British Columbia Hansard — 4 March 2021, a.m., Issue 20 (42nd Parliament, 1st Session)

20210304am-Hansard-n20

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

First Session, 42nd Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday, March 4, 2021 Morning Sitting Issue No. 20 THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC First Session, 42nd Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Raj Chouhan EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John Horgan Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training...........................................................................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries......................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing .............................................................................................Hon. David Eby, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................................Hon.

Mitzi Dean Minister of State for Child Care...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Minister of Citizens’ Services.....................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Education .................................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Jennifer Whiteside Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation ........................................................................................Hon. Bruce Ralston, QC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy............................................................................................. Hon. George Heyman Minister of Finance .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Selina Robinson Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations................................................................................. Hon. Nathan Cullen Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs.............................................................................Hon.

Adrian Dix Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation .......................................................................................... Hon. Murray Rankin, QC Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation....................................................................................................... Hon. Ravi Kahlon Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon.

George Chow Minister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Harry Bains Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.............................................................................................................. Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Minister of Municipal Affairs ............................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Josie Osborne Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon. Mike Farnworth Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction........................................................................................... Hon. Nicholas Simons Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport .................................................................................................................. Hon.

Melanie Mark Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of State for Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Bowinn Ma LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition...................................................................................................................................................Shirley Bond Leader of the Third Party .......................................................................................................................................................... Sonia Furstenau Deputy Speaker..........................................................................................................................................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Assistant Deputy Speaker..............................................................................................................................................................Norm Letnick Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole .......................................................................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ...........................................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel.............................................................................................................................. Seunghee Suzie Seo Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services........................................................................................................................... Artour Sogomonian Clerk of Committees.......................................................................................................................................................................

Jennifer Arril Clerk Assistant, Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..............................................................................................Susan Sourial Senior Research Analyst ................................................................................................................................................................... Karan Riarh Acting Sergeant-at-Arms..................................................................................................................................................................Greg Nelson

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Alexis, Pam (BC NDP) ............................................................Abbotsford-Mission Anderson, Brittny (BC NDP) .........................................................Nelson-Creston Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Penticton Babchuk, Michele (BC NDP)...............................................................North Island Bailey, Brenda (BC NDP).................................................. Vancouver–False Creek Bains, Hon. Harry (BC NDP).........................................................

Surrey-Newton Banman, Bruce (BC Liberal Party) ............................................ Abbotsford South Beare, Hon. Lisa (BC NDP) .......................................

Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry (BC NDP).................................................................Surrey-Guildford Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ...............................................Peace River South Bond, Shirley (BC Liberal Party).................................Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (BC NDP) ................................................................Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal Party) .............................................

Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–West End Chant, Susie (BC NDP) ..............................................North Vancouver–Seymour Chen, Hon. Katrina (BC NDP) ............................................... Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Hon. Raj (BC NDP).................................................Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon. George (BC NDP) ..........................................Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal Party)........................Columbia River–Revelstoke Conroy, Hon.

Katrine (BC NDP) ....................................................Kootenay West Coulter, Dan (BC NDP) .......................................................................... Chilliwack Cullen, Hon. Nathan (BC NDP) ................................................................... Stikine Davies, Dan (BC Liberal Party)................................................. Peace River North de Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal Party)....................................Abbotsford West Dean, Hon. Mitzi (BC NDP) ...............................................

Esquimalt-Metchosin D’Eith, Bob (BC NDP) .........................................................Maple Ridge–Mission Dix, Hon. Adrian (BC NDP) ................................................ Vancouver-Kingsway Doerkson, Lorne (BC Liberal Party) ........................................Cariboo-Chilcotin Donnelly, Fin (BC NDP) .......................................... Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Dykeman, Megan (BC NDP)............................................................... Langley East Eby, Hon. David, QC (BC NDP).......................................

Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (BC NDP) ..................................................Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (BC NDP) .................................................Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (BC NDP) ...............................................

Victoria–Swan Lake Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) .............................................Cowichan Valley Glumac, Rick (BC NDP) ..................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Greene, Kelly (BC NDP) ........................................................Richmond-Steveston Halford, Trevor (BC Liberal Party) .........................................Surrey–White Rock Heyman, Hon. George (BC NDP) .........................................Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon. John (BC NDP) ......................................... Langford–Juan de Fuca Kahlon, Hon.

Ravi (BC NDP) .............................................................. Delta North Kang, Hon. Anne (BC NDP) .................................................. Burnaby–Deer Lake Kirkpatrick, Karin (BC Liberal Party) ........................West Vancouver–Capilano Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal Party)....................................................................Shuswap Lee, Michael (BC Liberal Party) ..............................................Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (BC NDP)...............................................

Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal Party) .................................. Kelowna–Lake Country Lore, Grace (BC NDP)........................................................... Victoria–Beacon Hill Ma, Hon. Bowinn (BC NDP).....................................North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Hon. Sheila (BC NDP)........................................................Nanaimo Mark, Hon. Melanie (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Mercier, Andrew (BC NDP) ........................................................................

Langley Merrifield, Renee (BC Liberal Party)......................................... Kelowna-Mission Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal Party) .......................... Kamloops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ................................. Prince George–Mackenzie Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal Party).................................................. Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (BC Green Party)............................ Saanich North and the Islands Osborne, Hon.

Josie (BC NDP)........................................Mid Island–Pacific Rim Paddon, Kelli (BC NDP) ................................................................Chilliwack-Kent Paton, Ian (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Delta South Popham, Hon. Lana (BC NDP)........................................................ Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce, QC (BC NDP) .............................................Surrey-Whalley Rankin, Hon.

Murray, QC (BC NDP) .............................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Rice, Jennifer (BC NDP) ...................................................................... North Coast Robinson, Hon. Selina (BC NDP)...................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal Party)......................................................................... Skeena Routledge, Janet (BC NDP) .............................................................Burnaby North Routley, Doug (BC NDP)...........................................

Nanaimo–North Cowichan Russell, Roly (BC NDP).................................................... Boundary-Similkameen Rustad, John (BC Liberal Party)......................................................Nechako Lakes Sandhu, Harwinder (BC NDP) .................................................Vernon-Monashee Sharma, Niki (BC NDP)..........................................................Vancouver-Hastings Shypitka, Tom (BC Liberal Party) .................................................... Kootenay East Simons, Hon. Nicholas (BC NDP).........................

Powell River–Sunshine Coast Sims, Jinny (BC NDP) ................................................................. Surrey-Panorama Singh, Aman (BC NDP) .............................................Richmond-Queensborough Singh, Rachna (BC NDP)...................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Starchuk, Mike (BC NDP) ......................................................... Surrey-Cloverdale Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal Party) .......................................................

Kelowna West Stone, Todd (BC Liberal Party) ...............................Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal Party) ............................. West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal Party)....................................................... Fraser-Nicola Walker, Adam (BC NDP) ....................................................... Parksville-Qualicum Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal Party) ....................................... Richmond North Centre Whiteside, Hon. Jennifer (BC NDP) .........................................

New Westminster Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal Party)......................Vancouver-Quilchena Y ao, Henry (BC NDP) ..................................................... Richmond South Centre LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission................................................................................. Pam Alexis Abbotsford South...............................................................................Bruce Banman Abbotsford West......................................................................

Michael de Jong, QC Boundary-Similkameen........................................................................ Roly Russell Burnaby–Deer Lake....................................................................... Hon. Anne Kang Burnaby-Edmonds......................................................................Hon. Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed .................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Burnaby North .................................................................................

Janet Routledge Cariboo-Chilcotin ..........................................................................Lorne Doerkson Cariboo North.................................................................................... Coralee Oakes Chilliwack ...............................................................................................Dan Coulter Chilliwack-Kent .................................................................................... Kelli Paddon Columbia River–Revelstoke .........................................................

Doug Clovechok Coquitlam–Burke Mountain...............................................................Fin Donnelly Coquitlam-Maillardville ...................................................... Hon. Selina Robinson Courtenay-Comox................................................................... Ronna-Rae Leonard Cowichan Valley ............................................................................. Sonia Furstenau Delta North................................................................................... Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Delta South ..................................................................................................Ian Paton Esquimalt-Metchosin .................................................................... Hon. Mitzi Dean Fraser-Nicola .........................................................................................

Jackie Tegart Kamloops–North Thompson .............................................................Peter Milobar Kamloops–South Thompson..................................................................Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country .....................................................................Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission ...........................................................................

Renee Merrifield Kelowna West ..........................................................................................Ben Stewart Kootenay East.......................................................................................Tom Shypitka Kootenay West........................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Langford–Juan de Fuca .............................................................. Hon.

John Horgan Langley .............................................................................................Andrew Mercier Langley East....................................................................................Megan Dykeman Maple Ridge–Mission.............................................................................. Bob D’Eith Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows............................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim............................................................ Hon.

Josie Osborne Nanaimo.............................................................................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo–North Cowichan............................................................... Doug Routley Nechako Lakes........................................................................................ John Rustad Nelson-Creston ............................................................................. Brittny Anderson New Westminster.............................................................. Hon.

Jennifer Whiteside North Coast ........................................................................................... Jennifer Rice North Island................................................................................... Michele Babchuk North Vancouver–Lonsdale......................................................... Hon. Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour...................................................................Susie Chant Oak Bay–Gordon Head..................................................Hon.

Murray Rankin, QC Parksville-Qualicum........................................................................... Adam Walker Peace River North ................................................................................... Dan Davies Peace River South ................................................................................ Mike Bernier Penticton ................................................................................................. Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam...................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam.......................................................................Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast..............................................Hon. Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie....................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ..................................................................

Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre..........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough..................................................................Aman Singh Richmond South Centre .......................................................................... Henry Y ao Richmond-Steveston ............................................................................

Kelly Greene Saanich North and the Islands .............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South .............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap...................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena........................................................................................................... Ellis Ross Stikine........................................................................................ Hon.

Nathan Cullen Surrey-Cloverdale .............................................................................. Mike Starchuk Surrey-Fleetwood.....................................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers........................................................................Rachna Singh Surrey-Guildford......................................................................................Garry Begg Surrey-Newton ..............................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ...................................................................................... Jinny Sims Surrey South ................................................................................ Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Whalley ................................................................. Hon. Bruce Ralston, QC Surrey–White Rock .......................................................................... Trevor Halford Vancouver-Fairview.............................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek...................................................................... Brenda Bailey Vancouver-Fraserview...............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ..............................................................................Niki Sharma Vancouver-Kensington....................................................................... Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..................................................................... Hon.

Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara................................................................................ Michael Lee Vancouver–Mount Pleasant..................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Vancouver–Point Grey ............................................................Hon. David Eby, QC Vancouver-Quilchena........................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Vancouver–West End .....................................................Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee .....................................................................

Harwinder Sandhu Victoria–Beacon Hill............................................................................... Grace Lore Victoria–Swan Lake.................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano...........................................................Karin Kirkpatrick West Vancouver–Sea to Sky................................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC NDP 57; BC Liberal Party 28; BC Green Party 2

CONTENTS Thursday, March 4, 2021 Morning Sitting Page Routine Business Introduction and First Reading of Bills.................................................................................................................................. 479 Bill 5 — Insurance Corporation Amendment Act, 2021 Hon. M. Farnworth Bill 10 — Supply Act (No. 1), 2021 Hon. S. Robinson Statements (Standing Order 25B) ........................................................................................................................................... 479 Kelowna General Hospital R.

Merrifield Chamber of commerce business award recipients in Maple Ridge, Mission and Pitt Meadows B. D’Eith Delta Hospital Auxiliary Society I. Paton COVID-19 impact R. Russell Work of Saanich North and the Islands constituency office A. Olsen Marcelina Perdido Agulay M. Elmore Oral Questions........................................................................................................................................................................... 482 Delay of COVID-19 vaccine second dose for seniors and staff in long-term-care facilities S. Bond Hon. A. Dix R.

Merrifield Disaggregated data collection and use A. Olsen Hon. D. Eby COVID-19 vaccination plan approach and priorities J. Tegart Hon. A. Dix B. Banman M. Bernier M. de Jong Orders of the Day Second Reading of Bills ............................................................................................................................................................ 487 Bill 9 — Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act, 2021 Hon. J. Osborne D. Ashton J. Sims C. Oakes M. Starchuk

THURSDAY , MARCH 4, 2021 The House met at 10:04 a.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Prayers and reflections: Hon. S. Malcolmson. [10:05 a.m.] Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL 5 — INSURANCE CORPORATION AMENDMENT ACT, 2021 Hon. M. Farnworth presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Insurance Corporation Amendment Act, 2021. Hon. M. Farnworth:I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 5, the Insurance Corpor- ation Amendment Act, 2021.

This bill amends the Insur- ance Corporation Act to provide for an ICBC fairness officer, who will be appointed by the Lieutenant-Gov- ernor-in-Council. This new officer will have a legislative mandate to review and make recommendations to ICBC to resolve individual customer complaints as well as with respect to policy and process related to customer fair- ness. As a government appointment, the fairness officer will have greater independence from ICBC and be independ- ent from ICBC’s claims arm. This is intended to increase transparency and trust in ICBC. Mr. Speaker:The question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved. Hon. M. Farnworth:I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for the second reading at the next sit- ting of the House after today. Bill 5, Insurance Corporation Amendment Act, 2021, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. BILL 10 — SUPPLY ACT (No. 1), 2021 Hon. S. Robinson presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Supply Act (No. 1), 2021. Hon. S. Robinson:I move that Bill 10, Supply Act (No. 1), 2021, be introduced and read a first time now.

Bill 10 provides interim supply for ministry operations and other appropriations for approximately the first three months of the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Bill 10 also provides interim supply for a portion of government’s anticipated financing requirements for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, including an amount equalling one- third of fiscal year 2020-21, estimated capital expenditures, loans, investments and other financing requirements; and an amount equalling one-half of fiscal year 2020-21, estim- ated disbursements for revenues collected on behalf of and transferred to specific programs and entities. Mr.

Speaker:The question is first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Hon. S. Robinson:I move that Bill 10 be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Bill 10, Supply Act (No. 1), 2021, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. [10:10 a.m.] Statements (Standing Order 25B) KELOWNA GENERAL HOSPITAL R. Merrifield:Heritage Week was just a week ago, and I enjoyed celebrating by looking back at what Kelowna Gen- eral Hospital was back in 1908.

It started with a donation of land from Kelowna Land and Orchard and only had 19 beds when it first opened. One of the first physicians at KGH was Dr. William Knox, who was a pioneer in med- ical care in the Okanagan. He was also the only doctor in Kelowna during both World War I and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Dr. Knox single-handedly treated patients during the epidemic. Dr. Knox’s efforts were impressive, but the hospital was losing money and was on the verge of closing when nurses, merchants and the community ral- lied to help keep the hospital open. Over the decades, KGH has changed greatly.

Today it offers a full roster of service and has thousands of employ- ees, and with the addition of the clinical academic campus, the hospital is raising the next generation of doctors. But what is KGH? What sets it apart? Well, it’s the ded- ication, expertise and spirit of service of the hospital staff, pioneered by Dr. Knox in the early 1900s and evident throughout the hospital’s history, extending to today. While the hospital building itself has changed through the years, that spirit still persists. 479

Today, a year into this pandemic, I celebrate all of the nurses, support staff, doctors, technicians, administrators and front-line workers who continue to serve the Interior Health Authority region and the constituents of my riding in Kelowna-Mission. But I also hear your fatigue. I can only imagine your sacrifices. I believe that we would not be faring as well through this time without your efforts. Thank you for extending a smile, a kind word, and giv- ing us your expertise, which continues to give us hope to get through this trying time.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS AW ARD RECIPIENTS IN MAPLE RIDGE, MISSION AND PITT MEADOWS B. D’Eith: This year it’s especially important that we acknowledge businesses, organizations and individuals who contribute to our communities. I want to take this opportunity to highlight the winners of our recent cham- bers of commerce Business Excellence Awards in Maple Ridge, Mission and Pitt Meadows. In Ridge Meadows, Friends in Need Food Bank was recognized as Non-Profit Organization of the Y ear. Paul Gurm was the winner of the Community Spirit of the Y ear award for his fundraising work.

Westgate Flower Garden received the Small Business of the Y ear award, and Matteo Signorelli was recognized as the Under 40 Professional of the Y ear for his indoor bike and skate business park, the Air Rec Center. Lisa Craik was hon- oured as Business Leader of the Y ear for her work with Re/Max lifestyles realty. In Mission, Perfect Piece Optical received the Customer Service Excellence award. Pressland General was awarded Exceptional Business of the Y ear. Studio FITRx won the Resiliency Award for their innovation in maintaining operations while responding to the COVID-19 disrup- tions.

Silk Degrees home decor received the Marketing and Communication award. My friend Michelle Puffer and the Mission Community Services was recognized as Non-Profit Organization of the Y ear. Business Ethics of the Y ear Award went to Excalibur Electric, and Dailey Health and Wellness clinic was recognized as the under-40 entre- preneur of the year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our businesses and organizations have overcome huge obstacles, and they deserve our support and appreciation.

On my behalf and on behalf of the member for Abbots- ford-Mission and the member for Maple Ridge–Pitt Mead- ows, I wish to congratulate the 2020 chambers of com- merce Business Excellence Awards for business and non- profits and the nominees who are all very deserving in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Mission. DELTA HOSPITAL AUXILIARY SOCIETY I. Paton:Today I would like to talk about a very special and dedicated group of volunteers with the Delta Hospital Auxiliary Society.

Soon after the hospital was built in 1980, the hospital auxiliary opened a gift shop and café inside the hospital, alongside an incredibly successful and popu- lar thrift shop in Ladner village. [10:15 a.m.] Thanks to the generosity of many in our community, the society has done so well that they now own one of the largest storefronts in Ladner village. Thousands of volun- teers have done their part over many decades, and cur- rently, 450 volunteers remain actively involved with the society.

These volunteers work tirelessly to ensure our community benefits from funding for new equipment, programs, recreational therapy and student bursaries. In addition, the society recently contributed just over $2 million towards the construction and administration of the Peter C. and Elizabeth Toigo diagnostic centre at Delta Hospital. This contribution is just one of over $22 million the society has donated towards new services and equip- ment at our hospital. On a personal note, I am incredibly proud of my family’s close affiliation with the Delta Hospital Auxiliary Society.

It started with my father, who was an original member of the team that helped build community support for the construction of our own local hospital. My sister Glenda was also a registered nurse at the Delta Hospital for many years, and my wife Pam is the vice-chair of the Delta Hos- pital Foundation. Most importantly, this brings me to my mother, Marjorie, who was an original society member from 1969 and continued — pre-COVID, of course — to drive into Ladner twice a week to volunteer at the thrift shop and at the hospital’s extended care ward.

Like many societies across B.C., COVID-19 has posed unprecedented challenges to the auxiliary society. To make matters worse, a suspicious fire in December has left them on the hook for restoration fees and renovations to fix this damage. Y et ingenuity has them temporarily back up and running in a vacant storefront across the street from the damaged building.

Despite what can only be described as a trying time, I want to sincerely congratulate the tremendous efforts of our Delta Hospital Auxiliary Society, our Delta Hospital Foundation as well as our outstanding doctors, nurses and staff at our beloved Delta Hospital. Our community is appreciative of all you do to provide excellent care and ser- vice to those who need it. COVID-19 IMPACT R. Russell: Good morning.

I join you today from down the hall, in the traditional territory of the Lək̓ ʷəŋin̓ əŋ-speaking people, as opposed to the nsy- ilxcən-speaking people’s territory, where I have the hon- our of living and playing. Those that know me know how passionate I am about 480 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

mitigating the devasting impacts of COVID on all of us — on our happiness, on our quality of life — whether that is because of the fact that we’re social beings and we can’t interact how we traditionally have, or whether it’s because we’ve lost loved ones, or whether it’s because businesses we’re involved with are struggling.

Though, as a brief tan- gent, I must say how impressed I am by the great com- petency demonstrated by the Minister of Jobs, Econom- ic Recovery and Innovation through both his passion for reducing barriers, his advocacy for economic recovery and his action of delivering a diverse suite of supports for busi- nesses to thrive and reimagine themselves. But back on track, I want to touch upon a different chal- lenge that lies ahead: how to hang on to the positive dis- ruption that COVID has created in all our lives.

