Second Session, 42nd Parliament

(2021) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 59

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill 5 — InBC Investment Corp. Act

Hon. R. Kahlon

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Response to opioid crisis by Moms Stop the Harm network

T. Stone

Chilliwack Restorative Justice Society

D. Coulter

Bob Hughes and ASK Wellness Society housing initiatives

P. Milobar

Parks system in B.C.

K. Greene

Surrey Board of Trade Top 25 under 25 Award recipients

S. Cadieux

Supports for youth at risk

R. Russell

Oral Questions

COVID-19 vaccination plan and role of pharmacies

S. Bond

Hon. A. Dix

R. Merrifield

COVID-19 response and use of rapid testing

S. Furstenau

Hon. A. Dix

COVID-19 response and paid sick leave

T. Stone

Hon. S. Robinson

Child care plan

K. Kirkpatrick

Hon. S. Robinson

Richmond Hospital acute care tower project

T. Wat

Hon. A. Dix

New schools in Vancouver area

J. Tegart

Hon. S. Robinson

Cancer treatment services in Kamloops

P. Milobar

Hon. A. Dix

Tabling Documents

Office of the Auditor General, Avalanche Safety on Provincial Highways ,

April 2021

Report pursuant to the COVID-19 Related Measures Act regarding Ministerial Order

M172/2021, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor

General

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate

(continued)

K. Kirkpatrick

Hon. J. Whiteside

G. Kyllo

TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021

The House met at 10:03 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: Hon. A. Kang.

[10:05 a.m.]

Introductions by Members

Hon. R. Kahlon: I’m hoping that the House can join me in recognizing and welcoming

four public servants who are here in the gallery today. We have James

Harvey, who is the associate deputy minister in my ministry; Jessica Prince,

who is an executive director. We have David Mortimer, who is also an

executive director, and Arian Zand, who is a legislative intern.

They’ve done some phenomenal work over the last several months under

difficult circumstances for the public, for the people of British Columbia.

I’m hoping the House can join me in recognizing the contributions that

they’ve made to B.C.

S. Furstenau: I just want to take a moment to introduce a group of students who are

out in front of the Legislature this morning. They are from Mill Bay Nature

School. They’re here with their teachers Brian Simmons and Kim Dell. They’ve

been gifted the name smuq’wa’ clan by Tousilum, an Elder in

Cowichan Tribes. Smuq’wa’ means “great blue heron.”

These kids are here today to raise awareness about the impacts to

Burgoyne Bay from pollution, from garbage being left behind, from oil and

diesel spills in the water. They’re hoping to raise awareness about the need

to protect this wonderful Burgoyne Bay. I’m really delighted to have had the

chance to talk with them this morning and delighted to see these students in

Cowichan really putting their educational efforts into real learning and

real solutions.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

BILL 5 — I n BC INVESTMENT CORP.

ACT

Hon. R. Kahlon presented a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled InBC Investment Corp. Act.

Hon. R. Kahlon: Mr. Speaker, I move that this bill be introduced and read a first

time now.

Mr. Speaker: Continue, Minister.

Hon. R. Kahlon: I’m pleased to introduce Bill 5, the InBC Investment Corp.

Act.

This pandemic has been a challenging time for people, businesses

and communities across British Columbia. While we have faced significant

challenges, we have done well in B.C. because we have worked together.

When our small and medium-sized businesses are facing serious obstacles,

our government has responded with the most supports per capita for

businesses in the country.

Today I’m pleased to share that we’re taking further steps to help

lay the foundation for a stronger B.C. InBC, our new, bold, and

first-of-its-kind $500 million strategic investment fund, will provide

B.C.-based businesses with the capital to position our province as a

frontrunner in the post-pandemic economy. The fund will be managed by a

new corporation called InBC Investment Corp., or, simply put,

InBC.

The act that I’m introducing today establishes some of the key

features of that Crown corporation, including its unique mandate, the

independence of investment decision-making, and its governance

framework, as well as its transparency and accountability measures. InBC

will make investments in small and medium-sized businesses through a

triple-bottom-line mandate that equally values and prioritizes our

people and planet with profits.

With this focus, InBC will help grow our economy in an innovative,

sustainable and inclusive way. As we emerge from the pandemic in the

coming months, we need to build an economy that creates more

family-supporting jobs, advances reconciliation with Indigenous people

and is cleaner, greener and more resilient than before. InBC will help

us get there.

Mr. Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Hon. R. Kahlon: I move that this bill be placed on the orders of the day for

second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 5, InBC Investment Corp. 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.

[10:10 a.m.]

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

RESPONSE TO OPIOID CRISIS

BY MOMS STOP THE HARM

NETWORK

T. Stone: I rise today in search of hope amid unimaginable grief for far too

many B.C. families, grief caused by the significant rise in

opioid-related overdose deaths. I believe I found that hope in the

unstoppable spirit of two mothers who, despite living their worst

nightmares, have found unrelenting courage to make a difference for

others.

Our province recently marked five years since a public health

emergency related to the rise of overdose deaths was declared. British

Columbia was, in fact, the first province in Canada to see the overdose

tragedy for what it was and sadly still is. With an average of five

people dying of an overdose every single day in B.C., 2021 is shaping up

to be even worse than 2020, the deadliest year on record. Just last

Wednesday, B.C. emergency health services responded to 138 potential

overdoses, which was a new single-day high.

Thankfully, however, there is courage and tenacity embedded in

people determined to change the narrative. Sandra Tully of Kamloops and

Helen Jennens of Kelowna are both of Moms Stop the Harm, a network of

Canadian mothers and families whose loved ones have died due to

substance use, a network fighting back against the stigma of opioid

overdoses, calling for a safe drug supply and advocating for a new

approach based on reducing harm and ensuring supports for a place to get

better.

Sandra’s son Ryan died of an accidental overdose in January of

2016. Sandra just recently helped organize a highly impactful Lost Souls

display in Kamloops. She said: “If I’m not going to speak, who

is?”

Helen has tragically lost two sons due to accidental overdoses:

Rian in August of 2011 and Tyler in January of 2016.

So many stories; so many families ripped apart. Yet through it

all, we grieve with, and we say thank you to, brave and compassionate

moms like Sandra and Helen.

CHILLIWACK RESTORATIVE

JUSTICE

SOCIETY

D. Coulter: Today I’d like to tell you about the Chilliwack Restorative

Justice society. The society was incorporated in June 1998. It is a

volunteer-based community organization focused on delivering programs

and services in the areas of crime prevention and public safety as well

as fostering a safe and caring community through restorative

approaches.

Chilliwack Restorative Justice offers restorative services to

people affected by criminal acts such as shoplifting, arson, assault,

theft, break and enter, vandalism and mischief. They have a diversion

program from the traditional court system. This program empowers

individuals to take accountability and responsibility for their actions

and work to repair harm, rebuild relationships and restore

communities.

RJ can help with racial and gender sentencing disparities and can

help decrease the criminalization of mental illness and poverty. Victims

have lower rates of PTSD and higher rates of satisfaction from RJ

processes than traditional court. This program receives youth and adult

referrals from the RCMP, victim services, loss prevention officers,

strata companies, sports associations and other community agencies such

as schools and non-profit groups.

Referrals include situations where crime, conflict or harm has

occurred and the people involved are searching for solutions that

promote repair, reconciliation, learning and understanding. Cases

commonly referred include physical assault, threats, break and enter,

mischief, theft, community disputes and ongoing relationship

conflict.

Chilliwack Restorative Justice also offers prevention programs in

schools. All the prevention programs aim to engage and empower youth in

meaningful dialogue, experiential activities and learning sessions

surrounding topics that lead to misbehaviour or criminal behaviour.

Emotion management, self-awareness, mindfulness, compassion, empathy,

teamwork, leadership and resolving conflict are just some of the many

topics covered.

I hope this House will applaud the dedicated volunteers of

Chilliwack Restorative Justice.

BOB HUGHES AND ASK WELLNESS SOCIETY

HOUSING

INITIATIVES

P. Milobar: In 1992, on a basement couch, HIV/AIDS activists in Kamloops were

seeking ways to support people in Kamloops who were struggling. This is

where the AIDS Society of Kamloops was created.

[10:15 a.m.]

The society was created to promote health and wellness as well as

provide education to strengthen the Kamloops community. Not long after

the society started their work, they realized that many people needing

help required housing to be able to properly focus on their health — or

housing, sorry.

As the housing initiative started, the demand made it clear that

the society had decided to tackle a huge problem, and they leaned into

the work. In 2016, the society changed its name to ASK Wellness to

better reflect the services and supports they were providing to

Kamloops. In 2007, the society brought on a new executive director, Bob

Hughes. From that hiring, the wheels were now in motion for ASK to

become a major housing provider for the most vulnerable in

Kamloops.

