British Columbia Hansard — 26 February 2019, p.m., Issue 208 (41st Parliament, 4th Session)

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British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Fourth Session, 41st Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday, February 26, 2019 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 208 THE HONOURABLE DARRYL PLECAS, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC Fourth Session, 41st Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Darryl Plecas EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John Horgan Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance............................................................................................................................Hon.

Carole James Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training..................................................................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Minister of Agriculture.........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General.................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

David Eby, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ............................................................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Minister of State for Child Care...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Minister of Citizens’ Services.................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Jinny Sims Minister of Education ............................................................................................................................................................ Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources ...............................................................................................Hon. Michelle Mungall Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy............................................................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ..............................................Hon. Doug Donaldson Minister of Health .....................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Adrian Dix Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... Hon.

Scott Fraser Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology............................................................................................................................ Hon. Bruce Ralston Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon. George Chow Minister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Minister of Mental Health and Addictions............................................................................................................................ Hon. Judy Darcy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.................................................................................................................. Hon. Selina Robinson Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction..............................................................................................Hon. Shane Simpson Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.....................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................ Hon.

Claire Trevena LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition................................................................................................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Leader of the Third Party ....................................................................................................................................................Dr. Andrew Weaver Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................................................................................

Raj Chouhan Assistant Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................................................................... Joan Isaacs Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ................................................................................................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ....................................................................................................................................................Craig James Acting Clerk of the Legislative Assembly...............................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Clerk Assistant — Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..........................................................................................Susan Sourial Sessional Law Clerk...............................................................................................................................................Loredana Catalli-Sonier, QC Parliamentary Counsel ...................................................................................................................................................................... S.

Suzie Seo Sergeant-at-Arms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary Lenz Acting Sergeant-at-Arms......................................................................................................................................... Randall Ennis, MMM, CD

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal) ........................................................................ Penticton Bains, Hon. Harry (NDP)...............................................................Surrey-Newton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal) ................................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Beare, Hon. Lisa (NDP).............................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry (NDP) ..................................................................... Surrey-Guildford Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal) .......................................................

Peace River South Bond, Shirley (BC Liberal)......................................... Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (NDP)..................................................................... Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal)....................................................... Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) ..................................... Vancouver–West End Chen, Hon. Katrina (NDP).....................................................Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ............................................................... Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon.

George (NDP)............................................... Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal) ................................ Columbia River–Revelstoke Coleman, Rich (BC Liberal) ...............................................................Langley East Conroy, Hon. Katrine (NDP)......................................................... Kootenay West Darcy, Hon.

Judy (NDP) ............................................................New Westminster Davies, Dan (BC Liberal) ..........................................................Peace River North de Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal) ............................................ Abbotsford West Dean, Mitzi (NDP)...............................................................Esquimalt-Metchosin D’Eith, Bob (NDP) ...............................................................Maple Ridge–Mission Dix, Hon. Adrian (NDP)......................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Hon.

Doug (NDP).....................................................................Stikine Eby, Hon. David, QC (NDP)............................................. Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP)....................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (NDP) ...................................................... Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (NDP) .....................................................Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal)........................................................... Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Hon.

Scott (NDP) ................................................ Mid Island–Pacific Rim Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) ........................................... Cowichan Valley Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal) ................................................. Abbotsford-Mission Glumac, Rick (NDP)........................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Heyman, Hon. George (NDP) .............................................. Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon. John (NDP) ...............................................

Langford–Juan de Fuca Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal) .......................................................Surrey-Cloverdale Isaacs, Joan (BC Liberal) .........................................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain James, Hon. Carole (NDP)...................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Johal, Jas (BC Liberal)...............................................

Richmond-Queensborough Kahlon, Ravi (NDP)..............................................................................Delta North Kang, Anne (NDP)..................................................................Burnaby–Deer Lake Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal)............................................................................ Shuswap Larson, Linda (BC Liberal) .............................................Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Michael (BC Liberal) ......................................................

Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (NDP) ....................................................Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal)............................................Kelowna–Lake Country Ma, Bowinn (NDP) ................................................... North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Sheila (NDP) .......................................................................Nanaimo Mark, Hon. Melanie (NDP) ..................................... Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Martin, John (BC Liberal)......................................................................

Chilliwack Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal).................................... Kamloops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal) ..........................................Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Hon. Michelle (NDP).................................................... Nelson-Creston Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal) ...........................................................Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (BC Green Party)........................... Saanich North and the Islands Paton, Ian (BC Liberal)......................................................................... Delta South Plecas, Hon.

Darryl (Ind.) ..........................................................Abbotsford South Polak, Mary (BC Liberal) ............................................................................ Langley Popham, Hon. Lana (NDP)..............................................................Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce (NDP) .......................................................... Surrey-Whalley Redies, Tracy (BC Liberal) ..................................................... Surrey–White Rock Reid, Linda (BC Liberal) ................................................

Richmond South Centre Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ............................................................................ North Coast Robinson, Hon. Selina (NDP) ....................................... Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal)..................................................................................Skeena Routledge, Janet (NDP) .................................................................. Burnaby North Routley, Doug (NDP) ................................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, John (BC Liberal) ..............................................................

Nechako Lakes Shypitka, Tom (BC Liberal) .............................................................Kootenay East Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ........................................Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Hon. Shane (NDP)................................................ Vancouver-Hastings Sims, Hon.

Jinny (NDP) .............................................................Surrey-Panorama Singh, Rachna (NDP) ........................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal) ................................................................Kelowna West Stilwell, Michelle (BC Liberal)..............................................Parksville-Qualicum Stone, Todd (BC Liberal)........................................

Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal).......................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Sullivan, Sam (BC Liberal)...............................................Vancouver–False Creek Sultan, Ralph (BC Liberal) ......................................... West Vancouver–Capilano Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal) ................................................................ Fraser-Nicola Thomson, Steve (BC Liberal)..................................................... Kelowna-Mission Thornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) .............................

North Vancouver–Seymour Throness, Laurie (BC Liberal) ..................................................... Chilliwack-Kent Trevena, Hon. Claire (NDP) .............................................................. North Island Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal) ................................................Richmond North Centre Weaver, Dr. Andrew (BC Green Party) ......................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal) .............................. Vancouver-Quilchena Y ap, John (BC Liberal)..........................................................

Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission ..........................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South ..................................................................... Hon. Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West .................................................................... Michael de Jong, QC Boundary-Similkameen.....................................................................

Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake ...............................................................................Anne Kang Burnaby-Edmonds ..............................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Burnaby North................................................................................

Janet Routledge Cariboo-Chilcotin ............................................................................Donna Barnett Cariboo North .................................................................................. Coralee Oakes Chilliwack.............................................................................................. John Martin Chilliwack-Kent..............................................................................Laurie Throness Columbia River–Revelstoke........................................................

Doug Clovechok Coquitlam–Burke Mountain................................................................. Joan Isaacs Coquitlam-Maillardville..................................................... Hon. Selina Robinson Courtenay-Comox ................................................................. Ronna-Rae Leonard Cowichan Valley ............................................................................

Sonia Furstenau Delta North ...........................................................................................Ravi Kahlon Delta South.................................................................................................Ian Paton Esquimalt-Metchosin.............................................................................Mitzi Dean Fraser-Nicola........................................................................................

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

Steve Thomson Kelowna West.........................................................................................Ben Stewart Kootenay East .....................................................................................Tom Shypitka Kootenay West ...................................................................... Hon. Katrine Conroy Langford–Juan de Fuca............................................................. Hon. John Horgan Langley....................................................................................................

Mary Polak Langley East .......................................................................................Rich Coleman Maple Ridge–Mission ............................................................................ Bob D’Eith Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ..........................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim .............................................................. Hon. Scott Fraser Nanaimo ....................................................................................

Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo–North Cowichan.............................................................. Doug Routley Nechako Lakes ...................................................................................... John Rustad Nelson-Creston.................................................................. Hon. Michelle Mungall New Westminster ......................................................................... Hon. Judy Darcy North Coast..........................................................................................

Jennifer Rice North Island ............................................................................ Hon. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale ................................................................. Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour ......................................................Jane Thornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head ..........................................................Dr.

Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum .....................................................................Michelle Stilwell 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 ..................................................... Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie ..................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount.................................................................

Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre ........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough .......................................................................Jas Johal Richmond South Centre........................................................................ Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston..................................................................................

John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap .................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena ......................................................................................................... Ellis Ross Stikine ..................................................................................Hon.

Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale............................................................................... Marvin Hunt Surrey-Fleetwood ...................................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers ......................................................................Rachna Singh Surrey-Guildford ....................................................................................Garry Begg Surrey-Newton.............................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama........................................................................... Hon. Jinny Sims Surrey South............................................................................... Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Whalley........................................................................ Hon. Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ............................................................................. Tracy Redies Vancouver-Fairview ............................................................ Hon.

George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek....................................................................... Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview .............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings .............................................................. Hon. Shane Simpson 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...................................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill ................................................................ Hon. Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake .................................................................. Hon. Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano .................................................................

Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ..............................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC Liberal 42; NDP 41; BC Green Party 3; Independent 1

CONTENTS Tuesday, February 26, 2019 Afternoon Sitting Page Orders of the Day Budget Debate(continued) .................................................................................................................................................... 7253 J. Martin Hon. R. Fleming D. Barnett A. Kang D. Ashton Hon. G. Heyman S. Thomson Hon. H. Bains L. Larson Hon. D. Donaldson S. Gibson Tabling Documents................................................................................................................................................................. 7292 Office of the Auditor General,Access to Emergency Health Services, independent audit report, February 2019

TUESDAY , FEBRUARY 26, 2019 The House met at 1:33 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Orders of the Day Hon. M. Farnworth:I call continued debate on the budget. Budget Debate (continued) J. Martin:It’s good to be back and resume my response to Budget 2019. The previous speaker, the Minister of Energy and Mines, used the word “beautiful” multiple times to describe the budget. [R. Chouhan in the chair.] When I think about beautiful, I think about the old Minter Gardens, and I think about an early sunrise over Vic- toria harbour or a big slab of brisket that’s been smoking all night.