It’s not all bad, and hanging on to the good is going to be key to our thriving in the years of recovery ahead to ensure we actu- ally do build back better. For example, the uptick in appreciation of local food and the importance of food security, both local production channels…. For example, in my riding, a venue has seen a 300 percent increase in transactions in volume of local food distribution as well as dramatic increase in cash donations to food banks to meet the extreme increase in demand. I believe our challenge is to cement those im- provements of awareness and care in food security, going forward.

Or the agility shown by our professional public service and health care community in implementation of tele- health services. In rural B.C., where the Centre for Rural Health Research at the University of B.C…. Last year they documented that remote and rural residents pay, on aver- age, $2,234 out of pocket for a single specialist appoint- ment. This matters. Creative models of care, delivery and access matter for us. COVID has been brutally difficult for all of us, econom- ically and psychosocially. But we now must have to work hard.

We have to work hard to identify the gems among the rubble of the fallout and ensure that those facets of compassion and well-being continue to shine, as was said in the morning reflection, to mirror and grow whatever beauty we find. WORK OF SAANICH NORTH AND THE ISLANDS CONSTITUENCY OFFICE A. Olsen:We get thousands of emails each year into the Saanich North and the Islands constituency office inbox.

We’ve always responded to all of those emails within a few hours of receiving them — no auto responders, just con- stituent-focused service. [10:20 a.m.] It comes from my days working in hospitality and cus- tomer service. I had the honour of working at Butchart Gardens. The Gardens have trained tens of thousands of people in our community to deliver world-class service. The values are the foundation of Butchart’s training pro- gram, and they are the basis of my commitment to the people of Saanich North and the Islands. I’m humbled that they have again chosen me to occupy their seat in this chamber.

I’m motivated by the trust that they put in me to serve their interests, to speak as their voice and to act as their advocate in this parliament. As provincewide advocacy goes, there is no single great- er issue in our email in-box than the protection of old- growth forests. The lack of primary care providers tops the lists of local issues. Thousands of seniors in my riding are still unat- tached. A close second is transportation — rapid bus transit on the Saanich Peninsula, roads, highways and ferries on the Gulf Islands.

I’m thankful to have already had an excellent conversation with the new Minister of Transportation, and I look forward to the good work to come. However, today I’m asking the powerful voices of Saanich North and the Islands to participate in two public consultations currently underway in our riding. The pro- vincial government wants your input on the Keating Cross Road flyover project, and B.C. Ferries is seeking your input on a new

schedule to serve the southern Gulf Islands. Please have your voice heard. Y ou can find the links to these consultations on our constituency office website, saanichnorthandtheislands.com. MARCELINA PERDIDO AGULAY M. Elmore:Our dear friend Marcelina Perdido Agulay was looking forward to her retirement and spending more time with her husband and grandchildren. Instead, her life was cut tragically short when a drunk driver hit her car in North Vancouver Tuesday night. She died soon after, and her husband, Leo, remains in critical condition.

Lina, as she was fondly called, was kind, caring, prin- cipled and fearless. She was a doting mother and grand- mother, an active union member, a community organizer and a part of our B.C. NDP family. In order to provide for her family, she made the difficult decision to leave her young son Leomar and husband behind in the Philippines to work in Hong Kong and then Canada as a caregiver in the 1990s. Her daughter-in-law Jovy recounts how Lina was a very devoted and loving mother and grandmother. Her grand- daughter Pia says she will miss Lina reading to her every day.

She will also be terribly missed by her grandson Pio. Jovy recounts how Lina’s passion was the community. Jovy says that the family is overwhelmed and moved with so much support from people contacting them to tell them how Lina changed their lives. Lina was an active BCGEU member of Local 303 and an early childhood educator. She was also part of Filipino community groups like the Sanchez-Mira and Grupo Ilocano Association of B.C., where her husband, Leo, is the Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 481

director. She was an organizer with Migrante B.C., a com- munity group that works to empower migrant workers. Lina was a Sunday school teacher, a part of a com- munity of faith and also a very gifted crafter and enjoyed making crafts. But she was more than a member of these and other groups. Lina was a community leader in the kindest, truest and best sense. She volunteered in local, provincial and federal campaigns, and she was a member of the executive for the B.C. NDP in Burnaby North. She sided with the oppressed and with workers and migrant workers.

Her love for them lives in our hearts and in our commitment to also continue in the struggle for a just world. She encouraged all of us to follow her legacy. We are all better because she was in our lives, and she touched us all in different ways. She made our communit- ies and our world better. She will be forever missed and forever loved. Paalam Manang, Lina. Goodbye, Sister Lina. May you rest in eternal peace. Oral Questions DELAY OF COVID-19 V ACCINE SECOND DOSE FOR SENIORS AND STAFF IN LONG-TERM-CARE FACILITIES S.

Bond:Every member in this House knows that some of the most tragic outcomes of the pandemic have been in long-term-care facilities. We’ve all seen the heart-wrench- ing photographs, the stories of separation and people los- ing their loved ones, who may have died alone. [10:25 a.m.] Staff and families in long-term care were extremely relieved, and they felt a glimmer of hope that they were a priority for phase 1 vaccination. Many long-term-care res- idents in British Columbia have received two doses of the vaccine.

I think it’s fair to say that staff, residents and fam- ilies expected that everyone in phase 1 would be receiving two doses. Y ou can imagine how concerned Wendy Bingham was when the second dose appointment for her mother was abruptly cancelled yesterday. It was cancelled on the very day that it was scheduled to take place. Wendy writes for her mom.

This is what she said it means: “ Another two months of being locked in their facility with no interaction with the outside world. ” Well, I’m sure the Premier and everyone in this place can understand how upsetting a last-minute cancellation of a second vaccination would be. Can the Premier explain why that scheduled second dose was cancelled on the very day it was to have been giv- en, causing additional anxiety and stress for that resident, for the staff, and for their family? Hon. A. Dix:Thank you very much to the hon. member for her question.

The member will know — and she acknowledged that, I think, in her question — that long-term-care and assisted- living facilities have been the top priority in our immuniz- ation plan. It’s extraordinary that 97 percent of staff mem- bers targeted…. Of our target, 92 percent of long-term- care residents have received their first dose. Y ou can see the impact of that. We went from 42 active outbreaks in long-term-care homes on January 15 to six today. The effectiveness of the dose was laid out in detail in the presentation by Dr. Penny Ballem and Dr. Bonnie Henry on Monday.

The member will also know that British Col- umbia and, indeed, all jurisdictions in Canada, it would appear, have changed their position with respect to second dose and the immediacy of the need for the second dose, which has now been extended to 16 weeks. That decision, which has been put in place this week, is intended to provide more protection for people across the province to allow us to deal with the pandemic better. I agree with the member, and the member knows this. We’ve talked about it on a number of occasions personally — the impact of the pandemic on people in long-term care. We will be proceeding.

People will not have to wait for changes in activity and access in long-term care based on the sci- ence and the evidence. Provincial health officers and our public health team have made decisions about vaccinations. We will now be moving to improve access for seniors in long-term care — something, to my way of thinking, that is of course long overdue for people living through this pandemic in long- term care and in assisted living. Mr. Speaker:The Leader of the Official Opposition on a supplemental. S. Bond: Well, thank you very much. I appreciate the Health minister’s response.

There has certainly been a great deal of debate across the country about the extension of the second dose. The theme of the question today is about the fact the minister just said that we will be “mov- ing to. ” Then perhaps there should be a discussion with the very people that are still expecting a second dose, some of the most frail, vulnerable British Columbians. That situation wasn’t the only one. If this government is going to move to a new protocol, the very people who are expecting a second dose — and they were expecting a second dose — should at least have been told. They were promised. They believed it.

Let’s look at what else happened. People were anxious. They were waiting. They fully expected a second dose. If this government is making a conscious choice to move away from that protocol, they forgot to tell the very people who believed they were going to get a second vaccination. There is inconsistency in British Columbia. Many long- term-care residents have received a second dose. There is confusion and inconsistency. On Tuesday, about 200 residents, essential visitors and 482 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

staff were scheduled to receive their second vaccination at Orchard Manor and Hawthorn Park. They were sched- uled to receive it.

Diana Chappell was confused as to why this long-term-care home didn’t get its second dose, say- ing: “There is an absolute letdown on a human level, and also the fact that these facilities were one of the last facilit- ies in the area to get the second vaccination. ” [10:30 a.m.] Again to the Premier, if the government is moving ahead and making a decision to extend the period of time, the very people, the most vulnerable, frail British Colum- bians, should at least have been told, and, more import- antly, this government should have delivered on the prom- ise for phase 1 residents.

Will the Premier commit to doing that today? Hon. A. Dix:In British Columbia to date, in thousands of locations around British Columbia, the public health officials have delivered doses to British Columbians — 300,000 doses, roughly, today. The majority of those doses, of course, are first doses, and all of the people who received first doses will receive second doses — all of them.

The decision that was taken based on the evidence, evid- ence that was presented last week, evidence that has been presented to British Columbians, evidence that was an- nounced publicly, in a decision that was announced pub- licly on Monday…. All of those people received them, but the delay between first and second doses has been extended. The decision that was taken was straightfor- ward, based on the science and based on an effort to pro- tect people across British Columbia. I am very proud of the effort to protect people in long- term care and its impact.

I ask the member to review the presentation given both to our caucus and to the people of British Columbia on Monday, which lays out in detail the impact of the first dose and why British Columbia and oth- er jurisdictions are proceeding with this approach. We’re doing so to help keep people safer given the supply of vac- cine in Canada. We’re doing so to ensure that people who are suffering from other aspects of the pandemic — the effect of the pandemic on all aspects of our life in British Columbia — can receive relief sooner.

We are doing so in a way that absolutely protects those in long-term care and assisted living. I know that the member is correct to advocate for people who have already received their first doses and to make that case on their behalf. They will receive second doses. But to proceed with this and to allow us to expand our immunization campaign based on the science was a decision taken by public health officials and a decision, of course, that I support. It’s supported by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, supported by pro- vincial health officers in every jurisdiction in Canada.

