Third Session, 41st Parliament

(2018) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 144

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Tributes

Graham Woodward

R. Leonard

Introductions by Members

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Canadian cadet program

D. Davies

Data and technology systems for local governments

B. Ma

Golfing

D. Clovechok

Seafest events in Prince Rupert

J. Rice

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. study on house prices

S. Sullivan

The Beachcombers series

N. Simons

Oral Questions

Dispute with Alberta on Trans Mountain pipeline and purchase by federal government

A. Wilkinson

Hon. J. Horgan

M. Bernier

Passenger ferry service proposal for Saanich Inlet

A. Olsen

Hon. C. Trevena

Dispute with Alberta on Trans Mountain pipeline and purchase by federal government

S. Bond

Hon. J. Horgan

T. Stone

G. Kyllo

Government response to anti-pipeline activities

M. de Jong

Hon. J. Horgan

Dispute with Alberta on Trans Mountain pipeline and purchase by federal government

M. de Jong

Hon. J. Horgan

Government response to anti-pipeline activities

M. Polak

Hon. J. Horgan

Reports from Committees

Public Accounts Committee,

summary of activities,

2017-18

S. Bond

M. Dean

Tabling Documents

Statement of 2016-17 borrowings

Petitions

T. Shypitka

Orders of the Day

Committee of Supply

Estimates: Ministry of Attorney General (continued)

J. Yap

Hon. D. Eby

Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room

Committee of Supply

Estimates: Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (continued)

S. Gibson

Hon. M. Mark

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2018

The House met at 10:04 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers.

[10:05 a.m.]

Introductions by Members

Hon. J. Darcy: I have a number of introductions to make today. First of all, I’d like

to introduce my new constituency assistant, Keefer Pelech, who was born and

raised in Richmond. He worked for the West Richmond Community Centre and was

one of the youth who recently stood up in the community in order to say yes

to the modular housing project in that community. He’s been working as my

constituency assistant since last month. I’d like to ask the House to please

give him a very warm welcome.

And for first time, I think, we have a whole group of staff from the

Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. We have Tamara Casanova, Kate

Clifford, Jasmine Johl, Barb Bracewell, Nancy Tates, Sandy Ho, Jodie

McKinney, Leila Mazhari, Kelsey Ewart and Kendall Hammond. These are bright,

passionate, dedicated, smart people in the small but mighty Ministry of

Mental Health and Addictions, and I’d like to ask the House to please make

them all very welcome.

D. Davies: In the House today joins my LA, Jane Spitz. Everybody here in this

House can appreciate the amount of work and support that all of us receive

from our LAs.

Of course, I, unfortunately, was not here during the administrative

assistants week. I want to publicly put on the record that I still owe you

lunch, Jane. Thanks very much for all your work.

Hon. J. Sims: It’s a pleasure today for me to rise and introduce May He, CEO of

Longevity International Enterprises Ltd., a growing Canadian company.

Longevity is actively involved with the cultural entertainment industry

development boom that is going on in China, Canada and India. By linking

education with real production, they are leveraging the resources of

Bollywood and Vancouver, as the Hollywood of the North, with China as the

soon-to-be number one film market in the world.

Accompanying Ms. He is my friend Betty Hayer, who is an entrepreneur

and a businesswoman herself and quite actively engaged in both the cultural

and business aspects. May I ask that all in this House make them feel most

welcome.

My second set of introductions is someone who is very dear to me who

is in the House today, Jasjeet Boparai. I met her when she was 16 years old.

She walked into my office and wanted to get her work experience hours as a

volunteer. From that time on, she continued to volunteer in my office while

I was an MP and then transitioned into when I became an MLA. She has since

graduated from UBC and is now waiting for law school.

She is here with two amazing business people in our community: her

mother, Parmjit Boparai, who has built a business and is very dynamic, and

her father, Sukhwinder Boparai. Of course, they have two guests from Norway,

Darshan Kaur and Jagtar Singh, visiting us as well. Please make them feel

welcome.

M. Polak: As we get down to the final days of the session, our

minds….

Interjections.

M. Polak: Oh, you want to keep going? Well hey, yeah.

Interjections.

M. Polak: Oh, it’s not the official government position? Okay. There you

go.

We do, though, reflect on those who have helped us to do the jobs that

we do here. My job as Opposition House Leader is certainly made easier by

the group of folks that I have who help us to show up in question period

with a full slate of questions and ready to throw them at the

government.

[10:10 a.m.]

I want to welcome to this chamber and ask the House to welcome to this

chamber Derek Cummings, Cameron Ehl and Shane Mills. I don’t know if they’ve

made it in yet, because, of course, this is their time to shine. But they

certainly have been welcome, welcome assistance for me in making sure I

don’t have to do all of this myself. So would the House please make them

welcome.