I usually don’t think about budgets as being beautiful, so I’m probably going to be using different adjectives for the next 20 minutes. But it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to respond. No government begins its mandate with a clean slate. Every government incoming at every level of government in this country inherits what came before them with a previous government. [1:35 p.m.] In 2001, the B.C. Liberals inherited the worst-performing economy in the country — runaway deficits, overspending, mismanagement, the poorest economy in Canada.

In 2017, things were very different when a new government was formed after the election and some negotiations. That gov- ernment inherited the best-performing economy in the country, impressive surpluses that were not being equalled anywhere in Canada and a robust plan for the future to keep B.C. on track. Obviously, it’s much better to be in the position that the present government is in to inherit a very strong economy than it would be for the example I gave of the incoming gov- ernment in 2001. But a government can only survive so long on the merits of its predecessor.

Sooner rather than later, this present gov- ernment is going to realize that there is going to have to be some management of the economy in terms of invest- ment, which has dried right up, and in terms of our natural resources, which are going in the wrong direction. Even by its own measure, the budget didn’t even mention the word “jobs” until about 20 minutes in — as though it’s an after- thought, and somehow: “Well, the previous government has taken care of that for us. We don’t have to worry. ”

Whereas the budget had the potential of being a blueprint for the future and opportunity, what we saw was something quite disappointing. The budget 2019 continues the NDP’s charade of smoke and mirrors and games of the past 18 months or so. For instance, they introduced a speculation tax that has nothing to do with speculation. They introduced a school tax that has nothing to do with schools. They brought in a community benefits agreement that really only benefits one particular sector: generous donors of the NDP . So a balanced budget. Kudos to the government. They did manage to do that.

I don’t know that they’re going to be able to pull it off again, but a balanced budget is more than just simply having spending a little bit less than revenues. A bal- anced budget is much more comprehensive than that. It’s about making sure that the spending you commit to today, the promise you make today, can be paid for tomorrow. That’s where the 2019 budget is on a very, very weak foundation. Have they taken risks into account? Are they confident that they can afford to pay for the promises that they continue to make in this House?

In other words, is it sustainable over the long term — not over an election cycle but over the long term? Governments come and go, but the province needs to per- severe in a very strong and orderly fashion. I would submit, hon. Speaker, that this budget is not sustainable. Y ou would think that maybe the Green Party could have worked a little bit harder in their negotiations with the NDP to get some concept of sustainability into the budget, but we haven’t actually seen that.

What we have seen is that this government is very quickly maxing out its spending and is making some very rich, very reckless predictions about the future, suggesting that in 12 months ICBC is going to be out of debt. That’s a bit of a stretch. Housing starts, a key driver of our economy, are set to drop 25 percent. Resource revenues are set to fall 30 percent. B.C. is a resource province — always has been, always should be. Resource revenues are set to fall 30 percent. Spending has skyrocketed, $13 billion. That’s 26 percent since the NDP took office 18 months ago. So what’s fuel- ling this rocket?

Let’s look at what’s actually happening here. The NDP’s balanced approach is a “tax and tax some more, and spend and then tax again” budget. I long for the days of just the old tax-and-spend budget, but we’ve gone far beyond that. [1:40 p.m.] British Columbians will be forking over an extra $1,100 in taxes over the life of this budget. This is very problematic to the government’s claim that it’s trying to make life more affordable for British Columbians, because while they’re repeating that mantra, at the same time, they’ve turned off the revenue-neutral component of the carbon tax to make it a simple cash cow.

It has nothing to do with the climate. It has nothing to do with the environment. It’s just simply a tax on fuel, a tax on other parts of the energy sector that govern- 7253

ment puts into general revenue. It would be no different than any other particular tax. The claim that, somehow, this is part of a climate change strategy, that this is about protecting the environment for our kids ended the day that the NDP government decided to cancel the revenue-neutrality component of the carbon tax. The only way I could ever support a carbon tax would be with that revenue neutrality in it. That’s long gone. This government is extracting $6 billion over the next three years in new taxes.

That’s money that comes out of the pockets of hard-working British Columbians every time they visit the gas pump. When you drive your kids to soccer practice, you’re sending money to the government. When you drive to work, you’re sending money to the government. When you take your family out for dinner, you’re sending money to the government. The spin now is: “Be happy. Y ou’re helping to fight climate change. ” Well, those taxes are not going to do a single thing for the climate.

The reality is that a mere 15 percent of the carbon tax is going to any effort to reduce carbon, and 85 percent — probably more — is simply just going to govern- ment coffers. It seems that the main role of the new carbon tax, the way the NDP has worked it, is to increase the NDP’s tax footprint. There’s a double dip on the MSP and employer’s health tax this year. Well, that’s not just going to impact big, big corporations that can weather the increase. That’s going to affect everyone on every single purchase you make. Every service that you employ is going to cost more as a con- sequence of that.

Many small businesses are struggling to find a balance between paying the double tax hit and keeping prices com- petitive for their customers. Do they raise prices? Do they lay off staff? Do they start to cut back on their operations, or do they just shut down altogether? These are the challenges that small businesses are facing each and every day in this province. Many municipalities having to deal with a new taxation are simply hiking their own taxes. Renters and homeowners will pay more so local governments can send more money to Victoria. Tax, and tax some more, and spend, and then tax some more again.

Why deliver today what you’re promising tomorrow? The NDP promised a child tax benefit that won’t take effect until 2020. So put it in the 2020 Budget. Despite the big spending promises, the NDP still haven’t delivered on the long-prom- ised $400 rebate. Where is the poverty reduction plan we heard about? Universal $10-a-day child care? Where are they? They’re not in this budget. Let’s get back to the concept of balance, a balanced budget. So far, we’ve seen an awful lot of taxes for British Columbi- ans, and we’ve seen an awful lot of spending by this partic- ular government.

But what we don’t see is any commitment to sustainability over the long term. Much like the throne speech a few weeks ago, the budget has absolutely no plan to grow the economy. It has no forward-looking measures to drive the economy, to increase revenues, to increase jobs, to increase investment. There is nothing in there to stimu- late the economy. There is nothing in there that is going to be preparing this province for a downturn which…. These things are cyclical, and it will happen. Make no mistake. Growing the economy is critical. It is crucial.

It is central to sustainability, both economic sus- tainability and environmental sustainability. Encouraging entrepreneurship and encouraging investment grows the economy. Show me anything in Budget 2019 that encour- ages entrepreneurship, that encourages investment in Brit- ish Columbia. [1:45 p.m.] A balanced budget should be about creating jobs. It should be about supporting business. It should be about driving individual and business spending. It should be about increasing revenues. It should be about building communit- ies. It should be about laying the blueprint for a stronger tomorrow.

Y et, the entire concept seems to have vanished under this particular budget. There will be a downturn, possibly a global economic downturn. If you’re not certain about your job in the next year or two, you have to take a hard look at your spending and try not to commit to spending what you might not be able to afford if your situation changes. But when you’re this particular government, you can take a different approach — the ostrich approach, head in the sand. There are no prob- lems. The money will keep flowing. The previous govern- ment has assured us of that. It doesn’t work that way.

B.C. depends on global trade. The reason British Colum- bia was so successful when every other place was struggling is because we diversified our economy. We diversified our trading partners. When the housing market in the U.S. went in the dumpster, we were able to withstand that because we had built ties in other parts of the world — in India, in Asia. Well, that’s not taking place right now. There’s instability right now in U.S.-China relations. That will impact us. The Chinese economy, very possibly, is going to be slowing. The situation in Europe with Brexit threatens economic disrup- tions.

What’s the plan from this government in that budget in that eventuality? Here in British Columbia, this particular budget fails to do anything of note to buffer against a potential downturn or to promote areas of strategic growth in the eventuality of a shift in the economy. It’s a stand-pat budget. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry. We’re going to get through the next little while. It’s a stand-pat budget hoping that things get better so we can eventually afford all these things that are promised in the budget.

The thing is it’s not up to a government to determine what that future is going to look like with all of our global connec- tions, with all of our trading partners, with all of the uncer- tainty that’s happening in other places around the world. At the end of the day, it will be taxpayers who will have to pay more taxes and will have seen more attempts by the govern- ment to come after their wallets, to come after their assets. 7254 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

If you have a second home, you’re going to be taxed. Well, why not a second car? Tax them on that, on a second barbe- cue. Who needs more than one barbecue? Tax it. Interjection. J. Martin:My wife isn’t going to let me get another one. I’ll guarantee you that. At the end of the day, British Columbians deserve a budget that creates opportunity for each and every one of them, rather than one that creates more opportunities for the government to extract revenue from the taxpayers. The best way for this government to get more money from taxpay- ers is to see more people earning bigger paycheques.

They’re paying more taxes, and they’re happy to do so because they’re coming out ahead of it as well. Well, right now that’s not happening. Budget 2019 is a stand-pat budget. It is, technically, bal- anced. That is due to the economy that they inherited. It’s not nearly as horrendous a budget as NDP governments have put forward in the past. I will not be supporting it. I can tell you that in my previous profession, over 25 years, I had the opportunity to evaluate and assign grades to lit- erally thousands of papers and reports.

So I’m going to call on my expertise in that manner, and I’m going to give this budget an F-plus. Hon. R. Fleming:It’s always a pleasure to follow a grilling from the member for Chilliwack.

I do appreciate the opportunity to respond to Budget 2019 this afternoon and talk about a number of areas where this will benefit and strengthen middle-class British Columbians, will invest in public services that have been long neglected and will help build a strong economy here in British Colum- bia that is sustainable for prosperity well into the future in B.C., because that’s exactly what this budget is all about at the top level. [1:50 p.m.] It’s about maintaining the lowest unemployment rates that we’ve ever had in British Columbia, continuing to see job growth, continuing to see foreign investment confidence in British Columbia.

After all, we’ve already had confirmed a $40 billion investment from the energy sector, the largest in Canadian history. There are other investments in the tech economy, in aeronautics, in all kinds of industries, whether it’s manufacturing or primary resource extraction, or wheth- er it’s the dynamic service economy and the tourism eco- nomy in British Columbia. The point, I think, for British Columbia that stands them well and in sharp contrast to the previous government is that we are finally starting to see balance.