Recently Bob Hughes was recognized nationally for his dedication

and efforts in harm reduction and housing. In late March, Bob became one

of 98 people recognized with the Meritorious Service Decoration from the

office of the secretary to the Governor General. This service decoration

is one of the highest distinctions that can be awarded in

Canada.

I’ve always appreciated Bob’s direct assessment of what programs

or supports will work and where gaps exist. Be it in conversations with

me on what the city could do to help while I was on council or now as an

MLA on what provincial supports are needed, Bob has a way of cutting

through the more partisan nature of politics and is strictly focused on

what will help the vulnerable people the most. I know many people on

both sides of this House know exactly what I’m talking about.

His desire to help has led to ASK Wellness becoming a major

housing provider that has a wide range of housing options and street

outreach to try and find people the appropriate housing and supports

they need to stabilize and succeed. Over the last few years, Bob has

expanded the service area of ASK Wellness to include Merritt and

Penticton.

Now, Bob would be the first one to point out that he could not do

this work without the incredible dedicated team of women and men who are

always willing to go above and beyond. But we all know that every

successful team needs a great leader, and the Meritorious Service

Decoration is a well-deserved honour for Bob Hughes.

More importantly to the people that Bob helps every day, it is a

well-earned honour.

PARKS SYSTEM IN B.C.

K. Greene: B.C. parks are treasured by all British Columbians. We are proud

of our spectacular home, from jagged peaks and alpine lakes to marshy

estuaries and our wild coastline.

Nature is vibrant here. It is powerful. It also soothes our minds

and bodies. No wonder that British Columbians are visiting B.C. parks in

record numbers. B.C.’ers love to camp, hike, picnic and explore our

parks.

Right now we need to stick to parks close to home to stop the

spread of COVID, but I know how eager folks are to get their boots on

and tents up. When we get our COVID numbers pushed down, we are excited

to be able to travel to our favourite campgrounds and trails.

I say “we” because I’m a camper too. One of my earliest memories

is camping in a surprise thunderstorm. Getting outside with our loved

ones is a wonderful opportunity to make memories together, although I

recommend checking the weather forecast and being prepared.

All this love for our B.C. parks means they need a boost to be

able to meet the needs of visitors and also protect natural areas. With

the latest announcement, we’re going to see enhanced trails to improve

staff and back-country improvements. You don’t need to have a provincial

park in your backyard to get excited about bigger and better B.C.

parks.

Gail from Richmond wrote to me about her delight for hundreds of

new campsites and trail improvements for our beautiful province. She

says: “Thank you for your efforts you’ve put in to make this

happen.”

Gail, I’m thrilled that you’re excited about B.C. parks’ future.

So am I. See you out there.

SURREY BOARD OF TRADE TOP 25

UNDER 25 AWARD

RECIPIENTS

S. Cadieux: Last week the Surrey Board of Trade held its 11th annual Top 25

Under 25 Awards. The awards aim to recognize business- and

community-oriented individuals under the age of 25 and strive to

encourage youth leadership and entrepreneurship.

This year’s outstanding winners may have come from diverse

backgrounds, but all possess inspiring visions that can help positively

transform different aspects of society. For example, winners like Adrija

Chakrabarti, Karanvir Dhillon, Sukhraj Dhunna, Vivian Tan and Vedanshi

Vala founded non-profit organizations that aim to improve aspects of

quality of life for others, insisting that by focusing on meeting the

needs locally, we can have global impact.

[10:20 a.m.]

Winner Natasha Burgert’s project “Solar Electric Vehicle: A

Sustainable Transport” has demonstrated that scientific research and

experimental development can lead to innovations. Likewise, Graydon

Lawson, founder of social enterprise ReduceWasteNow, is inspiring others

to live more sustainably so we can improve the health of our

communities.

Other winners — Michael Hong, Carissa Konesky, Gunreet Sethi and

Tajdeep Singh Sandhu — have reminded us of why providing resources like

peer support to those who are coping with mental health challenges and

addictions is imperative to both recovery and battling

stigma.

Other winners of the 11th annual awards included Govind Deol;

Sally Jiao; Anchal Kataria; Yashmeet Kaur; Tavleen Kaur Ramgarhia;

Tavisha Kochhar; Harpo Mander; Tilyna Pawer; Stuti Sharma; Darshpreet

Singh Badyal; Gabriel Soares; Prabhvir Tiwana; Esther Zhang; and Jerry

Pol, who is also the recipient of this year’s honorary Health and Safety

in the Workplace Award.

I congratulate all of this year’s Surrey Top 25 Under 25 Awards.

The future truly lives here.

SUPPORTS FOR YOUTH AT RISK

R. Russell: Good morning to the House, and good morning to you, Mr.

Speaker.

Last week my colleague the member for Burnaby North highlighted to

me and made the observation that I can use my privilege in this House to

give somebody else my voice. That’s what I’m going to do

today.

“I need you to imagine a picture with three faces of small children,

small boys, the three of them blocked out. I took this photo in 2000, 20

years ago. These kids were in grade 1 and 3 at that time. They were in

my shop often. They were part of a larger group of eight kids in town

that, at the time, I was concerned about.

“Even at this very young age, I knew that these kids needed

additional support. They needed our help and our love as a community. I

saw it. I’m sure teachers saw it. EAs saw it. The school principal saw

it. Neighbours saw it. The RCMP saw it. Yet, very sadly, of those eight

kids who were at risk of possibly slipping through the cracks at ages

six and seven, most went on to do just that.

“After finding this photo again, I took the time to track those

eight kids down. The results were upsetting: one, drug addiction and

suffering from brain damage; two, deceased; three, drug addiction,

living on the streets; four, jail; five, jail; six, in and out of jail;

seven, jail to a halfway house, but presently not reachable; and number

eight pulled through and made it — one kid out of eight.

“I wanted to know how. So yesterday, 20 years later, I reached out

and asked. The answer was one single teacher, one single person who

reached out to show love and support, who wouldn’t give up and went on

to change — most likely save — a person’s life.”

Those are the words of the owner of Unity skate shop in Osoyoos, a

champion for youth in my community.

Oral Questions

COVID-19 VACCINATION PLAN

AND ROLE OF

PHARMACIES

S. Bond: Over the coming weeks, B.C.’s supply of vaccine is expected to

increase, and that is a good thing. It will increase to nearly 275,000

Pfizer doses, and more are coming from Johnson and Johnson and from

Moderna.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and

Quebec are all finding ways to include pharmacies in their vaccination

plans, including administering Pfizer and Moderna. But in B.C., the

government has only talked about pharmacies playing a significant role

in giving second doses — which, for many people, is months from now, and

not including them in the first doses that are so desperately needed

right now.

To the Premier, why are B.C. pharmacies not being asked to provide

first-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations, as they are in other

jurisdictions?

Hon. A. Dix: Thank you to the member for her question. To date in B.C., we’ve

delivered, as the member will know, well over 1.6 million doses of

COVID-19 vaccine. We’ve focused first on our long-term-care and

assisted-living homes, and did 100 percent of those in

January.

[10:25 a.m.]

More than 80 percent of all those over 70 have been immunized, and

21 local health areas, principally rural ones, have been immunized at

more than 50 percent. More than 60 percent of those over 60 have been

immunized, and 180,000 clinically vulnerable people have also been

immunized. We have used, as of today, more than 98 percent of the Pfizer

vaccine we’ve received and more than 90 percent of the Moderna vaccine

we’ve received. This is an extraordinary achievement.

Pharmacies have played a role as well. As the member will know, we

distributed more than 188,000 doses of AstraZeneca to pharmacies across

B.C. a number of weeks ago, and they’ve been doing an excellent job in

distributing this vaccine to British Columbians across the province,

such that we have only about 40,000 of those 188,000 doses left to be

distributed. It is a team B.C. effort. I think the performance has been

simply exceptional.

The only thing limiting our vaccine supply is the amount of

vaccine we are receiving, and we’re going to be receiving more in the

coming weeks. Pharmacies are playing a key role in our effort, and I

think everyone should be proud of what we’ve done to vaccinate British

Columbians against COVID-19.

Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Official Opposition on a

supplemental.

S. Bond: I appreciate the minister’s answer. He avoided answering the

specific question. We have been told repeatedly that the most important

thing we can do in British Columbia is to get people vaccinated as

quickly as possible. This should be an all-hands-on-deck situation,

particularly with increased vaccine arriving in our province.

The last time — and the minister referenced it — the government

called on pharmacies to administer vaccines, it was at the very last

minute. We can all recall that it was so botched that many pharmacies

didn’t even know they were on the list and in fact had to find out, from

media coverage, that they were on that list. Despite that confusion and

the mayhem of multiple wait-lists, British Columbians were enthusiastic

about receiving their AstraZeneca vaccine at a pharmacy. That, too, is a

very good thing.

British Columbians trust their pharmacists, and they want to get

their vaccination in a familiar place. It’s a simple addition to the

vaccination plan that the minister has outlined in great

detail.

Where is the plan to include pharmacies in the administration of

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that is taking place in jurisdictions all

across the country?