L. Larson: In keeping with thanking people as we come to the end of the session,

I would like to thank Kevin Dixon, who happens to keep the Whip’s office in

order, which is extremely important for us. So thank you very much,

Kevin.

Hon. L. Popham: I’m hoping I can catch Strawberry Vale Elementary before they head out

the door. Thank you for joining us today. They have a whole swarm of

students with them, and I hope that they can join us for #beebcday out on

the front lawn. I’ll see you later. Thank you for coming.

Hon. H. Bains: In the gallery today are 12 members of CUPE Local 50. They are here to

celebrate their 100 years of representing working people. Local 50 started

with 55 members in 1918, and they have grown to 1,100 members today. They

represent workers in the city of Victoria, United Way of Greater Victoria,

BC SPCA, Royal Oak Burial Park, Gorge Vale Golf Club, Victoria police

department, city of Langford and Downtown Victoria Business

Association.

Please help me welcome the president, John Burrows; VPs Kyle McMorran,

Dan MacBeth; treasurer Carolyn Bradey; recording secretary Matthew McKay;

and executive members Ryan Rutledge, Christina Ewing, Marc Gignac, Shawn

Valgardson, Mairi Britton, Devon Cownden and Paul Knight.

I say congratulations on your 100 years of a strong and very good

representation of the working people, making their lives better. So thank

you, and congratulations to all of you.

S. Gibson: As MLAs here, we can never underestimate the assistants we have. I

want to stress today Elishia Butler and share with this House how important

she has been to four MLAs here: the members for West Vancouver–Capilano,

myself from Abbotsford-Mission, Coquitlam–Burke Mountain and Surrey–White

Rock. We’re grateful for her enterprise and hard work. It’s just a

coincidence, really, that the four most charismatic members of this House

are also attended by her. I know she’s very thankful for that.

Hon. M. Farnworth: That is a tough one to follow.

Assisting the government, as well as the opposition, but I’m talking

on the government side today, are our amazing interns. We have four interns

with us that I’d like the House to acknowledge — the great work that they

have done this entire session. They are Brett Koenig, Brady Yano, Tabitha

Black-Lock and Max Gardiner. Would the House please make them welcome and

thank them for the great job that they’ve done this session.

S. Cadieux: I am happy to introduce, of course, one of our legislative interns as

well. Cate White was born in Calgary but has been in Victoria for the last

six years. She attended the University of Victoria and completed a degree in

political science, with honours. She was a Vikes varsity rower. During her

internship, she was in the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and

Reconciliation before her placement with opposition caucus

research.

Her favourite part of the internship was learning about the variety of

public topics and working on estimates questions. I can’t imagine that. She

also enjoyed learning alongside the members for Prince George–Valemount and

Richmond South Centre.

Cate has said to us that she’ll truly miss the busy, fun and

exhilarating environment of the opposition research office. But she’s

excited to begin her next adventure, and we are so happy to congratulate her

and encourage her on her next step as a student in the faculty of law at the

University of Victoria this September.

[10:15 a.m.]

Would the House please make her welcome and say thank you.

Hon. R. Fleming: Just to follow on the member for Surrey South, there are a couple of

UVic political science students that I would like to introduce. Today we

have Jonathan Grenier and Jasmine MacGregor, both in that faculty and also,

perhaps more importantly, fantastic campaign volunteers who are tireless

members of the UVic New Democratic Party Club. I would ask the House to make

them most welcome here this morning.

I also want to echo the Minister of Labour in commenting on and

commemorating the century of labour that CUPE Local 50 represents in greater

Victoria, a fascinating period of time in terms of their achievement as a

union movement in this region, and I’d join in welcoming them to the House

this morning.

C. Oakes: I’m delighted to be able to announce a little secret in the House, a

great-held secret throughout the last session. In recognizing our fantastic

interns in this House, I have the pleasure of introducing today Zoe Duhaime,

who is working right now in the communications department.

Previously the youth poet laureate of Victoria with her poetry in the

Hall of Honour right here in the Legislature, it seemed a natural fit to be

a writer for us. On occasion, Zoe writes for us in French. Zoe graduated in

2017 from the University of Victoria with a double major in religious

studies and women’s studies. She studied religious diversity in Canada,

civil and sacred calendars, transnational feminism, ethics and religion and

the law. After the first internship, she will be moving back to Montreal to

write her first novel, which I very much look forward to reading, and to

pursue a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia

University.

Hon. Speaker, many members in the House have wondered who is behind

the B.C. Poli Portraits Twitter account. Until now, the identity of this

talented artist has escaped even the most ardent scrutiny of the press

gallery. This talented artist has taken it upon herself to compile a series

of images of her impressions of the daily life at the Legislature. In many

ways and always from the heart, she has put all the MLAs in the best light,

which is no small accomplishment.

I have the pleasure of informing the House that Zoe Duhaime is the

illustrator and mastermind behind all of the artwork, the Twitter account

B.C. Poli Portraits.