Not only is the budget balanced this year and for the next three years, but the spending priorities of government are finally balanced. For years and years and years, who came first when the old government tabled a budget was those at the top, time and time again. We had corporate income taxes that were cut. We had earnings, an entire tier — the top tier of the income tax bracket in British Columbia — eliminated, which benefited the top 2 percent. Those were spending decisions, if you like, to forgo revenue that cost British Columbia hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.

It came at the neglect and expense of health care, of educa- tion, of never seeing, for example, a raise to the rate for foster parents and some of the other things that are long over- due and that are contained in the pages and pages of Budget 2019. This is about balance. This is about strengthening the economy where people actually live. This is about strength- ening the paycheques, jobs and communities of British Col- umbians in every part of the province.

Before I go any further, I meant, at the top of my remarks, as other members have, to have taken this opportunity to thank some people who work for us and help us do our jobs in our constituencies. I have some new staff in my constitu- ency office in Victoria–Swan Lake, and there are a number of people whom I want to thank, on the record, who’ve been doing amazing work helping my constituents. Sheridan Hawse is a young woman who joined our staff very recently and really enjoys doing the casework, bringing results and helping people who have inquiries of our govern- ment.

Christine Rousseau is my senior constituency assist- ant, who has been running the show there for the longest of my three staff. We have a young man named Greg Schind- ler, who is just finishing his university degree, working part- time for us, who really, really enjoys working with neigh- bourhoods and communities in my constituency. I want to thank all three of them. I also want to thank somebody in my minister’s office. In fact — and I don’t want members to take this the wrong way — it’s her last day in my office.

I do want to thank Andra Hahn, who’s my administrative coordinator, for just doing an incredible job of getting our office organized as we formed a new government, post July 2017. Andra has been an amaz- ing person to work with. I have known her over many, many years. I was delighted to be able to hire her in my minister’s office, and I’m very, very sad to see her moving on to other opportunities. Thank you, to all of those individuals I’ve just mentioned, for allowing me, certainly, to do my job in here. I know that members similarly rely on lots of good people to help them do their jobs. Back to the budget.

Look, what the opposition has had a hard time attacking in the budget is that this budget, writ large, makes life more affordable for middle-class British Columbians. It delivers on the government’s central promise — it was a central election issue — of how to make life more affordable in a province that had become increasingly expensive. In fact, parts of British Columbia are among the most expensive places to live and work in the entire world. We saw runaway housing prices. We have talked in here about what some of those drivers may have been.

We have talked about a government that failed to control money laundering and foreign purchases that were out of control. Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7255

They denied that it was even a problem. How many years did we hear that for? There was no effective policy response. As the member for Chilliwack was mentioning, govern- ments inherit situations from the previous government. We inherited a very, very bad situation on housing affordability. There’s no arguing that. [1:55 p.m.] We are starting to see some very good signs that are part of the context of the tabling of Budget 2019. For the first time in years, we have started to see the vacancy rate go up. That’s good for renters in British Columbia.

In my community, 60 percent of my constituents rent the homes that they live in. More supply, more rental options for them, will moderate the skyrocketing prices we saw for renters. We are starting to see, in some parts of the market, single detached homes having their prices at least not rise anymore — in some cases, to moderate slightly. This is good. We are starting to see that in the condominium market and all other types of housing. In other words, we’re moving in the right direction, finally, after seeing unsustainable growth. Let’s face it.

It was on the front page of world publications not too long ago.The Economist talked about Canada’s hous- ing bubble in a special issue. I think it was just two or three years ago. We had six feature pages on how much risk the Canadian economy and the British Columbia economy was in, in particular from unresponsive governments. Today we’ve brought in some policies, some tax measures, that are helping the affordability challenge around housing and turning this province around in the right direction when it comes to home ownership and rental supply.

For that, we should be very, very thankful that not a minute too late, gov- ernment has changed directions and is starting to get some positive results. I also want to commend the Finance Minister for finding some ways to put money back into people’s pockets — the people that deserve it in B.C., the people who have seen their purchasing power eroded over many, many years. It’s easi- er to say than to do, but the Finance Minister has delivered on the biggest middle-class tax cut in a generation in this budget. We’re going to be eliminating the MSP .

Now we’re bringing in the child opportunity benefit fund, which fur- ther puts money into people’s pockets and helps reduce child poverty. Those are significant achievements for a govern- ment, after all, that is only 18 months old. I think what the opposition is really discouraged by is how much good news, how many commitments, we’ve been able to deliver in such a short period of time. It demoralizes them. There’s no question about it. Interjection. Hon. R. Fleming:I’m trying to get a reaction. I think the other story about this budget…. It’s a triple play.

First of all, it puts out the fiscally reckless dumpster fires that we inherited as a government. The member for Chilli- wack did not mention this. We inherited an absolute, dis- astrous mess at ICBC, sliding off into the dirt — billions of dollars in losses, no plan to fix it. That’s what we inherited. We had B.C.

Hydro — the crown jewel of hydroelectric companies on the continent once upon a time — which had been treated like an ATM machine by the previous gov- ernment, having hundreds of millions of dollars taken out as dividends to “balance their budget, ” literally taken from ratepayers out of our province’s utility, unsustainable in the extreme. That has been fixed in Budget 2019. Look, we have also been able to invest in services. That’s what the budget is about here in many areas. There were areas of neglect in every part of British Columbia, and people know what I’m talking about.

They’re talking about transportation infrastructure that may have been announced but never funded. They’re talking about schools that were never built, health care infrastructure that was aging and that wasn’t getting done. Our government has made significant strides to do this. Now, let’s not forget that the opposition was predicting — I don’t know if it was within months, weeks, minutes, days — an imminent economic collapse in British Columbia.

If you think back to the summer of 2017, when the Lieuten- ant-Governor dismissed them to the opposition benches and allowed for the formation of a new coalition government, they predicted that B.C. would collapse, investment would flee, business would riot. It hasn’t happened — quite the opposite. We have, today in British Columbia, economic growth that’s the strongest in the country, unemployment that’s the lowest we’ve ever seen, 4.7 percent.

The province has maintained a triple-A credit rating from all three international rating agencies, and the budget, as I mentioned, is balanced this year and will be bal- anced in the next two years hence. Now, what bothers the opposition is that we’ve been able to do all of this — main- tain strong economic performance, clean up their messes — at the same time as making record investments in things this province needs. [2:00 p.m.] I want to go back to the Economic Forecast Council, because in the run-up to the formation of Budget 2019, they evaluated Budget 2018.

One of the gentlemen — I for- get which banking institution he was the chief econom- ist for — actually credited Budget 2018, a year ago, with maintaining and expanding economic growth in B.C. He actually said that the GDP growth in the last fiscal year would have been an entire half-point lower had our gov- ernment not invested record amounts in infrastructure, creating jobs, creating the infrastructure to allow the free movement of goods and services and grow the economy. That’s an independent economist.

Budget 2019 builds upon that short but very, very positive record that our government has established, and it does it by this. There is $20 billion in this budget that will build schools, that will improve roads and transportation net- works and that will build hospitals in communities where, let’s face it, for 16 years they never did, even in communities 7256 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

that have only known Liberal representation. They failed to get things done. It will build college and university infra- structure, and it will support, through this infrastructure investment, the creation of more than 80,000 jobs over the next three years. That is good news for economic growth, for job growth and for building the kinds of infrastructure projects that we need to improve our quality of life and our affordability of living in British Columbia over the next three years.

This budget, as I mentioned, launches a bold new initiat- ive called the B.C. child opportunity benefit, which will put nearly $400 million a year back into the pockets of families throughout B.C. This is fantastic for kids and families. We all know that a number of our constituents have struggled with affordability. They have struggled to sometimes pay the bills, put food on the table. Certainly, they have struggled with paying for sports programs or dance or Scouts and Guiding activities — all of those kinds of things that are a part of life and the costs of raising families and kids.

That $400 million that goes back into the pockets of middle-class British Columbians is going to improve the quality of life and affordability of life for families right across British Columbia, and this is a bold, major new initiative in Budget 2019. So members who say proudly in this House that they’re going to vote against the budget are voting against putting $400 million back into the pockets of B.C. families that need it to make life more affordable for them- selves and their kids. We have fulfilled our commitment as a government — again, an 18-month-old government — to eliminate unfair MSP premiums.

We are now part of the normal landscape of Canadian health care that no longer taxes people with the most regressive flat tax imaginable for access to health care. The premiums are gone in this budget, and we are now…. British Columbia takes its rightful place alongside every oth- er province in the country that has moved towards an EHT- style system that B.C. has. It is fairer. For middle-class famil- ies, again, it eliminates $1,800 of a health care tax that came out of their pockets — or for single people, $900 a year. Very expensive. Very unfair. The MSP was raised ten times.

Budget year after budget year after budget year, they were addicted to this flat tax that taxed somebody making $40,000 a year the same as it did somebody who earned $4 million a year. I mean, it was the most failed right-wing, ideological tax scheme you could ever concoct, and I’m happy to say it is going into the dust- bin of history in British Columbia thanks to Budget 2019. We are eliminating interest on B.C. student loans through Budget 2019. I want to acknowledge my colleague sitting next to me here, the Minister of Advanced Education, for pushing this through the budget-making process.

This is a much-needed bit of relief for students right across British Columbia. Look, we all know that there is no greater investment that a person can make in themselves than their education — to get ahead in life, to invest in yourself, to invest in your skills and the career opportunities available to you. Sometimes government needs to help people be able to incentivize those kinds of decisions. High costs of student loans for those that needed to borrow to be able to afford their education, who didn’t come from wealth — it had become a burden. The previous government across the way doubled tuition fees.

