Fifth Session, 41st Parliament

(2020) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 316

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Personal Statements

Withdrawal of comments made in the House

J. Brar

Introductions by Members

Tributes

Joseph Lin

Hon. A. Kang

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill 8 — Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020

Hon. R. Fleming

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Pink Shirt Day and prevention of bullying

S. Chandra Herbert

D. Davies

Racism and Indigenous issues

J. Rice

Carol Waldie

S. Bond

Edmonds Urgent and Primary Care Centre

J. Routledge

Beef Bash event in Kamloops

T. Stone

Oral Questions

Foreign funding of organizations supporting protests

A. Wilkinson

Hon. M. Farnworth

E. Ross

Addiction issues and services in Cowichan area

S. Furstenau

Hon. J. Darcy

Foreign funding of organizations supporting protests

M. de Jong

Hon. M. Farnworth

S. Bond

Hon. D. Eby

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate

(continued)

D. Clovechok

Hon. M. Mungall

L. Throness

Hon. H. Bains

J. Tegart

R. Glumac

G. Kyllo

J. Rice

C. Oakes

Hon. J. Darcy

J. Rustad

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020

The House met at 1:35 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: Hon. C. Trevena.

Personal Statements

WITHDRAWAL OF COMMENTS

MADE IN THE HOUSE

J. Brar: Yesterday during the budget debate, I made a reference that was

inappropriate. I would like to sincerely apologize and withdraw those

remarks.

Introductions by Members

R. Chouhan: It gives me great pleasure to introduce the 16 members of BCGEU,

component 7. These members work in post-secondary education, regional

libraries, legal services, B.C. NDP caucus and constituency offices, the

family maintenance enforcement program and private labs, to name a

few.

The whole group is led by my very dear friend Amber Keane. She happens

to be my CA. She’s here with her members, and they’re here to learn about

what we do. They’re going to be watching us in question period. Please join

me in welcoming them.

B. D’Eith: Today I rise to introduce Brenda Bailey from DigiBC. DigiBC is the

Interactive and Digital Media Industry Association that represents over….

There are over 600 digital media companies in British Columbia that employ

over 16,000 people and generate over $2.3 billion of annual sales in British

Columbia.

We were very, very pleased today to meet with her and to see an

amazing reel of the incredible things that are happening in British Columbia

in digital media, animation and CGI and all the wonderful things. Would the

House please make her very welcome.

Hon. K. Chen: I’m really happy to welcome a good friend of mine, Marcel Marsolais,

who is visiting us today in the Legislature and also is joining us for

question period. He lives in my riding of Burnaby-Lougheed, but somehow he

volunteers a lot of his time for the member for Burnaby-Edmonds, the Deputy

Speaker — lucky for the Deputy Speaker.

I know that a lot of my colleagues in this House, including the member

for New Westminster, know Marcel, because he’s also the president for CUPE

409, representing support workers from the New Westminster school

district.

I want to thank Marcel for all the great work you do for our

communities in Burnaby and New Westminster, and I would like to ask the

House to make him feel very welcome.

Tributes

JOSEPH LIN

Hon. A. Kang: I rise today to share the legacy and the memory of Dr. Joseph Lin, my close friend and an active community member, who passed away on Tuesday, February 25, due to heart failure.

Dr. Joseph Lin was a retired pediatrician and a family doctor in Taiwan who also wore many other hats — an interpreter, organizer, writer, commentator and publisher on environment heritage and ecosystem.

[1:40 p.m.]

For all his contributions to environmentalism, Dr. Joseph Lin has received the federal

environment volunteer award, the Land Conservancy of B.C. conservation

award, the Vancouver Natural History Society’s Award for Natural

Education and Conservation, and the Vancouver park board volunteer

award, just to name a few.

Although Dr. Joseph Lin is no longer with us, his legacy in environmentalism and volunteerism will continue to inspire us. Here’s wishing his family, his friends and his community my most sincere condolences. We will miss him very dearly.

Introductions by Members

S. Furstenau: I am absolutely delighted to introduce Cammy and James Lockwood, who are in the gallery today with us. I first met Cammy and James in 2012 when I was visiting local farms throughout Cowichan as part of a project-based learning unit I was doing with my middle school students.

James generously gave us a tour of his farm and his chicken tractor — a small-scale,

movable chicken house with 399 hens. Since then, the Lockwoods have expanded

to 5,700 hens after winning the B.C. Egg Marketing Board new-entrant program

lottery in 2015. In March 2019, the Lockwoods were declared the B.C. and

Yukon Outstanding Young Farmers, in part due to their innovative approach to

feeding the hens with an insect-based diet.

Cammy and James have shown that doing what they love in a sustainable and community-oriented way brings a huge array of awards, and Cowichan is so lucky to have these incredible, trail-blazing farmers. Please make them feel most welcome.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

BILL 8 — EDUCATION STATUTES

AMENDMENT ACT, 2020

Hon. R. Fleming presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020.

Hon. R. Fleming: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time

now.

I am pleased to introduce Bill 8, the Education Statutes Amendment

Act, 2020, which contains a number of amendments to the School Act and

the Independent School Act.

These amendments are focused on four objectives: to clarify the

authority to issue provincial graduation certificates to students of

First Nations schools; to support the implementation of the British

Columbia Tripartite Education Agreement between the province, the

students in British Columbia; and to continue to move British Columbia’s

school system forward on the journey towards reconciliation.

Also, this bill will enable boards of education to offer before-

and after-school child care directly, rather than through a separate,

licensed provider, to support government’s broader child care initiative

and to promote affordability and the creation of tens of thousands of

new spaces within the school system around our province.

The bill also authorizes the issuance of personal education

numbers to children before they formally start school to support

evidence-based policy decisions and capacity for K-to-12 enrolment and

preparation. The change will reduce the onerous paperwork that parents

face, while providing seamless service — from child care and early

learning to the K-to-12 school system and to post-secondary education —

throughout B.C.

Fourthly, it supports the implementation of the ministry’s K-to-12

funding review project to enhance K-to-12 funding. This legislation will

ensure that school boards continue to provide services and supports

based on the unique needs and priorities of their communities, while

strengthening transparency, accountability and financial management. It

will pave the way for modernizing how we fund and deliver online

education to reflect the new curriculum and the way kids learn in school

today.

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

Motion approved.

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

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 8, Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020, 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.

[1:45 p.m.]

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

PINK SHIRT DAY AND

PREVENTION OF BULLYING

S. Chandra Herbert: For me, it was the colour purple. My grandmother had a sweatshirt. It was a lovely sweatshirt, bright purple with two ducks on it. It said, in neon pink: “Vancouver, B.C.” I told her I thought it was a pretty cool sweatshirt. Well, to my horror, she gave it to me.

I was in grade 5 or 6. I say “to my horror” because part of me wanted so desperately to

wear that shirt, but part of me knew that if I wore it to school, I

would be called “fag” or “girly boy” or any of the other number of names

that people used and still use today to try and keep people down, to

shame them for who they are.

That sweatshirt sat in a drawer for years. I would open the drawer to get my clothes, and

it would sit there staring at me, shaming me for not having the courage

to wear what my grandmother gave me but also reminding me of what I

wanted so desperately to wear, had the society and the world that I’d

been living in, in elemen­tary school been more welcoming and a

place where you could be all that you can be.

For me, it was purple. For a boy in Nova Scotia, it was pink. While I didn’t have somebody

stand up for me at the time, that boy did. Travis Price, David Shepherd

and, soon, an entire school came together to stand with him for the Day

of Pink — a moving day, where they united to say that diversity in all

its wonder is something we value, where they united to say no to

homophobia and toxic masculinity, the idea that pink was somehow

feminine and that a boy should not be allowed to enjoy pink because that

was somehow shameful.

They united to do that, and that sparked change across this entire country and continues

to this day. As noted earlier today in the Day of Pink celebrations here

in this Legislature, that day was 12 or 13 years ago. Now an entire

cohort of students has gone through the school system celebrating that

day, marking that change, thanks to the leadership of those students so

many years ago.

D. Davies: As most members of this Legislature have just returned from the pink T-shirt celebrations, I wish to provide a few remarks as well. Today is Pink Shirt Day, a day where people across our country and, indeed, around the world stand in solidarity against bullying and intolerance.

The idea comes from two incredible high school students in Nova Scotia in 2007. One of those students, Travis Price, we were honoured to welcome here as part of the ceremony today. You see, a fellow student was being bullied for wearing pink, so they went out and bought a bunch of pink T-shirts to give to fellow students. Well, the rest is history, as we have seen today.

British Columbia has played a key role in expanding this initiative across our country. For example, in 2009 and 2010, Annie’s Boutique in Nelson, B.C. bought a bunch of pink T-shirts and gave them to local schools. In 2011 and every year since, with a number of sponsors, this initiative has been able to expand across our country and across the world.

As a teacher, I have seen bullying and discrimination take many forms in our schools and outside, whether it’s based on race, age, disabilities, gender or sexuality. I’ve been proud to be engaged in the pink T-shirt movement since 2009, and I’ve remained active in the anti-bullying movement ever since.

I hope that you do support this great cause and that everybody supports this great cause

by wearing a pink T-shirt and participating in activities in your

school, your workplace and your community. Together we can show that we

as British Columbians will continue to work every day, not just on Pink

Shirt Day, to make our province and, indeed, our country a safe place

for everyone.

[1:50 p.m.]

RACISM AND INDIGENOUS ISSUES

J. Rice: Browsing the comments below news stories about Indigenous people, it’s apparent that racism is alive and well in Canada. Indigenous leaders not in favour of a particular project are called foreign-funded radicals and corrupt, while Indigenous leaders in favour of a project are called sellouts and corrupt. It’s a strange premise that Indigenous leaders are corrupt and can be bought.

When the news stories about murdered and missing Indigenous women…. It surprises me how

many comments blame the victims for the violence that ended their lives.

When the stories about residential schools, the day schools or the

Sixties Scoop…. Faceless commentators rush to type: “Get over

it.”

Telling an Indigenous person to get over it is cringeworthy.

Children taken from their homes, stripped of their language and culture,

beaten, starved, assaulted. And people will dismissively say, “Get over

it. It happened a long time ago,” even though the last residential

school closed in 1984 in B.C. and in 1996 in Canada.

These racist sentiments are not just on line. It sometimes shows up in my office. I’m

proud to employ two outstanding assistants in my community office. They

come to work every day ready to deal with an array of issues. If it’s a

housing matter or an issue with B.C. Hydro, I know that my staff will do

their best to assist my constituents, no matter their ethnicity, race,

colour, creed or socioecono­mic background.

I’m troubled to learn of how often they themselves are subjected to racism, and not just

an Indigenous person,” or choosing to say hurtful things about

Indigenous people in front of my staff, only to say, “You don’t look

native,” when they speak up.

On this Pink Shirt Day, let’s also acknowledge that racism is a type of bullying, and we

also need to put an end to it. Also, don’t read the comments.

CAROL WALDIE

S. Bond: She was married to the love of her life, Les Waldie, for more than 50 years. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a community leader and a genuinely nice person. Her family fondly referred to her as Nano.

Carol Waldie had a smile that would light up a room. She had a great sense of humour, and

from personal experience, I know she loved silent auctions. Often when

we were at a community event, Carol would bid on something, and Les

would end up having to find a way to get it home.

Carol had a long list of contributions made to our community, particularly in the area of

the arts. She was involved in the formation and operation of the Prince

George Dance Festival for many years. She is one of the original members

of the Prince George Community Foun­dation board, along with then

Mayor Colin Kinsley, Noreen Rustad and other dedicated leaders who

worked tirelessly to get the foundation established.

