Fourth Session, 42nd Parliament

(2023) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 258

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Blessings and Acknowledgments

S. Alphonse

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill 2 — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act

Hon. H. Bains

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Lunar new year

H. Yao

Larry Fisher

K. Falcon

Volunteerism

S. Chandra Herbert

Lunar new year

T. Wat

Community contributions of organizers and

volunteers

K. Greene

Heart Month and heart health for women

S. Bond

Oral Questions

Government action on mental health and addiction

issues

K. Falcon

Hon. J. Whiteside

Involuntary care for mental health and addiction issues

K. Falcon

Hon. J. Whiteside

E. Sturko

Management of Vancouver Island Health Authority and conditions for health workers

S. Furstenau

Hon. A. Dix

Drug decriminalization program and access to addiction

services

S. Bond

Hon. J. Whiteside

Drug decriminalization program and data collection

K. Kirkpatrick

Hon. R. Kahlon

Motions Without Notice

Appointment of Special Committee to Appoint a Merit Commissioner

Hon. R. Kahlon

Orders of the Day

Throne Speech Debate

N. Simons

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2023

The House met at 10:03 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Blessings and Acknowledgments

Mr. Speaker: I invite T’Sou-ke First Nation Elder Shirley Alphonse to lead the

House in prayer or reflection.

S. Alphonse: [SENĆOŦEN was spoken.]

[10:05 a.m.]

Creator, Great Spirit, thank you for today and each one here, our

members of the Legislature, our Chiefs, to recognize the day of September

30, to honour all students, from the first enrolled to the last enrolled,

for those no longer with us and for those of us still here who walked

through the doors of the residential schools.

We thank you, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, for the work done to

make this special day possible and Phyllis for Orange Shirt Day.

Creator, Great Spirit, may we all walk together, stand by each other,

work together every day with ÍY

ŚW̱ЌÁLEC̸EN — good mind, good heart — for the

good of our communities, for the sake of our children, grandchildren and

those who will come behind us to the seventh generation.

HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM .

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Hon. M. Rankin: I’d like to recognize and welcome the Indigenous Elders, Chiefs,

leaders, speakers and community members here today. I’m honoured that

they’ve come to witness very important legislation being introduced in this

place.

Thank you to Elder Shirley Alphonse of the T’Sou-ke First Nation for

her beautiful opening prayer.

I’d like to welcome Phyllis Webstad, who was of the Orange Shirt Day,

along with Sarah-Lee Philbrick and Reio Lance.

I’d also like to welcome Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray of Orange

Shirt Day Victoria, along with Katy Manamee, Anna McMillan and photographer

Colin Smith.

Also joining us are Chief Robert Joseph and CEO Karen Joseph of

Reconciliation Canada; Chief Don Tom from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs;

President Lissa Dawn Smith from Métis Nation B.C.; Chief Ken Watts of the

Tseshaht First Nation; Robert Phillips of the First Nations Summit; Ray

Harris, co-chair of the First Nations Summit; and Stephanie Holmes from the

Indian Residential School Survivors Association.

Also in attendance are staff from the Declaration Act secretariat and

the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation: Associate Deputy

Minister Jessica Wood, Trenton McIntyre, Priscilla Sabbas-Watts, Savannah

John, Matthew Kinch and Jennifer Melles.

Mr. Speaker, I’d ask, through you, for the House to please join me in

making these special guests welcome.

L. Doerkson: I, too, want to build on the minister’s welcome. I specifically want

to thank a woman who I believe to be a Canadian icon. She has unselfishly

shared her incredibly touching life story. Who would have thought that an

orange shirt could unite Canadians and British Columbians?

I’d like to extend a welcome to Phyllis Webstad. She is an incredible

woman. She is an incredible leader in our community of Williams

Lake.

Phyllis, you’ve touched me deeply so many times. Thank you for being

here today. Welcome to this House.

Hon. D. Coulter: I have three guests, two from the Fraser Valley, here in the chamber,

joining us today.

I have Amber Price, who is the owner of an iconic bookstore in our

community called the Book Man, which I’m sure many people in the chamber are

quite familiar with. As well, she has been championing the Chilliwack Mural

Festival.

We also have Miel Bernstein, who is here. She runs a project called

Project AIM. It’s a grassroots community organization providing education

and barrier-free access to menstrual and incontinence products to those in

need in the Fraser Valley and beyond.

They’re joined by their friend Laura Clegg.

I would like everyone in the chamber to please welcome these wonderful

people.

[10:10 a.m.]

A. Olsen: Just to add on to the introductions, I want to acknowledge the Chief

of the Tsartlip First Nation, my Chief, Don Tom, who is in the House.

I’d

like to welcome him to this place today.

M. Dykeman: It is my pleasure to introduce, in the gallery today, a constituent

and friend of mine, Darian Kovacs, who owns and runs Jelly Marketing, an

Indigenous-led digital marketing firm that specializes in providing lots of

opportunities for people: offering WorkSafeBC programs and Indigenous

digital marketing courses and works to make our workforce more diverse.

I was

wondering if the House could please join me in welcoming Darian

today.

K. Paddon: A very quick introduction. My best friend and partner of over 21

years, Drew Paddon, is up in the gallery, watching his favourite TV show

live today.

Would the House please join me in making him welcome.

Hon. A. Kang: I see in the gallery today…. My administrative assistant is in the

gallery. She’s a new addition to my ministry and a burst of sunshine into

our office. We couldn’t do the work that we are embarking to do without

her.

Thank you so much, Keziah, for being here.

Would the House please make her feel very welcome.

C. Oakes: I know we will be recognizing the B.C. legislative interns in the

coming days as they find which caucuses they move to, but I just want to say

it was lovely meeting them all.

I wish you so much success. Please know how

important the role that each of you plays for all of the members of this

House, and we wish you all the best. I look forward to working with

you.

Mr. Speaker: Members, I have a special guest I would like to introduce today. It is

my pleasure to advise you that we have a visiting Clerk from another

jurisdiction on attachment with our House until the end of next week: Rémi

Bourgault, procedural Clerk with the House of Commons of Canada.

The visit is one of a continuing series of attachments whereby our

Legislative Assembly hosts clerks from other jurisdictions.

Please join me in welcoming Rémi to British Columbia and to our

Legislative Assembly.

J. Rice: I have two guests in the gallery today. I wanted to welcome Paul

Adams, who’s the executive director of the B.C. Rural Health Network, which

has the goal of advancing rural health care in British Columbia. Paul and

his member organizations and individuals are advocating for, as you can

imagine, better health services in rural B.C. They work with us and other

policy-makers.

I also wanted to introduce Dr. Jude Kornelsen, who is the co-director

for the Rural Health Research Centre at UBC. She’s a health services

researcher focusing on the needs of rural communities and has published some

incredible papers.

They are two guests of mine, and I will be working closely with them

in my new role as the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health. I’m really

happy to have them here in the House today.

F. Donnelly: I also would like to acknowledge a good friend who’s joining us in the

gallery today, Linda Duncan. Linda served as Member of Parliament for

Edmonton-Strathcona in Alberta from 2008 to 2019.

As well as her political career, she has written many books and has

had an esteemed legal career as a lawyer and a legal advocate and has done

so many things. I would be here a long time mentioning all that she has done

in that capacity, but I certainly want to mention the Canadian Environmental

Law Centre that she was a strong part of.

[10:15 a.m.]

Many of us formers — former MPs and recovering MPs — are here and

welcome her into the House and ask the House that you join us in welcoming

Linda to the gallery.

Hon. B. Bailey: I wanted to add my voice to my colleagues’ in welcoming Darian Kovacs

and Jelly Academy to the House.

What’s important to know about Jelly Academy is they really understand

that technology is for everyone. While some people pay full price for their

excellent programming in digital marketing, they subsidize students of First

Nations, Inuit and Métis heritage to have access to these incredible courses

that provide 11 certifications in digital marketing. It’s a wonderful

contribution.