The first thing they did when they became government in 2001 was they eliminated the B.C. student grant program, instantly transferring thousands of dollars onto student debt. [2:05 p.m.] It is long overdue to take a step like this. And I’m happy to say that it’s not just…. An 18-year-old can’t just go and get a stereo, interest-free, or some other — I’m not going to say “frivolous” — consumption item. They can now get zero percent on the investment they make in themselves to take out a student loan, to take a trade or take a college program, a vocation or a university program in British Columbia.

It’s long overdue, and that’s going to help transition many more young people to pursue their hopes and dreams in B.C. ’s col- leges and universities. This budget also invests $902 million in CleanBC to meet climate commitments. Our government is sincere and ambi- tious in trying to achieve carbon reductions in our economy. We need leadership in the world right now when it comes to climate change.

There are paralyzed governments across the globe that do nothing to help the environment, that do not join with other nations and other states and provinces in an effort that we all must make together as humanity to turn around carbon pollution and the devast- ating effects that it’s having. We see it here in British Columbia with wildfires and oth- er weather-related disasters. We see it all over the globe. It is the leading cause of human instability in the world, and this budget commits nearly $1 billion of carbon tax revenue toward carbon reduction activities in our economy.

The member for Chilliwack had said that he doesn’t like carbon taxes that get spent on transit, on innovation, on energy efficiency and on carbon reductions. Well, we do on this side of the House, and it’s long time that we invested money in carbon reduction. We’re also funding a historic revenue-sharing agreement with First Nations people in B.C. I’m very, very proud of this. There are so many things I could list that this govern- ment has achieved around the file of reconciliation, which is all our responsibility, as British Columbians, to achieve. Our government takes it very seriously.

We have a long list of accomplishments, but what I will highlight in this budget is that there is $3 billion of gaming revenue being shared with First Nations communities over the next 25 years to help them develop their economies, to help them do economic development projects in First Nations territories in British Columbia, to help First Nations people take their rightful place in the economy, which they have been shut out of for generations in B.C. — by sharing those revenue sources to pursue economic diversification in Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7257

British Columbia. I’m very proud of that being a feature of this budget. We have also made investments in mental health, particu- larly around children, youth and young adults. We are bring- ing this, in a very strong focus, under the Ministry of Edu- cation. I’m very happy to see that there are significant new resources, over the next three years, to do this. To start the conversation, one of the first things I was able to do as the Minister of Education was to bring all 60 school districts together to have a mental health symposi- um.

People have been talking for years about how young people were experiencing anxiety or, worse, self-harming themselves. The school system was ill-equipped to be able to identify this, to get them into contact with counsellors or whatever services they may need. In Budget 2018, we announced the expansion of the Foundry program. Budget 2019 adds an additional level of support to have services that are school-based, that are coordinated with law enforcement, with health authorities, with child and youth mental health workers.

I take my hat off to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions for her leadership on this file and the inclusion of $74 million in new funding to improve mental health and the well-being of children and young people across B.C. Now, let me turn to my own ministry. Here’s another story that we inherited. After 16 long years, B.C. ’s K-to-12 educa- tion system had gone from the second-best funded in the country to the second-worst. We had a government that picked fights with teachers at every opportunity it could. It litigated against them for 12 years in the courts.

They presided over overcrowded classrooms growing right across British Columbia. And educators were disrespected, in every sense of the word, by their own government. They failed to properly invest in schools. They left older schools with hundreds of millions of dollars of routine main- tenance deficits, projects not done. They promised to seis- mically upgrade schools. They did not get good results; they failed to deliver. They didn’t build enough schools in fast- growing communities. I can think of Sooke, Chilliwack, Langley, Surrey.

We know some of the districts that I’m speaking of where portables proliferated. The number of portables in Surrey, for example, doubled under their watch, under the previous government. [2:10 p.m.] Again, we’ve inherited this situation as a new government. But rather than bemoan the cards that were dealt to us by the previous government and their neglect, we got on with the work. We knew what needed to be done, and we set to it immediately. We have started to fix some of these problems they left behind. In just 18 months, I’m proud to say, we’ve already invested $1 billion in new school investments.

That’s expansions, seismic upgrades, property purchases for future schools. The list goes on. We’ve approved three times as many seismic projects just in the last year com- pared to the three years previously. These projects have already created or will create 18,000 safer student spaces that will protect kids in the event of a major seismic earth- quake event on our coast here. We’re doing things differently. We’re seeing results by working closely with school boards and city officials in com- munities like Surrey.

We’ve already approved $171 million of school investment in our short period of time as govern- ment, creating more than 2,500 new spaces. We have 7,000 new seats underway being constructed and designed or in the tendering phase right now in Surrey that will be available by the 2021 school year, and we have an opportunity now to do more even than that in Budget 2019.

To give you an illustration, had the government chosen our way of investing in schools, rather than their way, which was typically to have a photo op and not deliver on it, if they had allocated funds and got to work building 2,500 new seats in the space of time that we have done as a new government, there wouldn’t be a single portable in Surrey today. But we have to clean up that mess. We have to do it as quickly as we can. We weren’t left with the benefit of any projects in any pre- planning stages or with funding attached to them, so we’ve had to start from square one.

I have to say that working with the mayor’s office in Surrey, working closely with the super- intendent and the board of trustees in Surrey, we are getting it done. And it’s not just Surrey. It’s communities throughout the Fraser Valley. Here in Sooke, as well, which is the fastest- growing district per capita. We will continue to do more, because Budget 2019 allows us to do more. I’m also pleased to say that we fulfilled the playground equipment program last year that Premier Horgan had com- mitted to parents. We’ve already announced 51 playground projects. We will have a similar number to announce this year.

It is an annual program. This is, as you will recall, help for parents and PACs at schools to not have onerous, ridiculously excessive fundrais- ing goals and targets that were very, very difficult to achieve. I remember hearing about a school fundraising effort to have a new playground that took 12 years of bake sales and scrimping and saving to be able to achieve new playground equipment. That is ridiculous. There’s no surprise that was in a low-income area.

We as a new government have helped school communities and parent organizations — alleviated them from that kind of a fundraising burden with this new program. I’m delighted to see that it will continue in very strong fashion in this next budget. It will deliver playground equipment in all parts of British Columbia. Some of the members opposite have thanked me personally for some of the announcements that have been made in their districts, and I can tell them that there’s more good news on the way there. We’ve hired 3,700 new teachers. The previous government fired teachers.

We’re hiring them by the thousands in B.C. We have the smallest class sizes in school in generations. We’re building better supports for students throughout the province. We have an additional 1,000 educational assistants 7258 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

to help kids who have special learning needs do better in school and be successful. We have addressed the shortages of some specialist teach- ers. For the first time, we’ve actually funded directly from the Ministry of Education new spaces in B.C. ’s teacher edu- cation programs to bring teachers into high-demand areas. We want to help all parts of the province be able to success- fully hire the teachers they need — rural, urban and suburb- an British Columbia. We are doing it, and we’re seeing a sig- nificant improvement there.

I have to say that one of the things, going into Budget 2019, that makes me very pleased as the Minister of Edu- cation is that we are starting to see student outcomes improve, especially in the areas where they have lagged for a long, long time. Look, 20 years ago the province of B.C. started reporting on First Nations student outcomes, knowing that there was a problem, knowing that First Nations students were not well supported and eventually discovering a number of things.

Having no cultural reflection in the school system, having no additional supports for First Nations learners did not help them achieve graduation like it was for other students. It has been a 20-year effort. What I would like to say is that, with the additional resources, the additional teachers, the additional supports we’ve offered, we saw a 6 percent growth in the Indigenous graduation rate last year. That’s an 18 percent gain just in the last four years. Last year was the best of those four years.

We have serious momentum in the school system now. [2:15 p.m.] I think that we can actually say in the House that in a year, in the not too distant future, hopefully, we’ll be able to see students’ life chances at kindergarten, or when they start school, and their graduation rates be exactly the same for Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids. We are well on the way to doing that, and there are some school districts who have already achieved that, and they should be com- mended for it. Our budget will help continue to move in that direction.

To this end, we’ve invested $400,000 towards Indigenous training seats at B.C. universities. The percentage of Indi- genous students does not meet the percentage Indigenous teachers in our school system, and we would like that to be more reflective. We would like to recruit the best and bright- est in Indigenous communities to become role models and become influential teachers in their communities to further our efforts to help the Indigenous graduation rate. One more point on Indigenization of education.

I’m very pleased, as the Minister of Education, to have concluded what’s called the Tripartite Education Agreement, with the First Nations Education Steering Committee and the federal government. This is a national agreement that will bring in 100 million new dollars to benefit all Indigenous students in the province, whether they study in on-reserve schools, in district schools or First Nations independent schools. This is a big deal. This is going to help First Nations com- munities invest significantly in educational excellence in First Nations communities around British Columbia.

We’re the only province in the country that has a deal like this. I suspect other provinces are looking exactly at what British Columbia has achieved and will seek to replicate that. We are happy to provide them with the moral support to be able to do that with our federal partners. I want to go over some of the specific funding areas in the education system, too, in my ministry. What we’re seeing here is the highest school operating and capital funding ever — full stop. This budget is very, very good for the K-to-12 education system. There are $552 million in new operating funding over the next three years.

It will allow us to hire hun- dreds of additional classroom teachers, having hired thou- sands already. We will hire additional specialist teachers — like counsellors, teacher-librarians, special education teach- ers and ELL teachers. We’ll hire more educational assistants to help diverse learners, no matter where they are in British Columbia, and we’ll provide more support to teachers who are teaching on call. The substitute teaching workforce is very, very import- ant, and we will be investing in its development.

We also know that after nearly two decades of declining enrolment, the student population of B.C. is now increasing. This is good news. It’s good news, as well, that fewer students than ever before are dropping out of high school. Here’s the context for this budget. With 18 months in gov- ernment, we’ve seen enrolment increase by 3.2 percent in our time as government. We’ve seen funding for K-to-12 education increase by 17.1 percent. A school system that was starved and neglected for way too long. A workforce that was attacked and disrespected by the previous government for decades — dragged through the courts.