Carol, along with her husband, Les, co-chaired the B.C. Festival

of the Arts held in Prince George in 1998. Les and Carol have also

played active roles for the B.C. and Yukon Division of the Canadian

Cancer Society.

You can imagine how devastated we all were when Carol was diagnosed with cancer herself

late last fall. Carol faced her illness as she faced her life, with

courage, dignity and grace. Her celebration of life was

standing-room-only. There were touching tributes from her family,

including her grandchildren, and her sister Karin talked about Carol as

only she could. Karin, who has a remarkable resemblance to Carol, made

us laugh and cry in celebration of a life well lived.

To Les and the entire Waldie family, we share your loss. We miss Carol, but we intend to honour her and our wonderful friend Roz Thorn as Team Bond participates in the annual 24-hour Relay for Life, which raises money for cancer research. We know that both Carol and Roz will be with us in spirit as we walk.

EDMONDS URGENT

AND PRIMARY CARE CENTRE

J. Routledge: One day when I was a child, my mother came home from the doctor and said: “I’m getting a job. The doctor told me if I don’t, I’m going to die.” So she became the only mom on our block to work outside of the home. Now, she was recovering from multiple, potentially paralyzing spinal surgeries, and our doctor knew her well. He knew that what she needed to heal the trauma to her body and her mind was a bigger life, so he prescribed employment.

[1:55 p.m.]

Today in Burnaby alone, 60,000 people don’t have a family doctor. They have no choice but

to go to the ER or a walk-in clinic, where they will be treated by

someone who probably has never seen them before or will ever see them

again.

Having a family doctor is really important if you suffer from chronic or complex illnesses, like my constituent Barb, who has dementia. Her wife called my office, quite distressed. They’d even considered uprooting themselves to move away to find a family doctor. We told them about the newly opened Edmonds Urgent and Primary Care Centre, where they are now regular patients.

Edmonds offers a new kind of health care. It’s open evenings and weekends, staffed by a

rotating team of local doctors as well as nurses, clinical counsellors,

social workers, chiropractors, physiotherapists and massage

thera­pists. Nurse practitioners care for new immigrants and

refugee families. One is dedicated to the homeless. Community groups and

patients themselves have a say in how the centre is governed. And soon a

wellness coach will be joining the team.

The Edmonds UPCC has attached 300 patients in the last three months alone and has

recruited 11 new family doctors to Burnaby. We won’t be returning to the

days when Dr. Stevens saved my mother’s sanity by giving her permission

to get a job, but I think the Edmonds Urgent and Primary Care Centre is

on to something even better.

BEEF BASH EVENT IN KAMLOOPS

T. Stone: On February 22, along with the member for Kamloops–North Thompson

and our wives as well as 400 friends, I was pleased to attend the fifth

annual Beef Bash in Kamloops.

Held at the historic Colombo Lodge, guests were treated to a

spectacular dinner in tribute of our local beef industry and ranching

community, to whom we are all so grateful for the hard work and

sacrifices they put in to feed not just their families but the rest of

us. After some very brief introductions and, mercifully, no speeches

from politicians, the culinary feast began.

Here’s some colour commentary on the evening, as if you were

there. The Colombo Lodge staff begin the procession of food. You can be

excused for having a small portion of antipasto consisting of stuffed

portobello mushrooms and rice balls stuffed with mozzarella and beef.

The mixed green salad with apples and cranberries is good. So have some

but only a little, mostly so that when your mom asks you later, you can

confirm that you did indeed eat some greens with your dinner. Next up is

the penne with ragout. It’s very good. It’s a tradition at the Colombo

Lodge. Only rookies eat any of the bread that is offered.

Then the madness truly begins. Filet mignon wrapped in bacon, of

course, followed by the biggest, juiciest beef ribs you’ve ever seen.

Then, just when you think you’re done, there it is: the most glorious

medium-rare prime rib you’ve ever seen. Filet mignon, beef rib and prime

rib — all on your plate at the same time.

It’s at about this time that the meat sweats set in, but that

doesn’t stop you from asking for one more beef rib, because it is family

style, after all. You bring it all home with a homemade apple pie from

the Shuswap Pie Co. Okay, maybe two pieces.

All of this is organized by the unstoppable Doug Haughton, a

longtime rancher who lives in Knutsford, B.C. After graduating from

college, Doug took a job in Kamloops at the local John Deere dealership,

selling farm equipment. John Deere Doug is how he’s known, back at home.

You won’t meet a person with a more gregarious laugh, a deeper loyalty

to family, friends and community or a bigger heart than John Deere Doug

Haughton. Our community is the better for having him in it.

Mr. Speaker: I see no one was clapping louder than the member for Chilliwack on that one.

[2:00 p.m.]

Oral Questions

FOREIGN FUNDING OF

ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING PROTESTS

A. Wilkinson: I think all of us are aware that in recent weeks, a well-organized

campaign funded by foreign money is seeking to create economic chaos in

this province and across Canada. The groups that have benefited from

this foreign funding include the Wilderness Committee, the Sierra Club,

West Coast Environmental Law, Leadnow, Dogwood B.C. and Stand.earth. And

$4.2 million in U.S. funding has come from U.S. donors — including the

Tides Foundation, the Bullitt Foundation and Wilburforce — to these six

organizations that are operating here in British Columbia.

The question is to the Environment Minister. Will this government

stand up today and say that foreign funding of any efforts to shut down

the British Columbia economy or to shut down Canada is unacceptable and

is wrong?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I appreciate the question from the Leader of the Opposition. What

I want to say to him is this. We’re at a very crucial time in this

province and in this country in dealing with what is a very serious

situation that all of us on this side of the House are trying to

resolve, along with other provinces and the federal government. The best

thing that this opposition can do is to get on board with this side of

the House and find resolutions to the challenges and the problems that

we are facing in terms of not just resource development but issues with

First Nations.

I understand that they’re trying to find a way to be relevant in

this debate and relevant in the issues that we’re facing.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Minister.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker. As I just said….

Interjection.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I think their actions speak for themselves.

This government has made it clear. We want to find a solution to the challenges that we face. We want to see projects go ahead. We want to see First Nations rights respected and participating in the economy in British Columbia. We want to find a way that people are protesting legally and that unlawful blockades are down and that this country gets back to work the way that the public wants it to. They need to get on board in doing just that.

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

A. Wilkinson: Well, it’s disappointing to hear that the Solicitor General, who

is responsible for law enforcement here in British Columbia, thinks that

this side suggests anything but the return to a state of law and order —

peace, order and good government. That’s why we’re all here.

The question remains. There have been aggressive examples of

prosecution in the United States and in Britain of foreign influence on

their internal politics, yet we’ve seen nothing in British

Columbia.

The question arises…. American tax returns show that $2.6 million

U.S. has been delivered to West Coast Environmental Law, the

organization that organizes and manages the legal advice and legal

defence of the blockaders here in British Columbia. The Wilderness

Committee has received American grants from both the Tides Foundation

and the Wilburforce Foundation.

On February 12, the Wilderness Committee tweeted: “Join us in

shutting down the B.C. government.” That is us, particularly the 20

members of the executive council who are now under siege, as the

government of British Columbia, by American-funded organizations here in

British Columbia.

The question goes to any member of the executive council, perhaps

the Solicitor General who is in charge of law enforcement. Does this

government believe that foreign groups should be allowed to fund efforts

to shut down the economy of Canada, obstruct rail traffic and behave in

grossly illegal ways that obstruct the daily lives of British

Columbians?

Hon. M. Farnworth: As I said a moment ago, all of us in this House want to find

solutions to the challenges that we are facing in this country right

now, very serious situations that are impacting not just this province

but provinces right across the country. That’s why we’re working with

industry, with other provincial governments and with the federal

government to do just that. I don’t want to see anybody trying to shut

down the economy of this country, whether they’re inside this country or

outside this country.

[2:05 p.m.]

I find it somewhat ironic to listen to the Leader of the

Opposition talk about the influence of foreign money in this province

because they need to look at their own record when it comes to the

influence of foreign money on that party.

The B.C. Liberals….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: The B.C. Liberals — before changes made by this government in getting big money out of politics — were more than happy to haul in money from companies that were linked with the Bank of China; Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, based in the U.S.; Republic Services waste management, based in the U.S.; and Thompson Creek Metals, based in the U.S.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Interjections.

[Mr. Speaker rose.]

Mr. Speaker: Members. Order, please.

[Mr. Speaker resumed his seat.]

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Hon. Speaker, I hear: “What were they blockading?” Let’s put it

this way. They were paying to sit next to the leaders who were making

the decisions.

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

A. Wilkinson: It’s indeed very disappointing to hear the Solicitor General stand

up and criticize a political party that is engaged in our democratic

process, when the whole issue is about groups that want to shut down the

democratic process.

I’m not asking about funding of the NDP. I’m not asking about

funding of political parties, which is what the Solicitor General seems

to want to talk about. I’m asking about the groups that are running

across railroad tracks, attempting to derail trains, blocking ambulances

and preventing people from getting home after a long day at

work.

The Solicitor General needs to focus on the mischief here. It’s

not in this room; it’s the people out there who don’t believe in the

rule of law. That’s what we’re talking about, and that’s what the

question is directed to.

Let’s talk more about some of the specifics. American tax

returns…. Who knows what else is out there that doesn’t show up on

American tax returns? Who knows where this money is coming from? We only

have Amer­ican sources to track: $316,795 U.S. to Stand.earth,

$490,467 from the Tides Foundation to Dogwood B.C., $641,048 from four

U.S. foundations to the Sierra Club.

The obvious question is…. This is a coordinated assault on the

Canadian economy. It’s a coordinated assault on the policies of this

government, which have been jointly endorsed by this House to develop

the economy of British Columbia. This funding is directed to wreck it

all.

Will the Solicitor General please answer the question. Is he

prepared to entertain legislation that will ban foreign funding from

militant groups in British Columbia?

Hon. M. Farnworth: As I said a moment ago, there is no place in this province for outside interference in trying to disrupt the economy of British Columbia or Canada.

Interjection.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I hear the member saying: “Do something.” Well, guess what. The police are doing their job, hon. Speaker. The police are….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, we shall hear the response.

Minister.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

The police are doing their job in a difficult situation. They’re enforcing injunctions;

they’re taking down barricades.

Hon. Member, those issues are here in this province and in this

country, and they’re being resolved in this province and this

country.

Interjection.

Hon. M. Farnworth: As I just said, there’s no place for that in this province.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, we shall hear the response. Thank you.

[2:10 p.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: That is why this province and other provinces right across this country are working with the federal government, First Nations and industry to resolve these issues, to get blockades down and to ensure that the economy of this province and this country continues.

E. Ross: The Haisla Nation Chief and Council have been working hard for 15

years to bring an end to the social issues that plague not only our own

band but bands all across B.C. and Canada. We’ve been successful over

the last 15 years. Through hard work, we now have jobs. We have training

programs. We have taken the real first steps 15 years ago to break the

cycle of poverty. Now you see these groups, funded by American money,

coming in and trying to tell my people that they’re ignorant and don’t

know what’s best for them.

My question is to the Solicitor General. Will he join me and

categorically reject this foreign money that is being used to keep our

people from a secure future?

Hon. M. Farnworth: We completely reject foreign interference in the affairs of British Columbia, whether it be through money or otherwise. I only wish that that side of the House had rejected the interference of foreign money in our economy for the 16 years when they sat on this side, whether it came through bank drafts, donations to sit next to leaders at fundraising dinners or in duffel bags into casinos.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

The member for Skeena on a supplemental.