We know everyone belongs in technology, and these guys walk the

walk.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

BILL 2 — NATIONAL DAY FOR

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

ACT

Hon. H. Bains presented a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled National Day for Truth and

Reconciliation Act.

Hon. H. Bains: I’m pleased to introduce Bill 2, the National Day for Truth and

Reconciliation Act. This bill establishes the National Day for Truth and

Reconciliation as a statutory holiday in British Columbia to be observed

every September 30, starting this year.

statutory holiday in 2021. This was in response to the call to action

No. 80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to create a new

statutory holiday honouring residential school survivors.

The statutory holiday provides an annual opportunity to publicly

recognize the impact of residential schools on survivors, their families

and their communities. It also encourages public dialogue and reflection

regarding the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people

in British Columbia.

On this day, workers in British Columbia will have a paid day off

to participate in public commemorative and educational events in a

similar way to how we observe Remembrance Day.

Our government is committed to pursuing long-lasting and

meaningful reconciliation with the Indigenous people of British

Columbia. This government has listened to feedback from Indigenous

partners, leaders and communities, in addition to British Columbia’s

employers and workers, regarding the best way to observe the day. This

new statutory holiday reflects this feedback.

This bill will enable British Columbians to observe this day and

publicly honour residential school survivors every day.

Mr. Speaker: Members, the question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Hon. H. Bains: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Motion approved.

Bill 2, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act, introduced,

read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

LUNAR NEW YEAR

H. Yao: From lion dancing to distributing red envelopes, many communities

in B.C. celebrated lunar new year last month with enthusiasm.

[10:20 a.m.]

To many Asian cultures, like Chinese, Korean, Tai­wanese,

Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indo­nesians and many

others, lunar new year is one of the most significant celebrations of

the year. Many observe the lunar new year tradition with devotion and

inclusivity.

Although lunar new year celebrations started in China, it is

shared by many cultures, and due to social, economic and historical

differences, every culture uniquely incorporates distinctive practices,

traditions, heritage and beliefs into their celebrations, yet despite

the diversity of cultural practices, all communities share the same hope

for peace, happiness and prosperity.

Lunar new year is a great example of how multiculturalism and

inclusivity promote diversity and creativity. People around the world

that celebrate lunar new year also share the virtue of focusing on their

love to their families, friends, colleagues and their

neighbours.

Lunar new year originated from agrarian cultural needs, and the

start of the lunar new year was a time for farmers to rest from their

work and celebrate. Lunar new year marks the end of winter and beginning

of spring, hence why it is also called a spring festival.

After thousands of years of celebration, lunar new year mimics the

virtues of a culture that desires to have food security for years. As

our world faces many different challenges, we, too, should embrace the

teachings of lunar new year: peace, happiness, prosperity.

I am honoured to lead the effort and be joined by my government to

announce, on January 6, 2023, the province of British Columbia’s first

proclamation that January 22 to February 22, 2023, be lunar new year

month. Let us join people who observe the lunar new year to champion

peace, happiness, prosperity for all.

Happy new year. Gong xi fa cai. King hei fat

choy.

LARRY FISHER

K. Falcon: Over the weekend, Surrey lost one of its great ambassadors, and I

lost a good friend and supporter in the name of Larry Fisher. Larry was

a very successful entrepreneur who started the Lark Group. He was a

loving dad and a granddad and someone I’ve been very proud to call a

friend for many, many years.

He was also a huge Surrey booster and a builder who rarely said no

to any request. Any charity that had something going on, anything that

would benefit any of the folks in Surrey — he was always the first to

step up to the plate. He loved his community, and he loved this province

very deeply.

As a result, anywhere you go in Surrey, you will see testaments to

his legacy. The North Surrey Sport and Ice Complex, an excellent ice

arena; the towers in city centre; the Bill Reid Memorial shelter for the

homeless; Laurel Place for seniors; the Fraser Valley heritage car barn;

Morgan Creek Golf Course. On and on it goes — all of that a tribute to

Larry and the Lark Group.

Larry, you truly left your mark, and you helped spearhead some of

the incredible growth and development in the city of Surrey while always

thinking about those that were less fortunate. The city is a better

place because of your involvement and your energy.

Every company, every contractor, every subcontractor, Larry Fisher

knew by name. He worked with all of them, and everybody knew he was a

handshake business person, the kind of person whose handshake meant you

knew everything was going to get done exactly as he committed to

do.

He was also a great supporter of our free enterprise system,

because he recognized that a system that allows people to thrive and

creates a quality of opportunity is the best way to generate revenues

and wealth for the province to ensure that we’ve got the dollars needed

to fund important services.

Finally, I’ll just say this. The one thing I couldn’t stand about

Larry is that he loved early-morning meetings, and he would insist on

meeting at six in the morning all the time, because his day started at

five. This guy was a worker, and I’m sure that somewhere out there his

work is continuing. He’s finding a new project.

I ask the House to please think of his memory.

VOLUNTEERISM

S. Chandra Herbert: If you want to change the world, volunteer. You want to get some

cool jobs? Volunteer. You want to meet really interesting people?

Volunteer. You want to gain skills to move on in your career? Volunteer.

You want to meet that person that you’ve had an eye on for a while who’s

maybe had an eye on you too? Volunteer.

[10:25 a.m.]

My parents raised me as a volunteer. They taught me that if you

want to change things, you get involved. You don’t do it because you

want your name in lights. You don’t do it because you want to be

celebrated by people. You do it because the work is what

matters.

Every one of us has incredible volunteers in our communities who

make our world better each and every day. They do it not for notoriety;

they do it because it matters.

I want to give some notoriety to some volunteers in my community

who’ve been showing up every year that I’ve been an MLA to be out on the

street, in the snow, in the rain, in the hail, in the bright sun, to

talk to residents, to make a difference, to find what can change to make

their lives better.

Sharon Isaak, Alex Puttonen, Heidi McDonell, Spencer van Vloten,

Trent McLaughlin, Don Allison, Janice Johnston, Paul Kopas, Thor Boe,

Robin Sweeny, Morgane Oger, Bruce Murray — those are the key volunteers

that show up for me. No matter what weather, no matter what time, they

will be there to make that difference for our community — community

events, community fundraisers, community meal, community

snow-shovelling. Yes, that does happen occasionally in the West End.

Normally we’re shovelling rain, but that’s another story.

If you want to make a difference, I say to volunteer. In my

community of West End–Coal Harbour, we have so many great places to

volunteer: Stanley Park Ecology Society, Gordon Neighbourhood House,

West End Seniors Network, West End Community Centre, West End–Coal

Harbour Community Policing Centre. I could just go on and on, because

there are so many great ways to be involved.

So change the world. Volunteer.

LUNAR NEW YEAR

T. Wat: It is my pleasure to rise today and wish all British Columbians

that celebrate the lunar new year a prosperous and joyful year ahead.

The beginning of the Year of the Rabbit was marked on January 22 and is

widely celebrated by Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian

and many other communities in our province.

My colleagues and I in the B.C. Liberal caucus had the privilege

of attending some of B.C.’s largest celebrations, such as the annual

countdown at the Aberdeen Centre in my riding of Richmond North Centre,

and the Vancouver Chinatown Parade.

Our visits to Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement

Association, Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association, small businesses

and community organizations during and after the celebrations also gave

us some insight into the serious work that needs to be done to

revitalize communities such as Vancouver’s Chinatown, which has been

suffering from the consequences of the toxic drug crisis, rampant crime

and a deeply troubling rise in anti-Asian sentiments.

We must reaffirm our commitment to making B.C. a vibrant and

successful place, built on this foundation of diversity and acceptance.

As the shadow minister for multiculturalism and anti-racism initiatives,

arts and culture, I would like to wish all of you a happy lunar new year

and, as the Year of the Rabbit symbolizes, one filled with fortune, wit

and agility.

Gong xi fa cai. Gung hey fat choy.