The government rolled the dice and lost. Now it’s receiving a 17.1 percent rise in operating funds, which is long overdue. That has been achieved in 18 short months and will help B.C. students into the future. The other story in this budget is that the three-year capital budget for the education system is now $2.7 billion. This is the largest investment in school infrastructure that we’ve ever seen. We need to invest. We have schools that were neglected that are seismically unsafe that we need to get at too.

We have portables that we need to eliminate and give neighbourhoods and fast-growing communities — like Sur- rey, Langley and Chilliwack — real schools that anchor real communities. We need to ensure that old, outdated schools that have been neglected for a long time finally get the kinds of maintenance and expansions that they deserve. We need to plan for the future. That’s why this budget also includes money in that $2.7 billion to acquire and buy new school sites. Contrast B.C. ’s safe harbour that is contained in Budget 2019 with what other provinces are experiencing in terms of instability.

Y ou look at the roller-coaster ride that the U.S. economy is on under an unstable White House. Y ou look at what the Tory party has brought on to Britain through their Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7259

reckless, disastrous Brexit plan — the Tory compatriots of the members opposite. Y ou look at the instability in certain European countries where growth is declining and joblessness is increasing. That’s not the story here in British Columbia. Unemploy- ment is down. Spending on needed infrastructure is up. Strengthening the middle class with tax cuts, and giving relief to people in British Columbia is part of Budget 2019, and I will enthusiastically vote for it. [2:20 p.m.] D. Barnett:Wow. I’m a little aged. I’m one of those ones that’s….

Probably they’re looking, over there, at the grey hair over here and saying: “Maybe you should move along. ” But you know what? Those of us that have been around for a long time really understand financial matters. We under- stand budgets. We are so proud of the past 16 years and what we left on the table so that the new government would have an opportunity to carry on the good work that was done by this side of the House. It is my privilege today to respond to Budget 2019 on behalf of my constituents in Cariboo-Chilcotin.

Before I begin, however, I would like to take a moment to reflect on and acknowledge those who have enabled me to fulfil my role as MLA — my staff, both here in Victoria and at home in the Cariboo-Chilcotin. Thank you to my constituency assist- ant Bev Marks in the 100 Mile House office, who has been with me for six years, and to Toni Taylor in Williams Lake, who took over from Jenny Hoffman, who is now a full-time rancher, wife and mother. And, so importantly, I’ d like to thank all of my constituents. Cariboo-Chilcotin is very diverse and large, spanning over 44,000 square hectares.

It includes three First Nations languages: Shuswap, Tsilhqot’in and Carrier. All of my con- stituents continue to trust in me to represent them here in Victoria. It is both an honour and a privilege. Since 2017, many changes to the Cariboo-Chilcotin land- scape have occurred. We all remember the 2017 wildfires, when nearly 30,000 residents from the Cariboo-Chilcotin and Thompson-Nicola regions were relocated.

In response, the past government committed $100 million to the Red Cross, the feds committed $38 million, and another $28 mil- lion was donated by many of the wonderful people across the province and country who cared. Many are still suffering the trauma of the fires, and 2018, once again, caused more dev- astation on the landscape, destruction of communities and fear of the future for many in northern British Columbia.

I was sincerely hoping the 2019 budget would provide sus- tainable funding for fire mitigation, grassland restoration, fencing replacement, wildlife protection and assistance for the agriculture and forest industries. Wildfires have cost the government almost $1 billion over the last two years, yet the NDP has budgeted only $101 million. Where did that number come from? Let’s see what Pre- mier Horgan had to say. “Clearly, the traditional means of budgeting for fire season is laughable, and it’s not something that’s just developed in the last 13 months. It’s been going on for 30 years.

Choose an arbitrary number, put it in the books, and hope for the best. ” That is an insult to 70 percent of the landscape of British Columbia and to all British Columbia. The surplus is already razor thin and could be burnt up by unpredictable fires in a flash. This is plain irresponsible. This House often talks about climate change. From these conversations has developed a carbon that…. Over the next three years, this carbon tax will collect $6 billion from tax- payers. The price per tonne will rise to $40 this year and will eventually reach the $50 mark.

As a result, the carbon tax is no longer revenue-neutral, as it was for many years. As the price per tonne rises, the costs of gasoline, home heating, groceries and other goods and services for all Brit- ish Columbians will rise, yet only $902 million has been allotted for clean energy plans, and most of the programs involved came from the previous Liberal government. [2:25 p.m.] Further, why will only 15 percent of the carbon tax go to CleanBC? Where is the balance of the $6 million going? To general revenue to balance their budget. “Let’s look into the future, ” says the government.

But if things keep going as they are, I’m profoundly concerned by what the future will look like. Instead of giving British Columbians the prosper- ous future they want, this government’s budget and policies will chase private sector investment away. They derelict their duties to the people on a hope that LNG will solve all. Now, I sincerely hope that the LNG pro- ject in northern B.C. becomes a reality. I sincerely hope the NDP will bring it home. But I also hope that the NDP gov- ernment has not sold the farm in their negotiations with LNG Canada.

I also ask: where is the government’s transparency in their negotiations? I wish this secrecy wasn’t a trend, that British Columbians could be privy to some of the most important agreements of their time. Y et this seems to be what you get with the NDP . Public consultation is now, and seems like it will remain, a dream. But that isn’t because it hasn’t been requested. Let’s be clear. Local governments, citizens and we, as the official opposition, have asked for open, public con- sultation on the caribou issue, treaties and land use negoti- ations with First Nations.

No one is opposed to working on these issues, but open, public, transparent consultations to bring British Columbians together…. The closed-door dis- cussions of the present government cause nothing but sep- aration and division. I’ d like to turn my attention to another issue in Budget 2019: the Cariboo connector. I see only one item in the Cari- boo-Chilcotin Highway 97 Williams Lake Indian Reserve to Lexington Road project. This four-lane 6.2 kilometres of highway project has been going on since 2012 and will be completed in the spring of 2019. This is not a new project.

This is a project that is going to be completed, and the only one that I see. 7260 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

[J. Isaacs in the chair.] It was enabled by a great partnership between First Nations, the Williams Lake Indian Band, the private sector and the past provincial government. I am very proud of this project and how it will improve the days and lives of those who travel along it. But the government needs to get the entirety of this incredible, important project done. I ask: where in this budget is funding for the future of the Cariboo connector and rural capital maintenance projects? Y et another profound problem with the budget has to do with the health and well-being of British Columbia.

Issues like these really shouldn’t be put to the side in favour of a tax-and-spend agenda. Y et that is exactly what the NDP is doing as we enter the year of the double dip into the pockets of British Columbians. For 2019, they have actively chosen to maintain collection from individuals for the Medical Services Plan at the same time as employers will be taxed to the same ends. The employer health tax makes things worse. It came without warning or mention during the NDP’s election campaign and, once again, without public consultation. Municipalities are now forced to raise property taxes to cover the EHT costs.

How does this make life more afford- able for British Columbians? Certainly not for businesses of all sizes that will now get hit twice by the increased property tax in addition to the health care tax. I wonder: how much income will this really generate? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Small business is big busi- ness in British Columbia. In many rural communities, the only businesses around for hundreds of miles are family-run small businesses providing food, clothing, services and jobs.

Everywhere small businesses are helping their communities diversify, growing the creative sectors and finding new mar- kets for resources and services. [2:30 p.m.] Our small businesses are remarkably diverse, ranging from the family corner store to the self-employed computer programmer to the small lumber-milling operation, and the government of the day seems not even to notice, or at least their budget doesn’t. Now, being on the topic of health, I can’t help but speak to the Williams Lake hospital.

Some of you know it as the Cariboo Memorial Hospital, or perhaps you may not — as, according to the NDP , it deserves no mention whatsoever in Budget 2019. The former government announced upgrades in February 2017. Then the present government rean- nounced these upgrades one year later, in February 2018, yet the budget makes no mention of the promised provincial funding, which is expected to be around 60 percent of the $100 million estimated total cost.

That’s a lot of money — which, if actually delivered, would do profound good — yet it appears that the NDP govern- ment just doesn’t understand how important this project is. The hospital desperately needs more functional space, improved technology capabilities and an increased capacity to serve patients. Harkening back to the beginning of this statement, as we quickly move towards another wildfire sea- son, redeveloped facilities would save lives. It’s about time that this project moved ahead — and fast. I will, of course, in estimates, ask the minister when it will be built.

Now yet another omission from Budget 2019. Our agri- culture sector, which in the Cariboo-Chilcotin is mainly ranching, faces many challenges. Many of the 4,000-plus cattle ranches that operate in British Columbia are located in the Cariboo region. B.C. ranches occupy over five million acres of private land. They also have tenure on 21.5 million acres of Crown rangeland. In fact, two-thirds of the agricul- tural land reserve is owned by ranchers. The industry supports our economy, as well as many fam- ily and community businesses.

The total economic contri- bution of the industry is estimated at $600 million annually, and an estimated 8,700 persons are employed in the B.C. beef sector. However, the industry is facing many challenges, including an aging population and regulations. In addition, over the past several years, wildfires, some of the worst in the history of B.C., have had a devastating impact on the ranchland. People lost their homes and build- ings.

Ranchers lost miles and miles of fences, and pastures used to sustain cattle through the summer and fall were all burnt up, with the tragic loss of prime grazing land, yet there’s nothing in Budget 2019 for them. I was very pleased that the Minister of Agriculture was in my riding and at TRU University just two weeks ago so that students could give her their success stories on the program. I know her support for this program will help keep the fund- ing going. The cattle industry has made a profound impact. I can only hope that government continues to recognize this.

Under the previous government, at the university in Wil- liams Lake — where, I was grateful, the minister came — we launched the program three years ago, where students gain the expertise to build and sustain ranching enterprises with- in B.C. ’s ranching community. The students go out and apply that knowledge to agriculture businesses in any region. This is the only such program in British Columbia, and the suc- cess stories are amazing.

I hope the government does contin- ue to support it, but I saw nothing in the budget. [2:35 p.m.] I have a long-term care facility in my riding at which the hours were extended by the Ministry of Health, and we thank the minister for that. Y et there were no care aides or licensed practical nurses available to do the work. We have a university that needs programs to supply these workers who are so needed in rural British Columbia, in our seniors and long-term-care facilities. I hope the NDP government will recognize that these lapses exist and address them.