I think it’s the right decision for all of us, and I ask the member to consider supporting it. R. Merrifield:People understand the government has updated its vaccination plan. This isn’t really about the updating. This is about promises. This is about expecta- tions. See, people don’t understand why some vulnerable seni- ors who were expecting to receive a second dose had that promise broken. Kyla Coates said her family was so relieved when her 92-year-old grandmother, who suffers from dementia, was given her first shot.

And now she’s upset as to why her grandmother’s home was excluded or singled out from the completion of phase 1 after she authorized 42 days consent. The Premier told us that we should “know the difference between phase 1 and phase 2 and phase 3. ” To the Premier, can he explain to Kyla why some vulner- able seniors in phase 1 received the second dose while the promise was broken to her grandmother? Hon. A.

Dix: I would say this: I think the priority that British Columbia has given to people — especially in long-term care, to vulnerable seniors, to vulnerable communities — is clear from the data we release every single day. That has been our priority from the begin- ning, and that effort is working. Look at the evidence to show the impact that it’s had and the quality of life already in long-term care and will have in the coming weeks as we make changes to improve that quality of life in long-term care.

We are, of course, adapting, as we have and as every person listening to us has in the course of this pandemic, our plan to the evidence. That is what I think everyone would expect us to do. [10:35 a.m.] The idea that you would make a decision to extend the period between first and second doses and then delay that for weeks and weeks and months, if that is the opposition’s plan, is not the correct approach.

The correct approach is to follow the science, to follow the guidance of public health, to make decisions that are in the interests of people, the interests of our most vulnerable and the interests of people around the province. That’s what Dr. Bonnie Henry has done with this decision, and I encourage the member to support it. Mr. Speaker:The member for Kelowna-Mission on a supplemental. R. Merrifield:I appreciate the minister’s points. But appointments were made, promises were made, and prom- ises were broken. It’s not just seniors who are concerned about this change.

Let’s talk about Ailene, who is a health care assist- ant in long-term care. This is her experience. She says: “I received my first COVID-19 vaccine on January 11 and was to get my second dose today, 50 days later. I took the day off work, because I also work as an education assistant. My appointment was for 11:25 a.m. I went to the appoint- Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 483

ment early. There was no one waiting at the screening sta- tion. If Fraser Health was able to notify me by text to make an appointment, could they not also have easily sent one out cancelling it?” Does the Premier think it’s fair to have health care work- ers arrive to an empty room when they were expecting to get a second dose? Can he promise to do better for health care workers? Hon. A. Dix:I think it’s fair to say that our commitment to supporting health care workers is a matter of public record. The member will know, in this House…. This came before the pandemic, and it has been in place since the pandemic.

It’s the reason why essential health care workers have been immunized in such large numbers: 56,000 front-line health care workers, 20,000 community work- ers, 39,000 workers in long-term care and thousands more in assisted living and in the community and throughout British Columbia. It indicates our priority in immunization, but it’s not just in immunization.

When we implemented the single- site model in B.C., more effectively than in any jurisdiction in Canada, it was because we recognized the fundamental inequality that health care workers had faced for a decade, and a decade before that, as a result of policies that had explicitly targeted them. Of course there are challenges in managing an immun- ization campaign of this nature. Of course we feel for everyone involved. I wish everyone in B.C. would have all their shots right now.

But we are dealing with the vaccine supply that’s provided by the federal government, with the limitations that our federal government is facing. We are delivering that based on the evidence, directed by public health officials — not by politicians but by public health officials — in order to keep people as safe as possible dur- ing a pandemic. I am proud of those health care workers. I am proud to be in a government that has always backed health care workers, and we’re going to continue to do it. DISAGGREGATED DATA COLLECTION AND USE A. Olsen:For my question today I’ d like to start with a quote from Dr.

Alicia Sasser Modestino, who is a public policy professor at Northeastern, PhD in economics from Harvard University. This week on CBC she stated: “It’s no secret that unless you measure something, you can’t really talk about it and you can’t fix it as an issue. Throughout our society, as we are collecting data, there’s bias in who we are collecting that data on, how it is interpreted and who gets studied.

If you are excluding groups from your field, then you’re going to have that bias creep in, and you’re not going to be able to fix the problems that face vulnerable populations. ” My question is straightforward and to the Premier. Does the Premier agree with this statement? Hon. D. Eby: Thank you to the member for the thoughtful question.

We, as a government, and the par- liamentary secretary who is leading this work around the importance of data to inform government decisions, to inform our policies and the importance of disaggregated race data to understand our blind spots and to understand whether the initiatives that we have put in place are disad- vantaging a particular group or are not addressing under- lying concerns…. I agree with the quote — that what we measure and how we measure it is critically important. I’ll put a caveat on it.

We asked the Human Rights Commissioner to advise us about how best to move forward in this area. [10:40 a.m.] She cautioned us, and this is the second and third sen- tence of her executive

summary: “By making systemic inequalities in our society visible, data can lead to posit- ive change, ” as the member is suggesting. “But the same data used or collected poorly can reinforce stigmatiz- ation of communities, leading to individual and com- munity harm. ” So we need to collect this data, but we need to be in partnership with communities that are affected to make sure that we avoid the caution that’s been given to us by our Human Rights Commissioner to avoid individual and community harm in our efforts to do that. Mr. Speaker:The member for Saanich North and the Islands on a supplemental. A.

Olsen: I thank the Attorney General for that thoughtful response. I appreciate the agreement with that statement. There is a cost to delay. There’s a cost to every moment that there is a delay. While the government sits on the side- lines with this issue, we have to ask the question: who is paying that cost? Certainly, there is cost to this govern- ment, no doubt. There is going to be increased cost by not fully understanding the picture that is in front of us.

However, the real cost of inaction is on those vulnerable populations that my colleague and I have been talking about for weeks, the vulnerable populations that Sasser Modestino refers to being negatively impacted by bias creep and exclusion from decision-informing data sets. As the Attorney General pointed out in his response to my first question, in June of last year, the Premier wrote to the B.C. Human Rights Commissioner and requested her advice on how to move forward with the collection of race- and ethnicity-based data.

As the Attorney General pointed out, there was a response from the Human Rights Com- missioner. Y et nine months has passed. Nine months has passed, and every day that’s passed since then, there have been negative impacts on British Columbians. 484 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

I ask my question again to the Premier. What substantial progress has your government made in nine months that puts us in a different place than when that letter was draf- ted back in June? Hon. D. Eby: Thank you, again, to the member for drawing attention to this very important issue. The mem- ber asks what steps our government has taken, and he quotes a human rights commissioner who didn’t exist before we were elected into government. I thank the mem- ber and the agreement that we had that re-established a human rights commissioner so she could give us advice on important issues like this.

We’ve worked with communities across the province to re-establish a Resilience B.C. Anti-Racism Network. We’ve almost doubled funding for that program to provide even more support for community groups responding to racism. The member knows we’re working to reform the Police Act. Fighting anti-Indigenous racism in health care. We’re stepping up even further with the COVID-19 rise in hate- related incidents that we’ve seen, especially anti-Asian racism, with $1.9 million in new recovery money to sup- port important community work around that. We’ve increased multiculturalism grants.

We have upcoming anti-racism public education programs. I understand the member wants to move quickly. Every- body wants to move quickly on this. But I also want to emphasize the challenge of moving quickly by yourself and the importance of going a long distance in partnership, which is slower but necessary and critical in this realm.

Again from the Human Rights Commissioner: “ As experts in their own lives, community members are the ones best equipped to identify priorities and risks in potential data collection projects. ” This will happen, but we will take the necessary time to ensure the affected groups are direct, involved partners in this. I know the member agrees with that, and I know he understands that. Thank you again for raising this issue. COVID-19 V ACCINATION PLAN APPROACH AND PRIORITIES J. Tegart:B.C. teachers and education staff have kept our schools open and are on the front line every day. They’re stressed and afraid.

But this government has failed to listen for their calls for additional layers of protection in our schools. Front-line essential workers in our schools need to know if they are being prioritized and when and how they will be vaccinated. AstraZeneca is arriving in British Col- umbia. We know it must go to a younger cohort, and it comes with an expiration date. [10:45 a.m.] To the Premier, on what priority basis will teachers and other educational workers be vaccinated? Hon. A.

Dix: We were informed, of course, last Friday of the decision by the government of Canada and Health Canada to approve AstraZeneca as a vaccine — as our third vaccine in our immunization efforts in British Col- umbia and across Canada. We were informed earlier this week — or on the weekend, in fact — that some Astra- Zeneca would be coming next week. Initially, that AstraZeneca will be used to deal with outbreaks and issues around the province that require immediate attention of vaccination.

Our public health officials are putting together a plan based, again, on evidence as to how AstraZeneca and, potentially, Johnson and Johnson — once that vaccine is approved, and we expect it to be — are used in British Columbia. It will be, again, based on evidence — not on a discussion of politics between one group or another but based on the evidence as assessed by public health officials. And as always, those officials and all of us will go out and present what that evidence is and what the basis for those decisions is. That will come in the coming weeks. B.

Banman:This pandemic has been with us for a year — a year. There is no excuse for this government not to give clear answers and detailed information about the order and the criteria for vaccinating priority groups. Our dedicated police and firefighters put themselves at risk of exposure to this virus every single day. We know that AstraZeneca is arriving in British Col- umbia, and it comes with an expiry date. First responders deserve clarity and a plan for when and how they will be vaccinated.

The problem is that they and we have just seen this government break its word, break its promise to the most vulnerable, our seniors. So essential workers do not trust this government. To the Premier, on what priority basis will first respon- ders be vaccinated? Hon. A. Dix: For today, I’m going to ignore the unbe- lievably disrespectful statements made about our provin- cial health officer and our public health team embedded in that question. I’ll ignore it today because these issues are so important to people in B.C.

On January 17, we presented our detailed immunization plan, a plan that we have followed effectively and to the let- ter. Earlier this week, on March 1, having briefed the oppo- sition and many other groups, we presented the next phase of our immunization campaign. Our focus — and we have been clear from the beginning — is to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19 first, by vaccinating them first. That’s why in long-term care, for example, more than 70,000 people have received their first immunizations, and you’ve seen the effect of that. We said we’ d do it; we did it.