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS OF

ORGANIZERS AND

VOLUNTEERS

K. Greene: One of the very best things about being an MLA is celebrating and

commemorating important events in our communities. Communities aren’t

made of houses and buildings. They’re made out of homes and people

coming together in service and companionship.

I recently had the opportunity to celebrate with Gulf of Georgia

volunteers, with staff, board members and community leaders. For those

who don’t know about the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, it was once a fully

working cannery supporting Steveston’s fishing community. Today it’s a

historic landmark that has been updated with interpretive signage,

historic artifacts and engaging programming for students and the

public.

Gulf of Georgia volunteers are dedicated in giving back to the

community and being part of a hub that brings our neighbours together.

I’d like to recognize all the different ways that volunteers contribute

with a special nod to board members Kit, Joan, Susan, Ryan and Perry,

who are also volunteers; and senior staff Elizabeth and Rob.

I was also honoured to be invited to the Bayit to commemorate

Holocaust Remembrance Day with the Jewish community, including survivors

of the Holocaust. It was a solemn and deeply moving event where we heard

part of a child survivor’s story.

[10:30 a.m.]

We all share the responsibility, all of us here and across British

Columbia and Canada, to honour those who perished, those who survived

and those that risked everything to save others. We can never forget

what happens when hate is allowed to spread. Anti-Semitism, hate and

discrimination have no place in our society. By remembering and,

importantly, taking action, we commit to: “Never again.”

Thank you to community leaders for organizing such an important

event. In particular, I’d like to thank Michael Sachs, Keith Ludke and

Rabbi Varnai.

Every day that I spend in my community of Richmond-Steveston, I am

grateful for people who are extending care and connection to the people

around them. They are the reason that we are so fortunate to call this

place home.

HEART MONTH AND

HEART HEALTH FOR

WOMEN

S. Bond: February is Heart Month and not just because it includes

Valentine’s Day. It is a month when people and organizations focus on

cardiovascular health, raising awareness of heart disease and supporting

research and treatment across the country and around the

world.

Heart disease is currently one of the leading causes of death in

Canada. In fact, the number one cause of premature death for women in

Canada is heart disease and stroke. This year, the Heart and Stroke

Foundation is using Heart Month to highlight the stories of women,

researchers and experts who are working to beat health

inequity.

You see, while women make up just over half of Canada’s

population, gender gaps in research, diagnosis and care continue to put

women’s hearts at greater risk. Women face distinct risk factors for

heart disease and can be impacted differently by heart conditions, even

exhibiting different symptoms than men during heart attacks.

As a result, recent studies have shown that half of the women who

experience heart attacks have their symptoms go unrecognized, and women

are also less likely than men to receive their treatments and

medications that they need to address their conditions or get them in a

timely way. Tragically, women who experience heart attacks are often

more likely than men to die or develop heart failure.

This Heart Month I invite British Columbians, and especially

members in this chamber, to join me in learning more about the

inequities that exist in research and care and do our part to increase

awareness about the distinct heart and stroke factors that women

face.

In Canada, heart disease and stroke claimed the lives of over

32,000 women in 2019, one life every 16 minutes.

It is time for us to work together to close the heart and stroke

gender gap.

S. Furstenau: I seek leave to make an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

S. Furstenau: In the gallery today is Prof. Cara Camcastle and her partner, Lorne

Young. Cara’s teaching career has included the University of California,

Berkeley, Simon Fraser University and most recently the University of

Victoria, where she’s teaching an introduction to Canadian politics. I had

the pleasure of speaking to her class last week on the importance of

electoral systems and good democratic governance in our province and

country.

Would the House please make Cara and Lorne most welcome.

Hon. M. Mark: Can I have leave, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker: Proceed now.

Hon. M. Mark: I’d like to introduce a visitor in the gallery, Thomas Jin, who is my

constituency assistant and who is now doing his internship with the

government. We know how hard constituency staff work in our offices on

behalf of our passion and our commitment to the community.

Will the House please join me in welcoming Thomas Jin.

Oral Questions

GOVERNMENT ACTION ON MENTAL

HEALTH AND ADDICTION

ISSUES

K. Falcon: The government’s current approach to mental health and addictions

has utterly failed: over 11,000 lives lost, chaos and disorder on the

streets of virtually every community across this province, a broken

system that is costly, inadequate and impossible to navigate for

increasingly desperate families.

[10:35 a.m.]

The minister even acknowledges that the NDP don’t even track the

funded beds that are available, nor do they know what outcomes they’re

getting from any of the investments they’re currently making.

Now we know better is possible. But, frankly, the throne speech

yesterday was a promise of more of the same failed approach.

Will the government admit that the status quo of the last six

years has utterly failed and make a dramatic shift to a system of care

that actually focuses on helping people get better?

Hon. J. Whiteside: I do want to thank the member for his question on an issue that I

know all members of this House are concerned with. I know that many of

us here have experiences in our communities, and our circles have been

impacted by the mental health and substance use crisis in our province —

a crisis, frankly, that is experienced in all jurisdictions of our

country, of our continent.

Since 2017, our government has worked to build an integrated

system of care for mental health and substance use. That approach is

articulated in our Pathway to Hope, the vision that does, in fact, unite

our investments in mental health services for children and youth,

Indigenous-led solutions. It addresses substance use and builds out a

system of care and treatment across the continuum, from community

counselling through to detox through to treatment and

aftercare.

There is no question that the significant progress that we made in

2019, after two intensive years of this work…. Significant progress in

which we saw a significant reduction in mortality associated with the

toxic drug crisis…. That progress was bedevilled by the COVID-19

pandemic, and we are working hard to catch up, to regain that

ground.

We are very committed to supporting British Columbians through

this crisis. We’re going to continue to do the work, continue to make

the investments: $500 million in 2021 to stand up services. That is the

work we’re going to continue to do with our partners.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, supplemental.

INVOLUNTARY CARE FOR

MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION

ISSUES

K. Falcon: The problem is that everywhere you look, you can see very clearly

that things are getting markedly worse, yet I just heard the minister

stand up and defend more of the status quo. Doing more of the same thing

and expecting to see different results is illogical. I recognize it’s

become a bit of a hallmark of this government. There has to be a

dramatic shift away from the current approach.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.

K. Falcon: Just focusing on publicly supplying addictive drugs to people

struggling with addiction while, at the same time, decriminalizing

crystal meth, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine is not going to end well. We

need to focus on actually helping people recover from their addictions

to get better so they can become productive members of society

again.

We also have an obligation, where necessary, through involuntary

care, if necessary, to take those that are most vulnerable and have been

left on the streets to their own devices to be put into proper care so

that they can be looked after as a caring and compassionate society

ought to do. Your own Premier did briefly pay lip service to this idea

but quickly backed off. Now nobody knows where government’s position is

on this issue.

My question to the minister: will somebody in government clarify

your position? Do you support involuntary treatment for vulnerable youth

and adults that are at risk to themselves or others?

Hon. J. Whiteside: There was a lot packed into that question, Member.

I do want to start by assuring British Columbians that when it

comes to investments that our government has made, the work that we do

with our health authorities, with our community partners, with

front-line providers…. That work is very much focused on the continuum

of care and responses that are required in the crisis that we are

dealing with.

[10:40 a.m.]

We have over 3,200 publicly funded treatment beds in this

province. We invested $500 million in 2021 to build out that integrated

system. We have worked to increase our detox beds, care and treatment

beds, aftercare supports. All the way through our system, we are

building out those supports.

And importantly, we are working on mechanisms to keep people alive

so that we can get them to treatment because we think keeping British

Columbians alive and giving them a chance to recover is

important.

We know that there are tools under the Mental Health Act that

providers, that physicians have access to and that they use when it

comes to the question of involuntary care. We are working hard to

continue to support our front-line providers with respect to their use

of those tools.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, second supplemental.

K. Falcon: The minister needs to know that what really matters is what

outcomes you’re getting. It’s not a thick Pathway to Hope document that

has no measurables…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

K. Falcon: …no definable metrics that you’re going to actually try and meet.

It’s got lots of platitudes, but it’s not getting us to where we need to

go, which is improved outcomes.