Thank you, Zoe, talented artist, great novelist. We can’t wait to see

what your future holds. Thank you very much on behalf of all of

us.

S. Thomson: On behalf of all of my colleagues in the Okanagan and in the

Thompson-Okanagan, I’d like to welcome to the House — and have you give him

a warm welcome — Glenn Mandziuk, who is the CEO of the Thompson-Okanagan

Tourism Association. He does a great job in promoting tourism, a major

economic driver throughout all of the Thompson-Okanagan, leading that

organization. Would the House please make him welcome today.

B. D’Eith: I just wanted to welcome to the House today, from Toronto, Erin

Benjamin, who is from Music Canada Live; Paul Haagenson and Marc Gertner,

from Live Nation Canada; and Nick Blasko, from Amelia Artists, who is also

the manager for the wonderful Tegan and Sara. Would the House make them all

feel very welcome.

M. Stilwell: On behalf of the members for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, Kamloops–South

Thompson and Surrey South, I’d like to welcome to the House today our

super-energetic, always enthusiastic LA, Neil Parkinson-Dow. He has

certainly made our job easier with the support that he has provided for us

in this session. Would the House please make him feel very

welcome.

[10:20 a.m.]

Tributes

GRAHAM WOODWARD

R. Leonard: I want to acknowledge the passing of one of my constituents.

Graham Woodward was 94 and a half. He slipped away from us on

Saturday.

I first met him as a neighbour. He managed to lure one of my

greatest mentors from Montreal to live in the Comox Valley. She passed

away in 2014. She was ten years younger than him, so it was quite an

unexpected turn of events. I want to acknowledge his daughter, who

persevered with him through his years alone and was an incredible

advocate for him and was constantly with him every day on the phone if

she wasn’t visiting him. It’s a real tribute to the strength of family

and the strength of people who care for their elderly parents. I just

wanted to acknowledge that.

Introductions by Members

T. Redies: I’d like to recognize two people today. First, I’d also like to echo

the comments of my colleague from Abbotsford-Mission with respect to Elishia

Butler. Elishia has been so helpful to me as a new MLA. Certainly, I

couldn’t have done this last year without her, so I want to particularly

recognize Elishia again.

The second person I’d like to recognize is Matthew Creswick. Matthew

is originally from Saltspring Island, and he graduated from the University

of Victoria with a bachelor of arts honours in political science and public

administration. Throughout his legislative internship, he’s been able to

work with MLAs like myself and the wonderful MLA from Richmond Centre in our

constituencies. He’s also been able to draft policies for civil servants in

the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training and work alongside

the opposition research office to support estimates and House

debates.

For Matthew, the legislative internship has offered a rare opportunity

to work at the heart of our government and with the various provincial

politics, and it’s exposed him to current events and political challenges

that face British Columbians. Matthew has done a great job for us while he’s

been here, and he is going onward to complete a masters of public

administration at the University of Victoria with the hopes of once again….

Believe it or not, he wants to come back and work in government.

Matthew, thank you for your time in my constituency. Thank you for

your work here, and good luck in your coming journey at the University of

Victoria.

Hon. L. Beare: It’s my pleasure to be welcoming a number of guests to the gallery

today to watch QP as we celebrate Tourism Week here in the province of

British Columbia. Joining us from across B.C. are leaders in the tourism

industry.

We have from the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association Glenn Mandziuk,

Ellen Walker-Matthews and Frank Antoine. From the tourism operators and

adventure tourism sector, we have Scott Benton, Kathy MacRae, Christopher

Nicholson and Brad Harrison. Joining us from Destination B.C., we have Clare

Mason, Maya Lange and Marion Young. And from the Tourism Industry

Association of B.C., we have Christine Willow.

Would the House please join me in making them all feel welcome, and

come join us this afternoon at lunch break in the Hall of Honour as we

celebrate Tourism Week in B.C.

D. Clovechok: It’s always an honour to work in this place, but sometimes it’s akin

to drinking out of a fire hose. So I do want to recognize the amazing work

that’s done, down in the basement where we live, with the LAs that we have.

That’s David up in the gallery, and also Steven and Galia, who did a tour of

duty down there with us.

I just want to recognize that they’re incredibly hard-working people.

They’re professional. They’re energetic. They’re young. They’re fun. They

make us old guys feel young again. I just really want this House to

recognize the amazing work that they do.

Also, I recognize my two CAs back at home, Rachel Loganberg and Stacey

Brensrud. I could not do this job without them. If the House wouldn’t mind,

please make these people feel very welcome.

S. Bond: I think it is important to recognize the exceptional young adults that

come and serve here in the Legislature. I’m very pleased to introduce one of

them who I was fortunate enough to have come and work with me in Prince

George–Valemount. Celina Bell has done a fantastic job in opposition

research.

[10:25 a.m.]

