staff are feeling

burned-out, and many are choosing to leave the profession. That means

that wait times increase, clinics close, and doctors are making the

difficult choice to leave family practice.

We know that people deserve real and timely access to quality

primary care, but for many in British Columbia, that is not the reality

today. Right now members would know that there are more than 900,000

people in our province who do not have a family doctor or primary care

provider, almost one in five people. That is a staggering

number.

The lack of family doctors is putting serious pressure on our

already overwhelmed health care system. Family doctors, nurse

practitioners — in fact, all of our health care workers — are essential

to ensuring that our system provides the best possible outcomes. British

Columbians want and deserve a relationship with a primary care

practitioner. It’s important. Family doctors build lasting relationships

with their patients. In fact, many family doctors see their patients for

years or even decades. They get to know you, and they get to know your

medical history.

As family doctors work with patients throughout the course of

their lives, they have the ability to practise preventative medicine, to

screen patients for more serious conditions and to catch things before

they become a larger problem. The history and relationships help them

make accurate diagnoses and help them to monitor our health changes

throughout the years.

[10:20 a.m.]

Many studies have shown us that patients want care that is

accessible, and they want care that responds to them as people in their

unique family and social situations.

When people can’t find a family doctor, they’re forced to rely on

walk-in clinics, emergency rooms or urgent primary care centres. This

can and does increase wait times, but it also leaves people without

access to that effective preventative medicine and longitudinal care

which, in turn, puts greater stress on the whole system. An emergency is

certainly a valid reason to visit an emergency room, but British

Columbians should not have to rely on an emergency room or an urgent

care centre as their primary source of health care.

Speaking of the consequences of a lack of preventative and

longitudinal care in our system, one emergency room doctor recently

commented: “We diagnose metastatic cancer on a regular basis in the ER

now, something I didn’t see in the earlier years of my career.” This is

a major problem, and it’s happening more frequently. And that’s if

someone can get into a walk-in clinic, emergency room or UPCC, which

sometimes isn’t possible.

If you look at recent statistics, Vancouver Coastal Health, for

example, was predicting wait times of more than seven hours for the

emergency room at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Can any of us imagine

waiting seven hours for care in a waiting room with our sick

child?

Other recent figures from walk-in clinics further confirm the

challenges in our health care system. Data from the walk-in clinic

wait-time index Medimap showed B.C. to have the worst clinic wait times

in our country, with an average wait time of 58 minutes. That is more

than twice the national average of 25 minutes. If you live in Ontario,

you can see average wait times of only 15 minutes. For people right here

in our capital, in Victoria, they wait an average of two hours and 40

minutes at clinics.

Equally troubling, British Columbia is the only province that saw

clinic wait times increase over the past number of years, and not by a

small margin. Average waits increased by nearly 50 percent between 2019

and 2021. However, every single other province that Medimap tracked saw

their wait times decrease in the same time frame. B.C. is an outlier

compared to the rest of the country, making it clear that this is more

than just a national issue.

Over the last few years, more and more UPCCs have opened around

the province. The reasoning was that they would relieve the burden on

emergency rooms and clinics and provide primary care to those without a

family physician. However, they still do not replace personalized

longitudinal care. Any positive impact that they could have is

undermined by the fact that they are equally difficult for patients to

get into. One morning just last week, nearly every UPCC in Victoria was

at capacity and no longer accepting patients by 8:20 a.m.

With circumstances like this, it’s no wonder that people expect us

to do our work. There are serious issues impacting our province, and

they desperately need solutions. We cannot forget that we are talking

about people’s health here — their physical well-being and that of their

families. Soon we will see patient outcomes worsen. We have a health

care system under immense pressure, and we must take additional targeted

steps to improve it.

One place we have to start is by increasing the number of doctors

in B.C. who choose the practice of family medicine. According to Doctors

of B.C., there are 6,000 family doctors in our province, but only half

of them are actually providing longitudinal care in a family practice.

Our system, as it currently stands, is actually seeing doctors choose to

move out of family practice, and we are certainly not incentivizing new

grads to make the choice to open a family practice.

It is time to have a conversation in this province about what we

need to do to remedy this situation. We need to sit down and have honest

conversations with doctors, listening to their feedback and developing

solutions that will lead to lasting change. In the words of Renee

Fernandez, executive director of B.C. Family Doctors: “Are we going to

be brave enough to have difficult conversations about what we expect and

need our health care system to do?”

I, for one, certainly hope so.

[10:25 a.m.]

M. Elmore: I’m very pleased to rise today and respond to the statement from

the member for Prince George–​Valemount on primary

care.

We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the strain

across our whole health care system. Certainly, it’s incredibly

difficult on our health care workers and on all British

Columbians.

This is an issue that impacts all jurisdictions, not just British

Columbia, across Canada and around the world. Certainly, in terms of

access to primary care, it’s a priority for this government, and as the

member has noted, there’s a real need to ensure that British Columbians

have access to timely, quality, person-centred health care.

That’s why our government has launched our primary care strategy.

It’s not something that we are able to fix overnight, but it’s something

that we’re committed to work efficiently on. It’s revolutionary. It’s

transforming and modernizing our health care system. It is moving to a

team-based care strategy that has the greatest potential to provide

sustainable primary care going forward. We know that, certainly, the

previous model, the 20th-century model, was based on family physician

clinics. Certainly that remains an important priority, but it’s a part

of the team-based care.

We know this issue has not just happened today. It’s not just the

pandemic. We know that. It’s inherited over the last 20 years.

Previously, in 2003, we had a program — the GP for Me — to provide a

general practitioner for every British Columbian, which made some

progress but was abandoned after three years, so we know that there’s a

need to really address this concern.

Our primary care strategy is a transformational, team-based

primary care strategy to fundamentally change the way primary care is

delivered, to ensure that British Columbians get the everyday health

care they need and to address the issue of longitudinal attachment

throughout their lifetimes, and also relationship-based care — a

team-based approach. Our plan plans for up to 85 primary care networks

to bring together, to integrate physician offices with nurse

practitioners, with other allied health care professionals to provide

that access to primary care.

Certainly, there are challenges. No question. No doubt. British

Columbia leads our country in terms of the addition of over 600

physicians added since 2017. We were tenth in 2017, in terms of nurse

practitioners; we’ve doubled that. British Columbia leads in terms of

the number of residencies for physicians. UBC is the largest school that

offers residency programs in our country. The steps that we’ve taken

around ensuring that we allow internationally educated nurses to become

integrated is also key towards that strategy.

Moving towards team-based care puts communities on a more

sustainable and efficient path. Part of the challenge is moving away

from a fee-based system to accommodate physicians who are coming out now

and who want to have flexibility in terms of their arrangements, either

contractual or other arrangements in terms of how they deliver health

services.

We know as well that in terms of our primary care strategy, 85

primary care networks…. The member mentioned 40 urgent and primary care

centres — community health centres, as well, that I’m a big proponent

of. This is the future of health care. British Columbia is leading our

country and the world. We know, previously, that wasn’t necessarily the

priority. I had a health care centre where those were cut, but we’re

supporting that and moving forward as well, in addition to bringing in

First Nations primary care centres.

We have Canada’s record-leading new physicians. Support expansion

of over 600 nursing positions to provide for the need that we have. Our

urgent and primary centres. An addition of 850 full-time equivalents,

with an additional 1,000 staff coming on board as well.

I want to talk as well…. When we talk about transformational,

team-based care, the integration of physician clinics, we are working in

collaboration with all allied health care professionals and family

physician networks across our province — transformational.

[10:30 a.m.]

It’s a challenge. There’s more that needs to be done. Our province

and our government are committed to it. We’ve served over one million

people who’ve come to these clinics. There’s more to do, and we’re

committed to that.

S. Bond: Thank you to the member opposite for sharing her thoughts on this

important issue. I can say that we probably don’t see eye to eye about

the issues facing our health care system, but having a debate, having a

dialogue is absolutely essential to deal with the challenges that we’re

facing in British Columbia.

We certainly won’t relieve the burden currently faced in our

walk-in clinics, emergency rooms and urgent and primary care centres

until we continue to reinvest in quality longitudinal primary care. We

have to work harder to train, recruit and, most importantly, retain

family doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses here in B.C., and that is

something that will not happen until we listen to what B.C.’s doctors

are telling us.

One thing that we’ve heard consistently from physicians are the

issues around burnout, increased costs, compen­sation and the need

for work-life balance. Issues like these are faced by all of our

incredible health care workers, and they need to be constructively

addressed. As I noted in my statement, it needs to be done with

meaningful engagement and a willingness to listen and to

learn.