You cannot just say that we’re going to do more of the same when

every year we see the rate of overdose deaths increasing — every year

that this government has been in power. Every day. There is nobody I

talk to — nobody — that looks around and thinks that the system we

currently have operating is working. Nobody.

Every day we hear from desperate parents whose children are not

well and need help but who are not getting the help that they need. Now,

the number of children and youth under age 19 who have died from an

overdose has more than doubled in the last two years to 65 deaths. This

government had an opportunity over two years ago to make a difference

with legislation that would have allowed for involuntary treatment of

those exact same youths, but government abandoned the

legislation.

My question to the minister is direct. Does the government support

involuntary care for vulnerable youth, yes or no?

Hon. J. Whiteside: I think there’s no question, particularly when it comes to

children and youth…. Certainly what I heard through our education

system, what I hear from people in my community, what I hear from

parents is the need to intervene and address mental health issues with

children and youth before they get to be the kinds of problems that lead

to addictions to addictive substances.

That is why our government has targets, is scaling up services for

children and youth.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. J. Whiteside: So $55 million last week to an­nounce an expansion of our

integrated child and youth teams. Those services that are pulling

together supports for kids throughout multiple agencies so we can wrap

care around kids, those are providing important outcomes and important

opportunities to connect kids to care and services.

We are scaling up access to the Foundry in many communities across

the province. There is no question that those are critical investments

to be made in our children and youth. We will continue to work with

physicians, work with our health authorities with respect to the tools

that they currently have under the Mental Health Act when it comes to

circumstances under which an individual may need to be involuntarily

admitted.

E. Sturko: My constituent Bob has been through hell since his daughter was

admitted to Peace Arch Hospital with a substance use disorder. He was

told that his daughter might be released less than 24 hours after being

admitted. Bob felt helpless, desperate and afraid that if his daughter

was released, she would harm herself or drink herself to

death.

What is this government’s position on involuntary treatment that

can save lives, and will this government commit today to reintroducing

legislation?

Hon. J. Whiteside: I want to thank the member for her question and express my

sympathy and shared concern for the experiences that her constituent has

gone through and that we, of course, hear from parents.

[10:45 a.m.]

Again, I know that many of us hear stories with respect to the

challenges that people in our community experience with children and

youth. I do want to say again, though, that children and youth are very

much at the forefront of our ten-year vision in the Pathway to Hope. It

is a roadmap that creates an integrated system of care for

everyone.

Since 2017, we’ve invested nearly $240 million in new and expanded

mental health and substance use care for young adults, including youth

treatment beds. More than 28,000 children and youth receive

community-based mental health services each year. You know, I’ve seen

the Foundry services in action, where kids can access, very much

barrier-free, really…. Access to primary care as well as mental health

substance use treatment.

That is work that we are doing, along with our partners in school

districts and health authorities, to really take the care to where kids

are and wrap the services around them. We’re going to continue to do

that important work with our partners.

Mr. Speaker: Surrey South, supplemental.

E. Sturko: Minister, thank you for your sympathy, but people need more than

your thoughts and prayers, and a ten-year plan is cold comfort to people

who are desperate for help for their kids now.

Let me remind you that in the last two years, 65 young people

under the age of 19 have died from substance use overdoses. That’s more

than double in the previous years. Parents like Bob are desperate to

save their children as they watch them go in and out of the hospital but

not receive treatment. Even if his daughter wanted treatment, Bob was

told that the wait would be three to six months or cost tens of

thousands of dollars, leaving a massive gap between basic stabilization

and getting treatment.

Will the government support involuntary care if necessary and our

plan for an accessible, no-cost, recovery-oriented system of care so

that people who need treatment can get the help they need when they need

it?

Hon. J. Whiteside: Again, these, of course, are areas of our health care system where

we are working very hard with all of our partners to scale up the

services. I think the member makes a really important point about that

gap between, you know, an individual who is in crisis….

We’ve done a lot at the crisis end to ramp up peer-assisted care

teams and such on that identification of the initial crisis end of

things, and we need to do more work on making sure that we have a

seamless process for individuals — for children and youth and adults —

when it comes to accessing treatment.

That’s work that our Premier has committed to. Our Premier first

talked about that seamless approach in the safer communities action plan

last November. That’s work that we are undertaking with health

authorities to build, and there will be more to say on that, obviously,

in the coming weeks.

In the interim, what we are doing is continuing the work to expand

the services, the investments for access to counselling, to care and

treatment specifically for youth, including with respect to

interventions…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Shhh.

Hon. J. Whiteside: …through our specific response to the toxic drug crisis, through

making sure that the safe supply is available across the continuum of

care — $53 million in early psychosis intervention supports, including

100 new full-time care providers in the system.

There’s just no question that the investments that are being made

are significant. At the same time, we all know we are experiencing a

rising tide of need as a result of the pandemic, as a result of the

crises that our communities have been through over the last three

years.

We are going to continue that work. We agree that there is more

work that needs to be done. We agree and are very grateful, frankly, for

the cooperation and for the sentiment across all parties of this House,

through the Health Standing Committee last year, on the solutions that

we’ve been working on. That’s important collaborative work that we need

to do together in our communities to face this crisis.

[10:50 a.m.]

MANAGEMENT OF

VANCOUVER ISLAND HEALTH AUTHORITY

AND CONDITIONS FOR HEALTH WORKERS

S. Furstenau: Health care in this province is in dire straits, and here on

Vancouver Island, the problems are severe. This was apparent at CBC’s

town hall last night, where people shared their heartbreaking stories

while a senior Health official sat at the back of the room with her arms

crossed, shaking her head. There is a serious organizational culture

issue at Island Health.

A leaked Island Health employee satisfaction survey was damning.

Of the 11,000 staff who responded, less than half felt satisfied with

their management. Worst of all, overwhelming perception was that Island

Health does not care about their well-being. The 2022 Doctors of B.C.

report found that Island Health physicians have the lowest satisfaction

with their health authority in the province, and it’s been declining

year over year.

Doctors speaking out about their serious concerns about patient

safety are threatened, punished and silenced. Island Health isn’t just

punishing doctors, though. They’re punishing entire communities. The

patients who are going without care are the ones who the minister must

be accountable to.

My question is to the Minister of Health. Does he have confidence

in Island Health?

Hon. A. Dix: Yes, I have confidence in Island Health, and I’ll tell you

why.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

The minister will continue.

Hon. A. Dix: Island Health has delivered over the last three years. That means

Island Health, its doctors and nurses and nurse practitioners and health

sciences professionals and health care workers, has delivered an

extraordinary response to a pandemic that has faced the entire world,

and they’ve done it together. Over the last 12 months, Island Health has

been part of that. We have new-to-practice contracts for new doctors to

bring them in to longitudinal primary care.

We’ve set records in the number of surgeries and diagnostic

procedures we’ve done, which matters for people who need surgery and

matters for people who need diagnostic procedures. We’re working hard to

deliver care everywhere. I reject the idea that when people raise

concerns, they are threatened. They are not.

We have an outstanding team at Island Health. We have an

outstanding team that is doing its very best to deliver health care in

very challenging circumstances — a worldwide pandemic — and have set

records in the process.

We always have to do better. We always have to work harder with

staff people. We always have to work harder with our teams to make sure

that they’re involved in decisions, but I have confidence in Island

Health to do so.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Third Party, supplemental.

S. Furstenau: When the Island Health employee satisfaction survey comes out and

fewer than half say that they’re satisfied with their management, and

they say that their health authorities do not care about their

well-being, I would hope that the minister would be concerned about

that. I would hope that the minister would indicate that as the

representative for people in this province, he would demonstrate some

concern about the conditions that are being expressed in a survey like

that.