I thank the Minister of Ad- vanced Education for coming to my riding and to the uni- versity. Hopefully, we will see some funding come from her ministry and from the Ministry of Health for these courses, which are needed not just in my riding but throughout Brit- Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7261

ish Columbia. Of course, I will ask, in estimates, how much and when. Like in Budget 2018, but hardly even addressing rural British Columbia, Budget 2019 fails to bridge the divide between rural and urban voters. That’s why it surprised me that the NDP is now ready and willing to estrange urban voters as well — and has, through their speculation tax. That the government of British Columbia would introduce negat- ive-option billing in 2019 is astounding to me. British Col- umbians who, for whatever reason, do not fill out the declar- ation form will end up paying substantially more tax than they should owe.

I had a constituent come to my office, whom I know quite well. I did not know he had a little apartment in Vancouver, due to health issues with him and his wife. I’ve never seen anybody quite as upset as this gentleman was. He had to fill out papers because they thought he was a speculator. He asked me to deliver a message to the Premier, but I can’t. At the end of the day the tax doesn’t actually address speculat- ors; instead, it just taxes assets. On top of that, the declara- tion is unnecessarily invasive of people’s privacy.

Speaking of issues for rural and urban voters alike, the much-promised $10-a-day child care is nowhere to be seen. Only 2 percent of child care spaces in British Columbia are $10 a day. Further, the lottery system for daycare services really only benefits a few randomly selected communities, while many families are left behind, and the child care opportunity tax credit is still 20 months away. In the realm of child care — and most everything else, for that matter — there’s really nothing new in Budget 2019. Let me temper my remarks, however, as there are a few bright spots in Budget 2019.

I am pleased to see the rural development fund, for example, still there, which, I will gladly say, this side of the House initiated when, in govern- ment, I had the privilege of being the Minister of State for Rural Development. But what happens to rural development beyond 2020? Where will the fund go? I am also pleased by the rate increases for foster parents. These will benefit some of the most deserving of people, who spend years loving and raising those who will soon be the difference-makers in our province.

In addition, the sub- stantial funding provided to much-needed child and youth mental health supports is fantastic. I would only say that it is important that this funding be disbursed appropriately throughout the province to those who need it. Fundamentally, however, Budget 2019 returns to old NDP ways. There’s no jobs plan, no economic growth plan, no private sector investment plan and no tax competitiveness plan. The government is betraying its obligation to support British Columbians by abandoning the economic develop- ment which supports them.

Planned revenue will increase by roughly $6 billion over the next three years, some of which will be covered by the 19 new or increased taxes introduced by the NDP over the past two years since forming government. That is a per-cap- ita increase of $1,100, or $2,500 per family, over the next three years. [2:40 p.m.] Increased taxes will lead to increased food and fuel and pretty much everything you, as British Columbians, do and buy. The NDP has clearly resorted to taxing and spending. But that taxing and spending doesn’t account for the possibility that the economy might slow.

Resource revenue is already down by 30 percent, and housing starts will drop by 30 per- cent, as well, over the next few years. Further, we must question whether ICBC can really be turned around in just one year. The Crown corporation is expected to go from a loss of $1.8 billion to a profit of $50 million in just one year? Benefits and expenses will be clawed back, including minor injury caps. Most importantly for all of us who drive, premiums will increase over 30 percent over the next three years. This is what the NDP has promised, and this is what part of their budgetary foundation relies on.

Wildfires and oth- er unexpected events, in addition to devastating the Interior, could wipe out the very thin surpluses. Finally, there are public sector contracts that have yet to be negotiated. I am convinced that budget B.C. leaves B.C. vul- nerable to circumstances beyond our control. Taking all of this into account, thank goodness the past Liberal government left this province with strong economic foundations, a hefty surplus and low unemployment. What a misdemeanour it is for this government to say that this budget is making life more affordable for British Columbi- ans.

Perhaps for a few friends of the NDP , but not for your average British Columbian. I certainly cannot support this budget, nor can I or will I support any budget that includes no jobs plan, no growth and no investment in rural British Columbia. S. Thomson:I seek leave to make an introduction. Leave granted. Introductions by Members S. Thomson: Thank you. My apologies for interrupting the process for the next speaker. Madam Speaker, I’ d just like to introduce…. In the intro- ductions earlier this morning, the presidents of the colleges were recognized, who are in the precinct today and visiting with government.

I had an opportunity to meet with them. One who wasn’t introduced at the time was Jim Hamilton, who is the president of Okanagan College in Kelowna, with campuses in Vernon, Salmon Arm and Penticton as well. Jim does a great job of leadership at the college — a great insti- tution in our communities. I’ d ask the House to make him welcome to the precinct today. 7262 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Debate Continued A. Kang:Today I am rising to speak in support of Budget 2019. And in the spirit of reconciliation, I want to acknow- ledge that we are on the unceded territories, traditional ter- ritories, of the Songhees, the Esquimalt people, who have lived here before us, and I thank them for giving us the abil- ity to meet and work on their land.

As the MLA for Burnaby–Deer Lake and as Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors, I am honoured to rise today to speak on behalf of my constituents and seniors all across British Columbia — those who have bestowed their trust upon me and those who I have pledged to serve with all my heart. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have played a major role in my life and support- ing me during my time here.

I would like to thank my CAs, Apollo Chung and Felix Liang; as well, my LA, Gurbrinder Kang; as well, my executive and everyone who volunteers and works in my office; the work experience youth who are from Moscrop, who have done a fabulous job for their work experience; and the community volunteers and the com- munity partners that I have. [2:45 p.m.] I especially want to thank my parents and my family for being there for me. I especially want to take some moments to just thank my parents here. They are the ones who kept giving me life and instilled in me the value of giving back to the community.

Ever since I was young, I volunteered alongside my father, who is now a retired United Church pastor. My father is the one who taught me the passion of giving back to the com- munity. This explains one of the reasons why I love stand- ing up in the Legislature almost once every week to pray for the opportunity that is offered, to pray for sincerity of our services, dignity as representatives of the people and unity as one legislative body of many members with a diversity of opinions. Life as an immigrant back then was very challenging, but we still refer to our life back then as the good old days.

The challenges of adjusting to a new country, learning new lan- guages, finding a new home, making new friends, starting a new career and starting one’s life all over again — these chal- lenges never stopped my parents from giving their time to helping others. As a pastor’s kid — that’s what I was called, a PK — my parents constantly reminded me that life is a gift. Life is a privilege. And with this life is a responsibility of giving back in any way, small or large. At the end of the day, at its dawn, it is not about what we have achieved.

We come to this world with empty hands, and we will leave this world with empty hands. It is about what we can do to help others and make the world a better place than we were given. It is what we have done to lift up others and what we have done to give back. I carry this in my heart all the time, whether I’m a teacher, whether I was a city councillor or whether I’m a Member of the Legislative Assembly. So, Mom and Dad, thank you so much for raising me up to be who I am today, and thank you for your wisdom and guidance.

I share this story today because my upbringing helped shape my dedication and my service to my community, and it helped shape my career as a teacher and a politician. I believe that government is the voice of the people and that government should be making people-centred policies and working to make life better for its citizens. It is one of the reasons that I began my service in politics, first as a Burnaby city councillor and then as a Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Burnaby–Deer Lake.

I want to help improve the services so much needed by the people on a day-to-day basis, and I want to improve the con- fidence of those who have bestowed their trust in me to serve them. I want to do what I can to keep our province moving forward as we all work together to build a better B.C. It has been 18 months since I was newly elected. It has been a little bit over a year since our New Democratic gov- ernment has been here. And it has been three balanced budgets that continue to put us on the path of building a bet- ter B.C. for everyone.

Budget 2019 works to ensure that everyone has the oppor- tunities they need to succeed. This is a government about the people of British Columbia, and with another balanced budget presented by the Finance Minister last week, we are making a strong statement that everyone in this beautiful province is our priority. Before becoming a politician, I was a teacher. I began my teaching career as a piano teacher and then as an elementary school teacher. I love teaching. I was also a teacher of special ed and intermedia. So a lot under my belt. I still love teach- ing.

It’s something that I have great passion for, and it’s some- thing that comes very naturally to me. I am who I am today also because I had teachers who cared about me and who taught me, not just about aca- demics and books but about life. A wise Japanese saying inspires with the words: “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. ” Nobody inspires us like great teachers can. They seem to come along just at the right moment, at a time when we need them the most. Teachers are caring, thoughtful and inspir- ational. Everyone loves teachers.

Oh, but we can’t say the same for politicians. Not everyone loves politicians. In fact, most people don’t like politicians. The term “politician” carries a connotation that is often derogatory and uncomplimentary, suggesting that a person of that status is in the job for their party, cause or their own advantage. [2:50 p.m.] A little story I want to share. While I was in high school, in English class, I vividly remember the

chapter where the class was studying English literacy terms. We were taught the word “oxymoron, ” which is a figure of speech containing Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7263

words that seem to contradict each other. The textbook example that we were given was “an honest politician. ” While the boys in the class broke out in laughter at the mere thought of “moron, ” I furrowed my brows and frowned at the example. I tried to make sense of the example. At the age of 16, I couldn’t understand why the two words “honest” and “politician” contradicted each other. I kind of see now, but I hardly believe that’s always the case. My teacher, probably seeing me abnormally quiet and staring into space, called me out and asked me if I would like to give another example.

I was surprisingly startled and just coming out of deep thought. Oxymoron. So I blurted out what I thought would be a witty remark. I said: “What about smart teacher?” What happened after that is another story for another time. What I’m trying to tell with this story about oxymoron and honest politician is that over the history of time, people have lost faith in politicians that they have elected to repres- ent them. Many people feel left behind.