While we need to continue to invest, the focus must be on

outcomes, and one of the things we must consider is patient attachment.

As we look at the number of health care employees in British Columbia,

the latest data from StatsCan shows that there are over 8,000 fewer

health care workers in hospitals, and if we look at other provinces, we

have seen them increase the number of health care workers by

thousands.

Health care workers throughout British Columbia have done so much

for us throughout this pandemic, and we need to ensure that we step up

and have their backs. We are seeing high levels of burnout, labour

shortage and a system that, frankly, is overwhelmed. This lack of

primary care providers is just one symptom of a growing problem in our

health care system.

We have watched as the opioid crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic,

paramedic shortages and other factors have put increasing strain on

medical professionals and health resources in our province. It is

absolutely vital that we work to put the right resources where they are

most needed so that we can continue to ensure that British Columbians

have that connection to a family doctor.

We need to make sure that it is not a concern for thousands of

British Columbians. What we want for the health care system and in our

province is that the delivery of an accessible, personalized,

high-quality health care system is something that British Columbians

should not only be able to expect but that they deserve.

THE POWER OF LANGUAGE:

UNSETTLING

STIGMA

G. Lore: The words we use matter. How we talk about each other can impact

how we feel about each other and, indeed, change how others feel about

themselves. Words and labels also matter to whether and how we show up

to support each other. We know that misgendering someone or using a dead

name can leave people feeling invalidated and vulnerable and, over time,

contributes to a decline in mental health.

We’ve all been reminded over the past few months that Ukraine does

not require the

article “the” and that using the phrase “the Ukraine” is

a reminder of a time that the country did not have its independence from

the Soviet Union.

As a government, we’ve moved from a Multiculturalism portfolio to

Anti-Racism Initiatives. Our province, and indeed our Legislature, is

multicultural, something to be celebrated and promoted regularly. But as

a government and as members of this House, we have a responsibility to

engage in more action-oriented and proactive efforts to address systemic

racism.

Words also matter in how we talk about our neighbours who are

unhoused, precariously housed or sleeping rough. Here in Victoria, as in

other communities, Indigenous people are dramatically overrepresented in

this community, the result of persistent legacies of colonialism,

residential school, the Sixties Scoop and ongoing systemic racism and

inequality.

[10:35 a.m.]

I want to tell you about the incredible work of the Aboriginal

Coalition to End Homelessness, who work to gather, share and mobilize

knowledge, to bring people together and, fundamentally, to unsettle

stigma using language. The process started when the coalition was

looking inward and asking how they themselves might be part of the

problem, just another cog in the machine. So they started with the

voices of the community they serve. As the executive director told me,

when you start with community, you cannot go wrong.

Through 110 surveys with their community, the coalition aimed to

disband preconceived ideas and instead gather knowledge and take a

research- and evidence-based approach to their work. They learned of the

perspectives of the Indigenous street community, about the language

commonly used to describe their lived and living experiences. They heard

how words and labels fundamentally impact people’s health and the

services they access. They learned that language that is person-blaming

or suggests permanency of the situation can dehumanize and

isolate.

One participant said: “It affects my self-esteem severely. These

people are in a place where they can make or break me, and their words

mean a lot.”

Seventy percent of participants did not recognize the phrase

“street-entrenched,” and 30 percent did not know the label “chronically

homeless” or “street-involved.” We cannot work together towards

solutions if we are using words to talk about others that they

themselves do not know.

The wrong language also contributes to over-policing and becomes

self-reinforcing by further creating barriers to housing. And in case

anyone is tempted to say I should be spending more time on solutions and

less time on words and feelings, narratives can change, dialogues can

change, and when they do, the actions we take follow.

Low-income housing, supportive housing, social housing — these are

all words and phrases we know. Well, the Aboriginal Coalition to End

Homelessness identified the need for culturally supportive housing, and

with all their efforts and the services they provide in and with their

community, they got a call from B.C. Housing one day. Would they

operate, and B.C. Housing used the term, a culturally supportive

emergency shelter — housing by and for Indigenous people?

The language is a narrative of connection, not stigma, and it led

to solutions that followed suit. The Mason Street shelter offers a safe

place, yes, but the dual model of care also means pathways to healing

through tradition, belonging and land-based healing.

The coalition also operates

SpeqƏȠéutxw House, opened in 2020

for 22 Indigenous women experiencing homelessness, with priority given

to women fleeing violence — again, a culturally supportive home with

emotional, physical and spiritual care, an auntie position, prayer and

traditional cleansing, gardens to grow medicine and food.

Each housing program also includes decolonized harm reduction.

Again, the words here matter. Decolonized harm reduction is, as the

executive director describes it, “repairing the harm to oneself by

strengthening Indigenous identity, having a sense of place, learning

traditional skills. It is strength-based, and that strength is knowing

who you are. It is knowing your roots.”

Decolonized harm reduction also helped to identify needs not met.

While our communities and our province have approached harm reduction

largely to address the devastating harm of the toxic drug supply, the

coalition and others in the community were noting that the overdoses and

health impacts and deaths they were seeing were due mostly to alcohol.

Alcohol harm reduction and support were desperately needed.

The coalition, with Island Health and as part of 191 new

supportive housing units coming to my community, will be operating a

pilot for Indigenous detox, the first of its kind. In addition to

nurses, health care professionals, there will be cultural mentors who

will be present to support before, during and after detox.

Residents of the new housing on Catherine Street will also have

access to other sources of cultural support: an Elder-in-residence,

healing reconnections to ancestral lands and family reunification and

support, particularly for those with children in care.

This organization is incredible, transformative and cutting edge.

It is rooted in tradition and, fundamentally, the voices of the

community it serves. I’m incredibly grateful for the work this

organization does in my community and for the chance to learn from and

with them.

[10:40 a.m.]

I am incredibly proud to be part of a government resourcing their

capacity-building and supporting much of the transformative and

supportive care here in Victoria–Beacon Hill.

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you to the member for Victoria–Beacon Hill for her

statement.

Language matters. My pronouns are she/her. It can empower people

and make them feel they belong or marginalize people and make them feel

invisible. Historically the world has described the male gender as

default, with our collective identity described as masculine, reinforced

by the language we use: mankind, man-made, firemen, policemen. “Hey,

guys.”

We’ve also heard language that manifests stereotypes, with people

saying: “Don’t cry like a girl.” And the double-standard description —

when both men and women behave assertively, men are described as

decisive, and women are described as being bossy. And what about calling

someone “Karen”? That’s not just because it’s the mispronunciation of my

own name, but it is negative and has a misogynistic meaning and is

offensive to women.

Language plays a crucial role in shaping culture and attitudes. In

many ways, it reflects and creates greater gender inequalities and

discrimination. It contributes to toxic male privilege that still exists

around the world, whether it’s at home, in an office or in

society.

Therefore, using gender-inclusive language is a powerful way to

promote gender equality and eradicate gender bias. The first step to

using inclusive language is for us all to consider and understand and

respect the different gender identities that make up our rich and

diverse society.

I had the honour to attend the Proud2Be event this past weekend at

Family Services of the North Shore. It was an opportunity to hear a

panel talk about how to support the emotional well-being of

gender-diverse and gender-questioning children and youth. Respecting and

honouring pronouns a young person identifies with is such an important

piece of supporting them and supporting their positive mental

health.

While there is still a long way to go towards gender equality, we

must also acknowledge that the concept of gender is changing. Last week

Canada became the first country to collect and publish census data on

gender diversity from a national census. Prior to the 2021 census,

individuals indicated that they were not able to see themselves in the

two responses that were available to them in the current census. But

changes have since been made.

Based on that report, one in 300 Canadians aged 15 or older is

transgender or non-binary. In B.C., nearly 20,000 people aged 18 and

older identify as trans or non-binary, one of the highest proportions of

any province or territory in Canada.

Our society is made up of people from a spectrum of gender

identities. As society evolves, the language of gender identity is also

evolving as we understand, accept and embrace gender classifications

that fall outside of the traditional male-female binary.

What does it mean to use gender-inclusive language? It means

speaking and writing in a way that does not discriminate against a

particular gender and that does not exhibit gender stereotypes. In fact,

Canada amended the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Criminal

Code to protect individuals from discrimination and hate-based crimes

based on their gender identification.

That should be reflected in our language every day as well. There

are techniques that we can use to make communication more inclusive.

Respect a person’s identity by addressing them by the name and pronouns

that they choose and use. If you’re unsure what name or pronoun someone

uses, then ask. Lastly, be open to changes in gender pronouns, and stay

educated.

[10:45 a.m.]