Let’s look at one situation in Island Health. There used to be

four doctors for the Port Hardy Hospital. Come this summer, there will

be one. Dr. Alex Nataros has come forward with solutions for his

patients. Hiring physician assistants would be a way to meet the needs

of people on the north Island who have been deeply underserved by the

health system. They have seen hospital closures become a regular part of

their lives, but his solutions are being rejected. Dr. Nataros has

spoken out about the mismanagement of health care by Island

Health.

In his own words, he is experiencing “continued harassment by the

health authority leadership.” Those are the words of a doctor who is

holding down the emergency room in Port Hardy, who is serving the needs

of people in those communities. His experiences are echoed by doctors

across the region and across the province.

[10:55 a.m.]

It’s not doctors who are being punished; it is communities. It is

people who are suffering. The minister says everything is fine, but that

is not what people are experiencing.

My question is to the Minister of Health. Will he agree to meet

with the health care professionals working for Island Health within the

next two weeks?

Hon. A. Dix: With respect to the issues in the north Island, in the last week,

we’ve taken specific action to support those communities. That means

incentives to bring nurses and doctors to the region; additional

diagnostic care in the region; supports to communities in the region,

including for mental health and addiction issues; and those came because

we did listen to communities, including the member for North Island,

including representatives of North Island health who met with

representatives of all communities and received their suggestions and,

in fact, enacted those suggestions.

I think what I can say is that what you see is a very significant

challenge in those communities and specific action to address those

challenges, which I think is what you need to do. It’s why we put in

place new-to-practice contracts in B.C., 109 contracts signed. They were

against them.

We put in place a fundamental reform to primary care. We put it

all, not the status quo, in one week. In one week, one-third…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. A. Dix: …of primary care doctors have moved to the new model, after 20

years of failure by them.

It is the absolute responsibility of Island Health to work with

communities, as it is my responsibility, and we’ll continue to do that.

The actions we took in Port Hardy and in Port McNeill and other

communities were informed by those communities, and we are going to

continue to act with that in mind.

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION PROGRAM

AND ACCESS TO ADDICTION

SERVICES

S. Bond: As part of this government’s pursuit and implementation of

decriminalization, there was a very specific letter — in fact, a letter

of requirements — to support B.C.’s exemption. In the letter, there is a

list of requirements, and I would like to just ask the minister about

one of them.

The government has been asked to “ensure that individuals who

desire treatment or other supports can access them when

needed.”

Is the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions satisfied that

this very specific requirement has been met and that people right across

British Columbia can access treatment when they need it?

Hon. J. Whiteside: Thank you to the member for her question. More broadly, I want to

thank this House for their support of this decriminalization program,

which was a subject of discussion through the Health Standing Committee,

which front-line providers, police, municipalities, people who use

drugs, the whole continuum of people and stakeholders who are in this

space have supported as an important way, as an important mechanism to

reduce fear and stigma so that we can better connect people who need

help to that care and support.

Of course, we are making the investments necessary in order to

scale up the system of care and treatment. We’ve added 360 new treatment

and recovery beds for adults and youth. We have over 3,200 beds in

spaces across the province, $55 million for integrated child and youth

teams, complex care housing. We are coming at this from all of the

different angles across the entire continuum of care that’s

required…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shh. Members.

Hon. J. Whiteside: …from addressing people who are in crisis, trying to connect them

with care, working to close those gaps. We know there’s more work to be

done. We know we all need to work together in our communities, to pull

together to get British Columbians through that crisis, and I am

grateful to be able to count on the support of this House to do that

work, as well as our partners in the health authorities and front-line

providers.

[11:00 a.m.]

Mr. Speaker: The member for Prince George–​Vale­mount,

supplemental.

S. Bond: Well, one thing the minister can count on is the fact that this

side of the House is going to continue to ask the hard questions about

the fact that families across British Columbia do not have the access

that is required in the letter of requirements before decriminalization

moves ahead.

That answer shows British Columbians how utterly disconnected this

minister is with the situation that families across this province are

facing. I can tell the minister from firsthand experience that in my

office, I hear from families that are desperate. They are at their wits’

end, and there are no treatment options, no services.

The letter of requirement actually goes on to say something else

the minister might want to give us an answer to, because obviously the

last answer was no. The letter of requirements also specifically says

that this government must “meet the unique needs of people living in

rural communities.”

How can the minister stand here and pretend that families who live

in rural British Columbia have access to treatment when they need it?

Because she knows they simply do not. Can the minister get up and tell

us whether or not she believes they have met the criteria as laid out in

the letter of expectations from the federal government?

Hon. J. Whiteside: You know, I think we’ve talked here today about the importance of

building up a continuum of care, and that is work that is underway. I

think there’s no question that we all know that there are gaps in that

system.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, let’s hear the answer, please.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Members. Members, let the minister answer,

please.

Minister will continue.

Hon. J. Whiteside: We have work to do that we have been doing since 2017 to build an

integrated system of care out of a fragmented scattershot of services.

That is a situation that requires working with all of our partners,

which is the work that we have been doing.

When we talk about introducing complex care in communities like

Bella Coola and Kamloops and Powell River and up the Sunshine Coast,

that is part of the answer to this. When we talk about expanding

sobering beds in Prince George, that is part of the answer to this. When

we talk about expanding sobering beds on the north Island, that is part

of the answer to this. When we talk about…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. J. Whiteside: …the need to invest upstream, that’s what we need to do.

I think

when all of the parties stood together last week and announced this

move, we…. All parties stood. The police who stood with us, the federal

government, public health, all of the stakeholders, including those who

had lost loved ones to this crisis, stood with us to say that this move

was an important move to make now. Not tomorrow, not next week, now, as

part of scaling up treatment, as part of working on safe

supply…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. J. Whiteside: …as part of investing in housing, as part of our government’s

safer communities plan. Because honestly, colleagues, we have to do all

of the things in this space. We have to do all of the things in order to

make progress for British Columbians and have their backs on this issue.

That’s the work we’re going to do.

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION PROGRAM

AND DATA

COLLECTION

K. Kirkpatrick: This is a two-term government that has had six years to put

services in place but has utterly failed to do that work. They have

failed to do even the most basic groundwork to support this

decriminalization experiment. No wonder there was no mention of

decriminalization in yesterday’s throne speech. The letter of

requirements from the federal government says: “Data collection will

need to start immediately…to establish a baseline.”

[11:05 a.m.]

Is the minister satisfied that this very specific requirement from

the federal government…? In order for decriminalization to move forward,

is the minister satisfied that this specific requirement has been met,

and will she explain to us what the baseline metrics actually

are?

Hon. R. Kahlon: I appreciate the conversation today.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members. Members.

Hon. R. Kahlon: I appreciate the exchange of ideas today and the conversation

we’re having. I think there are two things that I really appreciate.

One, a recognition from the Leader of the Opposition and commitment to

support decriminalization. I think that’s….

He was asked by the media whether….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members let’s….

Shhh, Members. Members will come to order.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, a question was asked. The House Leader is going to answer

the question.

Please continue.

Hon. R. Kahlon: Again, I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition making it clear

he supports decriminalization. He was clear in the media. I also

appreciate the Leader of the Opposition acknowledging that to do this

important work, it’s going to require investments, because that wasn’t

the case when he was the Minister of Health, when he saw deep cuts. It

wasn’t….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members. Thank you, Members. Members.

The minister will continue.

Hon. R. Kahlon: It’s hard to hear the truth, hon. Speaker.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, whether you like it or not, the House Leader is going to

finish his answer. So let’s listen to that, okay?

Hon. R. Kahlon: That wasn’t the case when he was the Minister of Health, when he

cut health care funding. It wasn’t the case when he was the Minister of

Finance, where he oversaw deep cuts to mental health services. In

fact….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.

Hon. R. Kahlon: In fact, when he was the Finance Minister and the federal

government, the Harper government, made deep cuts to health care

transfers, he actually thought it was great. He was the only minister

from across the country that thought that those health care cuts were

fantastic.

In fact, Ontario’s Finance Minister at the time….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.