People feel that their needs are not being met, and their interests are not being served by their government — that politicians say one thing during elections but never follow through. Many are disillu- sioned by the political process and do not come out to vote, leaving those decisions up to others. The choices of the past hurt people and left communities behind. Our government, the New Democrat government, is mak- ing different choices and working to make life better for people.

Making life better starts with choices that we make today — from affordability to providing services that work for people, from creating a sustainable economy to a Clean- BC. Our government is fixing the problems of the past and making progress on the things that matter most to the people of British Columbia. The first thing I want to talk about is health care. I work very closely with the Minister of Health, and I admire all the work that he’s doing. The throne speech underscores our government’s work to provide better, faster access to health care in all corners of the province.

Part of the commitment includes improving care to seni- ors so that they can access co-ordinated primary care ser- vices and receive more hours of direct care in residential care homes, and family and friend caregivers can get more sup- port that they need through increases to respite and adult daycare programs. During the election, I spent many hours on the door- steps talking to people and listening to constituents about their needs and their concerns. Since being elected, I have not stopped. I continue to spend my weekends visiting and knocking in different neighbourhoods, meeting people on their doorsteps.

I want to make myself accessible to my constituents, whether it’s on doorsteps, whether it’s in my constituency office or whether it’s in the community, attending events. One of the things that I hear is that many British Col- umbians still struggle to find a primary care provider. Our government knows how hard it is for people to find a doc- tor. Many people are still struggling with this. But Budget 2019 invests more than $1.3 billion in total health spend- ing over three years, which means more doctors and more nurses and shorter wait times for you and your families.

This investment includes supports for the B.C. Children’s and Women’s Hospital to provide services to women, chil- dren, newborns and families. This investment will also support the B.C. Cancer Agency and provide for new drugs to be covered under PharmaCare. This is in addition to the $3.8 billion that has been provided in the past budget, Budget 2017, for services for seniors across the continuum of health care, expanding team-based care, improving affordability of prescription drugs for low- and middle-income individuals.

Our government knows that the people of Burnaby have been waiting for a long time, and the people of British Col- umbia have been as well. So we are increasing access to primary care. As part of our strategy, we are shifting our focus to team-based care by bringing together doctors and nurses and nurse practitioners and other health care pro- fessionals to create community networks of care — primary care networks, including urgent primary care centres and community health centres. [2:55 p.m.] These will be implemented to coordinate care and improve access for people of all ages.

This will help to make sure British Columbians, including those with medically complex problems or our frail seniors, will gain timely access to specialized community services. Our government is also addressing the shortage of primary care providers by providing funding for up to 200 new general practitioners, 200 new nurse practitioners and 50 clinical pharmacists and other care providers over the next three years. We have been talking and listening to the people of British Columbia, and we are doing something about this. We are making it easier to find family doctors or a nurse practitioner.

As a result, we would experience more doctors and more nurses, and there would be shorter wait times and we would be able to have our health needs looked after. I think these are big changes that, over time, will have a pro- found effect on our health care system. Not only do I stay connected to constituents on doorsteps; I also have the pleasure of visiting many senior groups and community groups across B.C. I’ve heard from many famil- ies, especially families with seniors, that they are concerned about the long wait times for surgeries.

One individual described her situation like this: as if her life was put on hold while she waits for that call. This is no way for us to live. This is no way for seniors to live and no way for people who are waiting for surgery to live. That is why our government launched the B.C. surgical and diagnostic imaging strategy. Under this plan, we are working to increase the volume of surgeries performed in B.C. to reduce wait lists for specific procedures and keep waits for other procedures from growing. More procedures 7264 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

will be performed this year, including hip and knee replace- ment surgery, dental surgeries and other surgeries. As one of the ways to make this possible, we’re opening five hip and knee replacement programs throughout B.C. We have already announced four of them — at Vancouver Gen- eral Hospital, at Burnaby Hospital, at the University Hospital of Northern B.C in Prince George and at Royal Jubilee Hos- pital in Victoria. I want to take a moment to talk about seniors, as this is my portfolio and this is something that I’ve been working really hard on with the minister and with my community.

As the Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors, I deeply care about the seniors in our community. We all have senior parents. We all have grandparents or a neighbour who is in their elderly age. Our government’s budget is about the people of B.C., young or old. A better future for British Columbia should be available to all of us. By improving health care services, we can give seniors the dignity and peace of mind they deserve. We can make sure that people have the support they need to succeed.

We know that more than one-fifth of B.C. ’s population is over 65, and the number of seniors is expected to rise from 833,000 to 1.4 million seniors in the next 15 years. This growth is an incredible opportunity for society. I say this with most optimism, because with more seniors in our province, it enriches our community with an opportunity to learn from one another, to live full and involved lives. It also calls on us to confront the very real challenge of providing significantly increased levels of care. Our govern- ment is committed to addressing this challenge.

I deeply and sincerely respect seniors and elders in our society. I have neighbours and friends and community part- ners who are seniors. My parents and relatives are seniors. My grandfather is a senior, and he is turning 94 years old this year and still living at home with the support that we’re able to give him. Even though they may be seniors in years, they have the youthful spirit of a hummingbird. As Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors, I have been speak- ing to senior advocates and visiting senior care homes. I find that our seniors are filled with such wisdom, such jokes that I have heard so often.

They’re still coming back, being still funny. But seniors are important to us, because of their long, accumulated knowledge and experience and wisdom. [3:00 p.m.] Over the past year visiting different senior homes, I had a good chat with one of the seniors. Her name is Wendy Yu. I would learn about life experiences and practical experiences, such as being reminded that we should always be kind to others and always give back to the community. This advice might seem pretty obvious, but sometimes we just need a reminder or two now and then. While I was speaking to Wendy, who is now the young age of 96….

She’s very active — still dancing, still teaching oth- er people what she knows, still teaching other people English and being part of an orchestra. I asked Wendy: how does she keep herself going, and how is she still able to be so involved? She told me that we all live once and pass through this world just once. But between the times when we open our eyes to the time when we close our eyes, it is called life. So she tells me to make the best of it, for all of us and be the best to everyone for every moment you have.

That is why our government is investing in seniors, so that we can keep these wise words flowing, that we can keep our conversations going and continue to learn from our seniors. We want our seniors to retire with dignity. When our seni- ors are in care, I want them to be able to take a bath for more than once a week and be able to get the care and attention needed when they need basic care or to use the washroom when they need to. For way too long, under the previous government, too many B.C. seniors were denied personal care, comfort and dignity.

Past surveys and reports reflect that nine out of ten care homes previously did not have enough staff and that seniors didn’t get the support that they needed and the help that they need to stay in their own homes. Staff who care about seniors at B.C. ’s residential care homes do a great job, so I’ d like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you for everything that you’ve been doing and the patience and passions that you have for our seniors. I know that, because I have visited many facilities over the time that I have been an MLA.

When residential care homes are understaffed and over- stretched, everyone loses. Our goal is to make sure the resources are in place to deliver quality senior care and the quality of care seniors need and deserve every day. Around the province, we are improving residential care homes by restoring the hours of care seniors need after years of cuts. Almost 270,000 more direct care hours have been added to support seniors and people in long-term care. More hours make sure seniors are getting the care they need and deserve. This year an additional 1.2 million hours of care will be added all across facilities.

The Health Minister and I are working hard every day to make sure our seniors are receiv- ing enough care through increasing care hours. We’ve already significantly added more care hours for patients by converting part-time and casual to full-time. Taking care of staff and care providers is one of the steps to taking care of our seniors. By 2021, seniors will receive an average of 3.36 care hours per day. Over 300 part-time and casual health care aides have already been converted to full-time, and now we have anoth- er 500 to follow this year.

We are putting action into our promises — our promises to take care of our seniors. Not all seniors are requiring a care home or long-term care. Many seniors choose to live independently, and many seniors are renters. Renters, young or old, deserve greater security. Understandably, the stress of rent increases, reno- victions and unfair leases can leave renters, and especially senior renters, feeling unsure about where they will be living the next month. This is no way for anyone…. This is no way for a senior to live or retire.

Budget 2019 is expanding benefits to seniors living inde- Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7265

pendently by increasing the amount that they receive through Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters, otherwise known as SAFER. The SAFER program will be offering an average of $930 per year. This investment combined with lifts to the rental assistance program, which is called RAP , represents a $106 million increase over three years in making housing more affordable for people with lower incomes. [3:05 p.m.] When we invest in infrastructure projects to help keep British Columbians moving, we also keep in mind our seni- ors. As my colleague’s previous….

Maybe after my budget response, they’ll mention more about the modernizing of our infrastructure. But for my purposes, I will be speaking to this in respect to seniors. Budget 2019 sees an investment of $21 million for B.C. Transit to expand bus services in 30 communities around the province and make improvements that are needed so much to help seniors and people with disabilities in both rural and urban communities access transit services. When I have conversations with seniors about transport- ation and lifestyle, they often reflect back to their good old days when ferry fares were more affordable or even free.

They tell me stories of their adventures to the Sunshine Coast and their frequent visits to Victoria. They would say: “We often have days when, you know, us old pals had nothing to do and nowhere particular we had to be, so we hopped on the transit, took the ferry, strolled along the Legislature and hung out in Victoria’s downtown. That’s what we did. ” A small group of them would board the ferry to Victoria, enjoy the sea breeze and the beautiful ocean view, order a cup of coffee, enjoy the breakfast and play cards or read magazines. It is their way of enjoying a local cruise on the ferry.

In Budget 2019, we are making life more affordable by continuing the freeze on ferry fares for major ferry routes, reducing fares on small routes and keeping ferries free for seniors, Monday through Thursday. This is also part of a commitment to making life in coastal communities more affordable. When we announced this last year, many seniors visited my office, and they said: “Thank you. Thank you so much for providing that local cruise back to us again. ” Next I’ d like to touch on the topic of education.

I have two children enrolled in the Burnaby school district, and I have also been a very proud Burnaby school district teach- er. I strongly believe in the principle of education as a vehicle for social mobility. Education is a right. It is not a privilege. It is a right for every child to have a good education in British Columbia. With this government’s budget, we are giving the students back their right that has been taken away, bit by bit, for far too long in the past years. A quality education should not be accessible only to the wealthy and privileged, but it should be accessible to everyone.