She also had the opportunity to work in the Ministry of Jobs, Trade

and Technology. I know the minister and I would agree that it would be a

fantastic place to be an intern. She did an exceptional job there. Celina is

going on to law school in Kamloops at Thompson Rivers University, but

probably the most exciting thing for Celina is that once the internship is

over, Celina is going to marry her best friend Clayton. Together, they’ll be

relocating, as I said, to Kamloops.

It’s been a pleasure to get to know her. We wish her nothing but the

best and thank her for the exceptional job she did in opposition

research.

E. Ross: As the session winds down here, I guess that everybody understands the

importance of our assistants. My assistant is moving on, might be moving on.

I hope she doesn’t. I hope she sticks around and comes back for the next

session. Galia Zavgorodni has kept me in check, hunted me down when there

are votes and took the blame for when I was late.

I really appreciate everything she’s done for me. Like everybody else,

we can’t do this job without our assistants, without our staff. On behalf of

my colleagues from Fraser-Nicola, Chilliwack-Kent and Kootenay East, who are

equally disorganized…. I think that Galia would dispute the fact of who are

the most charismatic MLAs in this building.

Thank you very much, Galia, and I hope you return next

session.

M. Lee: I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my wife of 26

years, who is here today in the House with us, Christina. Christina came

from Hong Kong when she was one year old, with a family of eight. She lived

in a basement for many years, in a bunk bed, until she was in her university

years. A true immigrant family making their way in this country.

I met her at UBC, on the student club executive together, when she was

working on a CIDA Indonesia project part time. She went on to finish her

bachelor of commerce degree at UBC, as well as to go into public relations

and marketing.

I took her away from all of that when I moved her to Ottawa, and we

had our first child in Ottawa then. We had children five years earlier than

we expected, so I took her away from her professional life to be a

stay-at-home mom. She raised our three children to the fine adults they are

today.

Our love of community has come together in so many ways. Her volunteer

work with the Red Cross, Heart and Stroke Foundation and other organizations

in the community has been an example to many others. Many of those in my

constituency in Vancouver-Langara have gotten to know her on the doorstep

and in the community, and many would think that she’s actually the better

candidate and the better MLA. But I would say that she has driven a lot of

integrity and compassion. She has been my rock.

Christina, I could not do this without you. I love you

dearly.

Hon. D. Donaldson: It’s a great pleasure I have today to introduce a grades 4, 5, and 6

elementary class from Witset Elementary School. Witset is a Wet’suwet’en

community, halfway between Smithers and Hazelton on the Bulkley River, a

beautiful location. They’re in the gallery today to witness question period.

They went really crazy on their fundraising efforts to get here, over 1,000

kilometres north — some of them have never even flown on a plane before —

and came down on the plane. I would ask the chamber to give them a warm

welcome to question period today.

J. Yap: I have two special people to recognize today. Along with many

colleagues, I have in the gallery my legislative assistant, who is here to

observe. This is a person who keeps me organized and on track and is just

incredibly efficient. I really appreciate the support that she gives me.

Would the House please give a warm welcome to Parveen Sandur, who is here

with us.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize one of our colleagues who is

having a special day today. It’s not always that we’re in session, when

we’re sitting as a chamber, and we get to celebrate that one special day —

the birthday.

[10:30 a.m.]

I wonder if all members from all sides of the House can join me in

wishing a happy birthday to my dear colleague the member for Richmond North

Centre. Happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker: Member, there’s actually another birthday today. There’s the birthday

for the member from Chilliwack.

J. Tegart: It’s quite a surprise to look up in the gallery today and see a face

that’s familiar. It’s a great pleasure to introduce Frank Antoine, who’s

here with TOTA today, I think. He also serves with Indigenous Tourism. Frank

is a member of the Bonaparte Indian band and has worked out at Quaaout Lodge

for a long time and been very involved in Historic Hat Creek Ranch. He’s a

young, up-and-coming leader in our area and an incredible role model on

volunteerism and leadership. Welcome to Frank, and please join me in making

sure he feels very welcome here.

J. Thornthwaite: I, too, have some guests to introduce today. First and foremost, my

legislative assistant, Steven Lee, who really helps us out there, as was

already mentioned, in the basement. He had to leave to do something very

special in his life in the middle of this session, and that was to get

married. So we congratulate him.

We were all very well taken care of down there in the basement by

Galia — and I’ll try to say Galia’s last name — Zavgorodni. I know I

probably didn’t do that right, but at least we’ve got it on the record. Of

course, the partner in crime down there, David Decolongon, as well, also

helps me. Sorry, David. I got that one wrong. They can laugh. And, of

course, my good friend Neil Parkinson-Dow goes everywhere to help out,

particularly in the way of dealing with the video and technical stuff that

doesn’t always work when we try to make it. He makes everything

fine.