Hon. R. Kahlon: Perhaps the new members might not know this information, and they

might want to hear this. The Minister of Finance called it a “frontal

attack on public health care.” He said it was going to “lead to a

reduction in the quality of health care across the country.”

Quebec’s Finance Minister said: “Totally unacceptable.” P.E.I.

said: “I couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, stop it.

Wrap it up, please.

Hon. R. Kahlon: You know what the Minister of Finance, now the Leader of the

Opposition, said? He said: “From B.C.’s perspective, we think it’s a

good thing. I ap­preciate the certainty.”

As much as I appreciate the minister, the Leader of the Opposition

now, finding this conversation to be important — now he thinks

investments are important — where were the investments when he was on

this side of the House?

[End of question period.]

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Okay, the question period is over. Calm down.

Motions Without Notice

APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE

TO APPOINT A MERIT

COMMISSIONER

Hon. R. Kahlon: I seek leave to move a motion to appoint a special committee to

appoint the Merit Commissioner. Full text of the motion has been

provided to the House Leaders from the opposition and the Third

Party.

Leave granted.

[11:10 a.m.]

Hon. R. Kahlon: I move:

[That a Special Committee to appoint a Merit Commissioner be

appointed to select and unanimously recommend to the Legislative

Assembly the appointment of an individual to hold office as the Merit

Commissioner for the province of British Columbia, pursuant to

section

5.01 of the Public Service Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c.

385).

That the Special Committee shall have the powers of a Select

Standing Committee and in addition be empowered to:

a. appoint of its number, one or more subcommittees

and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the

Special Committee and to delegate to the subcommittees all or any of its

powers except the power to report directly to the

House;

b. sit during a period in which the House is

adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following

Session and during any sitting of the House;

c. adjourn from place to place as may be convenient;

and,

d. retain such personnel as required to assist with

the Special Committee.

That any information and materials previously under consideration by

the Special Committee appointed by order of the Legislative Assembly on

June 2, 2022, for the same purpose be referred to the Special

Committee.

That the Special Committee report to the House as soon as possible,

and that during a period of adjournment, the Special Committee deposit

its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and upon

resumption of the sittings of the House, or in the next following

Session, as the case may be, the Chair present all reports to the

House.

That the Special Committee be composed of the following Members:

Mike Starchuk (Convener), Susie Chant , Fin

Donnelly , Mike Morris , and Teresa

Wat .]

Motion approved.

Orders of the Day

Hon. R. Kahlon: I call response to the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate

N. Simons: It looks like everyone wants to stay for this response, so I really

appreciate that. Oh wait, no, they’re asking for a minute to leave now.

Maybe I’ll wait.

Mr. Speaker: Just take a pause. Let the members leave.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

N. Simons: Thank you for this opportunity. I move, seconded by the member for

Nanaimo–North Cowichan, that:

[That we, His Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative

Assembly of British Columbia in session assembled, beg leave to thank Your

Honour for the gracious Speech which Your Honour has addressed to us at the

opening of the present Session.]

With those words, I have an opportunity to reflect on our government’s

plan for the future, as expressed through the throne speech that we all

heard yesterday.

Of course, the throne speech addresses the many issues that we as a

province, like other jurisdictions, intend to address in order to make lives

better for British Columbians and those who come to this province and for

the natural life of our province as well.

The responsibilities of government are vast, and the plans put forward

yesterday reflect many of the initiatives that will be further detailed in

the budget. But many, of course, are a continuation of the work that has

been started, in 2017, to address the fundamental issues that are our

province needs to face.

I’d like to take this opportunity, of course, to thank my constituency

assistants, Amy Clarke and Rob Hill, who do an excellent job of responding

to concerns raised by constituents, by organizations, by agencies that may

have an interest in finding out how the provincial government may be able to

provide assistance or guidance as to how to access government

services.

[11:15 a.m.]

Rob and Amy — Rob up in the qathet regional district and Amy in the

Sunshine Coast regional district — represent a broad diversity of

constituents, people who live very rural lifestyles, people who live off the

grid in remote parts of our constituency and others who live on city blocks

in the city of Power River, in Sechelt and the town of Gibsons.

The concerns and the issues that they raise are very broad, everything

from wildlife issues to issues around people seeking homes to live in,

everything from traffic on the highway to ferry services. The environment is

an over-reaching issue that people raise.

What I notice in the issues that are brought to my office is that

people bring them to us out of concern not just for themselves, but to

reflect their friends and their community and the interests that their

neighbors may also have. I thank each and every constituent who brings an

issue to my attention, not only because it helps me to ensure that I do my

job well but because it is brought to our attention in a way that reflects

the community’s needs.

It’s a selfless act to bring a concern to a politician in the hope of

finding assistance. I thank those constituents, whether they’re happy or

not. The responsibility of us, as elected officials, is to reflect and

consider the issues that they brought and to talk to our colleagues to find

ways of addressing them.

I’d also like to thank the hegus John Hackett in Powell River

at the Tla’amin Nation and the hegus Warren Paull of the shíshálh

Nation, two nations that have populations on what we now call the Sunshine

Coast. The work that they do with their councils is essential to ensure that

the province continues to work towards strengthening the partnerships that

we’ve created in a way that I think reflects the unique nature of our

governing systems. It’s done in friendship — not without challenges, but in

friendship and with a good heart — so that we can continue the process of

reconciliation.

Other nations in my constituency include the Homalco, the Klahoose and

the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh. I thank all the leaders

and all the community members who do their best to make sure that our

quality of life is good and that we look after one another.

We also have different regional governments, five regional

governments, in the Sunshine Coast. The Sunshine Coast regional district,

the qathet regional district, the first regional district not to be named

after a geographic area. And qathet is a word meaning “working together.”

The Powell River regional district changed their name to qathet. It’s been

widely accepted and appreciated and is well known. Names of magazines and

the hospital all reflect this new change.

I think it may be a symbolic change, but it’s in fact a very practical

change as well and very reflective of the efforts that we’re making to work

towards reconciliation.

I appreciate the fact that more discussions around place names take

place in my riding. People are attached to names, and it’s not always an

easy discussion to have. But I think when a community can have a name that

reflects the feelings or the beauty or the location, it’s a good name to

have.

I’d like to acknowledge the town of Gibsons, the district of Sechelt

and the city of Powell River, as well as the Islands Trust representatives,

who do a magnificent job of ensuring that we all work together, as the word

“qathet” suggests we do.

Thanking my constituency assistants, thanking the legislative staff,

thanking the local government and the First Nations Indigenous government I

think exemplifies the fact that we all work as a team. There’s none of us

that can do our jobs without the cooperation and the assistance and the

good-hearted fellowship of our colleagues in all levels of

government.

[11:20 a.m.]

Now, I do represent a riding with quite a bit of diversity. I want to

take this opportunity to thank the grade 3 class, Miss Liz’s class, at

Madeira Park, who I visited the other day. We talked about this place, the

provincial Legislature, and what we, as members of the Legislative Assembly,

do here. The youngsters were absolutely engaged in the discussion. They knew

what laws were, and they knew that government helps to make laws that

reflect what we, as communities, want to see.

I was asking them for examples of what kind of laws they thought we

would make. A little seven-year-old or eight-year-old said: “Where you’re

allowed to smoke.” I thought that was interesting coming from an elementary

school child. But then another one said: “How big your farm can be.” I

thought: “Oh, that’s another interesting one.” One said: “How fast your dirt

bikes are allowed to go.” Then another suggested it was all about when

you’re allowed to hunt particular kinds of species of animals.

This, to me, reflected the unique community of Madeira Park, Pender

Harbour, Egmont area — the upper and lower Sunshine Coast, to be specific.

It just made me so happy to see these children engaged and interested with

fun questions.

I was a bit worried that I might have come across as campaigning,

although they do have a number of years to wait before they can vote, and I

don’t know where I’ll be. But they all ended by telling me that not only

would all of their family vote for me, including them, but Santa Claus and

his elves would as well. The discussion kind of went from there.