Hon. A. Dix: I say this with great respect to the hon. member — we’ve spoken

about these issues, and I know of her support for our efforts to

vaccinate British Columbians: when you’ve used 98 percent of the Pfizer,

used it in a precise way, targeting those that are most vulnerable,

those clinically vulnerable, our elders, Indigenous communities, rural

communities who are most vulnerable from COVID-19, I think this is the

opposite of how the member characterized these vaccination efforts. It

has been exceptional, in service on the ground and the support and the

generosity of volunteers, staff and medical staff. In the actual

experience of immunization, it has been exceptional.

I’m not sure how you can do better than delivering 98 percent of

vaccines — and being ready and having virtually none in the fridge when

the Pfizer vaccine arrived from the federal government. I think our

performance has been excellent. Pharmacists have played a critical role

in it, and 188,000 doses distributed to pharmacies is not a limited

role; it’s an important role.

We are going to continue to learn and improve our vaccine

performance in the coming weeks. After these slower weeks at the end of

April, we are going to receive 276,000 doses of Pfizer — Moderna, less

clear — and I think our teams are going to do an exceptional job in

delivering it as soon as they can to British Columbians.

R. Merrifield: Well, I think we should talk about the minister’s numbers that

he’s using, because I do think it is absolutely exceptional that we have

delivered 1,635,372 vaccines in five months. I celebrate that fact.

[Applause.]

Thank you.

[10:30 a.m.]

What we’re talking about are the 4,364,628 that we have arriving

in the next two months. The B.C. pharmacists have been left on the

sidelines. We have record hospitalizations and staff burnout, but

instead of using pharmacists to shoulder the load, doctors and nurses

are also administering shots at vaccination clinics. Health care

professionals are stretched.

To the Premier, why is this government adding to the burden on

doctors and nurses when we have pharmacists available across

B.C.?

Hon. A. Dix: I guess I can repeat that 188,000 doses of AstraZeneca were

delivered to community pharmacies — over 640 pharmacies across B.C. That

demonstrates our commitment to using community pharmacists as a key part

of our immunization campaign.

I note that our strategy in B.C., and this is why we were first to

complete long-term-care homes, is to focus on the most vulnerable: to

ensure that rural and remote communities are supported, that all 205

First Nations communities had full clinics, that we could deliver

180,000 doses to the clinically vulnerable.

I think the strategy has been exceptionally delivered. And I want

to be clear. It hasn’t been delivered by me; it’s been delivered by

doctors and nurses and pharmacists and volunteers in every community in

B.C. I am so proud of this effort.

You cannot, I don’t think, do significantly better than we’ve done

in delivering the vaccine we’ve had. You can’t do much better than 98

percent, and we would finish and go to 100 percent today if we didn’t

receive more Pfizer vaccine. So the performance has been exceptional.

Pharmacists are playing a key role. They’re going to continue to play a

key role.

I think all members of the House would agree that we need to

continue, as we receive more vaccine in May and June, to focus on those

most vulnerable and protecting British Columbians, and we intend to do

just that.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Kelowna-Mission on a supplemental.

R. Merrifield: Again, with all due respect to the minister, this is not about

expiring AstraZeneca. This is about the United States and most other

provinces that have been using pharmacies for Pfizer and Moderna

vaccinations. B.C. pharmacies should be fully activated, but under this

government, they’re not.

This is what pharmacist Jason Cridge has to say: “The vaccine

distribution so far has been very patchy and very uneven…. There’s no

real rhyme or reason as to why that’s happened.”

To the Premier, he had a year, a full year, to plan. Why is there

not a detailed plan to better use pharmacies?

Hon. A. Dix: We presented our detailed immunization plan first in December,

then in January, and we have delivered on that plan.

We focused first on our elders, of course, and people in long-term

care and assisted living, and we delivered. We focused on those

clinically vulnerable, and we delivered. We focused with our partners in

the First Nations Health Authority, and we delivered. When I say “we,” I

mean all of us delivered in an extraordinary way.

With respect to AstraZeneca, when it arrived…. It arrived, as the

member will know, at the end of March in about 188,000 doses that came,

in that case, from the United States. We employed our pharmacy network

to help deliver that, and I am proud of their work and congratulate them

for the work.

The only thing that is inconsistent about the vaccine delivery has

been the arrival of vaccines in B.C., but we have delivered it when it

has arrived, and I’m very proud of that.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Minister. Just wait, please.

Members, come to order. When the minister is answering virtually,

he can’t hear you, so there’s no point in going back and

forth.

COVID-19 RESPONSE AND

USE OF RAPID

TESTING

S. Furstenau: We often compare our pandemic responses to other countries and

other provinces. Indeed, it seems there’s a lot to learn both from the

failures and successes of other provinces and countries. Here in Canada,

we have the maritime provinces, which have been very aggressive in their

response to COVID-19. With a recent uptick in cases, let’s consider the

steps they’re currently taking.

On Monday, with a population of less than a million and a total

active case count of 323, Nova Scotia processed 11,335 COVID tests and

reported 66 positive cases. Rapid tests are available to anyone in Nova

Scotia over the age of 16, whether they are exhibiting symptoms or

not.

[10:35 a.m.]

All schools in the Halifax regional centre and some surrounding

communities are closed, and the people of Nova Scotia have been told to

stay in their own communities. The positivity rate in Nova Scotia right

now is 0.6 percent. The positivity rate in B.C. is 9.3

percent.

My question is to the Minister of Health.

Interjection.

S. Furstenau: Interesting. I’m being heckled on this, hon. Speaker.

It appears from the actions that Nova Scotia is taking that it

remains committed to keeping COVID-19 cases as close to zero as

possible. What is our goal in B.C.?

Hon. A. Dix: Thanks to the member for her question.

Our goal, first of all, is to reduce transmission as much as we

can and protect the most vulnerable. That’s been exhibited in our

strategy around vaccination, in our strategy since the beginning of the

pandemic — one that, I think, is broadly supported across British

Columbia. Our goal is to ensure that our health care facilities are not

overwhelmed by the real challenges faced with current case counts of

COVID-19.

Our goal is to ensure that people in communities, people with

other health care issues — because I remind the member, and everyone

else, that there are approximately 7,900 people in hospital with other

conditions than COVID-19 — people with health and mental health issues,

get the supports they need. Our goal is to ensure that the impact of the

pandemic on those most vulnerable is restrained.

Our goal is to make sure that other social conditions, such as

keeping schools open, are maintained.

We had a discussion with the member’s colleague yesterday with

respect to rapid testing. Our goal is that on the decisions such as

rapid testing, we are focusing right now on the 2.5 million PCR tests

we’ve done in British Columbia. Our goal is to support public health

experts like Dr. Henry as they do their job and not give them

instructions that would divert resources from where they’re most

needed.

Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Third Party on a supplemental.

S. Furstenau: The minister says that, at the top, the goal is to reduce

transmission. My question, really, is around the role that he sees

testing playing in reducing transmission.

Let’s compare Nova Scotia’s response to our own. On Monday, April

26, British Columbia had a total active case count of 8,199. We

processed 8,236 PCR tests, and we reported 763 positive cases. We have

more than five times the population of Nova Scotia and 20 times the

number of active cases, yet we processed 3,000 fewer case tests over the

equivalent period.

B.C. has 2.7 million rapid tests available but currently only for

approved work sites. We have used less than 1 percent of those tests.

Yesterday when the minister gave no clarity for when and how those tests

will be used…. We are coming back and asking again.

Jurisdictions that have pursued elimination strategies, compared

to balanced mitigation, have experienced less economic decline,

supported higher rates of mobility, experienced less uncertainty and

enjoyed far more flexibility in dealing with the pandemic over

time.

My question is to the Minister of Health. Will he commit to

rapidly distributing the 2.7 million rapid tests in our stockpile to

schools and workplaces, and will he indicate how his government is

moving to further implement home-based rapid testing in B.C.?

Hon. A. Dix: The member will know — and I know she knows this fact — that the

home-based rapid testing has not been approved in Canada yet. It has

been used in the United Kingdom, and there’s a significant debate about

the effectiveness of that. In addition, in other jurisdictions where

politicians have intervened to force more asymptomatic testing, the

results have not been positive for those jurisdictions in terms of the

application of resources.

Our priority is to support British Columbians through this very

difficult process, to work with them to reduce transmission in

community, to use immunization on our most vulnerable groups, to reduce

the worst effects of COVID-19 and to work in our hospital system to

ensure that not just those with COVID but everyone receives the care

they need and deserve.

I think that this approach is broadly supported in British

Columbia. It’s led and the advice is given on questions that are

important questions of transmission, such as testing, by public health

leaders.

[10:40 a.m.]

I don’t think we want to be in a jurisdiction where politicians

overturn that — order, instruct and tell public health experts in issues

such as transmission how and when they should use tests. The member

knows we laid out our strategy for rapid testing in detail to her and

everyone else in B.C. on March 4. We’re going to continue to follow that

strategy, which uses rapid tests, yes, but uses the gold standard PCR

test first.