Then, just to make sure that my constituency assistants back home

aren’t jealous, Nick Hosseinzadeh and Stephanie Marshall-White help me in

North Vancouver.

I also notice that I have a friend up there — Kathy MacRae from the

bear-viewing industry. Welcome to Victoria and the chamber as

well.

Can we please make all of these wonderful people welcome.

T. Wat: I, too, would like to echo the comments from the basement MLAs that we

are so lucky to have been served by the most charismatic and also handsome

and passionate young assistants — Steven, Galia and David. They are the most

handsome and charismatic assistants that our basement MLAs have. I must say

that I wouldn’t have done this job without their care and love for us,

especially my Steven. He shares the same surname as my daughter, so I see

him as my daughter.

Actually, before my colleague from Richmond-Steveston wished me a

happy birthday today, Steven wished me a happy birthday when I walked into

my office. I couldn’t even remember my birthday. Thank you,

Steven.

S. Chandra Herbert: I see two friends of mine up in the gallery today. Philip Wadell and

Ken Gracie are here. They’re both incredible volunteers here in the West End

— there in the West End, although I never feel I leave it. Both work with

groups like the West End Seniors Network, Rotary House, a number of cultural

and arts organizations.

I want to make them very, very welcome to this House and thank them

for their volunteerism and for all they give to our community in the West

End. Thank you for everything.

M. Bernier: It’s an exciting day, I guess, for all of us. I’m thinking maybe we

just need a show of hands for the last few people who haven’t been

introduced here and maybe welcome them.

I do have a couple of introductions I want to do as well. It’s not

often I get to introduce my wife. Not to be a one-upper to my colleague, but

my wife actually…. It’s a real pleasure for her to come down and join me

this week, because we’re celebrating our 27th anniversary together. So it’s

nice to do that. Again, I thank her and love her for everything, because as

we all know, everybody in this House has family behind us that allow us to

do this.

[10:35 a.m.]

I also want to introduce my LA as well. We had a bit of an arm wrestle

back here on who was going to have the privilege of introducing Connor

Gibson. Connor Gibson comes from the Courtenay-Comox riding. I know he does

a lot of work and a lot of volunteering up there. He has spent many years

now in the precinct, helping when we were in government and now in

opposition, in lots of different roles.

I’d like to not take away from all the other introductions by saying I

think that he’s probably one of the strongest, hardest-working LAs, because

he puts up with quite a motley crew of MLAs. So I want to thank Connor, as

well, for all the work that he’s doing for us.

D. Barnett: On behalf of my colleagues from Cariboo North and Kelowna West, who

are some of the hardest-working MLAs in the province of British Columbia —

we are on the main floor, so that says the calibre — I would like to thank

and recognize our legislative assistant, Karen Bill, who has been in this

precinct for many years in many different positions. I’d like to thank her

for all the work and dedication she does for us — along with Doug Secord and

Dylan Kelso, who do a lot of work and research and writing for all of us on

the main floor. So thank you to all of them.

And to my constituency assistants. I have a new young lady named Toni

Taylor, who started with me recently, as my other assistant, Jenny Huffman,

has bought…. She and her husband have a huge ranch, so her preference is

chasing cattle, not people. I thank her for all she did — and also to

Beverly Marks in my office in 100 Mile. Thank you to all of you on behalf of

myself and my colleagues on the main floor.

G. Kyllo: I’m pleased today to be joined in the House by a good friend, Coun.

Louis Thomas. Louis is a councillor with the Neskonlith Indian Band, based

out of Chase. Louis came down to Victoria to join me here today and have

meetings with a number of different colleagues. The Minister of Advanced

Education was very kind in giving of her time this morning, and we have a

meeting later this afternoon with the Minister of Indigenous Relations and

Reconciliation.

Louis is an amazing advocate, does a ton of work in the Shuswap area

and is involved with a very diverse and a large number of different

communities in and around the Salmon Arm community. Would the House please

make my friend Louis very welcome today.

M. Morris: It’s my pleasure to introduce a young intern, Sarah Lazin, that we

have here in the House. Sarah was first placed in the policy division of the

Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat. She then came to work for the

opposition caucus as part of the communications team.

She completed a bachelor of arts in political science and journalism

at the University of Victoria. Prior to beginning the internship, she worked

as the co-editor and chief of the Martlet newspaper. She’ll be

heading to law school in the fall and hopes to focus on human rights to one

day work as an advocate on issues such as repatriation or reproductive

rights.

Would the House please make her welcome.

J. Isaacs: I’d also like to welcome two of our outstanding LAs to the House

today. Elishia Butler and Jane Spitz are very talented and keep us organized

and on track every day, so I’d like to thank them for their assistance

throughout the last two sessions. I’d also like to recognize Justin

Brattinga and Dion Weisner for all their help in research and

development.