With respect to assisted living, the same: we said we’ d do it, and we did it. With health care workers in our acute care settings, the same. For Indigen- ous people in rural and remote communities, the same. We Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 485

did it by following public health and by the extraordinary work of public health professionals and health care work- ers around our province. That continues now. We have laid out our age-based approach with respect to Pfizer and Moderna, meaning that we’re going to protect those most vulnerable first, because those who are older are the most vulnerable to severe outcomes from COVID-19. That is the plan we’re going to continue to do. We have a relatively small amount of AstraZeneca com- ing into the province. We are going to use it to effectively deal with situations in communities, in the initial stages.

We are, of course, going to use all of it. And then we’re going to present a plan that’s, again, systematic, follows the advice of public health, addresses those who are most vul- nerable to COVID-19 and addresses those who are most likely to spread COVID-19. [10:50 a.m.] That’s the way you would expect a competent, thought- ful province…. An immunization campaign based on the people who do immunization campaigns every day, who do this work every day — public health officials across B.C. I am so proud of them.

I am so proud of the work we’re doing in this campaign, and I’m so hopeful about its posit- ive impact for people in British Columbia. M. Bernier:Let’s be clear. This is not about being dis- respectful to any health leaders at all. This is about ask- ing questions that the people of British Columbia have because there have not been clear direction and clear answers given by this government. All we’re asking for are clear criteria and the order that the vaccination pri- orities will be for groups in British Columbia. These people are asking. We all know the pandemic has been here for a year.

We’ve had lots of time to put together a better plan and better priorities and to communicate that to the people and to the groups, especially now, as we’ve been hearing, with the AstraZeneca vaccine coming. It has an expiry date. We’re told that it could expire within just a few weeks. So to be told that we’ll have a plan in a few weeks, when that vaccine expires in a few weeks, is cold comfort to many people. What I want to know is: which industries will this gov- ernment actually consider essential?

What about those in transportation of our much-needed goods; maybe the workers in camps, or those in the energy sector; what about our agriculture and food-processing workers? Will the Premier today answer that simple question and let these groups know when they will be prioritized? Hon. A. Dix: The basis of our immunization campaign throughout has been to protect those most vulnerable first. That fundamental ethical principle has guided us and has been, I believe, given the amount of vaccine we’ve received from the federal government, extraordinarily effective.

We’ve seen the effectiveness of these vaccines and what they can do in communities. We got word this past weekend about the amount of vaccine in British Columbia. The opposition has now mentioned hundreds of thousands of people that they believe should get priority. Of course, we have right now…. In the month of March, we’re going to have prob- ably around 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca — doses that we will use, of course. The approach here is to lay out an immunization response that’s based on the science, that protects those most vulnerable, that takes the most action we possibly can to reduce community spread.

That is the approach that has been recommended by our provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and the team at the BCCDC, and we’re going to continue to follow that approach. One can play politics in trying to pit groups against groups. I don’t think that’s where British Columbians are at. I think they overwhelmingly support our approach to protect those most vulnerable first. They are happy that people in long-term care have received doses across this province — more than 90 percent. They’re happy about that, even if it means they don’t get their dose yet.

We are going to move forward in the same way with this immunization campaign. I continue to be proud of our public health officials who are putting the people of B.C. first. If you want to know the principles of this campaign, go back to January 17, go back to December, and see what we said and what we did. M. de Jong: The problem the minister doesn’t want to seem to acknowledge — in fact, seems to take great offence at the opposition pointing out — is that when you pull the rug out from under a 90-year-old at the very last minute by denying them the vaccine they were promised, people lose confidence.

They stop trusting you. Stephanie Smith of the BCGEU says this: “It’s a matter of clarity. Our members work in corrections, supportive housing, child care.

They want to know when their turn will be. ” Now, the Premier has said nothing, and nothing the minister has said, quite frankly, provides anything approaching clarity, despite the passage of time. [10:55 a.m.] If the Premier and the minister are prepared to unilat- erally change the rules on vaccinations for a 90-year-old in a long-term-care facility, how can a child care worker or a corrections worker have any faith in any of the assurances that the minister purports to make today? Hon. A. Dix: I guess the hon. member wishes that we engage in immunization politics by some sort of political popularity contest.

That’s not what’s happening here. We are protecting those who are most vulnerable first. We laid out our plan on January 17 for phase 1. When we announced our plan on March 1 for the next phase of immunizations, we made a significant change between 486 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

first and second dose, one that was supported by the sci- ence. If the opposition disagrees with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, if the opposition disagrees with Dr. Bonnie Henry, if the opposition disagrees with Dr. Réka Gustafson, if the opposition disagrees with public health officials, they, of course, have every right to make that disagreement clear. Y ou can have it your way; you can’t have it both ways. We support public health. We support an immunization campaign that protects our most vulnerable first.

I’m proud of the officials who have put it together, and I’m proud of the effort that’s been made by everyone in British Columbia — public health officials and the people of B.C. — to deal with this pandemic over the last year. I know they will show the same courage and the same determina- tion in the coming months. [End of question period.] Orders of the Day Hon. M. Farnworth:I call continued second reading debate on Bill 9, Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act. [S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.] Second Reading of Bills BILL 9 — LOCAL ELECTIONS STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2021 Deputy Speaker:Thank you, Members.

If you wouldn’t mind taking your business outside of the chamber if you’re going to have chitchat, that would be great, so we can get on with the orders of the day. Hon. J. Osborne:I move that the bill now be read a second time. I’m pleased to rise in the House today to speak to this important piece of legislation which continues the work that was started when many of my colleagues were sworn in, in 2017.

The proposed amendments to the Local Elections Cam- paign Financing Act, otherwise known as LECFA, will build on the landmark changes our government made in 2017 to help put an end to big money in politics and put people back at the heart of provincial and local elections. Bill 9 continues the ongoing work to strengthen ac- countability and transparency in local elections. In 2018, we saw the first wave of general local elections under the full suite of campaign financing rules.

Bill 9 responds to the analysis and consultation following the 2018 elections, including consultation with Elections B.C., First Nations that use LECFA, local governments and boards of educa- tion. These changes will more closely align the campaign fin- ancing rules for local elections with those established for provincial elections in the Election Act while continuing to account for the unique nature of local elections.

Spe- cifically, the proposed amendments will enhance the reg- ulatory framework for elector organizations, increase the time period during which election advertising is regulated before an election, clarify what activities fall under elec- tion advertising, implement sponsorship contribution lim- its, enhance enforcement tools by establishing additional investigations tools and administrative monetary penalties and make minor changes to help ensure the local elections financing framework is effective and works as intended. [11:00 a.m.] The work undertaken to bring forward today’s amend- ments was significant, and I would like to thank ministry staff as well as the governments and organizations who made Bill 9 possible.

These amendments address specific issues identified by ministry staff as part of monitoring work undertaken during the 2018 general local elections, and they respond to recommendations made in the B.C. Chief Electoral Officer’s report on the 2018 general local elections. We developed this bill following consultations with key stakeholders, such as Elections B.C., boards of education, First Nations that use LECFA and the Union of B.C. Muni- cipalities, which represents B.C. ’s 189 local governments and the Islands Trust.

As local elections also include board of education elec- tions, the Ministry of Education and the B.C. School Trustees Association were also consulted. Consultations were held with the Sechelt Indian government district, as LECFA applies to elections of the Sechelt Indian gov- ernment district advisory council members. Notice was also provided to all modern treaty nations in relation to amendments to permit canvassing in condominium and similar buildings. Central to this legislation are changes that will enhance the regulatory framework for elector organizations.

Over 64 elector organizations participated in the 2018 general local elections. They were primarily active in communities in the Lower Mainland, but where they are active, they can have a significant influence on local elections. They parti- cipate in elections by endorsing and campaigning together and on behalf of their endorsed candidates. Elector organ- izations are increasingly being recognized as civic political parties. Many of the changes we are proposing respond directly to the B.C. Chief Electoral Officer’s recommendation from their report on the 2018 general local elections. As part of the B.C.

Chief Electoral Officer’s role in administering LECFA, they are required to provide a report on their experience administering LECFA in each general local Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 487

election and may make recommendations for legislative change. This new framework will result in elector organizations being treated more like provincial political parties under the Election Act but continues to accommodate the ele- ments that make local elections unique from provincial elections. Bill 9 will create a new centralized registration framework that will be administered by Elections B.C. Currently the registration of elector organizations, also known as civic political parties, is overseen by each local government.

Elector organizations register with a local government by filing endorsement documents for each election in which they intend to endorse a candidate. Elector organizations will be required to be registered in order to accept campaign contributions, endorse candid- ates or incur election expenses. As part of being registered, they’ll need to file an annual financial report with Elec- tions B.C. This report will provide greater transparency into the financial activities of an elector organization out- side of an election year.

In addition, elector organizations will be prohibited from receiving non-campaign contributions that have been used to fund operational expenses in non-election years, meaning elector organizations will be required to fund all expenses through campaign contributions. This change will remove the ability of organizations, such as businesses and unions, from supporting these elector organizations indirectly by providing funds for operation- al or administrative use in non-election years. These changes will also increase the period of time dur- ing which election advertising is regulated before an elec- tion.

Election advertising is currently only regulated dur- ing the 29-day campaign period. The proposed amend- ments will extend the length of time that election advert- ising is regulated by creating a pre-campaign period that will precede the campaign period by 60 days, consistent with the provincial Election Act. Changes to the rules governing election advertising will enhance the transparency of advertising by making it clear who is sponsoring advertising during the pre- campaign period. This will also provide greater consist- ency between election advertising rules under LECFA and the Election Act.

The types of activities that are captured as election advertising will be clarified. This will ensure that paid canvassing activities, such as door-to-door canvassing or canvassing by telephone and mailing election materials on a commercial basis, will be subject to election advert- ising rules. [11:05 a.m.] Establishing sponsorship contribution limits will limit the amount that can be contributed to third-party advert- ising sponsors, consistent with changes made in 2017 establishing a $1,200 limit on campaign contributions.

Sponsorship contribution limits will track with the cam- paign contribution limit, approximately $1,200 a year but adjusted each year for inflation, and are consistent with the provincial contribution limits — again, $1,200. Sponsor- ship contribution limits are important to limit the poten- tial influence of large donors on discourse during an elec- tion. Sponsorship contribution limits will work to further level the playing field in local elections and reflect the recommendations of the B.C. Chief Electoral Officer.