E. Ross: I’m sick and tired of these groups that have hijacked Aboriginal issues for their own self-interests and are creating tensions and adversity for First Nations in B.C. and Canada. We know that the main organizer of the blockade at the Port of Vancouver is not even Canadian. She’s an American. She moved here from the United States eight years ago.

Again my question is to the Solicitor General. Will he join me and denounce this foreign

funding of blockades and the people from these other countries that want

to tell us how to live?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thought that was the answer I just gave the hon. member — that

there is no place in this province or anywhere else in this country for

outside interference. I’ll also remind the member that it was this side

of the House that put limits on third-party donations — again, something

they did not do. I’ll also remind him once again….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I’ll also remind him once again that I’m glad that after 16 years of doing nothing about big money in politics or how much you paid for a ticket to sit next to the leader or dirty money coming into the country in duffel bags, they’re concerned about that now, finally, too.

ADDICTION ISSUES AND SERVICES

IN COWICHAN AREA

S. Furstenau: I want to start by thanking the Minister of Mental Health and

Addictions for her visit to my riding last fall. We invited the minister

so that she could learn about the terrible impact that addictions and

substance misuse are having on our community and presented her with a

proposal for temporary treatment facilities and a safe drug supply pilot

in Cowichan. The proposal did not receive funding.

Since her visit, the problem has only worsened. The Cowichan

overdose prevention site has received over 54,000 visits to date,

averaging over 622 visits per week in the last three months. These

numbers are second only to The Harbour and Rock Bay Landing in Victoria,

and that’s higher than all other rural or suburban OPS sites on the

Island. Yet the response from a higher level of government has not been

commensurate with this data.

[2:15 p.m.]

At the end of December, we had two violent deaths in Duncan and

another unrelated stabbing last week. Our homeless outreach staff are

fearful for their safety. Other front-line workers express despair about

the outlook of an epidemic that’s showing signs of only growing.

Residents are frustrated and angry.

My question is for the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

What is the government’s plan today for the unprecedented problems

arising from substance abuse in Cowichan?

Hon. J. Darcy: Thank you to the member of the Third Party for her question. I

want to begin by acknowledging and thanking the member for her advocacy

and for her passion on these very, very important issues in her

community. I was pleased to visit her community last fall and, also, a

second time a year before that.

I want to acknowledge the very, very serious challenges that exist

in her community as well as in communities across British

Columbia.

We are very much coping today with the consequences of a system of

mental health and addictions care that has been neglected for many

years. I know that’s hard on communities. It’s hard on people. We are

embarking on major actions. We’re already taking concrete actions in

Cowichan and across the province.

Across British Columbia, we’ve invested $10 million in grants for

community agencies that provide counselling at low cost or no cost.

Access to mental health and addictions care should not depend on the

size of your bank account. Up until now, it has. We’re beginning to

change that.

In Duncan, the Hiiye’yu Lelum House of Friendship received a grant

that will enable them to provide counselling services for 700 more

sessions for people living with mental health and substance use

issues.

We are very proud of our partnership with First Nations in helping

to build a system that is led by Indigenous people — Indigenous mental

health and wellness solutions. As part of that, the Cowichan Tribes

received a $184,000 grant for culturally safe primary care and mental

health and substance use care.

Housing and supportive housing are a critical part of this if

we’re addressing some of the root causes that relate to mental health

and addictions and the overdose crisis. The Minister of Municipal

Affairs and Housing has made record investments in housing, including in

supportive housing. In Duncan, B.C. Housing is actively working on

several new housing options for people experiencing homelessness,

including support services.

We recognize that there is much, much more to do. We have many

years of neglect to overcome, but we are getting started. With political

will and working together, we will get there.

Mr. Speaker: The House Leader, Third Party, on a supplemental.

S. Furstenau: I want to commend the minister and the government for working on these upstream solutions to a crisis that we are now seeing the results of downstream impacts. However, we are seeing this crisis in real time right now in Cowichan, and we are desperate.

In response to the B.C. Coroners Service report on illicit drug deaths, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry was quoted saying that decriminalization and pharmaceutical options for those who are dependent on toxic street drugs is something that needs to be considered. This is exactly what the Cowichan leadership group is asking for. We need access to a safe drug supply, temporary treatment facilities and transitional housing for people coming out of treatment, and we need it urgently. We are in crisis, and we need a crisis response.

The Cowichan leaders have written to ten separate provincial ministries outlining the escalating problems in the Cowichan Valley that are arising from substance use and homelessness.

My question is again to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. What is your government and ministry going to do today on these urgent needs to help the Cowichan community out of this crisis?

Hon. J. Darcy: Thank you again to the member opposite.

There certainly is an enormous amount of work to do, and we are

working overtime to build that better system of mental health and

addictions, including ramping up, every single day, every week, every

month, our response to the overdose crisis.

In every health region across the province, we now have access to

rapid addiction services, rapid addiction clinics. In Cowichan, in

particular, we’ve added more in-patient addiction medicine consult

services at the Cowichan Hospital. We’ve also expanded same-day walk-in

services and counselling in Duncan.

[2:20 p.m.]

Earlier this week the coroner reported that for the first time

since this crisis began, we’ve seen a decline in deaths across the

province — for the first time, including in Cowichan. We recognize that

whether it’s in Cowichan or prov­incewide, a reduction of 36

percent of deaths provincewide and 32 percent in the Cowichan area,

every single one of these deaths is a tragedy. It is devastating for the

families and the communities involved.

We will have more to say very soon on additional supports to the

Cowichan Valley to support further treatment options and community

wellness. We are working overtime. We are working with all of our

partners on the front line, including working with our partners in

Cowichan Valley. Together we will get this done, and we will get the

support to folks in Cowichan Valley and across British Columbia that

they so very much deserve.

FOREIGN FUNDING OF

ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING PROTESTS

M. de Jong: It’s interesting, isn’t it? In other circumstances, the government — we saw it here again today — has vilified the entry of foreign money into B.C. But when that foreign money is flowing to friends of theirs who are using it with the objective of shutting down our economy, they have gone strangely silent. The foreign money we’re talking about is flowing to organizations that enjoy charitable tax status. That status bestows significant tax advantages upon them.

My simple question to the Finance Minister is: does the Finance Minister believe that

illegal blockades and organized attempts to shut down our national and

provincial economies qualifies as charitable activities, and if she does

not, will she today call upon the Canada Revenue Agency to withdraw the

charitable tax status of these organizations that are using foreign

money to try and shut down our economy?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for his question, which relates…. It’s done at

the federal level, but I take note of his concern, where he says that

money is flowing to friends and that that’s not right. I share that. I

share that.

I share that because that member, along with many members, sat on

this side of the House. One of the biggest industries in this province….

A foundational industry in this province is the forest industry, and

between 2005 and 2017, they took in more than almost a quarter of a

million dollars from Weyerhaeuser, a U.S.-based company that launched

the softwood lumber complaint against the forestry industry of this

province.

If you want to talk about cozying up to people wanting to destroy

an industry in this province, why don’t you just look in the

mirror?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, this is not a productive use of question period. Thank you.

The member for Abbotsford West on a supplemental.

M. de Jong: Well, I’m disappointed and a bit surprised that, confronted by a suggestion about action the government could take, the response from the government benches would be a diatribe of partisanship. The problem….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, we shall hear the question. Thank you.

M. de Jong: The members of the government benches may not understand this, but the problem Canadians are having is there are no consequences. You know, back in January, the Premier said if protesters are going to engage in illegal activities, there should be consequences.

[2:25 p.m.]

Rail traffic is disrupted illegally by protesters to the point where farmers are worried

about getting enough feed for their animals. There are no consequences.

Ports are being blockaded illegally to the point where people are being

laid off from their jobs. There are no consequences. Those that are

working don’t know if they can get home at night because their commuter

rail is being illegally blockaded. There are no consequences. Members of

the cabinet have had their offices invaded and illegally occupied. There

are no consequences.

Here’s a chance for the government. Here’s a chance for, in this case, the Finance

Minister to stand up and demonstrate that, actually, she is serious

about imposing consequences on those who are using foreign money and

unlawful illegal blockades to shut down her economy.

Maybe I’ll use language that the government seems to like. Will she use every tool in the toolbox, including calling on the Canadian Revenue Agency to withdraw the charitable status of organizations that are using foreign money to shut down the Canadian economy?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I’d like to thank the member for his question and his words,

words, words. When it comes to diatribes, he goes with the best of

them.

Let’s be clear. There are consequences. It’s called a justice

system. It’s called police doing their job and making arrests, which

they’ve been doing in Vancouver, which they’ve been doing at

blockades.

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Oh, okay.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Interjections.

[Mr. Speaker rose.]

Mr. Speaker: Members. Order, please. Order.

[Mr. Speaker resumed his seat.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I know that member was a former Solicitor General. Clearly, he didn’t listen to the

briefings he got when he took the position, because he would know that a

Solicitor General does not command or does not direct the police on

making arrests. He should know that the police are professionals who

have a very difficult job to do. They go out to a situation, and they

assess it. They assess it to ensure the safety of the public. They

assess it to ensure that they can enforce and do their job

professionally, which they do. What they don’t need is armchair

quarterbacking from the peanut gallery on the other side.

Our judicial system is independent and at arm’s length. I guess he didn’t pay attention

when the briefing books were presented to him when he became Solicitor

General. He would know that. He would know that Crown prosecutors decide

on things such as charges, that our court systems will decide on trials

and consequences in terms of people who are breaking the law.

What I will tell you again….

Interjections

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I will make sure that they know that no one on this side of the

House supports illegal, unlawful blockades. They will be taken down.

When injunctions are necessary, we will get injunctions, which has been

happening. Whether it’s for this place, whether it’s for highways,

whether it’s for railways, they come with enforcement orders.

Let’s be clear. We have a law enforcement system in this province,

and they are doing their job.

S. Bond: It has been more than three weeks since the blockades have begun

to paralyze the economy of British Columbia, and they’re not stopping.

As we speak, we understand that anti-pipeline protesters have shut down

the Pat Bay Highway.

[2:30 p.m.]

The blockade location is apparently just blocks away from the

Saanich Peninsula Hospital, and it will block all traffic on a major

artery to the international airport and the B.C. Ferry

terminal.

In fact, let’s talk about the messages that are being sent to

British Columbians by members on that side of the House. Just yesterday

the member for Nanaimo said: “We’re in a very tough time right now with

a lot of pipeline controversy and protesters right in front of the

Legislature, which, in many ways, I celebrate. To have climate action

and such visible support for reconciliation is something that we have

waited, some of us, our whole lives for.”

Well, I can assure the members opposite there is not a lot of

celebrating going on today for the people that have been impacted by yet

another closure, funded by foreign funds in this province.

It is time for the minister to stand up. He said he agrees there

shouldn’t be foreign funds flowing. Then it’s time for him to do

something.

What specific actions will he take to ensure that foreign funds no

longer impact the economy of the people of British Columbia?

Hon. D. Eby: Ministry of Attorney General lawyers were in court this morning and obtained an injunction with an enforcement clause against the blockade of the highway.

[End of question period.]

Orders of the Day

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

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

Budget Debate

(continued)

D. Clovechok: It’s great to be back. Yesterday I sat, having talked about some of

the nonexistent revenue streams that this government was touting and all the

taxes that British Columbians are paying today that they weren’t paying

three years ago and reminded them they can’t tax people into

prosperity.

What I’d like to do is to continue my talk focused on the people of

Columbia River–Revelstoke and talk a little about the forestry industry.

It’s a sector, as we all know, that is in crisis, with massive layoffs and

shutdowns that have been announced consistently through the NDP term and

their government. More than 100 mill curtailments and ten permanent and

indefinite shutdowns in 2019.