T. Shypitka: I’m lucky today to have three friends in the gallery with me. First of

all is Philip Jones. He’s the president and owner of Royal LePage East

Kootenay Realty. It’s the largest real estate firm in the southeastern

corner of British Columbia, serving the East Kootenay with offices in

Cranbrook, Kimberley, Fernie and Sparwood. Philip is also my ex-boss, back

in my real estate days.

The second is the mayor of Cranbrook, Lee Pratt. He’s an

ex-vice-president, branch manager and investment advisor with CIBC Wood

Gundy. He’s the present owner and partner with his son in the O.K. Tire

franchise in Cranbrook.

Third and last but certainly not least, Galia Zavgorodni, my awesome

LA that’s up there. She’s had the daunting task of keeping me organized and

on time. That’s a challenge. It absolutely is. So thanks to her.

Would the House please welcome them.

[10:40 a.m.]

D. Ashton: I don’t see the young lady that keeps us in line downstairs, Shala

Robins. I had the pleasure of working with her husband. He was the former

CEO of the city of Princeton. They’ve moved down to the coast. She does an

exemplary job.

I also would like to recognize somebody in the gallery today, a young

lady that’s the keeper of the gate in the opposition caucus room, Hayley

McIntosh, who just came off a very successful Swiftsure race.

Congratulations, Hayley.

B. Stewart: I wouldn’t want to be outdone by my colleagues here in terms of

recognizing the people that have helped keep us working and made certain we

get through the session. I just want to recognize one of the sessional

legislative assistants, Hayley McIntosh. She has been unbelievable in terms

of working on behalf of all of this side of the House and making certain we

are kept in line and doing our work, amongst the fact that she’s an aspiring

swing dancer. We look forward to seeing her in her element in the

future.

I’d also like to recognize two returning CAs in my office who are

watching and tuned in today, Erica Macnab and Cheryl Doll.

S. Gibson: I’m advised that students from Sandy Hill Elementary in my riding are

here — grades 5, 6 and 7. They’re here with their teacher — looking after

them well, I know: Natalie Grieve. Would this House please welcome students

from Sandy Hill Elementary from Abbotsford, B.C.

A. Weaver: I wanted to participate in what truly has to be a record here in the

B.C. Legislature — 45 minutes of introductions. It’s important that anybody

in this Legislature who has not been recognized, please feel that you are

warmly welcomed by all of us in the House, and we’re sorry that you weren’t

recognized.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Just on that note, I can confirm, after consultation with the Clerk a

few moments ago, that this, in fact, has been the longest set of

introductions in the history of this place.

Mr. Speaker: We have West Vancouver–Sea to Sky to make sure we make it into the

Guinness Book of World Records too. No? Okay.

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

CANADIAN CADET PROGRAM

D. Davies: Everybody’s hands are sore, I see.

Throughout May and June, the cadet corps and squadrons around this

province will be holding ceremonial reviews — and, indeed, throughout

Canada. This incredible program is often called Canada’s best-kept

secret. The Canadian cadet program is for youth aged 12 to 19 and is

well known for building character, confidence and, of course, great

citizens. The cadet program predates Canada’s confederation and is

celebrating its 157th year in Canada.

I am proud to have worked with this program for the past 23 years

as a major in the cadet instructors cadre, and I could not give credit

enough to this program that I belong to, first as a cadet as well as an

officer, to build my own personal life and point me in my career

direction.

Why do youth join cadets? Well, it’s to have fun, to be with their

friends and to make new ones, to partake in interesting and unique

challenges and to participate in diverse training at no cost — no cost.

They get to learn valuable life skills, work and personal; improve their

self-confidence and sense of responsibility; pursue an interest in

Canada’s Armed Forces; and be a part of a program that is both welcoming

and nurturing, where young people feel included and have a sense of

belonging.

The cadet program includes cadets from the air, army and navy

elements and focuses on training around teamwork, leadership and

citizenship. Sea cadets learn seamanship skills and how to sail. Army

cadets focus on adventure training activities, such as outdoor

activities and domestic and international expeditions. Air cadets learn

the principles of aviation, while some learn to become glider pilots,

pilots of engine-propelled aircraft or both.

[10:45 a.m.]

The cadet program is funded by the Department of National Defence

in partnership with our civilian sponsors, the Navy League, the Army

Cadet League and the Air Cadet League. League members support the cadets

by working in partnership with local communities.

I encourage all members of this House and, in general, the public,

to attend these ceremonies over the next couple months, as it’s a great

opportunity to come out and see how these young cadets are making a

difference in themselves and how they positively impact all the

communities that we represent.

DATA AND TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS

FOR LOCAL

GOVERNMENTS

B. Ma: Imagine for a moment that you’re a planner, you’re an engineer,

you’re a logistician, or you’re a mayor for a municipality. At any given

moment, you know exactly how much power is being used in any part of

your city. You know how much water is needed and where it’s flowing to

and from, how much waste is being produced and where it needs to go, how

much traffic there is at any intersection within your

borders.