Creating new investigative powers and establishing a more robust administrative monetary penalty framework will greatly improve the ability of the B.C. Chief Electoral Officer to conduct investigations and make compliance and enforcement decisions under the act. Currently, the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act only includes monetary penalties in relation to exceeding election expense limits or the amount allocated under a campaign financing arrangement and in relation to exceeding elec- tion advertising limits.

The new administrative monetary penalties generally mirror those found in the provincial Election Act, and they allow Elections B.C. to also issue monetary penalties for additional violations of LECFA, which are more effect- ive than offences that must be prosecuted through the courts. Examples of the violations Elections B.C. will now be able to issue include failing to register as an elector organization or a third-party sponsor, advertising that fails to include sponsorship information, and for accepting prohibited campaign contributions, sponsorship contribu- tions and loans.

New investigative tools also include the authority for the B.C. Chief Electoral Officer to seek court orders for infor- mation from third parties, such as financial institutions, and to request records from social media companies, like Facebook, that offer advertising to identify who is spon- soring advertising. This builds on the existing enforce- ment framework to ensure the B.C.

Chief Electoral Officer has the tools they need to conduct effective investigations of potential rule contraventions, and it will create greater consistency with the tools available for conducting invest- igations under the Election Act. Minor changes to the Local Elections Campaign Finan- cing Act are being proposed to facilitate the administra- tion of campaign financing requirements in local elections. They are intended to ensure that the Local Elections Cam- paign Financing Act functions as intended and that the B.C.

Chief Electoral Officer has the necessary authorities to continue to effectively administer the campaign finan- cing rules under the act. These minor amendments include expanding the B.C.

Chief Electoral Officer’s authority to make minor correc- tions to disclosure statements and supplementary reports, to include annual financial reports and extending late fil- ing timelines for supplementary reports and annual finan- cial reports, consistent with the existing timeframe for dis- closure reports; changing the current three-day require- ment to allow candidates and elector organizations to modify a campaign financing arrangement, known as a 488 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

CFA, up until general voting day; and specifying that an administrative monetary penalty applicable to an en- dorsed candidate or an elector organization in relation to exceeding a CFA allocation between a candidate and an elector organization would only apply if both the CFA lim- it and the candidate’s or the elector organization’s overall expense limit is exceeded. Finally, proposed amendments to the Local Govern- ment Act, School Act and Vancouver Charter to address concerns raised by local government, administrators and the public regarding specific aspects of local elections administration.

These changes will ensure candidates have access to residential properties, such as strata properties, to canvass voters and distribute candidate information. They’ll address the disenfranchisement of some individu- als by removing the requirement that individuals must have been a resident of their community for at least 30 days in order to vote. And they’ll ensure consistency among the choices that a court has when declaring an elec- tion invalid to improve efficiency for local governments. Together, these changes will enhance the elections ad- ministration framework for future local elections in B.C.

In conclusion, these proposed changes to the campaign financing rules for local elections will further build up the comprehensive framework already established in the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act to ensure people are at the centre of government decision-making. [11:10 a.m.] The amendments will strengthen the transparency and accountability in the campaign financing activities of local elections participants, particularly elector organizations, and provide the B.C. Chief Electoral Officer with more tools when investigating potential contraventions of LECFA in making compliance and enforcement decisions.

The proposed amendments will first apply to the 2022 general local elections. This delay in application is to ensure the smooth transition of the new rules and so as to not impact any ongoing or scheduled by-elections between now and the next general local elections. With that, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you and the members of the House. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues in the continued debate today on the second reading of this bill. Deputy Speaker:Thank you, Minister. Recognizing the member for Penticton. D. Ashton:Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I greatly appreciate that.

First of all, I would like to recognize the Minister of Municipal Affairs. I congratulate her on her win in the last election and congratulate her on her appointment. I look forward to working with her, in conjunction, for the best interests of all people in British Columbia that people like her, myself and my peers in the Legislature have the oppor- tunity to administer. For me, it is something that I do not take lightly. I know that each and every one of my peers in the House do the same.

We know we are entirely privileged to have this opportunity, and I just want to ensure that it carries on in an appropriate way and a continual way, because we can never forget where we come from. I’ d also like to say to the minister that I have the incred- ible pleasure of coming out of municipal politics and regional politics, similar to her. And I also come from an area, similar to her, that relies an incredible amount on tourism.

I look forward to some return to normality, where both of our areas again can host the world in the entire vistas that we are so privileged to have in our respective areas that make a huge difference. Again, Minister, I look forward to working with you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you for the oppor- tunity today to address Bill 9, the Local Elections Stat- utes Amendment Act. The electoral process is a founda- tion of our democracy, whether it’s federal, provincial or local government. As we know, many of us have arrived from local governments and some actually from the fed- eral government.

I’m glad to hear their input into pro- vincial politics. But once again, I say that we have to rep- resent the people from where we’re elected, and that is most imperative. Any electoral process should never be written in stone, and this legislation is intended to reinvigorate how we choose our elected officials at a local level. In this case, the bill particularly amends the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, Local Government Act, School Act and the Vancouver Charter.

Furthermore, Bill 9 will closely align with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act rules for those established for provincial elections within the act. This is one of the reasons why I, and I hope my fellow members in the B.C. Liberal caucus, will be supporting this legislation in principle only after a thorough discus- sion with the minister and her staff at the committee stage, as long as no issues are discovered that would affect ad- versely the citizens who we represent. In the meantime, it is worth noting that a great deal of this legislation pertains to campaign financing at the local level.

And because this reform is necessary in an advancing digital era, we have to take a hard look at this. In

summary, as the minister has said, the legislation establishes a pre-campaign period for election advertising regulation from 29 to 89 days, includes paid canvassing activities as election advertising, requires civic parties to register with Elections B.C., file annual financial reports instead of just during an election year, bans civic parties from accepting non-campaign contributions to pay for operational expenses in non-election years, provides Elec- tions B.C. with new investigative tools to support investig- ations and to ensure that the processes are fair and equit- able for every individual that puts their name forward. Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 489

It provides Elections B.C. with additional penalties to fine people who do not comply with the rules and the process, and it also removes the 30-day local residency requirement in order to vote, as that has pros and cons. That is something that I’m quite sure will be discussed dur- ing the committee process. It allows access for strata prop- erties and other properties for canvassing.

That has always been an issue. [11:15 a.m.] I look upon my peers that are from the Lower Mainland and look at all those large towers inhabited by residents and wonder how they have the opportunity to be able to show those residents what they want to do for them. That’s a difficult process, and I hope that that also comes into consideration in the future. It also removes a requirement of a ministerial order to trigger a by-election if the courts declare the election invalid. And by moving forward, it applies, 2022 and bey- ond, to all local elections and by-elections.

In regards to the pre-campaign period, in the spirit of fairness…. Again, in a rapidly advancing digital era, it is necessary to estab- lish a pre-campaign period for election advertising regula- tion from 29 to 89 days. While this bill does cover electronic advertising, it also covers traditional mediums such as billboards and televi- sion commercials. More importantly, this legislation will require the sponsor to be clearly identified — who will have to say who is sponsoring and what during the pre- campaign period.

That is very, very important today — that people actually know who the person that is asking for their support represents and who the people or the organ- izations are behind them in their possible support of that individual who is running for office. As advertising continues to develop at the digital level, this legislation covers paid canvassing activities also as election advertising. This includes paid individuals who go door-to-door and support a candidate or a party. They will, thankfully, be subject to election advertising rules. For me, again, this is incredibly important, especially dur- ing COVID.

Not many of us appreciate somebody knock- ing on our door that we don’t know. Unfortunately, it may be a sign of the times in the future, and we just want to ensure that everybody that is in support of a local candid- ate is recognized as so and ensure that that is documented and handled properly. One feature, the way I look at it, that is a long time coming is the third-party contributions of up to $1,200 a year matching the donation cap. Third parties have pros and cons in the way they support and how they support, and I’m very glad to see that something like this is being brought forward.

On that note, I would also like to see, and I will be ask- ing the minister…. Because there are entities out there that train and give advice in many ways, and some are more efficient at doing it. My understanding is there are actually schools, and I am hoping that they will also come under the auspices of Elections B.C. and have to report how and what they are doing.

Under civic partnerships, to keep up with the modern era that we’re all in right now, Bill 9 requires civic parties to register with Elections B.C., to file an annual financial report instead of just during the election year, and that, again, is very important. This is a feature of the legislation that recognizes that people do take

part in the local demo- cracy on an ongoing basis. I think that’s very important, not only for them to be registered but for the general pub- lic to know who and what so they’re supporting the can- didates of their choice. I mean, it effectively bans civic parties from accepting non-campaign contributions to pay for operational ex- penses in non-election years. Again, this is long overdue. With staff salaries and office supplies and etc. that some campaign and some parties carry on, even not in election years…. That all has to be funded through election cam- paigns. I really think that this is long overdue.

The bill also provides Elections B.C. with new investig- ative tools to investigate the following, and it can request the records from companies that deal with online advert- ising to understand who is sponsoring that advertising and how much was spent. It can also request a court order seeking records from financial institutions. In addition, this legislation provides Elections B.C. with additional penalties to fine people who do not comply with these rules. Again, politics in a democracy….

The best democracy level, as far as I’m concerned, has always been the local level, and it’s good to see these rules coming in. There are new violations as failing to register a party or failing to include sponsorship information on electoral advertising and accepting prohibited contributions and sponsorship contributions and loans.

These are violations that should be looked at. [11:20 a.m.] I hope that the Chief Electoral Officer uses his discre- tion wisely on all of these, and I look forward to the oppor- tunity to have the opportunity again during the committee process to speak directly to the minister, to speak to her wonderful staff that I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with over the years, and let’s make this better for everybody in the province that runs, whether it’s at the local level and/ or the provincial level. When I say local, that is municipal politics or school boards and/or regional politics. Hon.