COVID-19 RESPONSE AND

PAID SICK

LEAVE

T. Stone: The Premier’s budget broke a lot of his promises, but perhaps one

of the most significant broken promises was the one relating to

providing a provincially funded sick pay program during the pandemic.

Last year, the Premier said: “We’re prepared to go it alone if need be….

We do have alternative plans in place.”

One year later, nobody has seen any plan from the Premier to fund

sick pay. It wasn’t in the budget.

My question to the Premier is this. What was the plan that the

Premier had prepared to go a year ago, and why did he break his promise

to deliver sick pay during the pandemic?

Hon. S. Robinson: I want to thank the member for his question. We certainly have

taken a position about how important it is for people to stay at home

when they’re sick and that for some here in British Columbia, it is

difficult to do without a standard sick pay. The Premier has engaged,

and I have engaged, as well, with my counterpart federally to talk about

how important it is to have a national program.

This is a national issue, and a national program is the right way

to deliver this program. As part of those conversations, the federal

government was interested in that program. They delivered their budget

the day before we delivered ours, fully expecting that there would be an

element of sick pay in their budget.

Just like the members opposite, I was disappointed that that

wasn’t the case. Right now, there’s certainly conversation happening on

this side of the House about how to proceed with next steps on a sick

pay opportunity.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Kamloops–South Thompson on a

supplemental.

T. Stone: That would be fine, except that the Premier said that he had a

plan to go. He said he had a plan B. He had an alternative plan that was

ready to go if the federal government didn’t step up and implement a

national program. It’s been a year since the Premier made that

commitment.

Here’s what his Labour Minister had to say: “As the Premier has

said, if the feds fail to work with us, I think we as British Columbia

will find our own ways. The Premier made it very clear. We don’t feel

that the businesses should be burdened with the extra cost.” That’s the

Labour Minister.

It’s one year later, and there’s no plan from the Premier to fund

sick pay. He couldn’t even be bothered to put it in his

budget.

Again to the Premier, is that still the plan, or is the Premier

content to break his promise to deliver sick pay during the

pandemic?

Hon. S. Robinson: As I said in my earlier response, we were quite disappointed that

the federal government made no mention of it in their budget, which was

released the day before our budget. We were disappointed. We’ve

certainly expressed disappointment with the federal

government.

As a result of that, we are working together on this side of the

House, as a cabinet and as a government, to address what I think,

frankly, has been a missed opportunity for Canadians by the federal

government. We’re prepared to continue to do the work, so that we can

continue to take care of British Columbians.

CHILD CARE PLAN

K. Kirkpatrick: The Premier isn’t just banking on the federal government to bail

out sick pay promises. It was also part of his failed plan for universal

$10-a-day daycare. The Premier promised a $250 million increase in child

care spending this year, but only delivered $53 million in this budget.

That is a quarter of what was promised, and still no $10-a-day daycare.

Even this government’s own data shows that it will not meet the targets

they set out four years ago. It’s not even in the service plan any

more.

The question is to the Premier. Are you waiting for a federal

bailout instead of keeping the universal $10-a-day child care

promise?

[10:45 a.m.]

Hon. S. Robinson: Well, Budget ’21 certainly builds on the groundbreaking work that

this side has been doing on child care. Our budget more than doubles the

number of $10-a-day prototypes, not something that the people on the

other side ever even considered. That was not even in their realm of

possibility. Well, we’re doubling what currently exists here in British

Columbia, and that means 4,000 more affordable spaces for families right

across British Columbia.

I know that the member probably has another question, and I will

save the rest of this fabulous answer for all of the things that we’re

doing to make child care accessible for families here in British

Columbia.

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker: Let me recognize you, Member, first.

Okay, Member. Proceed.

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear, and I apologize.

I also believe I did not hear exactly what the minister said. I

believe it was that this government has created 4,000 new child care

spaces since 2017, which is true, according to what we’ve looked at,

which is about 16,000 less than was promised. But these broken promises

— they matter to the families that are struggling through this

pandemic.

Paul Kershaw of Generation Squeeze: “Thousands and thousands of

families during this pandemic are going to be struggling with child care

costs that are equivalent to another rent, or mortgage-sized payment, on

top of already higher housing costs.” Instead of delivering universal

$10-a-day daycare, this Premier is choosing to let families

struggle.

Will the Premier dip into his $1 billion contingency fund to

deliver universal $10-a-day daycare?

Hon. S. Robinson: Well, I’d be happy to share with the member that over 36,000

families now receive child care for $10 a day or less. There’s more on

the way, and I have to say that now that the federal government is

finally at the table, we’ll be able to do it much faster.

RICHMOND HOSPITAL

ACUTE CARE TOWER

PROJECT

T. Wat: The Premier has a habit of promising something, re-promising it

and then breaking that promise. The Premier has told my Richmond

constituents twice, not once, since 2017 that the NDP would build a new

acute tower at the Richmond Hospital. Yet this budget shows the project

is still not approved, and there’s no money or timetable to advance

it.

The MLA for Richmond-Steveston promised “shovels in the ground in

2021.”

Can the Premier tell us why the Richmond Hospital tower was a

priority before his snap election but not after it?

Hon. A. Dix: Well, unfortunately, the Richmond Hospital was not a priority

prior to 2017. However, it has become a major priority of the

government. A concept plan was approved. That concept plan was upgraded,

and the project was expanded, and we’re proceeding to build the Richmond

Hospital.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Richmond North Centre on a supplemental.

T. Wat: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the minister is lacking a

concrete response to my question.

The pandemic has shown yet again how important the hospital is to

my community, despite the fact it’s overcrowded and does not meet

current building codes. The Premier promised, in July, to be back in the

fall to advance the project. But he decided on an election

instead.

The project is over six months behind. It’s still not approved.

There’s no money, and our community is concerned. The NDP MLAs in

Richmond have been sitting silently on the sidelines, refusing to stand

up for patients.

[10:50 a.m.]

Why is the Premier stalling on keeping his promise to the people

of Richmond for a new hospital tower?

Hon. A. Dix: It will be more than a hospital tower. It’s a significant project.

It’s a high priority in Vancouver Coastal Health’s capital plan. It’s

been approved at concept plan stage. The member, as a former member of

the executive council, ought to know that that means there is money

attached to the project and a lot of it — a lot more than was originally

in place when we first approved the concept plan in 2018. This will be

an extraordinary project. We are building the hospital for the coming

decades in Richmond.

We’ve made it a priority when it had never been a priority before.

The member talks about months of delay. There were years of delay.

That’s why the Richmond MLAs, who are advocates for this project,

including the member, are going to be delighted as we move forward on

this project in the coming years, because it is needed in Richmond, just

as the new urgent and primary care centre is needed in Richmond — which

we just opened — just like increasing the support for seniors in

Richmond was needed, and we delivered on that too.

We’re going to continue to support the health care interests of

the people of Richmond.

NEW SCHOOLS IN VANCOUVER AREA

J. Tegart: The Premier seems to have his bungling act down pat — roll into

town, make a big promise, make it again and then just forget about

it.

Latest example — no new funding for a new Burke Mountain school,

and that threatens the project’s future. Trustees wrote: “An aspect of

the urgency in securing funding is that a promised school opening date

of September 2023 is now unattainable.”

Also, in Vancouver–False Creek, the Premier promised a new school

for Olympic Village. Any guesses as to whether they got it? They did

not.

My question is to the Premier. How many more schools are you going

to promise and not deliver on?

Hon. S. Robinson: Well, I find it absolutely fascinating to hear from the members

across the way, to talk about schools. Suddenly — they’re suddenly

interested in building schools. I have to say….

Interjection.

Hon. S. Robinson: The member wants to talk about portables? I’m happy to talk about

portables. Because in Surrey, this is the first year where they don’t

need to buy a portable. You know why? You know why Surrey doesn’t have

to buy a portable? Because we’ve been building schools in

Surrey.

We are making up for lost time, because the members opposite

continued to ignore the needs of our children. They continued to ignore

the fact that they needed schools, so we’ve been working, trying to make

up for lost time. We’re going to keep doing just that.

CANCER TREATMENT SERVICES

KAMLOOPS

P. Milobar: It’s unfortunate the Finance Minister decided to ignore a question

about Burke Mountain, which is, last I checked, I believe in her riding.

But it’s not just these education promises that we’ve seen the Premier

walk back on and break his promise on.

In Kamloops, the Premier made it very clear during the election,

came to town a day after the member for Kamloops–South Thompson and

myself announced enhanced cancer care for Kamloops, and said that would

happen in Kamloops as well. Then he came back a week later and doubled

down on that promise, and actually said it would happen in four

years.

The last time the NDP were in Kamloops, promising cancer care, was

1991, I believe. I believe it was then Premier Harcourt. Next thing you

know — election’s over, cancer centre’s in Kelowna, not

Kamloops.