The minister himself says: “It’s not a crisis.” The parliamentary

secretary said that there are too many mills. The Premier said that the

communities are spoiled children. People’s lives are falling apart, and they

say this. That’s all they have to say about the forestry

industry.

When the minister made his $69 million announcement to aid forestry

workers in September, little did we know that instead of new money for the

displaced workers, it was simply taking money away from other key projects,

key projects that they call a slush fund.

The $25 million that was taken from the rural dividend fund was

established by our government to help rural communities diversify their

communities — moneys that those communities have come to depend upon, moneys

that were applied for through extensive applications. A lot of work by

volunteer organizations, and many of those organizations are dependent upon

the forest industry.

[2:35 p.m.]

Well, that special fund was a hit all over British Columbia, with over

300 communities benefiting annually. They actually took away money from one

and gave to another, under the guise of helping the forestry industry, while

hurting other British Columbians — like the Community Futures group in

Revelstoke, which spent an enormous amount of time putting an application

together for naught. But it’s come to a stop, because the minister raised

the fund to cover the costs of an inadequate forestry aid program —

band-aids while the body is hemorrhaging.

The member for Oak Bay–Gordon Head in this very House said: “The

forestry crisis should be non-partisan.” Well, guess what. We agree. We

proposed a five-point action plan months and months and months ago that

would have provided tax reliefs and assistance to the forestry workers

throughout this province that are losing their jobs or have lost their jobs.

But the NDP chose to ignore it. It’s hard to work with others when they

refuse to work with anybody but themselves and believe in their own

philosophy.

Then they talk about free trade. Well, free trade, specifically with

the United States, requires participation. Just recently western Premiers

and other Premiers and individuals went to the United States to work with

the Americans, to meet with the Americans, to promote their economies, to

promote the place that they live. Premier Jason Kenney, Premier Scott Moe,

both Alberta and Saskatchewan, were part of that delegation. They went to

the United States to fight for their people, to represent their people, to

talk about their people’s story to the Americans, to understand that we are

still good trading partners. That’s what they’re paid to do. That’s the job

a leader does.

My question. Where was the Premier of the province of British

Columbia? Why was he not there? Yet 2½ years ago he said he would be the

champion for British Columbians to the Americans. Now he’s the invisible

man.

They talk competition. They actually said the word “competition.” Yet

they don’t understand that investors are running from this country. I used

an example yesterday of a small, little village that I represent in my

riding that has had a major developer come in, and investors, and said: “We

want to do this, and it’s a great opportunity to grow and develop more area

and attract more people into the region.” Those investors said: “We’re not

going to do it. It’s too uncertain in this province. We don’t trust this

government.” Guess what. That development is on hold right now. They’re

running from it.

They talk competition, and in the next breath, they put out the

collective benefits agreement. Yesterday I mentioned that on the Kicking

Horse Canyon expansion itself, one of the most expensive road projects

anywhere in the history of Canada on the Trans-Canada Highway — $30 million

dedicated to the community benefits agreement.

I also mentioned yesterday the struggle. Not only my community,

Columbia River–Revelstoke, but the two Peace ridings, the Kootenay East

riding are struggling with medical care out in the hinterlands — denied in

Alberta, non-access to treatments in Kelowna. Well, $30 million could go to

building a radiation therapy facility in Cranbrook. Another one could go to

one in Trail. Two therapy units could be built in the Kootenays. That could

have been done so if the community benefits agreement wasn’t in

effect.

My constituents and myself are struck by how many NDP promises have

been left on the cutting-room floor at the expense of British Columbians.

People around this province, specifically in my riding, are finding life not

more affordable but more unaffordable. ICBC rates, hydro rates — everything

has gone up. The price of gas continues to escalate, and the cracks are

showing in their government and in their economic plan. They have no

economic plan. There’s no job plan. There’s no plan except to tax, tax, tax

and spend.

[2:40 p.m.]

How can you possibly run a province without a plan that generates

revenue? How can you possibly do that? Life is not affordable here anymore.

Investors are running, and they have the rhetoric over on the other side

that it’s just kumbaya. People have had it in my constituency. They’re

worried. They’re scared for their own jobs, and they want to know what they

can do.

There’s going to be a reckoning. That reckoning is going to come in

the next election, and it will be at the expense of those fine people across

the aisle at the voter booths. There will be a reckoning, and as far as

we’re concerned in my riding, it can’t come soon enough.

With that, I will take my seat and say without question that I will

not support this budget.

Hon. M. Mungall: I’m very proud to rise and speak in support of Budget 2020. Before I

get started, I do want to take a moment to just say a few thank-yous to some

very important people in my life.

First, I want to say thank you, for all his wonderful support, to my

husband Zak Matieschyn, who is just a fantas­tic rock in my life. I

love him dearly.

With him, I have a wonderful son, Zavier. He’s 19 months now. People

around here in the buildings, in the Legislature, get an opportunity to

visit with him every evening when he comes to take books, take pens, take

paper — whatever he can get his hands on — off people’s shelves. He lets

everybody know that he’s been in the room once he’s left, because nothing is

where it ought to be. It’s just wonderful to be his mother at this very

curious stage in his life.

I have two amazing constituency assistants back in Nelson who serve

the people of Nelson-Creston every single day. They are there to help

whenever people call or email or stop in. That’s Laurie Langille and Tessa

Bendig.

Here in Victoria, I have wonderful staff in my new ministry office. We

just welcomed Danielle Monroe to the team as our senior MA. Maria Szabo is

the junior MA. Danika Hammond is my executive assistant. We have Wolfgang,

who greets everybody as they come in the door, and Lorna, from the deputy

minister’s office, has been helping us as we seek to round out our team over

the next little while.

I’m really fortunate to be supported by such wonderful, hard-working

and dedicated people, people who are here to work for British Columbians, in

service to them, every single day.

I represent some very, very amazing people in Nelson-Creston. I’m so

grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to be here on their behalf

and to share some of the things that are very important to them and some of

the things that they see in this budget that are really helping them in

their day-to-day lives.

One of the things that all of us living around Kootenay Lake are very

happy to see in this budget is the funds to go to a new ferry on Kootenay

Lake, to go from Balfour to the East Shore of Kootenay Lake. This ferry is

going to be electric-ready. That means that once we get the infrastructure

necessary on both sides — both terminals, both sides of the lake — to

actually electrify our ferry, it will be ready to do so.

It’s very exciting, as we go electric in this province, that our new

ferry, which is going to be complementing the MV Osprey and

replacing the MV Balfour , is going to be electric. That’s very

important to the people that I represent — not only that it’s going to be an

electric-ready ferry but that we’re going to get a better ferry replacing a

55-year-old ferry. It’s going to be modern. It’s going to be faster. It’s

going to be just better service overall for our communities throughout

Kootenay Lake who rely on the ferry, as well as the many tourists who come

and visit us throughout the year.

As I listen to some of the comments coming from the opposition

benches, there’s a lot of doom and gloom. I don’t want to dismiss some of

the comments about how people in their community face challenges and how we

have to find solutions to those challenges. Absolutely, we do.

[2:45 p.m.]

That’s one of the things that we’ve been doing over the last 2½ years

as government. I want to give some of the numbers to show that, and I’m

going to do that throughout my comments on the budget.

When we talk about B.C.’s overall economy and where it is at right

now, well, we are doing the best out of everybody else in Canada. We have

one of the fastest-growing economies in Canada. We have the lowest

unemployment rate, yet again. For 29 out of the last 30 months that we’ve

been in government, we’ve had the lowest unemployment rate in the entire

country. Since our government was elected, we have added 67,000 jobs in this

province. More than half of those jobs have been good, family-supporting,

full-time jobs.

That’s been our commitment to British Columbians. It’s to make sure

that when we come up with a jobs plan, it’s not just a thin document with

some targets but no actual plan to get us there. A lot of the jobs that were

talked about in the jobs plan that we might remember from a few years ago

from a past government were actually lower-wage jobs. We want to make sure

that we have family-supporting jobs in this province. Ultimately, that’s

what puts food on the table. That’s what gives people the good life that

they are entitled to have.

That’s what makes sure that they can have their kids go to soccer. If

their teenagers want to go to a movie, they can go to a movie. They can go

to post-secondary education and have the dreams that they want to have. They

can do for their children as they would like to. They can do for themselves

as they would like to. Maybe have a date night every now and again for the

parents. This is the type of middle-class life that people want to have, and

we want to make sure that they have that. When we talk about job creation,

we have to be talking about family-supporting jobs, and we are delivering on

that front.

When we talk about family-supporting jobs, of course, we have to

acknowledge wages, as I was saying. On that note, let’s just look at the

numbers. Let’s look at the numbers of what’s happening right now, here, for

British Columbia. After more than a decade of stagnation in wage growth,

people are now seeing the benefits of what we’re delivering on, what this

government is delivering on. Since July 2017, average wages are up. They are

up. We are leading the country at an average wage of $28.83 an hour.

Stagnation for years under the B.C. Liberals and wages going up under the

B.C. NDP. That’s one of the ways that you make life more

affordable.

We know that the global economic situation is a bit precarious right

now, but B.C. exports have actually been remaining quite strong, reaching

$43.4 billion in 2019. The Conference Board of Canada has predicted that

B.C.’s GDP will grow well above the national average over the next two

years. We’re doing quite well. We have a good story to tell here in British

Columbia about our overall economic picture and how we are doing.

That’s not me just pulling that out of thin air, as sometimes we might

see over on the other side. Those are the actual numbers that are coming out

of B.C. Stats and Stats Canada. Those are predictions by the Conference

Board of Canada. Those are third-party eyes looking at what we are doing and

showing that it’s a good story and that it’s making a difference in people’s

lives.

One of the lines that keeps coming up from the other side is tax and

spend. Tax and spend, tax and spend. You often hear parties like the B.C.

Liberals use that phrase as though it’s a negative thing. They like to go on

and on about how horrible it is for a government to generate revenue and

then turn around and spend it on people.

[2:50 p.m.]

How on earth…? Only the B.C. Liberals would think that spending on

British Columbians is a bad thing. We saw it for 16 years while they were in

government — a refusal to spend money. Their policy was to tax and hoard.

That’s what they did. They took people’s hard-earned dollars through

taxation. Rather than give it back in the form of health care, in the form

of child care or in the form of education or post-secondary opportunities, a

tax break to 1 percent is what they did. They gave more money back to their

rich friends, over and over and over again.

Did they solve the affordable housing crisis? No. Did they even make

an attempt to address it. No. In the 2½ years that the NDP has been in

government, I have had the pleasure of announcing 105 new units of

affordable housing being built in my riding alone. Do you know how many we

got to announce in 16 years while the B.C. Liberals were in power? Not even

half of that — not even half. That’s because they took British Columbians’

money and gave breaks to their rich friends, whether it was in the form of

tax breaks or putting their head in the sand, just ignoring the fact that we

had a housing crisis.

They cut child care spaces from the communities I represent back in

2001 and 2002. You know what we’re doing? We’re building child care

spaces.

I am in this position, being a mom of a 19-month-old, where I am

trying to find him child care. I’m calling a lot of the child care

providers, both in Victoria and in Nelson, and what are they telling me?

They’re saying: “Michelle, we’re going to have to let you know in September

once we’ve actually been able to build out the child care spaces that we’ve

gotten funding for. We’re in the process of building those out.” That is

wonderful news for our communities. That is wonderful news, because all the

parents that I know and that I talk to that struggle to find child

care….

During the last election in Nelson and Creston, we had a stroller

brigade — parents coming together. They’d put their kids in strollers, and

they would walk up and down Baker Street letting people know how important

child care was in that election.