Speaker, I would like to wrap up at this point in time and once again thank the minister for this oppor- tunity and thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to coming up ASAP in committee stage, and I can assure the minister that we’ll have lots of good questions for her and her staff. J. Sims: It is a pleasure today to rise — well, not rise; I’m going to sit — and speak on this motion today. I remem- ber when I first got elected in 2017 and the kind of finance rules that existed for provincial elections at that time. Hav- 490 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

ing come from being an MP to that, I was amazed at the unlimited bounty that could be given by businesses, by unions and individuals. At that time, I also remember the many articles, not only national and provincial but inter- national, that were written about the wild, wild west. I’m very proud of the work that the Attorney General did at that time to bring forward legislation that would set limits for provincial, and some of that work was done for the municipal at that time as well. However, what happened during the 2018 elections….

It was realized that there were some areas that still needed to be addressed, so this legislation actually aims to do that. For this legislation to be put together — just so we know, it wasn’t written in a vacuum. It was written in con- sultations with Elections B.C., with their input; the Uni- on of B.C. Municipalities, which represents every one of B.C. ’s 189 local governments and the Islands Trust; First Nations that utilize the Local Election Campaign Finan- cing Act; and the B.C. School Trustees Association, which represents all the boards of education.

So input was sought from all of these groups, and then this legislation was put together. I always think that when legislation is introduced, it’s always worth finding out what the partners or those who participated in the input have to say about it.

I have a quote here that I will have to read out because I didn’t mem- orize it, from UBCM president Brian Frenkel, and this is what he has to say. “These changes strengthen the rules governing local government election finance by increas- ing transparency, ” said Brian Frenkel, president of UBCM. “Local governments endorsed a call for these changes in 2020, and we appreciate the government’s response well in advance of the next local government general election. ” It is so good to see that this legislation does have over- all support.

Hearing my colleague from the opposition, I think there’s a lot of consensus to be found from the comments he made, and I want to thank him for the comments he made acknowledging that we do need to have some guidelines and that these things do need to get addressed. [11:25 a.m.] I want to thank, once again, our minister for the work she has done on this, and I want to now start to highlight some of the changes that we are going to be seeing. One of the first things in here is going to be…. There will be improvements in the regulatory framework for elector organizations. We have provincial parties.

We have federal parties. And I know this is going to come as a surprise to some of the smaller municipalities around the province, but in many of the larger municipalities, medi- um-sized and maybe even small, there have been parties or pseudo-parties often called elector organizations, but they basically operate like a civic party. That’s why these rules are….

There will be requirements now for these civic parties, elector organizations or group- ings of people who get together to work together for an election — because that’s what they become when they group together — to register with Elections B.C. so that they can accept contributions, endorse candidates or incur election expenses. Currently, elector organizations register with each local government or jurisdiction where they endorse a candidate. So this is a different requirement now. Now they have to register with Elections B.C., and then they get governed by the rules that exist.

They have to be accountable for the funding they receive, not only during the election year or for the period of the election. But every year now, they will have to file a report on their finances — incomings and outgoings. That’s really important as well, because if you don’t have this going on for the full election or for the between-elec- tion cycle, what you can get is, once again, that unfair, unfettered fundraising that could really impact.

Y ou know, when we start to look at fundraising and put a level playing field out for everybody, the main goal here is to put the voter, those who vote, actually at the centre of the decisions that are made and to take away big business, big unions — I’ll use the same term — or big developers with deep pockets putting in large sums of money with the hope that they can then start influencing policy. I think this legislation is long overdue, and I’m actually absolutely delighted that this is here. Also, there will be changes around election advertising.

The pre-campaign period is now going to be extended from 29 to 89 days, which means that pre-campaign peri- od election advertising — billboards, commercials, how- ever it is; radios, which are very popular in my part of the woods — spending limits will apply during the campaign period, and there will be accountability for the pre-cam- paign period as well. And there will be now new limits on third-party advert- ising. So you can’t just go to a friend with deep pockets, or an organization, and they’ll say: “Oh, you don’t worry about it.

We’ll do the advertising for you. ” Once again, they will have spending limits that are the same for everybody. That, once again, makes it fair. It’s good to make rules, but unless there are investigative tools and enforcement, they are just there as guidelines. What this legislation does is modernize our election finan- cing for local government. That means there are tools now for investigating and enforcement. I’m very, very happy to see that. The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act now has it so that the B.C.

Chief Electoral Officer can investig- ate and can request records from companies that deal with online advertising to understand who is sponsoring that advertising and how much was spent and request a court order to seek records from financial institutions. [11:30 a.m.] All of us like to think that all of us are going to follow the rules, but as we know, people will find a way. Having these enforcements in place is really good. Changes are also being made to help with the adminis- tration of campaign financing, such as extending late filing Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 491

timelines, allowing Elections B.C. to make minor correc- tions and allowing candidates and elector organizations to modify a campaign financing arrangement up until elec- tion day. There is also an improved framework for monetary pen- alties. There will be penalties for failure to register as an elector organization or a third-party sponsor, penalties if you fail to include sponsorship information for the ads that take place and penalties for accepting prohibited cam- paign contributions, sponsorship contributions and loans.

So, basically, this piece of legislation not only closes some of the loopholes or some of the problems that were pointed out to us, but it also puts penalties and enforce- ment in place and modernizes that part of the act. Some people are going to be saying: “Who does this act apply to?” Local governments. That includes your municipal government, and it includes the school trustees as well — so your local boards of education. That’s why it is really, really important that this legislation come in at this time. Now, I know there will be….

I was shocked, and I know many of you will be shocked, when I heard a col- league who ran previously as a city councillor saying that one of the organizations in the city where he ran spent over $4 million on a municipal election. I know that for those of you who I’ve met as I’ve travelled in the province before, that is just incomprehensible. But I can tell you, coming from the Lower Mainland, I find that incomprehensible as well. That is why we really had to look at making it more of a level playing field.

With the previous financing rules and without the limits, what could happen is that those who had connections with people with deep pockets, whether it be organizations or whether it was individu- als, could gather large sums of money and could then impact the local media in a huge way by doing big buys. They had an advantage over those who may not have had those abilities.

I think that when you run to be a school trustee, when you run to be a city councillor or a mayor or whether you run to be an MLA or an MP , your own financial situation, who your friends are, who is going to donate to you and who you can persuade to give you big dollars should not be determining who runs. Our democracy is stronger when we have an open and a transparent system where every- body has the ability to run, where they are playing by the same rules and where there are limitations on the moneys that can be collected. Now, is this going to stop some municipalities spending more than others?

Absolutely not. But what it is going to do is it’s going to limit how much a group, a business or an individual can donate to that company. That way, more people will actually get engaged in civic financing — with this piece of legislation. This is not an issue that is new — issues around election financing. I know that I’ve been hearing about it for a long, long time, and I definitely know that other members of the Legislature hear about it too.

My colleagues from Surrey will attest that we’re not any differ- ent than Vancouver or some of the other bigger municip- alities when it comes to the kind of moneys that have been spent in the past. I am hoping that this piece of legislation will encour- age [audio interrupted] to put their names forward to be able to serve as a school trustee or to serve as a local gov- ernment as well. We already have rules for the provincial and federal. [11:35 a.m.] This does not stop people from donating. This does not stop people from playing a financial role in elections.

The only thing this does is say there’s a limit of $1,200. And when there is a limit of $1,200, that is exactly what it means. Now, with this piece of legislation, there will be enforce- ment tools at the hands of Elections B.C., but also to investigate if big companies, those with deep pockets, are maybe finding creative ways in order to support their can- didate or their electoral slate of choice. As I’ve said before, for many people around the prov- ince, the idea of civic parties at the local level may not even have entered their world.

But in the larger cities and, certainly, in some of the middle-sized ones, people do get together as a group to run on a platform, and there is noth- ing wrong with that, just as we have provincial and fed- eral parties that run on common platforms. For me, hav- ing electoral organizations is what happens, and if it’s what happens, then we need to make sure we have governance in place to ensure that the election finance rules apply to them and can be enforced as well. With that, I am going to say that I would like to end my words. Before I go, I do want to acknowledge my staff.

I have a brand-new LA here in Victoria, Pavan Sodhan, and he is stellar and getting to know the job. I’ve really appre- ciated all the support he has provided me with since I have come to Victoria — setting up the new technology and everything else. So thank you, Pavan. As always, thank you to Mindy Bansal and Jen Campbell back in my riding, who do stellar work in that area. I do want to say farewell to Naz Sabharwal, who has left us and has gone on to work for another MLA. We will miss you, but the next MLA is very lucky to have you.

I do support this legislation, and I’m really happy to see that this legislation has support from across the aisle as well. C. Oakes: It truly is an honour to have the ability to speak today. I would like to recognize that I’m speaking to you today from Lhtako territory. I haven’t had the opportunity to congratulate the Min- ister of Municipal Affairs, and I would like to do that. For many of us, we come from local government and certainly have had the privilege of working with the minister in the past when she was the mayor and really appreciated the 492 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

thoughtful approach that she brought forward. I certainly look forward to working with her today.

I think it’s also really important to acknowledge the incredible work that has been done on both this piece of legislation, the Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act, and the Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act from 2014, because I think it’s important to know, and maybe contrary to some of the speakers that may be speaking today, that this piece of legislation is work that has been thoughtfully crafted over many, many years, multiple gov- ernments, and has really engaged local governments and various associations across this province.

I was the minister in 2014 when we introduced the Loc- al Election Campaign Financing Act. I’ll provide a little bit of history and context to that when we did that on March 26, 2014, but I really want to acknowledge Heather Brazi- er, who is the public servant and incredible staff member that was the key lead on pulling this together, and all of her incredible team. We can come forward as elected officials and present pieces of legislation.

I think sometimes what often gets missed is the incredible amount of effort and work of all of our incredible public servants behind the scenes that are working so tirelessly to support us on bringing things for- ward. [11:40 a.m.] I am in support of this minor piece of amendments to the Local Election Campaign Financing Act, because it’s part of a phased-in approach that was originally talked about when this piece of legislation was originally brought forward. Again, LECFA was first introduced March 26, 2014, in this House.

I was proud to have the opportunity to have brought that forward, because we did agree that transparency and accountability in local elections were critically important. I was very proud of the work that was done, and I’m proud that the work continues today. I want to thank the government for doing that. Back in March 2014, we did table the two bills, the LECFA and LESAA.