Now, as the machines age out of useful life, they need to be

replaced in Kelowna. Fully two of the five get used by residents of

Kamloops. The Premier knows this. The Premier committed to four years.

Yet the Health Minister, as recently as this week, has been on Radio NL

saying ten years.

To the Premier, is the Premier going to fulfil his commitment —

made in an election, very clearly on a very specified trip strictly to

talk about a four-year cancer plan to Kamloops — and deliver a proper

cancer centre in Kamloops in four years, or is it going to be ten years,

or probably even longer, if the NDP track record is any

indication?

[10:55 a.m.]

Hon. A. Dix: We believe that cancer care is an important priority everywhere in

B.C. That’s why we’ve expanded access to care, to treatment, to testing

in all regions of British Columbia. I think it’s a real achievement of

this government, but I say, importantly, of everyone involved in cancer

care in our province.

In the election campaign, we presented a ten-year cancer plan to

address what’s clearly going to be a growing problem. We have improved

outcomes, which is tremendous. We have enhanced life expectancy over 65,

which means more age-related cancer. We need to plan and prepare and

provide the resources now, and that includes providing more cancer care

in regional centres such as Kamloops — something that, by the way,

wasn’t done in the years prior to 2017, the way that it needed to be

done.

We’ve continued, of course, to focus on delivering — these

projects take time — on the Royal Inland Hospital project in Kamloops.

We’re delivering on our ten-year cancer plan, as the budget shows, and

as we intend to do, because we believe that care closer to home in

communities such as Kamloops — but also other communities, such as

Nanaimo — is important to provide the care necessary for British

Columbians.

Cancer care is fundamental. You need an organized plan to address

the situation that’s in front of us. Kamloops is an important part of

that. I’m proud to talk about the care we’re going to be delivering in

Kamloops and the priority we’re giving to cancer care in that community.

I hope all members, especially those in Kamloops, would join in that

support.

[End of question period.]

Tabling Documents

Mr. Speaker: I have the honour to table a report of the Auditor General intituled

Avalanche Safety on Provincial Highways . I also have the honour

to table a report pursuant to the COVID-19 Related Measures Act.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Farnworth: I call continued debate on the budget.

Budget Debate

(continued)

Mr. Speaker: The member for West Vancouver–Capilano will continue.

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to continue the

debate.

I’m going to go back just a moment over some of what I was speaking

about yesterday. The $10-a-day daycare promise has not been seen in the

budget. It’s causing confusion for families, and it’s causing confusion for

daycare providers.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

It’s worth noting that the majority of privately owned daycares are

owned and operated by women. They employ a majority of women. They built

these small businesses on a desire to provide loving and caring support to

young people and to provide for their own families. The child care they

provide supports women in the workforce and the move towards wage parity and

equitable career progression. So poor daycare policy hurts women, and we are

seeing poor daycare policy.

I was speaking to a daycare provider over the last couple of weeks,

who has just told me that he will be laying off 20 staff, who he had made

offers to, in a brand-new daycare, providing 200 spaces, because with the

wage cap that came in on April 1, he cannot afford to open, and he cannot

afford to pay those staff. He has already, in the past few weeks, notified

the parents that those spaces that they believed would be available are not

available.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention something related to this

budget, but related to the ability for this government to do long-term

planning. It’s something that not only creates delays in fee approvals and

grants for daycares, but also something that impacts non-profit

organizations and other service providers to government.

The trend we’ve seen with this government is a move to single-year

contracts, away from multi-year contracts and funding contracts with service

providers. This is for daycares. This is for non-profits, social service

agencies, health care organizations. What the result is, is continued

uncertainty for these organizations and their staff and difficulty in them

being able to do any kind of long-term planning.

It was heightened this year

with a budget that was two months late. These organizations had expired

contracts with government and did not know if they were going to be able to

continue on, because their funding was on a year-to-year basis, and this

budget did not come through in time to allow them to know if they could

continue to count on that funding.

[11:00 a.m.]

There are long delays in approvals for program changes and fee

increases, as I’ve heard from daycares, which makes it, again, difficult for

them to do their planning, difficult for them to know if they’re going to be

able to give salary increases. In moving to these one-year contracts, it has

increased, in a dramatic way, the amount of paperwork that is required both

by the service provider but also by government.

In order to be able to rather than every three years enter into

negotiations with these contracted services, they’re doing it on an annual

basis. The contractor feels that by the time they get the first contract

negotiated, it’s already time to start to negotiate the next

contract.

Again, this really, to me, demonstrates a lack of long-term planning.

So I would hope this government will consider moving back to multi-year

contracts to give some clarity and support to these non-profits and small

organizations that are providing services to this province, but more

importantly, providing services to British Columbians who desperately need

them. It would also allow government to be more efficient and direct more

resources to service enhancement. With the current deficit and with the

challenges that we are facing as we move out of that deficit in however many

years that takes, the more efficient the government can be in providing

services, the better it will be for all British Columbians.

I note, also, a reference in the budget that the sector’s intention….

And this is a fine intention, but the intention is to move daycare out of

the Ministry of Children and Family Development and move it into the

Ministry of Education. Now, this is a very tight time frame that the

government has given in the budget. They’re saying that by 2023, that is

going to happen, yet I have not spoken to any school trustees or any daycare

providers that have been consulted on this or that understand what the plan

is. So 18 months from now…. Nobody that’s involved in this seems to know

what the plan is.

I’m also wondering if this means that the Ministry of Education…. Is

it going to have an oversight role in the delivery of daycare, as MCFD and

Health do right now? Or is the expectation that child care is going to

actually be embedded within the education system and will be funded and

operated by the Ministry of Education? The ’21-22 Ministry of Children and

Family Development service plan commits to developing a strategy for the

“delivery of child care into the Ministry of Education.”

In this budget, there is yet another pilot project in daycare

announced. It’s called the seamless day model, and it’s another pilot. So we

have the pilot which is the $10-a-day daycare. We have all these changes

being made to the child care fee reduction initiative and the fee caps. Now

we have another pilot project called the seamless day model. If I was to

look at all of this layering on in different programs, one might think that

this government doesn’t have a focus or an overriding strategy in how to

deliver efficient daycare in the province of British Columbia.

There was a report on the seamless day model prepared by CUPE last

summer. I’ll just read from it. You know, I agree: ECE workers need more

security. They need higher salaries. They need more support from government,

from the private sector as well, from daycare operators who I know

desperately want to be able to pay more and support their staff, but because

of ministry policies under CCFRI, do not have the ability to do

that.

But what this report says — again, prepared by CUPE — is “moving child

care and ECE into the public education system will also more broadly address

recruitment and retention issues within the ECE sector, as ECE positions in

the public sector have fewer recruitment and retention issues, and unionized

programs experience less turnover.”

[11:05 a.m.]

I’ll go back to what I just asked a moment ago. Is the intention for

this government, in 18 months, to move child care into Education, truly into

Education, to be operated through daycares which are staffed by the public

sector?

From the reference to this program in this budget, I must say that the

child care sector is concerned. It is unclear as to what is happening. This

government likes to make an announcement about a policy and then try and

build the policy underneath the announcement. It’s very unclear, and it is

causing additional stress to these hard-working people providing child care

today. They don’t know what they should be doing on a long-term

basis.

Should they be opening new spaces? Well, they can’t do that anyway.

They can’t afford to do it under the CCFRI. Should they be hiring more

staff? How is an organization, whether they’re non-profit or profit,

supposed to do any kind of operational planning when they don’t know where

the funding is going to be and they don’t know if they’re even going to have

a business or an organization to operate?

On behalf of all of those child care providers putting their hearts

and souls into caring for our children, I certainly would urge this

government to ensure that they are part of any planning or discussion on any

change that is going to be made here.

I was just reading some research that came out of Ontario, as they’re

looking at implementing universal daycare as well. It shows very clearly

that a market approach to regulated daycare provides a diversity of working

experiences and opportunities for ECE workers and diverse experiences for

children and their families, and it provides parents with a

choice.

The Representative for Children and Youth made what she referred to as

urgent recommendations related to supports for children and youth with

special needs. So in last year’s service plan, a commitment was made to

develop and to implement a children and youth with special needs

framework.

Now, this was to be delivered by government this past fall. Again,

it’s been something that the representative has been looking for, for quite

some time, not just this last year. It’s been requested and recommended

previously. It has not been delivered, and certainly, nothing has been

implemented.

The pandemic has shown us just how vulnerable these families are and

how much more support they need from government — without a pandemic. For

example, families with children with autism experienced a complete

derailment of the services that they could access in this last

year.

Young people with autism require development work. They require speech

therapy. They require to be taken out into the community and learn how to

use buses and go to day camps and learn to socialize. It’s so, so very

important for these young people to have those external opportunities to

develop their social skills and their coping skills.