Your buses are running on time. But are there enough of them going

to the right stops and running along the right streets? Maybe you need

to redistribute your resources and your vehicles in real time. Maybe

what you need is a complete digital model of your entire city so that

you can anticipate what will happen if you upzone this block, if you run

a bike lane down that street, if you build a homeless shelter next to

that grocery market.

How does the traffic change? How does your population react? Who

moves in? Who moves out? How does the local economy respond? How do your

resource allocations keep up? How many doctors will you need? How many

doctors will you get?

All this is possible and more with smart city technologies. An

exciting, still-developing field, smart city technologies use the

Internet of things, artificial intelligence and data analytics in a

cutting-edge way that supports strong and healthy social, economic and

cultural development. But there are pitfalls. For instance, how do you

defend against unauthorized access into your system? How do you protect

the privacy of your citizens? These are not minor concerns, but they can

be overcome with a concerted effort.

I’m very pleased to be able to share that earlier today the

government of B.C. launched the B.C. smart communities pilot program to

help local governments use data and technology to improve services and

help people be more connected. It’s an exciting new program, and I can’t

wait to see what comes of it.

GOLFING

D. Clovechok: It gives me a great deal of pleasure to rise here today and speak

about a sport that is near and dear not only to me but to millions of

British Columbians and Canadians. It’s a sport that I started to play at

five years old and played with my dad and brother every night after

school and continue to play today. I’m thrilled to say that my son beats

me these days, and my oldest granddaughter has been learning to play

this for the past four years.

Of course, I’m talking about the sport of golf, and we all know

that yesterday was National Golf Day. In Columbia River–Revelstoke, we

have 18 amazing golf courses, and some have won national awards. We are

a golf mecca, visited yearly by thousands from all over Canada and the

world. It’s an industry that represents both economic and social pillars

in our community. If you’re a golfer and have never played our courses,

let me encourage you to do so. They will be the highlight of your golf

career.

Golf has many faces, and I will reference a few of them.

Economically, it’s a $2.8 billion industry in B.C., creating 44,000

jobs, $1.27 billion in household income, and generates $465 million in

taxes. From a social investment perspective, the 300-plus courses in

B.C. are locally owned and operated and provide charitable and taxation

benefits to British Columbian communities. Golf courses provide valuable

green space and wildlife refuge. Turf and trees capture carbon, create

oxygen, cool the air and filter storm and water runoff. Golf courses are

leaders in environmental stewardship. The industry has an integrated

pest management effort and strives to be an industry leader in greener

best-management practices.

And it’s good for you. Approximately 10,000 steps happen on each

18 holes, and it encompass all demographics. People who play golf

benefit physically, socially and mentally from golf. Golf is a game for

all ages and abilities and is the No. 1 sport activity in

Canada.

Golf is an amazing game, and I want to thank the Allied Golf

Association of B.C. for all they do. If you don’t play it, there’s still

time to start. I’d like to challenge the members opposite to a golf game

with us some time.

[10:50 a.m.]

SEAFEST EVENTS IN PRINCE RUPERT

J. Rice: During every second weekend in June since 1978, the people of

Prince Rupert have come together for three days of music, dancing,

parades and activities for the entire family. I’m speaking of Seafest,

and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this great event, the Prince

Rupert Special Events Society is revisiting their inaugural theme: “The

way it was.”

While I did not live in Prince Rupert for the first Seafest, I’m

told by longtime residents that the way it was in Prince Rupert is the

way it still is. What I mean by that is that the community spirit that

prompted the first Seafest is still alive and well.

People from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds show off

their talents, music and food, and because of the diversity in my home

community, there is truly something for everyone. Sports enthusiasts can

participate in three-on-three basketball, four-on-four hockey, drop-in

soccer or rugby. Car enthusiasts are invited to Saturday’s

show-and-shine or to cheer the kids racing in the soapbox derby. Artists

are invited to show off their skills during the Fast and Furious Art

Attack, where they have 20 minutes, three colours and one easel to

create their latest masterpiece. The Quick and Daring tests our

carpentry, boat-building and navigational skills. Thankfully, Marine

Search and Rescue are there for those crafts that don’t

float.

The seniors tea recognizes 75/50 club members for the contribution

of those seniors who are 75 years of age and have lived in Prince Rupert

for more than 50 years. Music fans can attend numerous performances.

Children will have fun activities to participate in, like face painting,

bouncy castles and games.

Another fan favourite each year is the Seafest parade. Last year

55 community groups and individuals filled Second and Third avenues with

bagpipes, marching bands, bhangra dancers, First Nations drummers,

music, candy and laughter.

Yes, the way it was in Prince Rupert is the way things still are —

a diverse and resilient community that comes together when things are

tough and when it’s time to celebrate, recognizing our past and future

revolves around the sea. Congratulations and many thanks to Prince

Rupert Special Events for hosting the 40th annual Seafest.