Today they’re able to let people know that child care was important in

that election, because child care is now being delivered. Cut under the B.C.

Liberals in 2001 and 2002 and now being built under the New Democratic

government in 2019, 2020 with this budget as well, as we continue to build

child care for British Columbians right across this province, including in

my communities in the riding of Nelson-Creston in the Kootenays.

The B.C. Liberals. They tax, and hoard for their rich friends. They

don’t want to spend on British Columbians. We all know that. We lived

through it for 16 years. But I think it’s really important to note that when

they talk about tax increases, they’re failing to point out the facts of the

largest tax cut in B.C. history to the middle class, which is the

elimination of medical services premiums — the largest tax cut in history,

delivered by a New Democrat government. That was us.

The seniors in my community, the people in my community, whether an

individual or a family, they’re no longer seeing that tax levied on them

every single year. Individuals are saving $900. Families are saving around

$1,800. This is very good news.

[2:55 p.m.]

That’s more money in people’s pockets. Not only are wages going up, as

I pointed out, but people have more money in their pockets from that tax

cut.

Now, I know the B.C. Liberals also like to say that taxes are going up

for businesses and so on. The thing is, though, they also want everybody to

forget that it was actually the New Democrats, in their first budget update

in 2017, that cut small business taxes. That was us, not them. That was us.

So when they like to say “tax and spend,” they forget that, actually, the

biggest tax cuts have been the responsibility of this government.

I am proud every single day to get up here and spend on the people

that I represent, because they deserve a government that’s going to do that.

They deserve a government that’s going to provide them with health care,

that’s going to reduce wait-lists. That’s what this budget does. That’s what

the last few budgets have done under this government. They deserve to have a

government that’s going to make sure that they have child care. That’s what

this budget does, and that’s what the last few budgets have done.

This budget also puts $339 million into the K-to-12 system. No longer

are families facing cuts in the classroom for their kids. This government is

investing in education.

With this budget, we’re announcing the child opportunity benefit. I’m

very proud of this one: 300,000 families are going to be getting a tax-free

benefit of $1,600 per year for one child and $2,600 per year for two

children. And it goes up from there — the more children that the family

would have. It’s not for the first six years of life, as the B.C. Liberals

might have it. It’s for 18 years — 18 years, an entire child’s life. This is

helping over 300,000 families in British Columbia, families in the

communities that I represent in the Kootenays.

This is also contributing to the news that came out today about our

child poverty stats. We have reduced child poverty from 2016 levels by 29.6

percent. Our target is 50 percent by 2024. I’d have to say that at 2020,

when we are at nearly 30 percent, we are well on our way to achieving our

target.

I want to give a little history behind this. For 16 years — you may

have heard us use that number before just once or twice — we sat on the

opposition benches calling on the B.C. Liberal government to do something

about the rising rates of child poverty in this province. Every year the

numbers went up, and B.C. was leading the country in child poverty. How

embarrassing and how wrong. How wrong for a province as wealthy as ours to

have the highest rate of child poverty in the country.

For years, we told them there were actions government could be taking

to drive those number down, to be making sure that children were not going

to school hungry, to make sure that children had access to a good life. For

four years as the Social Development critic, I would hear over and over

again how that was just not possible. My colleague the Minister for Social

Development and Poverty Reduction heard it too, when he was on opposition

benches. “It just wasn’t possible.”

Well, here we are 2½ years into government, and we have proven them

wrong. We have proven that when you spend on people, you can reduce poverty

substantially.

[3:00 p.m.]

You can help people lift up out of poverty and have opportunities in

this life, have food in their bellies, have the ability to take on a sports

program, an extracurricular activity, help single parents access child care

so that they can get a job, so they can go back to school. These programs

are possible. We are delivering them, and I’m very proud.

I want to thank the countless people who participated in our

consultations on building this plan, because so many people participated in

building this plan all around the province.

I know that dozens and dozens of people in my communities came out to

give feedback to the provincial government in terms of what we can be doing

to build a strong poverty reduction plan. I want to thank them. I want to

thank them for continuing to hold us accountable. I want to thank them for

continuing to help us implement this plan. This plan’s called TogetherBC for

that very reason, and I’m very proud of the work that they have done and

that we are doing with them.

I’d also like to mention that this is our third balanced budget. The

reason I want to mention that is that a lot of people have said in the past:

“Oh, these types of programs — reducing poverty, child care, health care,

reducing wait-lists, building hospitals, building schools — are just too

expensive. We can’t afford it. That would cause us to have a

deficit.”

We’ve again proven them wrong. In fact, when you do spend on people,

it can be done without adding to the debt. Now, I’m not going to get into a

debate about whether debt and deficits are good or bad, because they have a

function. But they are not an excuse, is my point, to not actually spend on

people. They are not an excuse, and we are proving that day in and day

out.

A couple of points about some of the increases I’ve heard from the

opposition benches. One of the things that they talk about are ICBC rates.

Well, we all know that they’re the ones responsible for the dumpster fire

that we found at ICBC. They know that. They wanted to hide it from British

Columbians. We uncovered it. We showed British Columbians what’s going on

there. What we’ve been able to do is to find ways to reduce the rate

increases that they were going to be putting on British Columbians as they

were burying their heads in the sand and trying to pretend that their

mismanagement of ICBC wasn’t a problem.

We uncovered the problem. We were honest about it with British

Columbians, and we’ve been finding solutions ever since to bring down those

costs at ICBC. We have been successful in doing that.

B.C. Hydro. There were a lot of questionable things going on there

when I first started as the previous Minister for Energy. One of the things

that we said we would do for British Columbians — which we weren’t able to

do because we started to actually properly respect the independent

regulatory regime that we have in this province — is we did promise to

freeze hydro rates. We weren’t able to do that in the way that we wanted to

at first because the independent regulator, who deserves respect that the

B.C. Liberals never gave them, said: “No. That’s not the fiscally prudent

thing to do right now at B.C. Hydro.” We said okay. We took a step

back.

We delivered a lower rate of increases than would have happened under

the B.C. Liberals. One of the things that they seem to have forgotten that

happened this past August is that we applied to the B.C. Utilities

Commission for the first time since probably the 1960s to decrease rates —

not just freeze them but to decrease them. We did that in August.

We were successful because BCUC, the B.C. Utilities Commission, looked

at how we have been managing our crown jewel, our Crown corp. of B.C. Hydro,

that delivers the electricity to almost all of British Columbia. They said:

“You’ve been doing a good job, and you’re right to come forward and apply

for this decrease in rates.” So British Columbians are going to see some

savings on their bills this year.

[3:05 p.m.]

The opposition might try to tell people about how everything’s going

up, but what they don’t tell is the full story about how everything was

going up way more under them and how we’ve come in to rein it in and make

things more affordable for British Columbians. Those are the facts. The

numbers are there. I know they don’t like them, but that is the fact of the

matter.

I want to take some time to look at some of the things that we’re

doing within my new ministry, because it’s really exciting. This ministry is

responsible for the technology sector. A lot of people, when they think of

technology, think of video games. They think of the really amazing special

effects in a Star Wars or Star Trek movie. That’s often

what I think of. They think of artificial intelligence — Data from Star

Trek , perhaps. People might think of that.

Technology actually permeates our entire society, whether it be from

cell phones, which are the obvious one on a day-to-day basis. But in terms

of our foundational industries such as mining, innovation and technology

play an extremely important role in making sure that these sectors are

competitive.

I had agriculture as an example. I was visiting some tech companies

last Friday in Vancouver. I had the chance to visit some tech companies in

Nelson a few weeks ago. One of the companies I visited was Terramera. The

things that they’re doing around agritech to reduce pesticides and to

increase crop yields with better ways of treating pests and making plants

healthy is really amazing — and the types of technologies that they’re using

to do that. Those types of companies in British Columbia have the

opportunity, have the possibility, of feeding into our existing

sectors.

Technology isn’t just your iPhone and some really great, amazing

special effects or futuristic thought concepts like Data from Star

Trek and artificial intelligence. It’s how it’s applied, and it can

be applied throughout our entire economic spectrum.

The things that we’re able to do within this ministry to support that

is really fascinating. I’m really glad that I get to be a part of it. It’s

not surprising that tech and innovation exists all throughout the economy

and that it’s also one of the fastest-growing sectors in Canada and in B.C.,

and that actually B.C.’s tech sector is leading the nation in revenue growth

and job creation. It’s moving at such a fast pace.

One of the companies I visited on Friday was MetaOptima. They started

with three employees back in 2015, I think she said — three employees. Now

they have 60 employees, building technology to test for skin cancer, to do

dermatological diagnostics. They compile that information from these tests

with their technology into a database so that doctors, without knowing

patients’ personal or private information but just knowing about the

diseases that they are experiencing, can get a better understanding of how

skin cancer can evolve and affect people.

That type of technology that they’re doing is really amazing. The fact

that they’re able to grow their company so large in such a short period of

time is something that we as British Columbians should be very proud

of.

I just saw the green light go, which means I only have a couple of

minutes, and I have so much more that I would like to say. So I’ll say it

very quickly. We are seeing some very significant investments right now from

major tech companies like Rogers, Amazon, MasterCard, Shopify, bringing jobs

here to British Columbia and making investments here in British Columbia. We

are seeing that in other sectors.

In mining, for example, we are seeing Newcrest from Australia come

into British Columbia. Of course, we can’t forget some of the very large

investments that have been taking place with LNG, as an example.

[3:10 p.m.]

A lot of companies around the world have shown that they are very

excited to invest in British Columbia. We’re looking forward to telling them

more about what we offer here in B.C. We’re going to be doing that

throughout the year in a variety of ways — conferences, summits, and so

on.

I’m looking forward to that work. I’m looking forward to building

British Columbia for British Columbians, and I’m looking very forward to

spending a whole lot of money on British Columbians.

L. Throness: It’s a pleasure to rise and speak to the budget today. I want to begin

by talking about an issue that overshadows the budget — not only our budget

but every budget across Canada for governments — and that is the protests

that are going on around our province and around our country, defying court

injunctions and breaking the law.

On February 23, a resource development project that everyone knows

about, Frontier, was withdrawn in Alberta, and the CEO of Teck said this in

an open letter: “It is now evident that there is no constructive path

forward for the project.” So there’s no constructive path forward for a

project that’s undergone exhaustive environmental review for years. They’ve

jumped every legal hoop. It has broad community and Indigenous support. But

that wasn’t good enough for the protesters.

Yet the member for North Vancouver–Lonsdale applauded the demise of

this project and called it a tipping point. A tipping point maybe against

oil or gas or a tipping point against the rule of law? I think it may be a

bit of both.

There’s enormous opposition to pretty well any project that will

disturb the ground today, from a project like Frontier or a pipeline or to a

building permit for a house that takes years to be approved in Vancouver,

despite the fact that there’s a huge lack of supply that sends prices

through the roof.

The debate has grown so rancorous that those who oppose any kind of

resource development are ignoring the law. Not those who want to build the

economy by developing our resources. They patiently follow the rules for

years and bear huge costs of following the law. It’s those who oppose them

who break the law.

Think of the following projects that have been cancelled or are under

threat: northern gateway, Energy East, Teck’s Frontier project. Trans

Mountain was stalled for years. Coastal GasLink is threatened. Keystone XL

was vetoed. Woodfibre LNG in Squamish experiences a lot of opposition, even

though it will all be run by electricity. And who knows how many LNG and

other projects have been quietly shelved without us even knowing it, where

business people say: “It’s just not worth the effort; it’s not worth the

risk”? That’s going to continue in the future.