Using gender-inclusive language is about creating a world where

people, regardless of their gender, gender identity or gender

expression, feel validated and welcome. Language is one of the important

tools to empower people around us. Let’s spread the word of the positive

impact of using gender-inclusive and affirmative language. Always be

mindful, stay informed, and build a more equal world

together.

G. Lore: Thank you to my colleague from across the way for her contribution

to this and the commitment to learning and sharing what we all need to

keep top of mind for inclusion, dignity and respect.

Language is powerful. It has the power to connect. It has the

power to humanize. It has the power to dehumanize and isolate. It

affects how we see ourselves and each other and how we show up for each

other. It can change the services available.

In my community, the Aboriginal coalition’s commitment to starting

with the voices of their community not only changed the words we use.

Here in Victoria–Beacon Hill, it led to the creation of physical

buildings, of garden plots, of lives changed during land-based healing

trips. I’m grateful for my opportunity to take the seeds from those

grass roots and to plant them here, not to have a top-down approach to

language but so that the wisdom of the community can inform the work we

do here and how we do it.

When it comes to those in our communities who are unhoused or

sleeping rough, stay away from terms that blame people or suggest a

permanency. Stay away from labels like “chronically homeless” or “hard

to house.” As one of the participants noted, these words feel like:

“Someone has no hope. Why help them?” Another participant said: “Because

of labelling and stigma, we don’t deserve services.”

Instead, we can use community-based, community-centred and

person-first language that draws on strengths. When we use words like

“Indigenous street family” or “unhoused community,” it “gives a sense of

belonging.” It reflects the connections and care that those in that

community experience.

Many here in Victoria have joined with the Aboriginal Coalition to

End Homelessness with support and a commitment to learning the language

and using it to unsettle stigma — organizations and individuals like the

Vic West Community Association, B.C. Housing, Mayor Helps, MP Laurel

Collins, the Victoria fire department, the Victoria police, Island

Health, TAPS, UVic, the Victoria Foundation. So many.

I hope that my colleagues in this House will join me by also

committing to learning from the voices of community, to unsettling

stigma and to using language that brings people together and elevates

dignity, connectedness and hope.

NEW INITIATIVES TO

ASSIST WITH

INFLATION

I. Paton: We’ve heard a lot about how life is becoming more and more

unaffordable for people here in British Columbia and beyond. Inflation

in B.C. has hit 6 percent and 6.7 percent nationally. That is up from

1.6 percent, which it was in 2017. The consumer price index is a

whopping 8.5 percent higher than it was in 2017.

People are struggling to find homes to purchase or rent, as prices

continue to skyrocket for both. They’re spending a large percentage of

their budget on housing costs, which is more than they feel comfortable

with. British Columbians have also noticed their grocery bills have been

rising, their fuel costs are going up, and their dreams seem a bit

further out of reach.

As anybody in the House recognizes lately, even the things we do

day to day, going to Tim Hortons…. I would always get a small coffee to

go. Of course, it was always $1.65, and suddenly, it’s $2.10. The

ferries that we take over to get here to the Island were always $75.

Suddenly, recently, they’re $82 for us to take our vehicle on the ferry.

Candy bars, sandwiches at your local deli, the meat in the stores, a

load of groceries…. Everything seems to be skyrocketing these days with

inflation.

I’m not imagining things. Here are some real costs today versus

2017. Gas is up 70 cents per litre in Vancouver compared to 2017, which

equates to about $53 per tank on a Dodge Caravan. The average home in

Vancouver costs nearly $600,000 more than it did in 2017.

[10:50 a.m.]

When it comes to some of our regular bills, food is up 16 percent

since 2017. Beef and butter, in particular, are up 32 percent. Fresh

vegetables are up 24 percent. Housing costs are 18 percent more than in

2017. Internet service is 21 percent more than in 2017. It costs 29

percent more to enjoy video or audio subscription services.

I’ve witnessed, in the farming industry that I’m involved in, that

the two daggers that have really, really hurt the farming industry in

Canada and British Columbia in the past years are interest rates and

inflation. Of course, interest rates…. I always remember that as a

full-time farmer — in 1985, I believe — I had about $800,000 borrowed at

the bank. Believe it or not, in 1985, we were paying 14 percent interest

on the money that I had borrowed. Inflation, of course, in 1991, hit 5.6

percent, which was pretty bad. But now today, in 2022, it’s 6.7

percent.

To sum up, when you’re paying a little bit more here and a little

bit more there for almost everything, it all adds up and takes a big

toll on people’s finances. In some instances, though, it’s more than

just a little bit more.

As the critic for Agriculture, I’m in constant contact with

farmers. I have been hearing an earful lately about the rising costs

farmers are facing. If people are struggling to fill their car’s or

truck’s gas tank these days, imagine filling a tractor or several of

them. Imagine you’re a farmer with dozens of tractors and other pieces

of large equipment that are necessary for you to use to do your

job.

Felix Farms, in Delta, is a great example — the Guichon family.

They farm around 1,200 acres between Delta and Abbotsford, and this team

uses both diesel and gas. Imagine. They have roughly 25 tractors, four

forklifts, 20 trucks, and irrigation units with pumps using fuel. Their

total cost for both in 2021 were nearly $264,000 — for fuel in diesel

and gas.

We can only imagine what those costs will be this year. Peter

Guichon says he’s predicting as much as an 80 percent increase compared

to last year if diesel and gas continue to be this expensive. That’s on

top of all the other rising costs that farmers are seeing for things

like equipment, feed, fertilizer and transportation. Again, in the case

of Mr. Guichon and his operation, he believes his annual fertilizer bill

will be up about 66 percent higher over last year.

Yes, we can chalk some of this up to inflation and the COVID-19

pandemic and the ongoing war in the Ukraine, but there have also been

measures by the provincial level that have contributed to the growing

unaffordability of farming. Between the introduction of the employer

health tax, routine increases to British Columbia’s minimum wage,

increased carbon taxes with revenue neutrality, rising fuel prices, the

higher insurance premiums, it is becoming more and more difficult for

farm operations to remain viable.

Shifting the tax burden onto growers all at once does not support

a strong agriculture sector. It certainly does not support British

Columbians who are grappling with rising food prices at their local

grocery stores.

These issues are all connected. If we make it harder and more

costly for farmers to do their job and produce the things we want to buy

at the store, those costs will inevitably be passed on to the consumer

at a time when they are already struggling to pay their bills. We

already know we are taking steps to reduce their costs where

possible.

In March, Global B.C. shared the findings of a Leger poll, which

found nearly three-quarters of B.C. households were spending more on

food than last year. Households with children reported the biggest rise,

at nearly 80 percent. The poll showed one-third of British Columbians

were struggling to pay those higher grocery bills, with the most pain

felt by renters, people with incomes below $40,000 a year. On a national

scale, a survey by Angus Reid in late February found 80 percent of

Canadians were trying to lower their grocery bills, with nearly half

switching over to cheaper brands.

People in all corners of this province are doing the best they

can, finding small ways to decrease their costs. Whether it’s

individuals on fixed incomes who are shell-shocked by their rising

grocery bills, parents who have to tell kids they can’t afford the

extras on top of the basics, workers who rely on transportation

equipment and machinery to do their jobs yet struggle with the

incredibly high cost of diesel and gasoline or students — who are

already having a hard time juggling high rent and tuition costs — who

are suddenly finding themselves food inse­cure, they and others

need support from government.

I look forward to hearing from what members on the other side

might be doing as government in the near future to provide some

desperately needed relief to British Columbians.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

Of course, just to make sure everyone knows, this is private

members’ time, not opposition versus government time. It’s private

members’ time.

[10:55 a.m.]

N. Sharma: I’d like to thank the member for Delta South for bringing forward

this very important issue.

The world has been through significant challenges these past few

years with the impacts of the pandemic, multiple climate crises and,

most recently, the war in Ukraine. Here in this province, we face these

challenges with an incredible amount of solidarity, and government has

worked hard to help people through them.

Now the globe is facing rising inflation spurred by Russia’s

illegal invasion of Ukraine. The people of B.C. have continually shown

their solidarity with the Ukrainian people as we reel from the

devastation of this war. We will continue to do what we can to support

those who are fleeing from violence.

The challenges we face in B.C. are big, global challenges. Many

people around the world and in B.C. are worried about rising costs for

necessities like food and housing. It’s especially hard on people who

are already struggling to make ends meet. The Bank of Canada has said

that many factors are driving inflation, and many of those are

international, like the war in Ukraine and supply chain issues. But we

know that they’re having a direct impact on people’s lives here in

B.C.