As representatives of the Sunshine Coast, I want to say that the

grades 2-3 split, Miss Liz’s class, were very welcoming and kind. They

reflected what I think our ridings all have in them, which is good people,

people who are very community-oriented, friendly people, welcoming people.

Those are the people of British Columbia. So it’s an honour to serve as the

member for Powell River–Sunshine Coast.

It’s an honour as well to reflect on what I think are important

initiatives that we, as a province, are facing together. There’s no doubt

about it that challenges over the last few years have strained some of the

services and programs and, in fact, the personal lives of people in British

Columbia — whether they know people who are struggling with drug use, if

they know people who have suffered from health impacts, people who live in

communities where they’re not necessarily feeling as safe as they were

before, people wondering how there are going to be enough houses for people

to live in.

I think that those being priorities of our province…. Ensuring that we

do everything, recognizing Indigenous people’s rights and title, ongoing

friendship and working together, I think that we’ve taken these big issues

to heart. We, as MLAs on the government side, and I’m sure MLAs on the

opposition side are working hard as well, need to advance the programs and

the services and the funding that will continue to address problems or

challenges as they arise.

I think the best thing that we can do as members of the Legislature is

point to successful programs and successful results. We’ve had so many that

it would be difficult to itemize specifically all. But if I just look at the

area of health care, for example. The challenges facing people who work in

our health care system have never been as high as they have been over the

last four or five years, whether it’s the poisoned drug supply or the

pandemic. We have seen incredible results that have been made possible by

the committed members of our health care system.

[11:25 a.m.]

There are nurse practitioners, nurses, care aides, doctors, you name

it. In our health care system, they have all shown that results are

possible, that patient outcomes are good. Our management of a pandemic that

stymied many, many jurisdictions around the world…. We found a way here in

British Columbia to ensure that we could maintain our economy, that we could

protect people and that we could do so with, what we all remember and we

should all continue to remember, kindness.

I think that the successes of our health care system, notwithstanding

the fact that indeed there are challenges…. But the successes need to be

identified. They need to be reflected on, and I think they need to be

acknowledged as well. We have a system of care in our province that is

envied by many, many people in other jurisdictions. And I think that when we

recognize that our system has managed to make up for lost time in terms of

surgeries, these are successes and results, individual results that have an

impact, an incredibly important impact on each person affected by those

positive results.

The results in our health care system I think indicate that what we’re

planning and what we’re working on is successful. We have opened spaces for

more nurses, and those nurses will be part of our health care system. We

recognize that we need more doctors. A new funding model is going to help

address that problem. Our schools, our institutions and our policy

priorities all will continue to address the issues that we recognize that we

have in British Columbia.

Public safety was an issue that was raised in previous parliaments. We

obviously had exchanges in this House about public safety and about crime

and about street disorder. Those are issues, obviously, that we see in news

reports from every province and territory, but we also recognize that we

have some specific challenges here in British Columbia. I’m just very

pleased that continued efforts are being made to get the federal government

to ensure that legislation governing our criminal justice system allows for

provinces to take the steps necessary to ensure our communities are

safe.

I’m pleased the Prosecution Service is looking at ways to ensure

repeat violent offenders are not routinely released. However, I do also

recognize that whenever we talk about individuals involved in the criminal

justice system…. I’ve worked with so many of them. We recognize that they

are individuals with families, with friends, with connections — with, many

times, families and friends worried about them — and compassion has to be a

foundation of everything we do with all populations. I’m pleased to see that

we are helping, when people are being released from prisons, that they have

a better adjustment.

I know back in the previous administration, I had a young former child

in care — I was their social worker — who would go to prison and be released

in a few months with a bus ticket to the location of his last offence and a

small amount of money. I took issue with that approach, knowing that young

people or young adults, when leaving a situation where there was nothing and

going back to it…. We shouldn’t be expecting results to be better. If we

release people without the supports they need, without a place to stay,

without social agencies being there to ensure that they access their needs,

then failure is a likely option.

This is something I think our work in recovery homes, our work for

transition from jail back to community, is an important aspect of ensuring

our criminal justice system is robust. It’s not about just locking people

up. It’s about ensuring that people get the right kind of attention that

they need in order to live a more productive and healthy life.

[11:30 a.m.]

We all love hearing those stories of people who have come back from

specifically challenging circumstances to show that resilience can be

successful and that resilience, with support of agencies that we fund as a

province, is successful. We need to keep doing that.

It’s not the kind of thing that makes a headline, when somebody

doesn’t reoffend, but we know that there are those successes out there. We

know that there are people who are turning their lives around, whether it’s

through alcohol and drug treatment, whether it’s through personal

counselling for trauma, and we should, perhaps, recognize those results.

Those are results, we can say, as a province, that we’ve helped them to

achieve. Obviously, we know, as we provide assistance to people to improve

their own lives, that we have others who come along and will require that

help again.

It concerns me that we have an opposition that fails to remember some

of the actions that they took that may have had a significant impact on the

challenges that we face now. We saw a continual effort to reduce spending in

our social services and our social programming. We saw a continued effort to

reduce costs associated with providing a robust health care system. We saw

communities being weakened by the privatization of health care

services.

When a small community of 10,000 people loses 200 employees to

privatization and they no longer have access to the same wages, they no

longer have access to the same employment supports, our entire communities —

especially noticeable in smaller communities — are impacted

severely.

We had families with parents who suddenly had to have two jobs in

order to work to support their families. When two parents are working, it

has an impact on the rest of the family, on the community and on the success

of children as well. We can support those people, but it’s best if we can

ensure that people are living with a wage that makes it possible for them to

live in our communities with access to housing.

Specifically, if you want to talk about successes, we can look to

our…. And when I talk about successes, I don’t mean to say that the work is

done. I’m not pretending that we don’t have huge challenges as a province.

I’m not saying that we have all the simple solutions, or anything like that.

But in my constituency, I think, when we look at some of the investments in

our housing, as part of the solution….

I know the throne speech mentioned a renewed housing strategy, to keep

updated and current, because our needs change, but there are hundreds and

hundreds of new homes — new places to live on the Sunshine Coast — and since

2017, we’ve seen that. Those are results. People living safely under a roof,

in warmth, where there’s food — that’s a success; that’s a result. Each

individual person who lives in a circumstance where they now have housing

but where they didn’t previously, I think we can count that as a success. We

can count that as an important result.

In my constituency, we have supportive housing in Gibsons, we have

supportive housing in Sechelt, and we have supportive housing in Powell

River. We have 120 new apartment living spaces for people in our community.

They’re not without their own challenges. We have, in many cases, vulnerable

community members who are adjusting to a different lifestyle, where they

have some stability that they may not have had; they have predictability,

which they probably didn’t have; and they have an opportunity to consider

their place in their community.

When they’re not particularly afraid of losing their place to sleep,

when they’re not worried about staying dry at night, and when they’re not

worried about being unsafe, they have an opportunity to see themselves

differently, and their priorities become different.

[11:35 a.m.]

I think the reception from our community to supportive housing has

been good, has been welcoming. The children at Gibsons Elementary School did

art projects so that the new supportive housing unit in Gibsons could be

well decorated.

Obviously, in some communities, we have people who are hesitant about

change, about different kinds of development in their community. I reminded

people, when I had the opportunity, that when you put a supportive housing

apartment complex somewhere, it is in community. It must be in

community.

There were concerns that it was close to the school. It was the school

that drew the pictures. It was the school that said: “We welcome these

community members here.” It was very possible and in fact very probable that

one or two or three of those elementary school children walking up School

Road, past that supportive housing complex, may know somebody in that place,

may know that their uncle is living there now, and may be glad that they see

a government that’s looking after their uncle.

These are successes, not always entirely measurable, but all of which

have a significant impact on an individual basis. When children see that

that people around them are interested in making other people’s lives

better, there is an effect on those young people. There’s a recognition that

we do live in community, that somebody who is suffering is part of our

community. We look to help to address that — whether it’s food, housing,

access to transportation or access to care.