For the past ten years as a teach- er, I saw an entire generation of students being left behind as they went to schools with overcrowded classrooms and inad- equate resources, and many schools were in need of seismic upgrades. As part of Budget 2019, we are investing $2.7 billion to maintain, replace, renovate and expand K-to-12 facilities over the next three years. There will be at least eight projects across B.C., but I want to specifically name one school that is in Burnaby. Burnaby will be welcoming a new seismically safer school for Burnaby North Secondary students, and this is good news for us all.

As well, we are creating 5,500 new student spaces throughout B.C. to help to move kids out of portables and into classrooms. I remember the first three jobs I had as a school teacher. Being a music and resource teacher, guess where my classroom was. In a portable.

It was especially difficult as a teacher to be in a portable while pregnant and having to go to the washroom at all times, as well as looking after the safety of students who were going from the portables into the main building to access the washroom facility or go back to their classrooms to get resources that they had forgotten to bring to the portable. As well, many schools will be receiving support funds for new or upgraded playgrounds, which is a part of healthy living development for our young children. This was cel- ebrated with the PACs, and this was celebrated with the school community.

I know a lot of communities have been working really hard to fundraise for a playground, some for many, many years, and still have not gotten their play- grounds replaced. Budget 2019 will also be delivering over $550 million in additional support for our public education system. As a resource teacher for students with special needs, I have seen the struggles of students with special needs and their parents and families not getting the help that they need immediately. Within the $550 million is an increased investment of $50 million for the classroom enhancement fund.

This fund also includes hiring more than 5,000 new teachers. [3:10 p.m.] I have been really busy this weekend and speaking with lots of people about what they thought about Budget 2019. On this particular occasion, on a Friday afternoon, after a pro-D day in Burnaby, and perhaps across British Columbia, I was speaking to a teacher. His name is Mr. Cockram. Mr. Cockram told me that his elementary school was one of the recipients of the classroom enhancement fund.

His school has now added two new divisions, which means two new classrooms and two new classroom teachers, and built four new resource rooms to better support students who have additional needs outside of their classroom learning. Mr. Cockram said: “With our classroom composition lan- guage restored by the courts, here in Burnaby, we now have more supports for students and more manageable classes. ” As a mom and a former teacher, I believe that no invest- ment is more important than a quality education, and I am proud that we are keeping our promises to invest in our chil- dren, their education.

This year students, parents and teach- ers can continue to look forward to a better school year. 7266 British Columbia Debates Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Next I’ d like to talk about student loan interest relief. This has been a really huge topic in my community, because I work a lot with youth and young workers and young stu- dents. Going back to my community last weekend, I had a chance to engage in a meaningful conversation with youth in high school and in college. I talked to them at length about the budget report. I was surprised I actually had their atten- tion for that long. But I brought up the good news that our government is eliminating interest from all British Columbi- an student loans, and they were extremely happy.

All B.C. student loans will stop accumulating interest as of February 19, 2019. What would that look like to a student? Well, for a student with a $28,000 combined federal and pro- vincial loan debt, it will save approximately $3,300 in interest charges over ten years of repayment period. This is great news for low-income students who rely on student loans to finance their education and often end up paying thousands of dollars in interest more than students whose family can afford their educational costs. So this was quite applauded and well received by the students that I was talking to.

Very well received also was the B.C. child opportunity benefit. Last week, after the budget speech, I received a call from Brad, a very excited father, who has two young kids, one five years old and the other one ten years old. He lives in my constituency, and he called me. He was very excited about the B.C. child opportunity benefit program. He asserts that our government is in touch with the every- day family and that we understood the challenges of hard- working families.

There are so many bills to pay, and sometimes there are unexpected expenses that just throw life off balance — for example, an illness, an accident, a divorce. He appreciates how helping with this most important item of family expenses levels the playing field for his children and other children in British Columbia. As the mother of two children, both of whom have phased out of the support they got from the early childhood tax benefit, I would like to particularly emphasize this new bene- fit program.

Our government believes that every child should have the opportunities they need to succeed and to work towards their full potential, and that is why, in Budget 2019, we’re expanding the current early childhood tax bene- fit into a new B.C. child opportunity benefit. And opportun- ity is the key word there. D. Ashton:Before I start my comments on the budget, there are a few people I would like to thank and recognize. First of all, many, many thanks to the people of Naramata, Penticton, Summerland, Peachland and the areas in between that have allowed me to represent them in this wonderful institution of democracy.

I don’t take the position lightly or the responsibilities that go with it, and whether you voted for me, didn’t vote for me or didn’t vote at all, I and the won- derful staff at home…. We’re here to help, just like each and every one of the other MLAs in this House, I’m sure. The incredible staff on the front line at home in Peachland — I call Penticton Peachland; it’s actually just called the Pen- ticton riding — are Sue, Dick and Rudy. These individuals make such a positive difference for all that seek our offices for advice or help. [3:15 p.m.] Downstairs, a young lady by the name of Shala runs our office.

I share that office with several other elected peers. Shala rules the roost with a thundering velvet hand. I don’t know how she does it, but all the requests always get done. So, Shala, thank you very, very much. Also, the volunteers in the constituency that not only help at election time but are there day in and day out to respond to the requests for information or are there to give direction. They have the ears and the feet on the ground and are the ones front and centre with many of the issues that we all face here.

I get the information, as many do, firsthand, and that can make an incredible difference when you are talking to your peers in the House and/or ministers of the government to seek leave and help for those individuals that do have some concerns about direction and problems that they face in their day-to-day lives. My children — one in Whitehorse taking criminal justice at Yukon College and another one here in Victoria at the University of Victoria, who’s trying to do his best to become a veterinarian…. Chantal and Coleton, I love you both dearly.

As your grandfather said: “Keep your face to the sun- shine, the wind at your back. Set your eyes on your future and shake it for everything that it’s worth. ” I know you’re both doing that, and again, keep up the incredible good work that you’re doing. Again, just before I start, there was an incident in Pentic- ton — or just north of Penticton at Summerland — about three weeks ago, where a part of the hillside gave way at a particularly difficult

section of the four-lane highway that goes between Summerland and Greata Ranch. I would really, really like to thank the highways ministry staff in Penticton and the contractors that have gone above and beyond to address this rock slide. These individuals have been working in incredibly inclement weather. If we look here in Victoria, what the Vic- toria people have gone through, well, you can times that by ten — not 100 like the north, when I’m looking over at a peer from the north end of the province.

But the weather has been awful, and these individuals have been working on that slide by hand, because it was too dangerous to get machines up there, and doing an incredible job to get the highway reopened. Together with the highways ministry and the ministry staff at FLNRO, they were able to open two alternative routes, one on each side of the valley, to try and facilitate the vast amount of valley traffic that came to a dead standstill. These roads that were opened up were logging roads.

They weren’t perfect by any stretch of the meaning, but they saved an awful lot of time by having to divert around Highway 33 Tuesday, February 26, 2019 British Columbia Debates 7267

or head over to Princeton and go up and join onto 5 and come back down into West Kelowna by Gorman’s Mill. Again, I would like to thank the staff in both of these min- istries, and I really hope that the Minister of Transportation will give all the accolades that these individuals deserve and to the contractors. All I can say is: “Well done, folks. Without you, we’ d really be in a pickle in the valley. ” I also would like to thank the Finance Minister at this point in time for taking up budgetary items that were brought forward from the Finance and Government Services Committee.

This committee, in my mind, hears every year directly from the citizens and then puts forward those ideas in a report that is presented here in the Legislature. It was very enlightening to see that some of these requests were granted. Many thanks to the MLA for Maple Ridge–Mission, who happens to chair the committee, and the other members of the committee that are on it. It’s a bipartisan committee. It’s a committee that works very, very well. I look around here and see some other members that are on it and have been on it.

We all work very hard on that committee with the uptake and trying to ensure that those that do present are repres- ented in the report. Again, many thanks to the Minister of Finance for bringing those ideas forward and helping fund in some way some of those ideas. I would like to recognize all the MLAs that sit in this won- derful Legislature. Y ou know, we are all here representing all the citizens of British Columbia. It doesn’t matter what polit- ical party we affiliate ourselves with; we look at everything through a democratic eye.

Whether you’re a Green or a Lib- eral or an NDP — part of the government — in my opinion, we each do our job pretty decently, and I think the people that we represent should be proud. [3:20 p.m.] The MLA for Burnaby–Deer Lake brought up an oxymor- on about politicians and the perception of politicians, but I wish the people of British Columbia could spend some time here, not only to see the good debate that goes back and forth at various times during the day but also to see the cooper- ation and collaboration that takes place inside this chamber to make life better for all.

That’s something that I think isn’t reported enough through the media sources that the people of British Colum- bia should really be aware of. Again, to my peers — not only on this side of the House but on that side of the House and the Green members that aren’t here: thank you for your time and efforts that you put forward representing the people of British Columbia. Last but definitely not least, I look around here at the won- derful staff, not only those that are present in this House today but those who are out in the hall, those that help us in our offices and those that help run this incredible building.

Without them and the incredible job that they do, this insti- tution wouldn’t be functioning to the ability that it functions. To each and every one of you, I personally want to say: thank you. Keep up the good work. I don’t know how you do it with the long hours that you put in here, but you’re always there at a person’s beck and call if something is needed. Once again, on behalf of myself and, I’m quite sure, all the MLAs in here: wonderful, wonderful job. Thank you.

The 2019 provincial budget, in my mind, is a budget that I don’t think quite addresses the concerns of the constituents of Penticton and the area that I represent. We were sitting back and waiting for some of the promises that were made, in the 2017 election, by the current government. They’re halfway through their mandate at this point in time. I really thought it was a good, bold platform of promises that they had put forward two years ago. To be frank, I’ d really hoped that they would deliver on a lot

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20190226pm-Hansard-n208
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20190226pm Hansard n208
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	8dfc9e464cafece2267340ac30905a54a42d3c86

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