The federal government and Bank of Canada have the tools to combat

inflation directly. Canada’s inflation rate was 6.7 percent — most

recently noted — Ontario at 7 percent, Quebec at 6.7 percent, and here

in B.C., our CPI was 6 percent. Like I mentioned, we know that this has

an impact on people’s lives.

While the Bank of Canada has the main legislative and policy tools

to set monetary policy to directly reduce inflation — and we expect them

to take action — provincial governments should focus on measures to help

make life more affordable for people. Government needs to focus on

affordability.

Government, at the end of the day, is about choices. We have made

choices to invest in people instead of changing the tax regime for the

wealthiest among us. We’ve been using that money to help people with

costs.

Some of these examples are the child opportunity benefit that

provides a tax-free monthly payment to families with children under the

age of 18. Families can receive up to $133 a month. The maximum benefit

per year is $1,600 for families with a first child, $1,000 for their

second and $800 for each subsequent child under the age of 18. These are

real supports to help families that need it the most during challenging

times.

Also, by transforming ICBC, this has resulted in money back in the

pockets of those that are using that insurance, up to an average of $500

a year.

Also, by removing MSP fees, which were paid and a burden to

families, now they can access health care which they should have been

able to do without a fee.

Another important way — and definitely more needs to be done — is

figuring out how to increase wages for people. By lifting the minimum

wage in the last four years, government has lifted minimum wage by up to

40 percent. What this does is lift people up, particularly women and

front-line service workers. Of those benefiting from the minimum wage,

60 percent are women, 42 percent are university and high school

students, and 93 percent are service workers.

The upcoming minimum wage increase to $15.65 an hour is the first

to be tied to inflation. This is the type of policy that will make sure

that workers are not left behind by rising costs of living.

I also want to talk a little bit about child care. Child care is a

significant cost for many families. Families can pay up to $2,000 a

month for their child care space. We first started working on child

care, a plan, five years ago. We made significant investments in

affordability that allowed a groundbreaking agreement with the federal

government that will help spur affordability in child care.

Families will see fees reduced by 50 percent by the end of this

year if their child is in child care from ages zero to five. This is

pretty significant if you think about the costs of a child in child care

over a span of four years. That’s tens of thousands of dollars that

families are spending. With a 50 percent reduction, that means half of

that would be put into child care which is, in fact,

life-changing.

We know that the inflation rate is affecting people across the

province. The actions on affordability to date show that the government

is committed to solving these complex problems for the good of the

people. We once again face the global challenge of rising inflation, and

the government will continue to look for options and must continue to

look for options to reduce costs for people.

[11:00 a.m.]

I. Paton: Thank you to the member for her response.

We’ve seen inflation in B.C. hit 6 percent, and people are

noticing the hit to their pocketbooks. Doing some investigation, the

four main things driving inflation in this country are fuel,

transportation, house prices, cars, equipment and the price of meat and

groceries. All four of those are things that government can fix. Many

things cannot be fixed by government, but those four main things can be

fixed.

People who are already struggling financially are now very

stressed for their future. British Columbians just can’t seem to get any

relief from rising prices, and I suspect that’s confusing them, because

government representatives have repeatedly promised to make life more

affordable in this province. However, as I outlined earlier, since 2017,

the price of everything has gone up.

Perhaps help is on the way. I will note that about a week and a

half ago, the Premier stated that the Minister of Finance “has been

directed by me to look at efforts to bring forward initiatives to assist

with inflation. We’ll see how that goes.”

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

My question is: how long do we have to wait? To say that we’ll see

how it goes doesn’t really suggest there are any concrete timelines in

place to provide those solutions that relieve…. I do hope I’ll be proven

wrong.

Deputy Speaker: Member, I’d remind you that this is a non-partisan part of the

morning.

I. Paton: I just simply used a quote that was used by the

Premier.

I’ll even contribute some of my own ideas, in case they’re helpful

to the other side. For the agriculture community, I have consistently

called for financial incentives and tax relief for farmers, such as

carbon tax rebates, tax credits for farmers transitioning to electric

farm equipment and technology, the expansion of the food donation tax

credit and PST exemptions for many farm products used on farms. I

believe that these are prudent measures that would make life more

affordable for farmers in the future and help those currently struggling

to turn a profit.

When it comes to gas prices, the Premier could make good on his

promise to step in and do something to address them. We certainly

haven’t seen much movement from that. This government could reconsider

the new used-car tax, which promises those looking to buy an affordable

used vehicle…. They could adopt our proposed change that would have

removed the PST from used vehicles under $20,000.

I could also reconsider…. It is a new tax on online marketplaces

and a recent hike on the tax for home heating systems. At a time when

life is unaffordable enough, British Columbians don’t need additional

burdens placed on them.

Hon. N. Simons: I ask the House to consider proceeding with Motion 11, tabled

in the name of my friend and colleague from

Nelson-Creston.

Deputy Speaker: Prior to calling upon the member for Nelson-Creston, unanimous

consent is required to proceed with Motion 11 without disturbing other

items on the order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 11 — YOUTH LEADERS

AND SUPPORT FOR YOUNG

PEOPLE

B. Anderson: Today I would like to make a motion.

[Be it resolved that this House recognize youth as leaders in our

province and support this Government’s actions to make life better for

young people across B.C. now and into the future.]

We know that young people have been disproportionately impacted by

the pandemic. They experienced the highest unemployment rates of any age

group and widespread disruptions to post-secondary education during the

2020-2021 school year. During the pandemic, young people have missed out

on traditional graduation ceremonies, opportunities to travel during a

gap year and had limited occasions to connect in person with their peers

and the community at large during such a foundational stage of life.

Young people are also disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis

and the housing crisis.

The Premier recognized the challenges young people are facing, and

I am grateful he appointed me to be his special adviser on youth. I have

met with young people and organizations from across the province and am

working to ensure that the voices of youth are at the forefront of our

government’s decision-making. Often, we talk about young people as

future leaders. But through my work, I have seen that young people do

not only have the potential to become leaders; they are leaders

today.

[11:05 a.m.]

Through my work, I often hear from people who have been inspired

by the young people in their lives to embrace diversity, be more

inclusive, support innovative solutions and be better stewards of our

earth. Young people are at the forefront of the change we need to see in

our society and for the planet.

I have also established B.C.’s first StrongerBC Young Leaders

Council. The council provides youth from across British Columbia with a

platform to engage with government and offer the province a better

understanding of the needs and perspectives of young British Columbians

on important issues.

The council is comprised of 18 incredible young people with

diverse backgrounds, experiences and interests from across British

Columbia. We have been meeting virtually, and I have been inspired by

their thoughtfulness, collaborative spirit and innovative ideas. These

young people not only bring their own experiences and expertise, but

they elevate the voices of their peers and communities to our

government.

I’m excited to announce that next week, we will hold our first

in-person StrongerBC Young Leaders Council meeting here at the

Legislature. In the Legislature, council members will have the

opportunity to learn how the Legislature functions and meet with the

Premier, ministers, MLAs and staff. We will be participating in a

blanket exercise, and we will be discussing our government’s CleanBC and

StrongerBC plans. Our first in-person meeting will provide the council

with an opportunity to dig deeper into the issues that matter most to

young people and provide our government with feedback so that we can

continue to build a stronger province and a brighter future for

everyone.

Members of the StrongerBC Young Leaders Council are champions

within their communities on a variety of issues, including, but not

limited to, reconciliation; anti-racism; 2SLGBTQ and gender equality;

athletics; STEM; environment and climate change. We also have at least

one entrepreneur on council, and many of the young people are involved

in their student governments. These young leaders represent some of the

most community-minded young people in our province. Their input will

make a difference for their peers and communi­ties, now and into

the future.

Our StrongerBC Young Leaders Council supports the B.C.

government’s commitment to an inclusive, innovative and sustainable

economic recovery for everyone who lives in B.C. I’m really looking

forward to hosting these young people in the Legislature, and I hope

everyone in this House will help to make the members of the StrongerBC

Young Leaders Council feel welcome when they join us here next

week.

The council’s work will continue to inform how our government can

ensure that B.C. is a great place for young people today and ensure that

they have a bright future. Young people are not only future leaders.

Young people are leaders today. I look forward to hearing from other

members.

R. Merrifield: Once upon a time, I was a young adult. But now and for the last 24

years, I’ve been a mother. Good mothers are protectors, nurturers,

teachers, listeners. We are natural empaths for our children. We look

out for their needs and hear them.

Right now we have an entire generation struggling. During COVID,

our youth were disproportionately impacted by the challenges of the

pandemic. Yes, they still worked the front-line jobs in retail, grocery

stores, salons, gyms and restaurants, but then they were told to go home

— not be with friends.