Our communities look after each other. People in British Columbia

communities look after each other. We know that it’s not easy. We know that

there is more work to do, but we do. These are successes that are easily

measurable. These are results that are clear to the people of the province.

Since 2017, there are 120 apartments for people who didn’t have homes

before. That’s just in my riding.

The Indigenous housing fund. No government before 2017 in British

Columbia had invested in housing on land that we refer to as on-reserve

land. In the case of Sechelt, it’s shíshálh Nation land. They were the first

nation with self-government in British Columbia. They have a 34-unit

apartment building being built, right on the 101 as you drive through

Sechelt. It’s a beautiful building. It’s the cooperation of the Indigenous

government with the province and provincial agencies that allow these

projects to reach a successful conclusion.

Now, the building is going up, and it’s not just a building that will

house 34 individuals and families, but it’s also a very clear statement of

our government’s intent to continue to work with Indigenous governments, to

continue to try and raise the standard of living of all people in the

province, especially those in vulnerable communities. We won’t stop in that

process.

This particular Tsain-Ko housing — the House of Clans, as it will be

known — I think reflects our government’s approach that reconciliation is

about understanding. It’s about knowing the truth. It’s also about taking

specific action to start to address some of the challenges that communities

have faced since our arrival.

Affordable rental housing: 42 units are being built in Powell River,

with the Inclusion Society. In fact, those have been opened, once again

providing homes for people who may not be able to afford to buy a home or to

pay the higher rents that we’ve seen. We’re supporting agencies and

organizations in our communities that know those communities the

best.

Our province is supporting those agencies to achieve the needs of the

community: the Lions Club, 104 units; the Kiwanis Society, up in Gibsons,

75; and 40 new affordable housing homes in Gibsons as well. I haven’t

repeated any of these. These are all new housing on the Sunshine Coast. In

Madeira Park, even, we have seniors housing that’s being built.

[11:40 a.m.]

These are some of the results that we can say are a result of good

public policy, good decision-making on the part of government. These are

important to show, important to demonstrate. They reflect, in fact, the hard

work that our province is undertaking.

Affordability is, obviously, a main issue, with worldwide inflation

affecting everything. Food is, obviously, a great indicator of the impact on

a personal household budget, not to mention businesses as well.

Affordability is key to ensuring that people can live in our communities and

eat healthy food and have warmth in their home and get to and from where

they need to go.

The province, our government, has been actively and successfully

implementing programs that support families, supporting families through the

COVID crisis, supporting families with affordability, tax credits, a number

of other initiatives that have helped individuals and families overcome some

of the challenges that worldwide inflation has caused.

I want to say…. As a province, we don’t…. We would like to see food

security, and we continue to work towards food security for communities.

It’s not just about the affordability of food; it’s about access to healthy

food. It’s about ensuring the necessary food is where it needs to

be.

I know that through the COVID crisis and at the height of the COVID

crisis, we did support families on income and disability assistance with

significant increases in their assistance, the monthly allowance. Following

the end of that particular program, we increased social assistance and

disability assistance rates by a record amount, recognizing that that work

needs to continue, that inflation continues to challenge us all. We’re going

to see more affordability measures, as mentioned in the throne speech

yesterday.

Those are results. To a family that’s receiving more funding than they

previously did, that’s a result. Every single individual who received more

funding sees the benefit of government’s priorities and sees the impact that

those programs has on them.

I think when we look at results…. We can look at individual results

and look at collective successes. Ultimately, we’re addressing the needs of

people who have expressed their concern to us. We can demonstrate that we

listen to the people of British Columbia.

We look at child care. There’s another example of successes and

results. The biggest new social program in a long time in this province has

provided better opportunities, more opportunities for families to take

advantage of having child care spaces in their community. We’ve increased

the number of daycare spaces. We’ve lowered the cost of daycare spaces.

We’ve ensured the quality of our spaces. I think that we can point to that

as an incredible result for British Columbians.

No, we’re not finished. We’re not finished that yet. We’re not

finished our housing. We’re not finished our affordability measures. Those

are all part of it. We haven’t finished addressing the issues around

community safety.

[11:45 a.m.]

I think it’s clear…. The results we’ve seen already show we’re on

exactly the right path. As challenges come over us…. Whether it’s weather

events, like flooding and a heat dome, whether it’s fires, we know that we

are capable of rising to the challenges and then continuing on with the

fundamentals of governance. I think that’s clear.

One last thing I want to mention. I was very pleased, in the last

session, when we passed the Indigenous child welfare legislation.

Now, Indigenous child welfare legislation was probably the biggest

issue that prompted me to get into provincial politics. The last job I did

for the previous government was to review the death of a child, the death of

a toddler, who had been part of the child welfare system. When I looked into

that…. As a director of an Indigenous child welfare agency, I was asked to

conduct this investigation with the consent of the nation and, obviously,

the province’s consent.

What I found was that during the previous administration…. In fact,

the Leader of the Opposition was responsible for deregulation. The minister,

now the Leader of the Opposition, gave an award to the Ministry for Children

and Family Development at the time called the Deregulation Sprint

Award.

The deregulation sprint the Leader of the Opposition was so pleased

about reduced the regulations around how you place children in care. Instead

of doing a full home study on a foster parent prior to placing a child

there, they saw a less expensive and more expeditious way of placing a child

with family members.

What they neglected to do under the previous government, in the

ministry that won the Deregulation Sprint Award, was to let social workers

and both non-Indigenous and Indigenous child welfare organizations know

about this change in legislation. When it was faxed over to these agencies,

half of the guidelines were missed. Agencies were told that they had to

first try this form of placement. Well, the first child placed under this

less regulated system was the child whose death I investigated.

I just say this as a cautionary tale. You look at the actions of the

previous government in order to predict their future actions. When you have

members of a government that stand up and talk about whether or not

government cares about the issues facing those who are vulnerable in our

community…. Look at what they did. Look at what they did to the child

welfare system, not just because of the system but because of the impact on

the little children. There was a massive impact. When you try to cut MCFD’s

budget by 24 percent all at once….

You see a change in approach by our government reflected in our throne

speech. You see a government that understands that there are no easy

solutions. You can’t just wipe out a budget and say that’s addressing the

budget issue. If you wipe out the budget of an agency or an organization or

a ministry like Children and Families, you’re going to have an impact on

everybody, whether it’s lower satisfaction among the people who are doing

the important work or going to homes at two in the morning after a report

from a neighbour who is concerned about a child.

These people need to be supported. We can’t go to a system where

governments make decisions simply based on a crass numerical calculation. It

turned out they only cut the budget by 11 percent all at once. That was bad

enough, but they won the Deregulation Sprint Award. That might have

convinced me that we need to have people in this place that understood child

welfare policy. It happened. Last session we recognized that Indigenous

communities need to have autonomy over child welfare.

[11:50 a.m.]

This wasn’t all of a sudden. The Indian Homemakers, who I’ve mentioned

before, from the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s, were the ones advocating for

autonomy. They were the ones advocating for support for families that needed

to be supported. They knew the impact of colonization. They knew the impact

of economic isolation.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

I’m really pleased our government took those decisions and recognized

we don’t do everything right. I mean, we know there are agencies,

organizations or people that can do it better. We don’t have a problem with

that.

We support Indigenous child welfare legislation. We sup­port the

autonomy of Indigenous communities over child welfare issues. It’s all about

strengthening community, supporting families, ensuring that children are

supported in their community.

I think the approach that we have, as reflected in this throne speech,

is one that continues that — intelligent, policy-based solutions to big

challenges. When you find an easy solution or you suggest there’s an easy

solution for everything, beware. It’s not realistic. We have multiple

challenges. We have multiple approaches to addressing those challenges. This

throne speech shows how we’re going to do that, and I’m really proud to

support that.

People want to have lunch, Mr. Speaker. So I move adjournment of

debate.

N. Simons moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. R. Kahlon moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m.

The House adjourned at 11:52 a.m.

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