This is a serious budgetary issue. And it’s one that involves the rule

of law. There are three members of this House who have expressed, in this

House, sentiments for the protesters. I think of the member for Nanaimo who

celebrated the illegal protests. I think of the member for North

Vancouver–Lonsdale who expressed her support. Even the Minister of State for

Child Care said we have to stand up against Trans Mountain pipeline, despite

the fact that every court and every tribunal in the land has approved

it.

We all have laws that we don’t like, and I get that. That’s fine. For

example, I don’t like Medical Assistance in Dying. I disagree with it,

philosophically. I don’t think it belongs in palliative care. It’ll have a

harmful effect on our culture as we accept the principle of death as an

antidote to pain. Why is that? We all suffer pain in our lives. There’s no

logical stopping point between this pain or that pain or pain in this

situation or pain in that situation.

The Supreme Court has ruled on this issue. I accept that because I

respect the rule of law. You won’t find me blocking traffic in downtown

Vancouver, laying over the railroad tracks or lighting a fire on the steps

of this Legislature, as was done yesterday, to try and overturn by force

what the courts have finally decided. If I can accept that, then the MLAs

opposite can accept the rule of law as well.

MLAs need to decide where they stand on the rule of law. If their

hearts are really with the protesters, they should have the courage to stand

outside with them and defy the court injunction, instead of sitting in this

chamber and enjoying all the benefits of the rule of law while quietly

opposing its authority.

In particular, for a minister of the Crown to encourage her

constituents to stand up against Trans Mountain, having been approved

exhaustively by environmental bodies and the courts, I think is something of

a disgrace. This Legislature is the seat of the law in this province, and

ministers ought to be the first to support the rule of law. So I think the

Premier should call her on the carpet and tell her: “If you want to be in

cabinet, you have a decision to make. Whose side are you on? Do you side

with the protesters outside? Or will you publicly stand on the side of all

of us in this chamber, for whom the rule of law is a precious

thing?”

[3:15 p.m.]

I think the minister should apologize and say: “Yes, I may disagree

with the pipeline, but I accept what the courts have decided. I accept the

rule of law. I love the law. It is what makes us a civilized

society.”

I’m concerned about the young people outside the Legislature today.

They’re building their own future. They’re building a society in which it’s

okay not to have resource development to produce the billions we need to run

health care and education, keep our roads paved and even run the

environmental policy of the government. They are looking forward to a poorer

society.

They’re also looking forward to a society in which it’s okay to

disobey a law that they disagree with. Well, that’s fine when they do it.

But it’s not so fine when somebody does it to them. Like, when somebody

steals their stuff, that’s not okay. But it’s okay for protesters to steal

somebody’s job by blocking a rail line or cost people hundreds of hours

sitting in traffic, as they illegally block the roads, or steal someone’s

health by blocking a bridge that an ambulance needs.

The activists who break the law are building a society for themselves.

They’re making their own future. If they keep on doing it, it will not be a

better society. Society and an economy are delicate things. We’ve learned,

in the last few weeks, that it’s easy to destroy an economy. It doesn’t take

long. It only takes a matter of months. The rule of law is also a delicate

thing. It depends on the voluntary obedience of every citizen from the

heart.

I will give an example. In Chilliwack, we have about a hundred police

officers, and we have 100,000 people. If only a few hundred people decided

to break the law in an organized way, it would be chaos in Chilliwack. In

fact, we’re experiencing some of that now with crime in Chilliwack, as

thieves on bikes towing little trailers ride around looking for other

people’s stuff to steal. The peace and security of our communities depend on

each one of us adhering voluntarily to the law and using the tools of the

law to make change, rather than seeking change on the street.

I would encourage the youth, in particular, who are breaking the law

today: just stop. Think about your future and the society that you are

creating for yourself and your children.

Finally, the rule of law is about people in society caring about each

other. I don’t think that the protesters care very much about other people

in Canada. It’s a good way to destroy a wonderful country.

Now I want to go forward and talk about this budget, which I would

characterize, if I could, as a top-heavy budget. It’s top-heavy with social

spending, but as in anything that’s top-heavy, you need a foundation to

support it. We need an economic foundation for all of that social spending.

Somebody’s got to pay the bills. So in this budget, we have lots of

announcements on the social side, but we have little to build a stronger

economy to support those announcements.

In fact, the NDP has not given us a plan to grow the economy. There’s

no plan to create well-paying jobs and help businesses, to lower taxes to

attract investment, measures to increase productivity and competitiveness,

no labour market measures to address what I hear from every employer — and

that is a very tight supply of labour — and nothing to build support for the

ever-increasing social spending. This is a weakness of all NDP governments.

We’re seeing it again. It’s short-sighted at best. Every NDP government in

the country eventually gets thrown out, because the taxpayers simply can’t

afford them.

Taxes are up, as Tim Shoults, writing in Kamloops This Week ,

pointed out. I want to quote what he said: “The total tax burden borne by

B.C. residents and businesses is set to climb from $28.2 billion in 2017-18

to a proposed $36.9 billion in 2021-22, according to the government’s own

budget documents released Tuesday. That’s an increase of $8.7 billion or 31

percent in five years.”

Meanwhile, the economic indicators in the budget are threatening.

Employment is down. Manufacturing shipments are down. Exports and retail

sales are down. New car sales are down. Housing starts are down by a

whopping 24 percent. In the Fraser Valley, home sales fell by 31 percent

last year.

None of that’s good news, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the NDP.

They continue to raise taxes and spending. They’re oblivious to the

indicators. They love to crank out the good-news press releases that will

one day come back to haunt us all.

[3:20 p.m.]

Allow me to quote from another editorial in the Times

Colonist . This was on February 19: “Finance Minister Carole James

put the surplus at a mere $227 million and $179 million for next year,

representing a combined total of just $406 million. On an overall revenue

basis of $60.6 billion, these are rock-bottom figures, signalling a serious

deterioration in the province’s financial affairs. And James has no one to

blame but herself.”

We have a balanced budget before us, but how did they do that? It’s

only balanced by increasing the burden on taxpayers. In fact, if there were

no new taxes in this budget, it would be a deficit budget.

Let me describe three new taxes that will be of interest to my

constituents. First, there’s the Netflix tax. It applies to Netflix and any

other digital service, like Spotify or Google music, Amazon Prime, Disney+,

Apple TV, Crave TV, YouTube Premium and others. They’ll all have to collect

PST from now on. So here the NDP have gone from the wallets of British

Columbians to their change purses and their penny jars. They are reaching

out in all directions to grab any tiny tax they can. This one will only

raise $11 million this year, and I wonder if the cost of it will be more

than the administration cost.

It’s the same with the sugary drink tax, which will charge PST on any

carbonated beverage, including ones without any sugar at all, like

artificially sweetened drinks. The NDP are going after every possible tax,

no matter how small.

Then there’s their tax on high-income earners, which will apply to

anyone making over $220,000 a year, as we further encourage professionals,

like doctors, to flee our province. These three taxes alone will raise $216

million this year, and only these three new taxes will keep the government

in the black.

All together, since becoming government, the NDP have introduced or

raised 23 taxes in B.C. Well, that’s how they fuel the government, not

through economic growth and not through raising general revenues through

that growth. They raise the revenue both by broadening the base of taxation

so the burden is laid on more people and businesses and groups and by

increasing the weight of those specific taxes. That is a very unwise

strategy.

On the other hand, the government is cutting back spending. But where

is it cutting? Predictably, it’s on the ministries that create jobs in this

province — cuts to Agriculture; Energy and Mines; Forests and Lands; the

Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness; and the Ministry

of Tourism. They all received cuts. Many of the ministries which might

possibly help to create some jobs are reduced in size.

To me, this doesn’t make a lot of sense. But that’s the pattern of the

NDP — tax and spend, not grow the economy and allow that growth to fuel new

spending. That, I think, is why the NDP are a boom-and-bust party. That’s

why the NDP have only been in power for 15 years since 1952. It’s because

they have this inbred sense of imbalance.

Once in a while, British Columbians become dissatisfied with the B.C.

Liberals and their predecessor, the Social Credit Party, because we’re very

fiscally responsible. I think of our $100 million platform in 2017 versus

the B.C. NDP free-for-all of a $7 billion platform. The people bring in the

NDP to loosen the purse strings for a bit. Then they have to get rid of them

again, because they’re essentially unbalanced. They know how to spend the

money. They don’t know how to raise the money and how to grow the economy.

So the B.C. Liberals have to be brought in to keep the economy out of the

ditch.

I can see that same story replaying itself once again. I look forward

to British Columbians deciding to switch back to us again within 20 months

from now or perhaps sooner.

Now, I want to turn to Chilliwack and think about what was in the

budget for my riding. There’s disappointing news for my constituents,

unfortunately. There’s no mention of Chilliwack at all in the budget, except

when the Minister of Finance, in her budget speech, mentioned a school being

built in our riding, which actually was provided for in the last budget, not

this one. There’s nothing new specifically for Chilliwack in this

budget.

passing reference to a transit corridor in the valley. But my hopes were

dashed when I saw the fine print in the budget. The government is going to

begin a study that will formulate a multimodal transportation and

development strategy for the Fraser Valley that will one day inform

investments. We’re three long steps away from action, a study to build a

strategy to inform investments.

My question is: in what year will that study begin? In what term of

office will this strategy be formed, and in what decade will something

actually start to get built? These questions are all unanswered. All we know

is that we’re going to talk about it sometime, transit options for the

Fraser Valley. I don’t think that’s a lot of political will demonstrated by

this government. It’s a talking point. It’s a defensive manoeuvre for them

to be able to answer questions in the House.

[3:25 p.m.]

The budget also mentioned the widening of the No. 1 Highway on the

ten-kilometre stretch between 216 and 264 Streets. This, of course, was also

announced previously. We’re hoping that construction will begin next year,

but in the budget, it says that it may begin any time in the next five

years. This is not very heartening to my constituents.

We came to Victoria last fall to ask the Minister of Public Safety for

more funding for police officers in the rural Chilliwack area, because the

crime rate in our area is the highest in the Fraser Valley. We don’t have an

answer back on that yet. I see that there’s money in the budget designated

for public safety, no specific mention of our request. I’m going to keep a

close eye on that.

My constituents may be interested in buying an electric car or a

charging station. The subsidy programs for those have been

renewed.

The monthly earnings exemption for single people on social assistance

will increase by $1,200 a year. People receiving a disability pension will

be able to earn $15,000 a year without influencing their benefits. It’s my

hope that this move will encourage more part-time work and not simply

discourage full-time work, in which a person could get off disability

altogether but doesn’t because they like the backstop of those payments,

even if they don’t really need them. Time will tell.

My constituents may be interested in the B.C. child opportunity

benefit also, which was announced, again, a year ago, in the 2019 budget. It

won’t happen for another seven months. But it talks about giving $380

million a year to families with children under the age of 18. Of course, we

support more benefits to families, but with the NDP, you always have to read

the fine print. What does the fine print say on this benefit?

The government says that a family with one child will get $1,600 per

year. That works out to about $100 a month per child, with subsequent

children as well. But the fine print says that the maximum only goes to

families that are making under $25,000. At any income above $25,000, the

amount starts being clawed back as the family earns more, until you’re left,

at $55,000 in income, with about $700 a year instead of the $1,600 that the

government touts for the first child.

What’s the median income, according to StatsCan, for families in B.C.?

The median income is $85,000. This means that only a few families are going

to get the maximum. Most will get about half, probably about 50 bucks a

month per child, $1,700 a year for a family with three kids. It will go down

from there to nothing with any more income. It’s not a bad thing. We support

more help for families. But let’s realize that it’s not what it’s billed to

be. It’s not nearly as generous. It will not change the lifestyle of any

family in any radical way.