Many feared bringing COVID back to their families or spreading it

to our most vulnerable, so they were forced to separate themselves from

their support networks — their friends, families and loved ones. They

missed their graduations, their first dances, their parties and their

dates. They’ve had disruptions and distortions to their social lives.

They’ve lost friends. Their schooling has gone online in some form of

Zoomiversity, missing out on the pseudo-social aspects of their first

years and what should have been networking, friendships and that lively

courtyard debate.

[11:10 a.m.]

Furthermore, this government has failed them. Under this

administration, a disproportionate amount of the job losses and

evictions and the brunt of the affordability crisis were all faced by

our youngest working generation. They were told that if they didn’t

screw it up for the rest of society, we would emerge stronger and

better. But we didn’t.

The housing market is still so out of reach that 74 percent of

British Columbians that don’t currently own a home believe that they

never will. UBC professor Paul Kershaw says that when the baby boomers

entered young adulthood in the 1970s, it would have taken them five

years of full-time work to save up for a 20 percent down payment on a

home. The National Bank report estimates now that same home would take

36 years to save for a down payment.

Furthermore, the cost of living has skyrocketed, and our young

don’t see their jobs keeping pace. Recently my kids started texting

these memes about the cost of living. One was an itty, bitty toy grocery

cart that said: “This is what $200 buys today.” They’ve developed a

sense of humour because of their lived reality, because they live

paycheque to paycheque, and they don’t see themselves getting

ahead.

Young women today have been particularly hard hit and don’t see a

way through. They don’t see themselves in the job market and still able

to have children. Their birth control costs upwards of $30 a month, and

if they have any fertility problems, it could be upwards of

$100,000.

Then there’s child care. Child care is neither affordable nor

accessible because the promise of universal $10-a-day daycare is little

more than a pipe dream, and the government has only met a fraction of

the promised daycare spaces. Because of this, young couples are thinking

of opting out of having children and thinking twice and three times

before raising families, out of a fear that the supports they need won’t

be there for them.

Then there are the rising mental health challenges among our

youth. Research by B.C. Children’s Hospital shows two-thirds of children

in B.C. reported mood swings, anxiety or suicidal thoughts during the

pandemic, up from just one-third before the arrival of COVID-19.

Additionally, 53 percent of British Columbians over the age of 15 had

somewhat or much worse mental health during the pandemic. Did we help

them? No. We failed them.

What are they asking for? What are young adults begging for today?

Opportunity. A chance to get ahead. A chance to find their path and the

opportunity to make their way. But government has gotten so in the way

that our young people no longer believe that we have answers for them or

could even help. We have a generation of hopelessness.

If my kids watch this, I want them to see their mom standing up

for them and for all youth, for the truth of what their generation is

going through and to make sure that if we really want to make life

better for them now and into the future, it must be done so with so much

more than just words. Talk is cheap, action is everything. This young

adult generation is done with cheap government talk.

H. Yao: I stand today to fully support the member for Nelson-Creston’s

motion: “Be it resolved that this House recognize youth as leaders in

our province and support this Government’s actions to make life better

for young people across B.C. now and into the future.”

Last weekend I had the privilege to be invited to the Richmond

Delta Youth Parliament as a guest speaker. Richmond Delta Youth

Parliament’s motto is “Youth serving youth,” and the young

parliamentarians truly emulate the spirit of the motto.

Although I was the guest of honour, young parliamentarians were

truly the stars of the day. Richmond Delta youth parliamentarians

utilized a Saturday afternoon debating bills in committees, grilling

leadership in question period and exploring ideas of how to make the

future a better place for all British Columbians. While the young

parliamentarians even grilled me with sharp and insightful questions, I

was both challenged and truly inspired.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge Samuel Lee, Premier;

Jasmine Ren, Leader of the Opposition; Semiah Marquard, Speaker and

sessional director; Abby Head, Deputy Speaker; Zara Herbert, Clerk;

Joseph Chien, Clerk Assistant; Karina Valcke-Beckett, Clerk Assistant;

Marika Leigh Lopez, Clerk Assistant; Felix Mann, Clerk Assistant, Nathan

Chang, Chair; and Wesley Yiu, chief returning officer.

[11:15 a.m.]

I want to thank them for their dedication and hard work to make

the fourth Richmond Delta Youth Parliament session a success.

I was also privileged to attend the fourth Music For Love Charity

Concert. The concert was presented by students of Ms. Shan Chen and Mrs.

Rebecca Cheng. It was also complemented by the performance and support

of the Vancouver theatre orchestra and conducted by Maestro Jack Jin

Zhang. The charity concert was one of the many projects designed by the

students to fundraise for the Taiwan Fund for families and

children.

The evening was packed with beautiful performances. The students

further complemented the fundraiser with bottle drives, fundraising

sales, services for donation and other projects. In total, the students

raised over $2,000. I’m deeply moved by the students’ dedication and

compassion for the global community.

Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to take a moment to also

acknowledge all the students as well: Serena Zhao, grade 4; Jessica

Chiang Wa Li, grade 4; Janice Lloyd, grade 10; Allen Wong, grade 8;

Andrew Lee, grade 11; Amber Lyn, grade 4; Sophia Den, grade 4; Steven

Gu, grade 4; Nancy Lao, grade 6; Lexi Sin Ji Yu, grade 2; Merlyn Lee,

grade 4; Isabelle Wing, grade 5; Celine Lee, grade 10; Eileen Kyin,

grade 10; Kensi Dye, grade 3; Sophie Lee, grade 6; Alicia Lee, grade 5;

and Jenny Yen, university student.

From youth parliamentarians to music performers, I witnessed an

exceptional demonstration of leadership, courage and commitment to

global citizenship and democracy in just one weekend.

The first week of May is Youth Week, and our provincial government

is proud of every single young British Columbian for their resilience,

courage and compassion. Our government is committed to fostering a safe,

inclusive and supportive province for young British Columbians to

thrive.

We delivered many important changes and services to support youth

in B.C. Our government is committed to removing barriers and undue

challenges for youth, empowering young adults in pursuing happiness on

their own terms, encouraging young people to change the world for the

better and enriching lives to help them find the strength and resources

to care for themselves and their loved ones.

As a provincial government, we eliminated the interest on B.C.

student loans to help students who have to borrow for their education so

that education wouldn’t cost more than necessary. We invested to help

thousands of youth, women and underrepresented groups to get

apprenticeships and employment in skilled trades. We’re also investing

in open education resources, including more open textbooks for

students.

We provided funding to expand co-ops and work-integrated learning

at post-secondary institutions. We supported access to affordable

farmland for young farmers through the B.C. land matching program. We

paved the way for new student housing at various post-secondary

institutions across B.C. We expanded Foundry centres to give young

people across the province access to a one-stop shop to support mental

health and wellness.

We also improved B.C.’s Employment Standards Act to better protect

children and youth from dangerous work. We provided emergency funding to

help students cope with financial pressures caused by COVID-19, and we

eliminated post-secondary tuition and provided additional funding for

living expenses for former youth in care up to age 27.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

H. Yao: And there is much more work to do.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the time.

M. Bernier: I’m proud to take my place at this moment, on this specific motion

that was brought forward today. I think it’s interesting, when we

dissect the motion and we actually look at some of the challenges that

we’re facing right now in the province of British Columbia, because

things have never been more difficult, especially for our

youth.

The private member’s motion starts with: “Be it resolved that this

House recognize youth as leaders in our province….” I would say:

absolutely. I would say that the future of this province is obviously

our youth, and we need to do everything we can to support them, to

support them through whatever challenges they’re facing, to support them

in the next steps of life, whatever they choose to do.

The latter part of this motion talks about supporting government’s

actions to make life better for these people. I would absolutely love to

support those, if I actually saw some tangible direction from this

province and from this government that was actually helping our

youth.

[11:20 a.m.]

As I said, right now the province of British Columbia is so

unaffordable. In fact, it’s never been harder for our youth. As a father

of five children…. I know that many, many people in this House have

children as well. We see that.

The thought that our youth now have to save up for 34 years to get

a down payment on a house…. The fact is that the majority of them are

stuck renting and for the last two terms have been waiting for that $400

renters rebate from this government that was supposed to help our youth,

a majority of youth that are forced to rent.

We’ve also seen the lack of action from this government after the

devastating impacts of climate change. I know how that has been so

immensely difficult for a lot of our youth, our young families. I mean,

a case in point is the member for Fraser-Nicola.