All of these services were cut off last year during the lockdown.

There was no summer camp. There were no day camps. Many of them couldn’t go

to school because they have underlying health conditions and

concerns.

What happened is that these parents, who already are under so much

pressure and have, also, very often had financial challenges because of the

needs that have impacted their life in staying home and caring for this very

loved child that they have…. Many had to take time off of work and lost

income. They had to incur other expenses.

The autism funding that they’re allowed, on an annual basis, of $6,000

is so narrowly defined in terms of what they’re able to use these funds for

that it was not allowed to be used for anything outside of day camps and

speech therapy and all of these things that were not being provided to them,

including respite for parents. I can’t even imagine how tired these parents

must be.

Parents had asked that this $6,000 actually be allowed to be rolled

over into the next year, particularly to recognize that there were some

additional expenses, such as taking time off work, but also to recognize

that in this coming year, those young people are going to require a higher

level of services because they’ve lost that year of development opportunity.

They’ve lost that year of therapy. They’ve lost that year of social

interaction and learning. They were told by MCFD, after it was asked of

them, that that would not be possible, and that money disappeared at the end

of March. It’s very unfortunate.

[11:10 a.m.]

For many years, the representative has also been asking for supports

for young people with FASD. Another report just came out last week asking

for the same support, yet it does not appear in this budget. These young

people often have the same or similar needs as a young person with autism,

but as soon as they have an FASD diagnosis, CYSN actually cuts them off from

these services. We’re hoping that this new CYSN framework, which is still to

be released, is going to address many of the funding gaps that children and

youth with special needs have. Also, it is going to address the lack of

funding and support for families with children with FASD.

With a budget of $2.4 billion, I was surprised, I guess is the word,

when I looked at MCFD, the Ministry of Children and Family’s service plan,

and it was 15 pages long — a $2.4 billion budget, 15 pages long, 12-point

font at least, and some charts. There were six performance

measurements.

Now, we know MCFD has much greater responsibility than six programs

and six priority areas, but there were only six performance measures. I was

extremely surprised because this service plan…. I looked at the budget, and

we’re trying to figure out what the numbers are in the budget. So you look

at the service plan, and the service plan really should be the document that

sets out the strategy. What are the programs? What are the supports? What

are the outcomes that we’re trying to provide? How is this money going to be

used? But, instead, there wasn’t much there.

I’ve heard this government talk about reducing the number of children

in care as a key objective, but that’s a quantitative number, not a

qualitative one. There were no qualitative measures in this service

plan.

I see that I am running out of time here, so I will just say a couple

other things. I didn’t see additional support for those 17,000 non-union

social services workers who have been left behind in the low-wage redress

meant to move the sector closer to the health care sector. Those 17,000

employees are in a worse place than they were before. I don’t see the money

that was supposedly set aside last year for recruitment and retention for

that group.

This, to me, looks like another type of community benefits agreement,

where this government is using a funding policy to force groups of employers

to unionize, even if their employees have no need or interest in

unionization. It’s the gradual unionization of the social services

sector.

Hon. J. Whiteside: I can’t tell you how honoured I am to stand before you today,

virtually, in strong support of our government’s budget both as the MLA for

New Westminster and as B.C.’s Minister of Education.

Our government’s budget focuses on people and businesses across B.C.

who are working hard to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and get life back on

track. B.C. is providing more supports per capita for people and businesses

than any other province. Our government’s budget continues to directly

support people and businesses by continuing to fund the B.C. recovery

benefit and a range of measures to help businesses adapt and prepare to

seize the opportunities that recovery will offer.

Our government’s budget makes the largest investment in B.C.’s history

in mental health and addictions services, including more supports in schools

and expanding our response to the overdose crisis. An exciting investment

for students across B.C. — free public transportation for children 12 and

under. Now that will save families up to $672 a year per child and give the

next generation of transit riders a head start on the many health and

wellness benefits that active transportation brings.

[11:15 a.m.]

Our government’s budget doubles the number of $10-a-day child care

spaces, continues to build and expand centres to create more spaces and

provides 400 more culturally relevant child care spaces for Indigenous

families. And it doubles the wage enhancement for early childhood educators,

the workforce behind the workforce. I’d go further and say that I think our

plan really does recognize the diversity of B.C. families and the different

needs that they have in different settings and sectors.

In Budget 2021, we will also see record infrastructure investments,

creating 85,000 jobs over three years, building schools, building hospitals,

roads and more right across the province.

Ultimately, our government’s budget is about helping people now and

creating the conditions for a strong economic recovery. In short, it’s all

about people. It’s about supporting people across the province.

In my constituency of New Westminster, we also see the importance of

these investments in access to health care and education and in affordable

child care. I just wanted to highlight a couple of the projects that I think

are particularly important. Royal Columbian Hospital, the oldest hospital in

our province, has just started construction, just broke ground, on phase 2,

which is a 348-bed acute care tower. It’s going to expand our acute care

space, expand our emergency room space, and it is a lead-up to phase 3,

where there will be a further expansion of in-patient capacity.

I want to say that Royal Columbian Hospital is such an important part

of the fabric of our community in British Columbia. It dates back to 1862.

It has a long and storied history as B.C.’s oldest hospital, yet it has now

become an important tertiary care centre for the province and, in fact,

serves one in three people in British Columbia, providing very important

services. So we see how the investment that our government is making in

people rolls out in communities right across the province.

In our government’s budget, of course, there’s so much good news for

K-to-12 students, families, staff and communities. While we talk about

education as a sector, education is really all about people. Schools are

safe havens for many children, where students can access food and mental

health supports, where they grow and learn and thrive. Our schools must be

places that are welcoming and inclusive for all students. Schools are places

where inequities must be addressed, where lessons can change lives, where

teachers and mentors help shape lives and build confidence.

I do want to give a big shout-out to all of the staff, to the teachers

and education assistants, to clerical workers and administrators, to

custodians and maintenance teams and bus drivers — all those who teach and

support our children, who take care of our schools, who lead and keep our

schools running smoothly and who safely transport our kids. I’d like to

recognize, as well, all of the trustees and advocates who spend their own

time advocating for education. We all owe you a debt of thanks for

supporting schools and children and education throughout the

pandemic.

I am proud of all of the work our government is doing, making

phenomenal progress at building new schools, making schools safer with

seismic upgrades, expanding mental health supports for students and staff,

increasing affordable child care and introducing new anti-racism initiatives

as we all work together to end systemic racism.

These important investments are moving forward despite the COVID-19

pandemic, which has altered this school year in ways we really couldn’t have

imagined just over a year ago. We know the sacrifices everyone is making

this year will have long-term positive impacts for students on their

learning because we were able to keep schools open and safe — and just as

important, on their mental health and wellness. In a year of so much

uncertainty, I know that for many students and families, school was one of

their only constants, their only sense of normalcy. I am very, very grateful

and proud of the work everyone has done across our education system to

mitigate the impact of COVID on our children.

[11:20 a.m.]

In addition to historic high investments in school operating and

capital funding, as reflected in our government’s budget, we have also

supplied schools and districts with significant one-time funding to keep

schools open and safe this school year. A total of $288 million continues to

support school safety plans through the pandemic. All school districts are

using their COVID restart funding to hire additional staff, to make

improvements to ventilation, to support remote learning and to increase

cleaning protocols. We have several examples of these investments that

aren’t just short term. They’re investments, in fact, that will benefit

schools and the education system for many years to come.

We will continue to work with public health officials as they review

what health and safety measures will be necessary in September. While we

expect that students will be learning in more normal conditions in the fall,

as a result of the government’s vaccine rollout, we will follow the advice

of our public health officials and provide resources to school districts as

needed. As we continue to support school communities, Budget 2021 ensures

our education system will have the highest-ever school operating and capital

funding.

K-to-12 education is receiving record levels of funding in this

budget, with a 6 percent increase over last year which represents a 25

percent increase since 2016. Many of you know…. I mean, we know that

education is all about people, but actually, 90 percent of the costs in

education are directly about people. They’re our teachers, our education

assistants, support staff and administrators. This budget, I am proud to

say, fully funds negotiated labour costs for teachers and support staff with

an investment of $662 million in funding.

Our government is also providing school districts with an additional

$424 million to recognize enrolment growth. I am excited to tell you that

our government’s budget includes funding boosts to improve access to virtual

mental health programs and services in schools, to expand early learning and

on-site school child care opportunities and for us to develop a framework to

address racism and reconciliation.

Throughout this pandemic, we have worked closely with our partners

across the K-to-12 education system to do everything possible to maintain

safe schools for students and staff. I’m deeply grateful for the collective

effort of students, educators, school staff and parents who showed their

trust in our work by sending the vast majority of their children to school

each day to learn in classrooms.

We know, for many reasons, that kids learn best in the classroom with

their peers and with the professional guidance of teachers, where they have

access to the additional important supports such as meal programs, mental

health supports and access to technology, and where they have a chance to be

with their friends and be kids. As we continue our vaccine rollout in

communities throughout B.C., our government’s budget offers record-high

investments in school operating and capital funding at a time when students

and staff are looking to us for steady leadership and increasing financial

stability.