My constituents are also interested in health care, and I want to talk

about that for a moment. I receive constant requests for more health care

spending — spending on rare drugs, medical devices — complaints about

waiting lists for surgeries like deep brain stimulation for people with

Parkinson’s disease. I find these to be wrenching visits from my

constituents. They tear at my heart. I contact the minister’s office, but

there is little action on these things.

Although we have 24,000 people without a family doctor in Chilliwack,

there is no plan in this budget to improve access to doctors in our city. In

fact, the budget for health care will rocket up over the next three years by

$2½ billion. But all of it will go to higher wages for employees.

Nor will there be any hospital improvements in our hospital in

Chilliwack, although I get complaints about it being run down and about its

crowded nature. We have called for a new maternity ward. They had to close

the maternity ward altogether last summer, and Fraser Health even refuses to

meet about that.

This budget, particularly since most of us are going to be paying

higher taxes, is a disappointment for my constituents.

I want to move on for a few moments to talk about my critic role with

children and families and, particularly, about child care. The government

has made much of its child care programs and has spent an enormous amount of

money without delivering much more child care at all.

While the Premier had a great photo op last fall…. He announced a

milestone in creating 10,400 new spaces through their programs. It quickly

became apparent, through the minister of state’s office, that fewer than

2,000 of those spaces actually had children in them, were actually

functioning spaces.

[S. Gibson in the chair.]

Why is the government having such a hard time creating spaces? It’s

not at all hard to diagnose the problem. You just have to read the papers or

the emails I get. I’m sure the minister knows as well. But it doesn’t seem

like the NDP do read the papers, because they’re not doing anything about

it. So let me read a few stories for the benefit of the members

opposite.

I’m going to read some excerpts from a letter to the editor in the

Chilliwack Progress just a few weeks ago, on January

“Isn’t the provincial government advertising its success in creating

more child care spaces and making child care more accessible to families?

Yes, but there’s one glaring flaw in this plan. There are not enough

qualified and trained early childhood staff to work at these

centres….

[3:30 p.m.]

“A lot of ECEs have left the field. Although they may have a love for

children and a passion for education, love doesn’t pay the bills. ECEs have

left the field in droves over the past ten years….

“As well, working in the post-secondary education sector, I have noticed

a huge decline in early childhood education students over the past decade….

The government needs to wake up.”

Those are not my words. That’s from a constituent of mine writing in

the local paper.

Here’s another one from the Interior. It’s a story from Shuswap

carried in the Surrey Now-Leader on February 1.

“Shuswap Daycare manager Karen Bubola says daycare in Salmon Arm is in

crisis and getting worse. ‘We have lengthy wait-lists, well over two

years….’ Shuswap Child Care Resource and Referral says there are only 42

licensed spots among three providers in Salmon Arm and one in Enderby. There

is nothing in Sicamous and Sorrento. ‘In the entire Interior, no one is

offering after-hours or weekend care for any child, regardless of the

age.’”

How about this one from the Lower Mainland? I received this just a few

months ago, last November.

“Hundreds of spaces are allegedly being rolled out and funding provided

to build spaces, yet there is no staff to work them. The industry is in

crisis. Every day I am hearing of centres closing down or desperately

struggling, trying to keep their doors open because of the lack of qualified

staff. Owners and staff are working ten- to 12-hour days for weeks and

months at a time with no break because they can’t get staff.

“At my centre, we have increased wages by 20 percent over the past year.

We have an amazing work environment and a great staff benefits package,

including an employer-contributing RRSP program and medical-dental, yet we

still have a great deal of difficulty finding qualified staff. I can’t even

imagine what it must be like for smaller centres.”

This is in an urban centre in the Lower

Mainland.

The NDP virtually ignored this issue when they launched their program

in 2018. Instead they rushed big payments into the hands of parents, which

created more demand for more spaces, but they did nothing of the work to

staff those spaces that they were funding. They just wanted to get cheques

out as fast as possible into the hands of parents.

In an email I received, this is what one provider said to me: “What

has happened is that the cart has been put before the horse. Spaces create

votes. There are more parents than workers, but spaces don’t fix the

underlying problems.” The government created spaces for political reasons

without raising up a qualified workforce to staff them first.

When it comes to this budget, I’m quite astonished, actually, that the

government will be spending, this year, $88 million more on child care — in

the next fiscal year — for a grand total of $675 million. How much will it

spend on the supply of labour? You would think it would be significant, but

just 4 percent of it. Just $26 million in wage supplements will go to

alleviate the biggest problem: the dire shortage of workers.

I find it unbelievable that there is nothing extra for early childhood

educators in this budget. It’s all about getting cash into the hands of

parents who are also voters. This is a huge failure of public policy, and

time will reveal it to be so.

I want to move on to talk about $10-a-day care for a moment, because

the throne speech signalled an important change in direction in the

government’s child care program. In fact, I regard it as a reversal, a

turnaround. In its campaign promise of 2017, the NDP said this: “The

$10-a-day plan will build a child care system that provides safe care for

every child whose family wants or needs it.” They said it again in a

ministry document: “Universal child care that is affordable and available

for any family that wants or needs it.”

It wasn’t in those things only. It was also in the Canada-B.C. Early

Learning and Child Care Agreement. I’ll quote that as well: “B.C. committed

to implementing a ten-year universal child care plan that provides

affordable, accessible and high-quality care and early learning to every

child whose family wants or needs it.”

They committed it to the federal government in writing. But in the

throne speech, they backed away from it. They reversed course. They

abandoned the universal child care promise when they said this. I quote from

their throne speech: “This government brought forward…a universal child care

plan to provide affordable quality care to every family that needs

it.”

It’s no longer about needing or wanting it for any family; it’s just

about need. If it’s only about need, it’s no longer universal. Gone is the

idea that any family that wants subsidized care should be able to get

subsidized care. The government has backed away from one of its most

important campaign promises.

Many thousands of families voted for this government because of its

promise of universal care for all parents. That was even in the deal with

the Greens. Now the NDP have broken faith with the Greens and with their own

voters.

[3:35 p.m.]

I think they’ve found that it’ll cost too much and that, indeed, is

reflected in the budget before us, because this year will be the last year

of any significant change in the child care budget. The government will

increase spending to $675 million this year, but after that, the budget

flatlines for the next three years. And at that time, they’ll be halfway

toward their ten-year plan for child care.

In 2015, the Coalition of Child Care Advocates, which conceived of the

$10-a-day idea and which the NDP fully endorsed in their election platform,

put out a paper. It was entitled Solving B.C.’s Affordability Crisis in

Child Care: Financing the $10-a-Day Plan . The paper calculated the

total cost of $10-a-day care at $1.5 billion per year, plus parental

contributions of $400 million a year. And that figure is conservative. It’s

dated. Wages and inflation and other costs have risen since. I’m sure it’s

about $1 billion higher than that — maybe even closer to $3 billion for the

full plan.

Yet the top level of financing provided by the NDP government halfway

through the ten-year implementation period is less than a third of that.

There is no possible way that they will be able to triple the amount in this

budget nor in a future budget without going into a significant deficit. By

its own spending priorities, demonstrated in the 2020 Budget, the government

shows that it’s settling for a much more restricted, focused, narrowed

program — not universal for all who want and need it, as the Premier

promised in 2017. It’s now a strictly needs-based program like any other

needs-based program of the government.

What does this new direction in the throne speech, in the budget, mean

on the ground? In very practical terms, if it is based on need, then the

government needs to follow through with that principle. I’m calling upon the

government, once again, to immediately stop giving fee reduction initiative

subsidies to millionaires, because right now fee reduction payments of up to

$350 a month are universal for anyone who wants them, whether they need them

or not. The NDP is spending $105 million on this program, and much of it —

maybe $30 million, $40 million a year — is going to those with higher

incomes and not available to those who really need them.

This is morally indefensible for a government that claims to focus on

the most needy in our society. If the program is now based on need and some

parents don’t need it, they shouldn’t get it. But there’s no mention of a

change in this budget. The government needs to be consistent, even if it’s

politically difficult. In doing so, I’ll bet the government could save $30

million or $40 million that then could be refocused to spend on other needy

areas.

In the three budgets of this government…. It will spend nearly $1.7

billion on child care alone, and it can’t open more than 1,500 new

incremental spaces or find enough workers to staff them. This really defies

description to me. This is mismanagement on an epic scale. The government’s

program, to me, is bogus. It’s not delivering for families. When they find

out, they’re going to be really unhappy, and the people of B.C. will soon

hold them accountable for it.

Well, there were other things in the budget related to my critic area.

By that, there was about $50 million per year on other things. There was

very little detail about what they were. There’s $8 million per year more

for autism supports. I don’t have any quarrel with that, but I’d like to

know more about it. Last spring the Standing Committee on Children and Youth

visited a number of B.C. communities and heard from dozens of heroic parents

who have children with special needs, as well as heroic providers who work

with those children.

I want to bring to the government’s attention the final recommendation

of the committee’s report, which recommended more funding for respite care

and access to respite care across the province. The government devoted $3

million extra for adults with special needs in that regard, which isn’t much

given the need. I realize that — this isn’t the MCFD portfolio; it’s CLBC —

that’s not something for government to be very proud of. I was pleased to

see the medical benefits program augmented, but it doesn’t say by how much.

I don’t see in the budget any increase in respite funding for children,

which is not a hugely costly item, but it’s hugely important for thousands

of parents across B.C.

I wonder how the minister could miss this, given the standing

committee’s unanimous recommendation in that regard, a committee on which

four of their own MLAs sit. Those MLAs would be right to be disappointed in

their own government.

[3:40 p.m.]

All in all, this is a tax-and-spend budget, a budget top-heavy with

social spending and little in the way of economic development to support it.

It shows a disappointing lack of foresight on the child care file, although

it’s spending an enormous amount of money. Finally, there is very little for

my constituents to be happy about. I hardly need to say that I’ll be voting

against this budget.

Hon. H. Bains: It always is a pleasure — an honour, actually — to be here and speak

on issues that are important to not only just my family but the families

that I represent in Surrey-Newton and all across the province. I feel so

proud to be part of a government that brings in budget after budget,

programs and policies putting people in the centre and then develops

policies around those that will be impacted by our policies.

I just want to, before I get into what’s in this budget, say thank you

to the good people of Surrey-Newton who, for the fourth time, showed their

confidence in me, gave me the respect, gave me the privilege to represent

them in this great House. I am so humbled by the support that I get from my

community. It is a community that I’m proud to live in. It’s a community

that I’m proud to be part of. I can tell you that community is in much

better shape today than it was ten years ago because of all the programs

that we have done and brought in and that my colleagues in Surrey have

fought for and all the different funding and other benefits that came along

to help the people of Surrey.

I won’t be speaking too long. I have a meeting pretty soon, but I want

to touch on a number of areas that affect Surrey.

I want to say that I’ve been following Surrey politics for a long

time. I have lived in that community since 1978. My two children were born

and raised there. They went to school there.

I just want to say there are a number of issues that emerged in Surrey

during the time that I started to get involved actively in politics. One of

them was the lack of health care. People were made to wait in the Surrey

Memorial Hospital emergency ward for hours — six, seven, eight hours. It

happened in 2004, when my colleague, now from Fleetwood — he ran in Panorama

at that time — brought that issue to the forefront.

A number of us were elected in 2005. We raised that issue over and

over. Yes, there was some progress made. An improved Surrey Memorial

Hospital. The Jim Pattison facility was built. That is the work of good

MLAs, and the government at that time realized that we needed to do

something.