I look around right now, and I look at the heartache of how many

young people, how many young families, have been sitting and waiting for

any glimmer of hope from this government, after the devastation in

Lytton, in getting them back into a home, getting them back into trying

to build their communities, getting back to volunteering — all the

things that we expect and hope that our youth will do. They’ve been

abandoned by this government.

I do find a bit of irony with the last part of this motion to

support government’s initiatives, when we’ve seen time and time again,

over the last half a decade of this government, so little action to help

our youth. It’s great to stand in this House and say that we should

support our youth — absolutely, we should — but as government, it’s

their job to bring forward policies and initiatives that will tangibly

and effectively help those people that we’re talking about.

The last poll that I saw in this province said about 80 percent of

our youth and young families have basically written off the concept and

the idea of ever owning a home right now in British Columbia, especially

in the Lower Mainland, where the price of a house is well over $1

million. The fact is that it has gone up $600,000 since about 2017, just

on an average house. Inflation is now at 6 percent.

We could talk about housing. We could talk about gas. We could

talk about food, rent. Every single thing that affects our youth in this

province has become more and more unaffordable. Of course we want to

support our youth. Of course we know they are the future of this

province. What’s unfortunate is how government continues to acknowledge

that part but not do anything to actually help them.

I support the idea of the motion, but I can’t support the concepts

that government is putting forward that are not helping our youth.

They’re suffering from anxiety. They’re suffering from depression,

mental health issues. We’ve seen the amount of youth that we’ve lost in

this province, during the opioid crisis, because of addictions, with no

help out there for them, even when they’re crying and screaming for

help. This is the next generation, and in so many ways, government is

failing them.

We need to step up. Government needs to do their jobs and start

fulfilling any of their promises that’ll help youth, because they are

the future of our province.

R. Leonard: I’m pleased to rise in support of the motion of the member for

Nelson-Creston, who’s also the Premier’s special adviser on youth,

regarding our youth as leaders and this government’s actions to make

life better for young people across B.C., now and into the

future.

I’d like to share the stories of some young people from the Comox

Valley and the variety of ways they’ve demonstrated great leadership. I

want to talk about Rio Crystal, an 18-year-old who took on an

incredible, gruelling goal of going 380 miles from Dawson City to the

Arctic Circle in an ultramarathon. Battling 40-below, windy, lonely

conditions, he not only completed it and won the marathon, but he did it

in less than five days. It normally takes seven days.

[11:25 a.m.]

He’s the youngest person to ever win, and he’s also the only

Canadian. You can view his interview with Elizabeth Heinz on Shaw’s

Coast Connections — it’s on YouTube — as he recounts his amazing feat.

While achieving this goal is inspirational in itself, he also shared

some profound lessons he learned on his journey of self-discovery, about

love, the joy of sharing and overcoming diversity.

Then there’s leading by engaging in what you love. Glacier View

grade 11 student Jay Jamieson returned to his former school at Lake

Trail to follow through with a project to create a pop-up free-clothing

shop and repair cafe. He picked up where it was left a few years ago.

Pre-COVID there had been a lot of conversation around the world about

textile waste, and it’s a passion of Jay’s.

He worked with Tina Willard-Stepan, the environmental educator

from Comox Strathcona Waste Management, and the Lake Trail leadership

students to bring his dream to life. They engaged businesses for

donations, solicited donations of clothes, rounded up sewers, marketed

the pop-up shop, and everyone came out a winner on Earth Day. I’m

wearing my second-hand shirt today.

Next, there’s leading with perseverance. Nalan Goosen, Will Hatch,

Ella Oldaker, Mackai Sharp and others started the Comox youth climate

action council in 2019 and organized the first student climate action

strike. They continue to build an enduring collective voice. Students

graduate or move on, but new youth join, keeping their voice alive and

strong.

How about leading through art? Student videographer Jaylene Kuo

successfully lobbied to update the school district’s dress code and

created a poignant video on the need for it to be inclusive,

gender-neutral and positive.

The second half of today’s motion is to “support this Government’s

actions to make life better for young people across B.C. now and into

the future.” Between 2001 and 2012, under the previous government,

youth, including my kids, endured the $6-an-hour training wage and the

nearly doubling of university tuition. They had smart friends who lost

out on opportunities, and we all lost out on seeing more qualified

people in the workforce because they couldn’t afford the huge debts they

would have built up to attend college or university, when the

needs-based grants for students were cut by the previous

government.

Today this government’s actions have raised the minimum wage, and

it’s set to keep pace with inflation, at $15.65 an hour, starting June

1. Our government reintroduced the B.C. access grant in 2020, supporting

40,000 low- and middle-income students. We’ve introduced interest-free

B.C. student loans. We’ve increased the number of student seats in so

many critical areas to train more nurses, early childhood educators and

health care aides, while providing more flexibility and options like

micro-credentials.

Opening doors to those whose futures were far from certain, we’ve

helped thousands of youth and others get apprenticeship and employment

in the skilled trades. Our government has funded over 2,800 student beds

since 2018, outpacing the mere 130 beds of student housing built over 16

years by the previous government. Today inflation is squeezing our

pocketbooks, but how much worse would life be if our government had not

stepped up, since our first day in office, to address the growing

despair of young people, to give them hope and opportunity?

We all know that our youth are our hope for the future. Making

life better for our young people gives them the room to grow and

prosper. It ensures a stronger B.C. for everyone, now and into the

future.

P. Milobar: Well, one thing is very clear: inflation. Everyone in this chamber

today has been acknowledging the various conversations, and inflation is

running ram­pant. What we’re not hearing from government are

actions that they have committed to, to try to actually bring relief to

people.

This is directly impacting young people disproportionately,

because young people, by virtue of being newer into the workforce,

trying to juggle work as well as go to school to get the credentialing

they need, are still typically on the lower end of the income scale. A

large portion, when we talk about low-income families, are youth in our

communities. They’re desperately looking for relief from this

government, in a wide range of areas.

[11:30 a.m.]

When they look at trying to fill up their car to be able to go to

work, no relief there from this government — in fact, the highest gas

taxes, the highest gas prices in North America. Yes, there are transit

options for many youth in our province. There are not transit options

also, though, for many youth. Many youth, even, that live in the Metro

areas and other areas of this province that are well served by transit

don’t necessarily have the transit option that gets them to their job,

depending where their job is located. They do rely on having a vehicle

to get around, to get to work.

They do rely on having a cell phone to make sure that they’re safe

and secure as they’re going back and forth to work. The days of the land

lines, especially for youth, don’t exist. They have cell phones. That’s

their new household phone. What did this government promise to do? They

promised…. Well, that was back in 2017. Heck, they sent a member all the

way out to Ottawa to address cell phone bills — haven’t seen any action

on that front whatsoever.

That is the way that young people do try to communicate, try to

get around — no action from this government. Instead, what did we see in

this year’s budget, on page 91? We saw a tax action on used cars that

will directly hurt low-income families. It says it right in their

document — their own budget document. It will impact low-income people

the most. Youth are those low-income people. Youth need the used

vehicles. Youth are not going out to try to buy a car, en masse, that’s

new.

If they are — and it’s their right to do that — it puts them

further and further away from trying to enter the housing market,

because their borrowing power gets further eroded. For every $400 of a

car payment they have, they lose another $100,000 of buying ability for

a home. A lot of youth don’t understand that, necessarily, at the time

that they get into those contracts to get a vehicle. So a lot, as they

become more aware, go to the used-car market.

What is this government’s response to a tax measure that will be

punitive to them, when they’re told in their own budget document? It’s

to go full steam ahead with it, call them tax cheats, call them tax

evaders. They’re simply youth trying to get a safe, reliable vehicle to

be able to get to work, to get to school, to be able to socialize with

their friends.

Our solution was to bring forward an amendment to remove the PST

completely on any used vehicle under $20,000. It would have saved $2,400

to buy a safe, secure, reliable used vehicle — not be treated like a tax

cheat, not be called a tax evasion specialist by government but,

instead, enabling youth who are buying used vehicles to be able to do

that and have a little bit of savings.

When we talk about a housing affordability crisis, a lot of focus

goes on the purchase, and that’s absolutely correct. It should. But that

also puts pressure on rents — as housing prices go up. Youth are also

heavy in the rental market, so they’re getting forced into more and more

unsafe, questionable rental options and basement suites and others that

haven’t necessarily passed safety standards — no action from this

government.

As we see inflation at 6 percent, as we see record gas prices, at

$2.07 — I saw it at some pumps yesterday, or $2.079; we’ve become so

desensitized that we won’t even call that $2.08 — a litre, and zero

action from this government. Yet we see, across jurisdictions, that

action has been taken — attempts at trying to do something. What’s the

Premier’s response? “Well, the Minister of Finance is looking at things

and maybe, sometime in the near future, she may or may not have some

options for people to look at for inflation.”