Let’s just look at the numbers. Our government’s budget invests $21.5

billion over three years to deliver B.C.’s K-to-12 education. Compared to

Budget 2017, our government is investing nearly $3.4 billion more in the

delivery of education in B.C. with this budget.

Our government’s budget includes more than $1.2 billion in additional

operating funds in B.C. schools over the next three years. It includes

and French language learners and Indigenous learners in our schools also

will receive additional funding.

[11:25 a.m.]

In 2021, we’re investing $437 million more annually to deliver K-to-12

education in B.C., for a total of $7.1 billion. That’s $1.4 billion or 25

percent more than the 2016-2017 budget. It’s a 6 percent increase over last

year. That is the largest year-over-year increase in recent history and

something that our government is justifiably very proud of.

Of course, while we plan for the future, we are very mindful of what

is happening in our schools now. We know that the pandemic is taking a toll

on the mental health of students and staff. We must be prepared to support

them. Our government’s budget adds $6 million to further support critical

student mental health initiatives in our schools. That’s on top of the

nearly $13.9 million investment, in partnership with the Ministry of Mental

Health and Addictions, to help build capacity in school districts and make

mental health and wellness front and centre for students, parents and

educators.

As part of our government’s broader work to build mental health

supports, $97 million in total to build a network of mental health supports

for youth that includes new Foundry centres that provide young people health

and wellness resources in their communities. This investment will also

support the creation of 15 new integrated child and youth teams in schools

around B.C. In addition, our mental health in schools strategy embeds mental

health and substance use programs and services for students throughout the

education system and expands on A Pathway to Hope , our government’s

strategy to transform mental health and substance use care for children and

young people.

Teachers and education staff have done a tremendous job of keeping

kids learning through the pandemic and have gone above and beyond this year

in keeping our schools safe. Navigating the ongoing pandemic is a challenge

for all British Columbians. We know that there have been impacts on people’s

mental health.

Our province also offers a range of supports that all education staff

can access to help with anxiety, stress and worry. This includes access to

free phone-based support with a counsellor through the B.C. COVID-19 Mental

Health Network. Or they can access free remote access to the BounceBack

program, which offers tools to support mental wellness. The 310-Mental

Health support number also offers free emotional support, information and

resources 24 hours a day. The mental health and wellness of everyone in our

school communities is supported by our government’s budget.

Turning now to speaking about the environments and the infrastructure

in which our children learn, we know that investment in infrastructure is

critically important to support students, staff and safety. We continue to

make historic investments in schools so that communities and families have

the new schools they need. They have upgraded schools so their children are

safe in the event of an earthquake and expanded schools in fast-growing

cities, towns and neighbourhoods.

We understand that modern learning environments will help prepare B.C.

students for the jobs of tomorrow in the dynamic classrooms of today. We are

continuing to make record investments in school facilities, with almost $3.1

billion in provincial funding budgeted over the next three years for new and

expanded schools, to seismically upgrade schools and for maintenance,

playgrounds and property purchases to invest in the future development of

our school system.

Again, if we just look at the numbers on this…. If we compare it to

Budget 2016, Budget 2021 invests nearly $1.6 billion additional dollars in

maintaining, improving and expanding B.C.’s school facilities.

[11:30 a.m.]

Building on investments announced in recent years, our budget includes

an additional $235 million over three years for accelerating seismic

upgrades, an additional $100 million for school site acquisitions in

fast-growing areas of our province and $177 million more for expansion

projects that address enrolment growth and reduce portable use.

In addition, our budget includes new funding to support facility

safety and improvements, including projects that address potential

COVID-19-related health and safety issues, including increases next year for

a number of capital programs; our annual facilities grant — that’s an

additional $5 million to address unanticipated and emergent facility-related

needs; an additional $6 million into our school enhancement program to

improve the safety, condition and functionality of existing schools; and an

additional $4 million into our building envelope program.

I wanted to take a minute to speak, particularly, about, perhaps, the

fastest-growing community in our province, and that is Surrey, where we have

been especially aggressive, because we believe that every child in B.C.

deserves the best possible learning environment. So we have approved nearly

$450 million in new schools, expansions, seismic upgrades and land purchases

for future schools in Surrey. These investments are helping nearly 9,600

students in Surrey move from portables into classrooms, as they did, between

2018 and 2025. Now, that’s the equivalent of almost 385

portables.

Listen, I know there is no question that we’re playing catch-up after

16 years of cuts and underfunding by the old government. But this past

September, for the first time in recent memory, Surrey did not have to

purchase new portables for students, and there is no plan to purchase

portables for this upcoming year. Our investments in Surrey are working, and

they will save the district millions in portable costs. This is the

difference here: we are moving three times faster on school projects in

Surrey than the old government.

Now, when it comes to sustainable investments, students are looking

for us to lead now and support their futures. Our investments will become

their legacy. We must be thoughtful in how we build and grow.

With CleanBC, we are reducing pollution by powering our future in

K-to-12 education by increasing the carbon neutral capital program by $11.6

million over the next three years, as well as investing $4 million extra to

support the acquisition of the purchase of electric buses under the bus

acquisition program.

I want to talk about another really, really important element of

education, because it’s not just all about books and book-learning. As you

know — we all know — school is so much more than books. It’s also a place

where children come to play and to learn through play. We know that play is

a critical component for student wellness, as well.

To relieve the burden of parents having to fundraise, our government’s

budget doubles the funding next year for safe, modern, accessible

playgrounds in this fiscal year. Now, we’ve already invested $15 million to

date through the playground equipment program so that more than 35,000

children will be able to enjoy new playgrounds at 141 schools throughout

B.C.

I can’t tell you, actually, how thrilled I am that we are continuing

this important investment for B.C. students and communities in our

government’s budget with an additional $20 million over the next three

years. I have seen the faces on children as they are playing in these fully

accessible playgrounds, and that is just a sight to behold.

[11:35 a.m.]

Of course, we know, as well, that there is nothing more important than

ensuring that every child is supported to reach their full potential. Our

government is committed to removing barriers that stand in their

way.

School districts will receive additional dollars for special needs

students in the upcoming year. An estimated $664.4 million in supplemental

funding is allocated in our government’s budget, an increase of $200

million, or 43 percent, since the 2016-2017 school year. We know that that

is welcome news for families whose children need learning

supports.

When it comes to Indigenous Peoples and our very serious and true and

lasting commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, of course I

want to note that, again, B.C. was the first province to pass legislation to

implement the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous

Peoples. In Education, that means that for the first time, the new K-to-12

curriculum ensures that Indigenous knowledge and perspectives are woven

across all grades and areas of learning. Eighteen Indigenous languages have

also been approved to be taught in B.C. schools, and more are in

development.

To support Indigenous learners in the 2021-22 school year, targeted

funding is estimated at $95.2 million — an increase of $25.5 million, or

over 36 percent, since the 2016-2017 school year. Of the one-time

COVID-related funds this past year, we’ve provided $8.2 million to the First

Nations Education Steering Committee for Indigenous students living on

reserve and attending public school. The COVID-specific funding supported

pandemic-related challenges in First Nations communities, such as addressing

learning loss and student health, technology for remote learning, education

and mental health support, as well as adapting classroom spaces, and

enhanced cleaning.

As part of our government’s commitment to support anti-racism and

reconciliation efforts, our government’s budget will include an additional

$1.3 million to continue our work to develop a framework to address racism

and reconciliation. This follows, and will allow us to continue, very

important work started last summer, when we hosted a community round table

on anti-racism and education.

We brought together community leaders from a wide range of groups to

provide input into the development of a multi-year K-to-12 anti-racism

action plan, and to review how we can strengthen our provincial curriculum

to include new teachings, perspectives and history. We plan to launch the

K-to-12 anti-racism action plan later this year. I’m looking very much

forward to working closely with B.C.’s first parliamentary secretary

responsible for anti-racism.

Finally, as we look to the future, bringing child care and education

together is such an important step to support government’s long-term plan to

create a universal, inclusive early care and learning system. That system

will better support children and families and inspire lifelong

learning.

Our ministry will be expanding the seamless day pilot from four

locations to 24, which will benefit families in accessing more child care on

school grounds and will integrate school-aged child care programs into

kindergarten and grade 1 classrooms. This is all about making life better

for families, easier for families and improving the services that we provide

to children.

These steps will support the work ahead, as the province continues to

engage with partners from the child care and education sector, including

Indigenous-led child care providers, to continue to build an inclusive early

learning, early care and learning system to move British Columbia even

further along the path to universal child care.

When I look at the sum of what we’ve put forward, and not just the

numbers, but the intent behind the numbers, I think what our government’s

budget says is that to British Columbians who are looking for what they can

expect as we move out of the pandemic and into the months ahead, we’re

answering the call for steady, supportive and compassionate leadership that

puts people first.