I also want to tell you that there was a demand for a second hospital

all along. Surrey is the fastest-growing community in B.C., if not in all of

Canada. Our city council has been saying that we get about 1,000 citizens

moving to Surrey every month. But they were surprised when they looked at

the numbers just recently. There were 1,400 to 1,500 coming to Surrey every

month.

The services and infrastructure never stayed with the population

growth. As a result, hospital lineups. Hallway medicine was commonplace in

Surrey.

Schools. More and more portables continued to come instead of building

schools. In fact, if you really look at the numbers…. If you talk to the

Surrey school board, they’ll tell you that between 2006 and 2010, not a

single dollar in capital was allocated to the Surrey school board for

capital expansion — not a single dollar.

Then they came in, and they invested some money. But again, think

about this. From 2006 to 2010, for four years, all those people moving in.

They don’t just move in by themselves. They bring their children with them.

As a result, we had portable after portable. We would have a new school

built, and there would be portables attached to it. When we formed

government, there were 7,000 students studying in portables at that

time.

[3:45 p.m.]

We said that we would eliminate those portables, because those

students deserve an education at the level of every other student all across

the province. We see the experience of all the students in British Columbia,

when the previous government took fight with the teachers in 2002 and 2003,

when they ripped up their collective agreement. Then the fight with the

teachers continued for 14 years, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Only the Supreme Court of Canada told them what they did was

illegal.

Think about this. Now we have to fix that mess that was left behind

and created by them. A whole generation of students came and left high

school without the proper supports and the resources that they need. They

came and left. They will never make up for that.

Now, since we formed government, we have hired 4,200 teachers and over

1,000 support staff, counsellors, librarians. They were not there. That

caused another challenge and stress to the system. We had to deal with 7,000

students in portables, to begin with. But the Supreme Court of Canada, by

having 4,200 new teachers come in…. That requires more classroom

spaces.

We’re dealing with it. I’ll give you a list of what we’ve done so

far.

On the hospital side. In 2005, the previous leader of the B.C. Liberal

Party, Gordon Campbell, stood on a piece of land located near 152 and No. 10

Highway and said that they are going to build a second hospital in Surrey.

The 2005 term came and ended. Nothing got done. In 2009, they were elected

again. Nothing got done. In 2013, nothing got done.

Then the true intentions of that government became very clear. They

were not going to build a hospital. You know why I say that? The current

leader of the B.C. Liberal Party was the minister in charge at that time. He

went and sold that land. Clearly, there was no intention to begin with. Then

he came in and just gutted it and said: “Look. We’re not going to build it.

Sell the land.” That’s what happened. Those are the facts. Then

what?

We knew that the population was growing, just like the education

system. We had to invest in and build more schools. I’ll get into the list.

We knew that this second hospital was needed, so we announced that there

will be a second hospital. We started working at it right away.

Again, you have to locate the land at the appropriate location, the

appropriate size. Then what happened? We found the land within the

government — 25 acres. I can tell you that I feel so proud that I was on the

Kwantlen board in the 1990s when we bought that piece of land and when we

moved that campus from a rental facility in Newton over to Cloverdale, and

there was excess land there.

We have acquired that land. It’s within the government transfer. So

that land is there. I can give you the address as well — 5500 and 5510 180

Street. That’s where Surrey’s second hospital will be built. The concept on

that plan is approved, which means that Treasury Board also approved the

budget. It’s already in the books, which means now we are moving into a

business plan. A business plan normally takes 12 to 18 months. Well, we’re

fast-tracking it, and we’re hoping to have it completed within 12

months.

What’s going to happen?

Interjections.

Hon. H. Bains: They’re chirping away over there, and they continue to misguide and

mislead people out there. I was hoping that they could stand up and become

adults and say: “We misled you, people of Surrey. We had no intention of

building that hospital.”

At least they could stand up now. “We support government’s intention

to build a second hospital.” None of them have said that. That just tells a

story of where they stand and where we stand.

The business plan will be completed. Then it goes for bids. Then the

precise dollars will be allocated. We’re told it’s going to take about $1

billion to $2 billion.

[3:50 p.m.]

It’s going to be a full-fledged hospital. I’m so proud that we are

going to build it, because we need it. It’s not a political statement. It’s

not a political position. It’s the need of the people of Surrey. We need a

second hospital. We’re going to build it, come hell or B.C. Liberals. I can

tell you that.

Let me say, just the other day the opposition leader went to Surrey,

in my riding. He was asked point blank by the media: “Will you build a

second hospital for Surrey?” He was asked that question. Here’s what he

said. Their position hasn’t changed since 2005. He said this: “Whether that

is a branch of Surrey Memorial Hospital or another hospital altogether is

another question.” That was his answer. It clearly shows they’re

consistently saying, since 2005, they will not build a second hospital in

Surrey.

We are going to build it no matter what. The people of Surrey can

count on us because every promise we made, we have delivered — every promise

we made. Let me go over to the….

Interjections.

Hon. H. Bains: Okay. You know, you don’t want me to go back to your record on

portables. Don’t encourage me.

Let me say what we’ve done and delivered to Surrey in 2½ years is

multiple times more than what they delivered in 16 years. Here are some of

the examples of what we’ve already done. As I said, a second Surrey

hospital, at the cost of $1 billion to $2 billion. B.C. Housing is providing

$29 million in capital funding through the supportive housing fund program

to RainCity Housing and Support Society’s 130-unit transitional housing

project. It’s located at 9810 Foxglove Drive. Come over to Surrey one day

and just visit some of these facilities. That would be great.

George Greenaway Elementary seismic upgrade, $11 million. Holly

Elementary seismic upgrade, $9 million. Sullivan Elementary school addition

to provide up to 200 new student spaces, $13½ million. Grandview Heights

Secondary school, a new secondary school to provide 1,500 student spaces,

$85 million.

Maddaugh Road elementary school, a new elementary school to provide

605 student spaces. Regent Road Elementary School, a new elementary school

to provide 655 student spaces. Edgewood Drive elementary school, a new

elementary school, again to provide 655 student spaces. Pacific Heights

Elementary, an addition to provide up to 300 more student spaces, $9.4

million. Mary Jane Shannon Elementary School seismic upgrade, $7 million.

That’s this budget, 2020.

Let’s talk about what we have done since 2017, ’18 and ’19.

Replacement of the Pattullo Bridge, at the cost of $1.3 billion. Panorama

Park Elementary, eight-classroom addition to provide up to 200 student

spaces. Coyote Creek Elementary School, four-classroom addition to provide

up to 100 more student spaces, $6.1 million. Frost Road Elementary school,

six-classroom addition to provide up to 150 more student spaces, $5.6

million.

Douglas area elementary school, a new elementary school to provide 605

student spaces plus two child care rooms. Sullivan Heights Secondary School,

to provide up to 700 more student spaces and childhood learning. Simon

Fraser University Surrey, sustainable energy and environmental engineering

building, $126 million.

Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre MRI expansion and

equipment procurement, $6.2 million. B.C. Housing is providing $29.6 million

in capital funding from the supportive housing fund program for 100

transitional beds and 30 shelter beds for men and women who are homeless or

at risk of becoming homeless. This facility is located at 14150 Green

Timbers Way in Surrey.

[3:55 p.m.]

B.C. Housing also provided capital funding for a new Aboriginal

housing development through the provincial investment in affordable housing

program. The Elizabeth Fry Society, $7.3 million for a 20-unit project in

Surrey. Kekinow Native Housing Society is seeing $9.4 million for a 103-unit

project in Surrey.

Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, a routine capital project for $6

million to maintain the pretrial services centre by completing an upgrade to

the water distribution system. The Fraser Valley Cancer Centre in Surrey, an

expansion of the acute care unit, chemotherapy area, $8 million. Surrey

Memorial Hospital in-patient psychiatric and seclusion room, $4.4

million.

On top of that, we have already opened an urgent care centre in

Surrey. I and my colleagues in Surrey are pushing hard. They’re working

together with the Minister of Health, and we are trying to convince the

minister that we need a second urgent care centre in Surrey.

Interjection.

Hon. H. Bains: The member over there…. I would encourage you to come when that

announcement comes. It’s coming.

I’m assured by the Minister of Health that we will get a second urgent

care centre in Surrey. We are building and we are providing services. I know

that they on the other side feel left out because they did nothing. They had

the opportunity. For 16 years, they ignored and they neglected. We are going

to, number one, fix some of the mess that they left behind, but we are also

moving ahead and looking forward.

They were involved, just like today — all politics, all the time.

That’s what they did in 16 years. Even with the Surrey Memorial Hospital

announcement we made, what they are doing is playing politics. For once I

say: “Go up there and at least tell the truth to the people.” These are your

habits that put you on that side.

You know, the way I watched for the last 2½ years, I can guarantee you

that the people of this province will keep you there for a long time because

you have learned nothing. You learned nothing.

Let me say what more we have done when you talk about making life more

affordable, life better, in this budget. Let’s take a look at what we have

done. Let’s take a look. We are bringing in, in this budget, the B.C. child

opportunity benefit. You know what that means? It will provide up to $1,600

a year for families with one child, up to $2,600 a year for families with

two children, up to $3,400 a year for a family of three children, and it

goes on. This money will be available until they turn 18.

So what does that all mean? Here is what it is. A family of four that

is earning $70,000 and living in Metro Vancouver could save nearly $30,000.

The book is very clear, and I have listed some of the areas where that money

is. I am going to refer to page 128 of the budget book. It listed and it

compared the personal income tax amongst provinces. Also, it will take you

back to 2016 and what they were paying and what they pay today.

A family of four. Let me say it. An individual making $80,000…. They

pay, in British Columbia, $4,314 in taxes. That is the lowest in the

country. A person making $100,000 pays, in British Columbia, $6,393. That

is, again, the lowest in the country. When you look at some of the

neighboring provinces…. In Alberta, that same person will pay $7,688

compared to $6,393 here in B.C.

That’s how we’re making a difference in people’s lives. The ordinary,

everyday citizens who get up in the morning and make their lunch, go to work

and work hard all day, pay their taxes, obey the law are the people we are

actually helping. Those numbers show clearly that it is helping them. I have

said here that with all of the changes that we have brought in, a family of

four earning $80,000 is paying 40 percent less in B.C. taxes today compared

to what they paid before we came in.

[4:00 p.m.]

Those are the facts. That’s what happens. A family of four making

$100,000 in B.C. is realizing 27 percent less tax in B.C. now than when we

came to power.

Let’s compare some of the other areas. Net provincial taxes since

Budget 2016. If you take a look at a family net income of $80,000, the total

tax that they paid in 2016 was $5,637. Today they are paying $3,761. After

all the policies are implemented, they will be paying $3,287.

A family of $100,000. Their net provincial tax in 2016 was $7,473, and

today it’s $5,738. When all the policies are implemented, as the child

benefit….

I would urge the member to stay behind. There is a lot of information,

stuff that you are missing.

Anyway, they paid $7,473 in 2016. Now they will be paying $5,738. But

after the policies are implemented, it will be $5,852. We’re making a

difference in everyday people’s lives. You know what? I’m so proud that we

are making and taking all these positions and making life better.

When I look to stand up here or engage in debates in this House or

within our caucus about policy that will be impacting people, I want to

relate to Christmas time.

My daughter, Jasmeen, and Darren, our son-in-law, were blessed with a

beautiful girl. Anna was born on December 28. My wife, Raj, and I were

there. When I held that child in my hand, and when I come back here…. Before

that, I had grandchildren, and I did the same thing. When I come here…. When

they grow up, when they have their own children or their grandchildren, at

least when they reflect back, they can say that papa was part of the

government that made their Canada, their lives, much better than what papa

inherited from people before him.

That is the guiding principle. That is actua