This has been going on for months. We need options now, not months

from now. So I do hope that the government will actually take it

seriously and properly start trying to support our youth, because by

every measure and by their own budget document, on page 91, they’re

taking punitive action against low-income people.

J. Sims: It’s a pleasure today to rise and speak on the motion before this

House.

I, first of all, want to congratulate the work done by the

parliamentary secretary, special adviser on youth, to say that she has

been doing amazing outreach and engaging youth in planning for their

future. I think that’s something we’ve always got to remember. It’s not

what we do for youth; it’s what we do with youth. Our agenda needs to be

driven by the needs of youth. So thank you very much for all the work

you do.

[11:35 a.m.]

Today I want to focus a little bit on celebrating our youth. I

think that often we sell them short on their amazing capabilities and

abilities to engage in the democratic process, to engage in social

justice work, to work in the area of climate change — and really have a

passion for building a more just and inclusive society. I can tell you

that both when I was a teacher and now being in this position, my

inspiration comes from the youth I interact with. They inspire us all.

I’m sure all of you feel the same. They inspire us to be better and to

do better, both in this House and when we’re outside.

I’m very proud of the fact that we have a round table with youth

that we are consulting with. I’m also proud of the work we’ve done

around the tuition fees, interest not having to be paid on loans. A huge

help. I had tears in my office when that happened. Basic education now

being accessible and not having to pay for it. University housing being

built at a good rate.

Child care. We often think of child care. What does that have to

do with youth? Young people have babies. Remember, youth is no longer if

you’re under 16. The definition of youth tends to go higher and higher.

I can tell you that for my granddaughter having the $10-a-day child care

available allowed her to work and to continue with her education. All of

those things do help.

Today let me now focus on an event and share some of the amazing

stories I heard. I was at Surrey’s 12th annual Top 25 Under 25 Awards

winners. You know, Madam Speaker, when they were up there, I didn’t

think I was looking at people…. They were ages anywhere from ten up to

25. Every one of them, when they stood there and talked about their

project and the amazing things they’ve done….

As I got to meet them all one on one, I was just in awe. The work

being done around social services, around technology, around helping

people through COVID, the amazing work being done with the different

ethnic communities to support them through COVID with culturally

sensitive support systems, especially in the area of mental

health….

You had Mohamed Sheikh Abdir, Pioneer Your Dreams Agency. Arnav

Dada, SPARK Foundation. He founded that. Owen Davenport, Young

Entrepreneurs of Canada Association, CEO of that association at the age

of 23. Emandeep Dhanoya, Voices of Today Foundation and Youth

Transforming Society. She’s 20. Manpreet Dhesi, GenConnect, helping

people to connect with each other during these very, very difficult

times. Karmin Dhindsa, Joe Local Business Connect. Vanessa Fajemisin,

Solid State Community Industries. Omer Faraz, Globalizers Philanthropy

Club. Amazing, amazing work being done there.

Arsh Gill, SFU Axis Consulting, once again providing incredible

support in the academic arena. Daniel Istifanus, CoinPlay. I found that

fascinating. Jshandeep Jassal, Solid State Community Industries. Manraj

Johal, KidsPlay Youth Foundation. Sanjana, Your Words Matter to Us.

Pioneer Your Dreams Agency, Sahil Khaleque. Jesika Kula, Seedling Art

Co. By the way, he’s ten. Gurik Mangat, FyreWatch Artificial

Intelligence. The work being done there — absolutely in awe.

Natasha Mhuriro, Black in BC Community Support Fund for COVID-19.

Maheep Nagra, KidsPlay Youth Foundation.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member. Thank you very much.

J. Sims: You can see, Madam, I hardly got through any of it. Thank

you.

C. Oakes: I’m very pleased this morning to speak to the motion of making

life better for young people.

I’d like to open my remarks by acknowledging all of the student

leadership organizations across this province for the incredible

advocacy that they do to members of this House and on behalf of students

in British Columbia.

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a highly engaged and

educated population of young people who are committed to making this

province fantastic. We are also privileged to attract thousands of young

people every year to the province who come to British Columbia from

across Canada and, indeed, the world to better themselves through

post-secondary education.

[11:40 a.m.]

We know that in the next ten years, we will face a shortage of

workers in this province. It is, in fact, expected that more than one

million job openings will become available due to retirement of the baby

boomers and our general population growth. In fact, we experience that

right now across the province in our communities.

One of the best solutions to addressing this labour shortage,

however, is our world-class post-secondary education system. By

attracting young people from around the world to British Columbia, we

can encourage them to establish their lives here and their careers here.

In order to do this, however, the conditions need to be

right.

I want to again acknowledge all of the student associations who

advocate to each of us every year. One of the things that I hear year in

and year out is the concern around international students being able to

afford their education here in British Columbia. International students

tuition has increased by 39 percent over four years under the NDP

government. In 2017, the average international student tuition fee rate

forbachelor of arts degrees at UBC was $28,000. By 2021, it had risen to

more than $38,000. That’s a $10,000 increase over four years.

The unpredictability of international tuition is only one example

of post-secondary education becoming increasingly unaffordable.

Students, both domestic and international, are struggling to keep up

with the rising rates of inflation and the general affordability across

the province.

Full-time students often cannot make enough money through

part-time and summer jobs to cover tuition and living expenses. As rent

and grocery prices increase, the number of students who experience food

insecurity is increasing. Students are three times more likely to

experience food insecurity than the general population. This can have

long-term effects on students’ lives and their abilities to

succeed.

One study at UBCO found that 25 percent of food-insecure students

had to reduce their course load to afford tuition and living expenses.

Food-insecure students are more likely to have lower grade point

averages or to drop out of their studies due to financial

reasons.

The affordability challenges do not stop there. Between February

2021 and February 2022, the average rent in Vancouver increased by 23

percent. When the prices of tuition and rent are skyrocketing, it is no

wonder that B.C. students are calling for more support.

Despite the fact that this government has the tools available to

provide relief, they continue to delay action. The promised renters

rebate is still nowhere to be seen, and students are facing annual

tuition hikes. In a recent study, it found that 30 percent of new

Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 years old are likely to move to

another country in the next two years. Nearly a quarter of

university-educated new Canadians are likely to move. The top reasons

for this are the high cost of living, experiences of discrimination and

racism, and the current leadership in government.

Highly skilled young people in British Columbia are feeling

hopeless about their prospects. Even if they manage to make it through

their post-secondary degrees, their entry-level salaries are not high

enough to meet the current cost of living.

If we have any hope of retaining these fantastic young people, we

must do better to support them during their studies and after. No

student should have to go hungry, withdraw from their studies or move

away because of B.C.’s unaffordability crisis.

It’s time we all take action and support the future of our

province.

K. Paddon: I am grateful to be able to rise today to offer my support to the

motion. I have heard today from others about the youth in their

communities who are making a difference, and I’m grateful for them

sharing.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with and for youth in

Chilliwack-Kent over the past decades, and I know this to be true: the

youth in our communities are truly spectacular and inspiring. They are

doing amazing things to make our community better. We need only to

provide the tools and safe space, and they will create the most amazing

things.

[11:45 a.m.]

I count myself as lucky that I have had the opportunity to hear

from so many youth in Chilliwack-Kent. It’s great to hear about the

passion for equity, diversity, environment and building a stronger

future.

Last year I was privileged to be able to offer three incredible

youth from Chilliwack-Kent scholarships as they finished high school and

started their post-secondary journeys, something I’m looking forward to

doing again this year. Zee Goertzen, Nicole Pope and Jelisse Holiday

were the recipients of the 2021 scholarships.

The work, dedication and leadership they each showed in our

community was inspiring — from taking on leadership challenges in

school; diving into agriculture, trades and culinary arts; training;

volunteering countless hours for their peers, schools and communities;

leading change and development of mental health resources; leading

research; participating in clubs; peer mentorship; supporting each other

through Queer Cafe and other inclusive groups — all while excelling in

classes and, in some cases, working part-time jobs. All three recipients

gave to our communities in ways that made us all better while they were

growing and transitioning themselves.

It’s important to acknowledge that youth are in transition, and

transition is incredibly difficult and challenging in the best of times,

let alone when there are additional difficulties layered on this

demanding time of life. We know that the past couple of years have been

extremely difficult as youth have experienced school and extracurricular

activities that have been significantly impacted, social opportunities

and connections that have been disrupted, and even things like having a

part-time job have become dramatically more complex as a result of the

pandemic.