[11:40 a.m.]

Budget 2021, our government’s budget, is about helping people now and

creating the conditions for a strong economic recovery. It’s about making

our health care better, creating new opportunities for people and for

families. It’s about helping B.C. businesses hire and grow. It’s about

investing in infrastructure, including schools, to create jobs and to build

up our communities.

You know, I think about this every day. I think about how kids and

families are experiencing our education system. I think that what kids and

families want to know is that we care about them, that we have their backs.

I think the investments that we’re making in schools and education in this

budget show that.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to our government’s

2021-2022 budget. It is clear that the priorities of our government….

Putting people first. Building up our public services. Our green economy.

Our capacity for communities to be resilient and build on strong

foundations. There are many, many elements of this budget that support those

endeavours as we come out of what has been a life-altering experience in

terms of dealing with a global pandemic.

This budget, I know, is going to help every British Columbian. It’s

going to help our education system. It’s going to help us rebuild our

communities. Thank you very much, and I will end my comments

there.

G. Kyllo: I’m very proud to stand in the House today to respond to Budget 2021.

On behalf of my constituents of Shuswap, the hard-working men and women that

do so much work in the local community, I just want to get an opportunity to

thank all of them. This has been an extremely challenging year. I’m very

happy to stand in this House today and talk about Budget 2021 and where I

see that there are some failings and some missed opportunities for this

government.

Before I get into the meat of the budget, I would like to take an

opportunity just to give thanks to my beautiful wife, Georgina — my wife of

now 33 years — and our four amazing daughters and nine grandchildren, and

growing. I’m certainly hoping that the girls haven’t given up yet and there

may be some more yet to come. It’s certainly the bright spot of our

life.

I think as we all give consideration and thought to why we seek higher

office or public service, it’s largely about our kids and our grandkids.

It’s certainly not lost on me — the work of this House and the work of

government and even this budget and the implications that this will have on

future generations. Georgina, I love you very much and want to thank you

very much for all of your support in allowing me to do what I do.

Also, back in the Shuswap riding, my constituency office is very ably

managed by Holly Cowan and Bonnie. I just want to really thank them for all

the great work they do. The compassion that they share and show to

constituents in the Shuswap when I’m not there and the concern they have for

making sure that they try and find solutions for constituents is certainly

very much appreciated. The work they do in that office is a direct

reflection on me, so I really appreciate, Holly, both you and Bonnie for the

work you do on behalf of constituents around the Shuswap.

As we look to Budget 2021, we see a significant departure from what we

had seen previously, with a real desire and a drive, not just here in B.C.

but across Canada, to move towards balanced budgets, to spending only within

our means. I think we can all appreciate that COVID has presented

unprecedented challenges for society, so I think that we’re quite happy to

see that the projected budget deficit that was projected last year by this

government, at $13.5 billion, was much higher than what was actually

attained. The economy did not derail to the same degree, I think, as

government may have projected.

[11:45 a.m.]

We’ve also seen a significant increase in revenues, largely around the

housing sector. Despite the NDP’s promises around improving affordability,

largely around housing prices, we have seen the exact opposite. We’ve seen a

significant escalation in housing prices. Affordability is just that much

further from the sights of many first-time homebuyers in the province. But

it is a good sign.

If we look back to 2017, the first year that the NDP took office in

British Columbia, they inherited about a $2.7 billion surplus. The single

largest surplus, I think, ever delivered in the history of British Columbia

was $2.7 billion. If we look at that in the context of about a $69 billion

provincial budget, it’s a pretty significant surplus that was achieved in

The NDP maintained balanced budgets through until this last year. We

have now seen, and I think it’s well understood and accepted by British

Columbians and Canadians, that when we’re in tough times, that is the time

for government to dig deep and go into deficit spending in order to help the

economy and help British Columbians through very tumultuous times. But what

we’re seeing as we go forward is that rather than deficits for one or maybe

two years until we see the economy start to return, government has actually

announced and is forecasting deficit spending for the next nine years, a

significant amount of additional debt that will be on the backs of future

generations.

The current forecast for 2021 is a $9.7 billion deficit; in 2022

fiscal, a $5.5 billion deficit; a $4.3 billion deficit in 2023. As I

mentioned, the $13½ billion deficit that the government had projected for

this past fiscal was reduced and is now only $8.1 billion.

I think we also have to have a look at why, if we are ensuring and

giving consideration to a return to full economic recovery within the next

12 months, there is a need for consistent and continued borrowing, only

further saddling future generations with additional debt load. That’s

something that’s concerning to me. I think we’re seeing increased

conversation with British Columbians and Canadians, especially as we see a

record deficit being projected by the federal government. People are now, I

think, starting to turn their minds to when we will see a return to balanced

budgets across our province and across the country.

Now, as we look to Budget 2021, there was a significant number of

large promises that were made by the current government just ahead of the

snap election. Just to remind British Columbians, the fixed scheduled

election date was actually for October 16 of this current year, of 2021, but

government chose to put their political self-interests ahead of the health

and well-being of British Columbians, and despite record support of

additional COVID spending that was necessary to get through this last year.

There was a lot of cooperation and collaboration within this House.

Despite all of that, the NDP chose, as I mentioned, to put their political

self-interests ahead of the health and well-being of British Columbians and

to move forward with an unnecessary snap election in the middle of a global

pandemic.

The reason I speak to that is that a lot of folks were not paying

attention. There was, of course, a U.S. election south of the border. People

were not paying attention at home as much as they otherwise would have. We

also have to have a look at what the lost opportunities are and the impact

that snap election had on the ability of government to actually continue to

deliver the services and the supports that were needed during a pandemic.

Most importantly, it had to do with continued stalling and delays of many of

the different supports that both individuals across British Columbia and

businesses were looking for.

[11:50 a.m.]

As we know, last spring in March, there was unanimous support for a $5

billion COVID recovery spending initiative to provide those necessary

supports, both for businesses and for individuals, across the province. The

intention — and the understanding, I know, of both members of our opposition

caucus and of those of the Green Party — was that those funds were going to

be put to good use, that those funds were going to flow into the hands of

individuals and businesses to help them through the COVID

pandemic.

Unfortunately, what we saw, despite John Horgan appointing himself, so

self-appointing as the….

Deputy Speaker: If I might remind the member, the practice of the House is not to use

names. Thank you.

G. Kyllo: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My apologies.

What we saw is the Premier of the province self-appoint himself as the

chair of the COVID economic recovery restart program. Through that process,

we went through a period of five months of consultation with businesses and

individuals. Through that entire five-month period, money did not flow —

only to have the COVID restart funding initiative announced mere days before

calling a snap election.

Despite what the Premier had indicated and conveyed to British

Columbians — that the supports that businesses were looking for, those

necessary financial supports, that lifeline, would not be in any way

deterred or stalled because of the election — we know that that is exactly

the opposite from what happened.

The $5 billion funding that was established for COVID recovery…. The

business support program wasn’t announced until September. A short four days

later, we’re thrown into an unnecessary snap election, and no funds went out

the door. It wasn’t until into December that we finally saw some initial

applications even being taken, by government, for businesses that were

looking for that support. I believe that as recently as just last week, less

than a third of the initial business support funding has actually gone out

the door.

I think we can all appreciate that there is a need for government to

provide financial supports to individuals and businesses in the instance of

a global pandemic. There’s also a necessity to see those funds flow. The

fact that the funds were established and set aside is of no benefit to

British Columbians or businesses until those funds actually flow into the

hands of those hard-working business owners, providing them the opportunity

to put those dollars back into the economy to help with COVID recovery. It’s

a significant concern.

Now some of the highlights of the budget. Again, the role of the

official opposition largely is to provide criticism of government, to have a

look at the unintended consequences of government policy and to hold

government to account. I happen to be the critic for Labour. “Critic” —

unfortunately or, maybe, fortunately — is short for “criticism.” As we know,

government has government communications and public engagement. It’s a large

branch within the government that spends tens of millions of dollars a year

on talking about all the wondrous policies and initiatives of

government.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

It is largely put on the backs of opposition members to provide the

counter-narrative, to identify what areas of government spending may be

unwise or may not be being put to their best use. It is largely the work and

the responsibility of opposition members to highlight areas where there’s

either a missed opportunity or where government may be going on a path and

not being cognizant of the significant negative consequences of some of

these policies that are being brought forward.

It is not that we’re negative by nature. It is the job that we are to

undertake on behalf of British Columbians, largely to hold the government to

account. So a large portion of my comments this morning will be to speak and

to highlight areas where there’s either a failure of government to meet

previous commitments or other opportunities, where government is missing the

opportunity to provide those necessary supports to see British Columbians

get through this pandemic.

Noting the hour, Mr. Speaker, I reserve my right to continue and ask

for adjournment of debate.

G. Kyllo moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. S. Robinson moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

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