I think it’s important for me to go through a little bit of the history, because it was built on an incredible amount of work from 2010 from a joint British Columbia–UBCM government elections task force that had brought forward 31 recommendations to mod- ernize local elections. Part of what we’re doing today, and part of what we are discussing in the minor changes that the minister’s bringing forward, really was built on a tre- mendous amount of work and consultation that happened back in 2010.

The 31 recommendations to modernize local elections, including the incorporation of local election campaign fin- ance rules into one act, which simplifies it and makes it, certainly, easier…. It was also built on the fact that the legislation — in fact, what we are talking about today — was built on a white paper that was brought forward in September of 2013, with really broad consultation, as the minister has commented in her opening remarks.

But I just want to make sure we’re providing credit to the tre- mendous amount of work that has been done for a signi- ficant amount of time on recommendations and consulta- tions throughout a significant amount of time. Now, I probably want to go on record, not to be a con- trarian, but perhaps more of a historian. The member for Surrey-Panorama mentioned some of the changes that made it sound like they were new changes. They are part of the local election campaign act, which was originally brought forward in….

The first piece of legislation was brought forward in 2014, of course, requiring candidates to file financial disclosures, ensuring that candidate cam- paign disclosures are published online, ensuring that the sponsorship information is published of all election advertising, requiring third-party advertising sponsors to register and disclose their expenditures, and establishing a new compliance and enforcement role for Elections B.C. Also, the LESAA, the companion piece to the campaign finance legislation, established how election participants will transition to the new campaign financing rules.

Part of the 2014…. One of the biggest changes that happened is, of course, extending the term of office for local elected offi- cials from three to four years — that was based on recom- mendations put forward by UBCM — and then moving the general election voting day from November to Octo- ber, beginning in 2018. Part of the reason why a lot of these…. Why sometimes the 2018 will be brought forward is because it was a recom- mendation as a phased-in approach to the legislation that was brought forward back in 2014. Lots of feedback was given at that time. One of the things that I think is critic- ally important….

At the time, Rhona Martin was the chair of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. Of course, UBCM put a considerable amount of effort into this piece of legisla- tion. I know that they continue to do that, so I think it’s important that they are acknowledged in this process. I wanted to highlight the fact that the work to ensure accountability for third-party advertisers was part of the original elections campaign financing act.

What wasn’t a part of the original piece of legislation, and what we are dealing with today — and that’s why I certainly support this piece of legislation forward — is that it hadn’t set for- ward the expenditure amounts. That’s part of the conver- sation that we are having today. [11:45 a.m.] It was felt back in 2014, when a lot of this work was being done, that a phased-in approach was the responsible thing to do to ensure that the changes were appropriately able to be established.

Elections B.C. had come forward at the time, discussing the need to make sure any of the changes that were being brought forward in LECFA provided the ability for both government and Elections B.C. to be able to communicate that appropriately out to the public, and I think the foundation remains the same. When I look back on my speaking notes to LECFA, they’re so similar to the speaking notes that were brought Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 493

forward today by the Municipal Affairs Minister, so it’s good to see, certainly, some consistency there. I think it speaks to the fact that we’ve got some incredible staff that work behind the scenes to make sure, as ministers and as governments, that we’re well prepared. Of course, at the original time, the history lesson here is that the work we did as B.C. Liberals was to ensure that transparency and accountability were being brought for- ward, with the idea that to keep democracy strong, we need to keep the rules governing local elections up to date.

This is, of course, what we’re doing here today and debat- ing before the House. Consulting and having those discussions with stake- holders, looking at what we introduce in legislation and how we modernize local elections to maximize fairness, transparency and accountability is something that I’m proud is being continued with today. Sometimes it’s diffi- cult when you move from government to opposition that important work that happens doesn’t get forgotten and continues and improves, and I think that’s a reflection of what excellent government is.

This is an extension of work that, certainly, I was proud to be a part of, but so many in local government and so many organizations were as well. I was just reviewing some of my previous notes from back when we introduced the original piece of legislation. There was important work that was done on what third-party contributors looked like and taking, certainly, a phased-in approach to implement- ing the task force recommendation.

UBCM, which was such a key, critical cornerstone of the original piece of legislation — and of course, here today — talked about the importance of having a phased- in approach and looking at how the legislation ensures accountability of third-party advertisers, not directed to candidates but advertising on their behalf. How do we look at that? I’m glad that there’s more clarity that has been provided today. That’s building on important work that was done early on.

New rules to make third-party advertisers accountable, by making them register with Elections B.C. and file cam- paign financial disclosure statements that identify contri- butions received and money spent on third-party advert- ising — that was a cornerstone that we looked at back in 2014, but more work needed to happen as it evolved. I’m glad that this piece of legislation being brought forward today looks at that.

We believed back then, as we do now, that the public needs facts about the campaign that pro- mote honesty, fairness and, ultimately, public confidence in local elections to make sure that we have requirements that are consistent with provincial rules. I was listening to the member for Surrey-Panorama. Often, some of the challenges early on were: what’s the difference between federal, provincial and local election rules? That is something that…. This particular bill per- tains to local government.

I think consistency was an important cornerstone that we looked at when we origin- ally brought forward this piece of legislation, and educa- tion was a key cornerstone. On any change that needs to happen, we need to make sure that people have the ability to understand what the changes are and why those changes are being made. I look forward to the Minister of Municipal Affairs…. I know that she will be going out to work closely with stakeholder groups to look at how we educate out in the communities. [11:50 a.m.] I think it is critically important that we encourage people to get involved with local elections.

Y ou could probably tell that I’m incredibly passionate about encour- aging people to get involved at their local level. I certainly can express my most sincere appreciation for all of the mentors and coaches that I had when I began my foray into politics, as many of us here in the House start in local government or school board. I think the more that we can encourage citizens across this province to look at getting involved and engaged with the activity in our communities, the better our democracy will be.

I am so proud to have the ability to go and speak to so many young people across the province — and, more specifically, now with the critic role I have. All of us in this House want to ensure that the next generation feels both the opportunity and the challenge to step up, to be engaged with and to be a part of your local democracy. I think this is just one more step, one more tool that we’ve built on work that was done, certainly, back in 2014.

But it goes back far more than that — back to the first recommendations in 2010 by the UBCM, in the recommendations that they brought forward, and then later, the white paper. I will be supporting this piece of legislation, and I want to thank the minister for bringing it forward. Deputy Speaker:I’ d like to recognize the member for Surrey-Cloverdale. Of course, we’re close to the hour, but we might as well get a few remarks in while we can. M.

Starchuk:Before I get into my comments, I want to make comments about the member for Surrey-Panor- ama and one of her staff members that has left her office to come to my office. It is a great addition to have Naz Sabharwal as part of my staff. Bill 9 is exactly what’s needed to address the campaign spending in what we call the municipal Wild West. Com- ing from that municipal background, I’ve experienced the spending of 2014 and 2018 and the vast differences that were there. We’ve heard some of the other members make references to 2018’s loopholes and how this is going to change that.

I would much rather use the term “inconsist- encies” in how things were applied, and the creativeness that was around that, to kind of skirt some of those issues. This legislation follows what the B.C. municipalities have been asking for. It creates something that is fair and trans- 494 British Columbia Debates Thursday, March 4, 2021

parent for everyone. It translates into governments that work better for people. When we talk about electoral organizations, I was part of one of those for a number of years. We know exactly how that campaign spending goes, and it does not always apply to other areas inside the province of B.C. I believe there are only 13 of these, and this is what will make them accountable as to how the money comes in and how the money goes out.

These civic parties will have to ensure that the money that comes towards them as donations and the manner in which it’s spent is with the most transparency and follows what’s inside the bill that’s in front of us today. With regard to transparency, when we talk about stake- holders, the key stakeholders were all consulted. They include the people from Elections B.C., UBCM, First Nations that utilize the Local Elections Campaign Finan- cing Act, and the B.C. School Trustees Association repres- ents the board of education. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] What Bill 9 does is it levels the playing field.

No longer is the ability there for large corporations or unions to write those cheques to make the playing field unlevel. Bill 9 will ensure that the financial checks and balances are inside there. Everything that’s inside this bill is very comprehens- ive. [11:55 a.m.] It is taking a look at all of the aspects of campaign fin- ances. It is taking a look at how it’s spent, how it’s accoun- ted for. The world of operating expenses now falls into all of the categories that are there. The accounting is there, and the registration is in place. Lastly, there is a greater amount of emphasis placed on a penalty.

The penalties are far greater than what they were before, and they mean something. In the past, somebody could have the ability to ignore what was there and take the minor consequences. Noting the hour, I reserve my right to continue in the next sitting and move adjournment of the debate. M. Starchuk moved adjournment of debate. Motion approved. Hon. M. Farnworth moved adjournment of the House. Motion approved. Mr. Speaker:This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon. The House adjourned at 11:56 a.m. Thursday, March 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 495

Hansard Services, Reporting and Publishing DIRECTOR D’ Arcy McPherson MANAGER OF REPORTING SERVICES Laurel Bernard MANAGER OF PUBLISHING SYSTEMS Dan Kerr TEAM LEADERS Mike Beninger, Kim Christie, Barb Horricks, Paula Lee, Julie McClung, Karol Morris, Glenn Wigmore EDITORS Erin Beattie, Janet Brazier, Sophie Crocker, Tim Ford, Jane Grainger, Betsy Gray, Iris Gray, Mary Beth Hall, Sophie Heizer, Louis Henderson, Bill Hrick, Jennifer Isaac, Quinn MacDonald, Anne Maclean, Claire Matthews, Jill Milkert, Sarah Mitenko, Erik Pedersen, Janet Pink, Robyn Swanson, Antoinette Warren, Heather Warren, Kim Westad INDEXERS Shannon Ash, Robin Rohrmoser RESEARCHERS Hannah Curran, Brooke Isherwood, David Mattison TECHNICAL OPERATIONS Pamela Holmes, Daniel Powell, Patrick Stobbe Copyright © 2021 Legislative Assembly of British Columbia TheOfficial Report of Debates (Hansard)and webcasts of chamber proceedings are available at www.leg.bc.ca.

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Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20210304am-Hansard-n20
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20210304am Hansard n20
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	8231e3e9136b176a2ae6978b98b297be24fe803e

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