I’ve said it before, and I believe it more than ever. The youth in

Chilliwack-Kent today — who have been through the ups and downs and

uncertainties, who have now been impacted with three school years that

were difficult — are very likely the most agile, innovative, resilient,

creative and socially dedicated young people I have ever had the

pleasure of working with and for.

It has been hard, which is why I’m so grateful that our government

has been hard at work. We’ve been building a better network of mental

health supports for these youth, including mental health programs in

schools and expanding the number of integrated child and youth teams.

These teams in schools are focused on prevention, wellness promotion and

early intervention. We’ve also been doubling the number of treatment

beds for youth struggling with addictions in B.C.

What about those first jobs that so many youth experience during

or shortly after high school right into and beyond post-secondary? Our

government has increased the minimum wage and eliminated the serving

wage for workers in the hospitality industry. The increases have

benefitted close to 400,000 British Columbians over the years, and we

know that the majority of those are youth, women and immigrants. And we

have improved B.C.’s Employment Standards Act to better protect children

and youth from dangerous work and ensure that they are safe.

So many youth are studying and working to be able to continue

their education and post-secondary training, which is why changes made

by our government are so important to supporting youth in post-secondary

— changes like re-establishing needs-based student grants to make

post-secondary education and training more affordable for thousands of

students and eliminating the interest on B.C. student loans.

As a parent, I am grateful for the community around my youth who

help me to support them, and I will be there for them throughout this

transition if they need a little bit extra help. But we know that’s not

the situation for all youth. When our government announced the

additional supports for youth in care during their transition to

adulthood, I was overwhelmed thinking how many lives that would change.

Now we’ll all be there for these youth and support them as they grow and

they reach.

Youth are leaders in Chilliwack-Kent and across British Columbia,

and despite some saltiness today, I know that we are all dedicated to

ensuring that they reach for their dreams.

To the youth in Chilliwack-Kent and B.C. and to all who support

them, thank you for everything you do. Thank you for speaking up. Keep

stepping up. I can’t wait to see what you do next.

B. Banman: It is indeed a privilege to get up and speak on this

motion.

As an MLA, I think one of the most important aspects of our job is

to ensure that, with each and every decision that is made in this House,

we consider and strive to improve the lives of future generations. It is

one of the tenets, one of the principles, I ran for, as a

fact.

[11:50 a.m.]

We have an obligation to make our province better, whether it

comes to improving access to mental health resources or being able to

find an affordable home or being able to afford transit or seeking a

great education where you can get a better standard of life. All of

these things are important to the youth in our province but are sorely

lacking from this government.

Every youth I speak with, especially in my riding of Abbotsford,

is concerned about the lack of access to affordable housing. Whether it

is skyrocketing rental prices or being able to get into the housing

market, few are finding either goal achievable. In 2021 alone, we saw

home prices increase by 38 percent in Abbotsford.

According to the Real Estate Association, the March average MLS

residential price in British Columbia was an outstanding $1.1 million, a

15 percent increase from last year. How many young people or families in

British Columbia can afford a home at this price?

In fact, according to a National Bank report, it will take them

more than three decades to save for a down payment on a typical

Vancouver home. It’s no wonder a recent Ipsos-Reid poll said that of

those who do not own a home, 63 percent have given up on the hope of

ever having one. It’s simply heartbreaking, and it’s just not good

enough.

Now, if they’re not able to buy their home, maybe they’ll think of

turning to the rental market. But renters are also priced out. Since

2017, the average annualized rent across the province has increased more

than $2,800. That’s $2,800 less that B.C. families have for gas,

groceries and life’s other necessities, and the promised renters rebate

is nowhere to be found.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there continues to be so much

competition among renters due to an incredibly low vacancy rate. The

provincial vacancy rate sits at 1.4 percent, and it is even lower in

Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. This makes it incredibly

stressful for families and individuals, as they’re competing amongst one

another to merely secure a roof over their heads.

How did we get to this point? The government is now finally

acknowledging that the single-largest reason, the biggest factor driving

these astronomical high prices, is a lack of supply. In responding to

this challenge, however, the government is way too slow to act. It is

clear they don’t understand the urgency required to address the

afforda­bility crisis.

At the end of the day, the facts speak for themselves. This

two-term government sat and watched the cost of housing dramatically

increase. Instead, they constantly scapegoated foreigners, developers

and speculators. It has taken them half a decade to figure out what

we’ve known all along — that there’s actually a massive supply

challenge. Here we are, six budgets later, with the most expensive

housing prices in the history of this province yet not a word of hope

from this government’s budget.

Young families aren’t only facing a housing squeeze; they’re also

facing significant issues finding affordable child care spaces.

Furthermore, B.C. is currently experiencing an early childhood educator

worker shortage. Places like Richmond, Burnaby and my own community of

Abbotsford have among the highest fees for child care in the

country.

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alter­natives,

Richmond was among the five cities in Canada with the highest toddler

fees, a median space costing a whopping $1,300 a month. That cost is too

high for many young families and, critically, women who must now decide

between looking after their children or entering the

workforce.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Let’s face it. The cost of everything is going up in B.C., not

just housing since 2017. Since this government came up to power, gas is

up 95 percent; the Internet is up 24 percent; food is up by 16 percent.

Even the cost of streaming services like Netflix has gone up 29

percent.

What is clear is that despite all the rhetoric, despite all the

posturing, the pontificating and promises from the other side of the

House, actual affordability for British Columbians is becoming

impossible, and sadly, it will continue to drive young people out of

this province.

F. Donnelly: I appreciate the opportunity to rise and speak to the motion that

this House recognize youth as leaders in our province and support this

government’s actions to make life better for young people across British

Columbia now and into the future.

[11:55 a.m.]

I’d also like to thank the member for Nelson-Creston for bringing

this motion forward and for being an excellent role model for young

people.

Speaker, if I could take a moment to brag a bit about my seatmate.

She’s a strong advocate for taking bold action on climate change, a

champion for active transportation, small business and for regenerative

agriculture.

Before becoming an MLA, she was a city councillor in Nelson. In

2014, she co-founded the Cannabis Conservancy, a company that

facilitates environmental certification for the growing cannabis

industry. She was also elected LVR’s school prime minister. Today she is

the special adviser to the Premier of British Columbia on

youth.

A shout-out to her parents Terry and Deb and, of course,

Stella.

Speaking today, young people are very aware of issues facing our

communities and are stepping up to create real, meaningful change. I

recently met with a number of youth leaders in Coquitlam–Burke Mountain

who are working hard to improve our community and make B.C. better for

everyone. I’d like to highlight two youth groups in Coquitlam who are

leading the way in addressing two important and interrelated issues

affecting youth in our province — the overdose crisis and youth

homelessness.

I met with SFU student Chloe Goodison in December after learning

about the work of NaloxHome, a non-profit organization she founded. She

was running a clothing drive to keep Coquitlam shelter residents warm

over the winter. Chloe came by my office to pick up donations we had

gathered and to tell me more about NaloxHome.

Her youth-led organization is based in the Tri-Cities and is

committed to helping end the toxic drug supply by educating young people

of the signs of an overdose, where to get and how to administer naloxone

and helping end the stigma around substance use.

Chloe was only 16 years old when she witnessed her first overdose

at a SkyTrain station. A teenager collapsed on her. Chloe called 911.

After that experience, Chloe was determined to make a difference about

the toxic drug crisis, and she has. Today NaloxHome has 25 dedicated

local youth educators, aged 18 to 24, who have reached more than 1,500

students in their first year of operation in 2021.

I recently met with 18 Gleneagle Secondary students in Coquitlam

who, on April 21, spent the night sleeping outside in the cold on

cardboard boxes to gain insight as to what it’s like to be homeless and

to raise money for homeless youth in B.C. The Sleep Out was led by grade

11 student leaders Ruby Charney and Guy Min Jang and grade 12 student

leader Izabela Fabbro.

Prior to the Sleep Out, I spoke with the students. We had a

thoughtful discussion about youth homelessness and how people can be

empowered to make a difference in our community. These 18 students

raised more than $3,000 for Covenant House Vancouver, an organization

that supports homeless youth by offering shelter, clothing, food and

life skills training.

I am in awe of the passion and determination of these young

people.

I’d like to thank Chloe and the NaloxHome youth educators, along

with the Gleneagle Secondary student leaders, for their tireless

efforts. They remind us of the responsibility we have to support,

empower and make life better for all young people across British

Columbia.

I am confident they will carry this attitude forward with them and

continue to make a positive impact and inspire other young people to

become leaders of change, just like the member for

Nelson-Creston.

F. Donnelly moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. N. Simons moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. today.

The House adjourned at 12 noon.

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