CANADA MORTGAGE AND HOUSING CORP.

STUDY ON HOUSE

PRICES

S. Sullivan: I want to pay tribute to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp.

for its service to our country.

A great challenge facing urban Canada is rising house prices,

threatening our economy and young people. There are many theories, such

as foreign buyers, but no definitive explanation. The corporation was

directed to find the causes using academic quality research. Thirty PhD

and master’s economists spent a year and $1.5 million crunching numbers

using massive data sets from Statistics Canada, the largest such study

ever.

Earlier this year they published their 220-page report entitled

Examining Escalating House Prices in Large Canadian Metropolitan

Centres . By just plugging in three variables — income,

population and mortgage rates — they could predict 75 percent of Metro

Vancouver’s price rise. They found the other major cause in the

elasticity of housing supply curves. Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton all

have healthy supply curves. A house price rise causes a significant

increase in housing. Toronto’s supply increases are only half of a

healthy city. Metro Vancouver has a very inelastic supply curve,

creating only one-quarter of the housing expected of a healthy

city.

Geography and government policy are responsible. Since we cannot

control geography, government policy is to blame. The C.D. Howe

Institute report released last week found government policies have

caused Metro Vancouver house prices to double. The report is full of

insights. It urges government to recognize the positive as well as the

negative of speculation. Most British Columbians live in spec housing,

housing created by speculators. The report cautions about overly broad

policy actions.

Please join me in thanking CMHC for shedding light on this

important topic.

[10:55 a.m.]

The Beachcombers SERIES

N. Simons: If you grew up in Canada in the 1970s or ’80s and you were

watching TV on a Sunday night, you probably watched The Wonderful

World of Disney , and then you probably watched The

Beachcombers . For that matter, if you grew up in any one of 60

other countries in the world where it was broadcast, you may well have

been watching The Beachcombers there too.

In the 18-year span between 1972 and 1990, over 360 episodes of

this series were filmed in the beautiful seaside town of Gibsons on the

Sunshine Coast. Everything about this show was unabashedly west coast

and unabashedly Canadian. It told our stories. But only 60 episodes have

been aired since 1990, and this needs to change.

The Beachcombers had a cast of contrasting characters. It

told original stories about fishing, logging and the ecology. It

explored land claims and other First Nations issues. There were even

references to our ferry service. It showed the beauty of our precious

coastline. One episode even centred around a proposed pipeline from

Alberta through B.C. Being able to watch The Beachcombers again

is in the national interest.

It is the longest-running drama in the history of the CBC. People

come from across the country and around the world to visit Molly’s

Reach, which is still serving meals to this day. It’s a prime tourist

stop in its original location on the still picturesque waterfront. Just

up the street from Molly’s Reach is one of the boats in the series, the

Persephone , which has been restored and stands as a

cultural landmark.

It’s my duty to bring attention to the fact that only 60 of these

360 episodes have been aired, and none are yet to be found on CBC’s own

on-line player at CBC.ca. Along with Jackson Davies, our favourite

Mountie, I’m calling on the CBC, our national broadcaster, to make this

classic television series available again for the enjoyment of not just

Canadians but fans around the world.

Oral Questions

DISPUTE WITH ALBERTA ON

TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE AND

PURCHASE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

A. Wilkinson: Today we learned that the federal government is about to use our

federal tax dollars to buy the Trans Mountain existing pipeline as well

as the expansion project to ensure that the project proceeds and is

built. This is a total failure for the Premier — being paid for by

taxpayers while severely damaging our relationships with Alberta,

The question squarely lies on the Premier’s desk. Will he finally

admit his strategy has failed?

Hon. J. Horgan: I thank the member for his question. I did receive a phone call

this morning from the Prime Minister, and he advised me that the federal

government had made a decision to invest in a pipeline between Edmonton

and Vancouver. That was a decision that was made by the Minister of

Finance federally and the Prime Minister of Canada, and they’ll be

accountable for that.

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

supplemental.

A. Wilkinson: This issue is probably the single largest in the history of this

government since it was sworn in last July. Today is an important

day.

The federal government takeover of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, not

only the existing pipeline but the expansion project, means that this

Premier has accomplished nothing at all on this file. This is a complete

failure by this Premier, who is being toyed with by his Environment

Minister.

Interjections.

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

A. Wilkinson: What has been accomplished is the complete destruction of investor

confidence in British Columbia. This has become a reckless, erratic

government that scares off investors.

Perhaps the Premier can tell us: is he prepared to admit this

defeat and acknowledge the failure?

Hon. J. Horgan: The only thing missing from that question was asking me to come

clean. It’s about coming clean that we started this endeavour in July of

last year.

[11:00 a.m.]

We want to make sure that our coast remains clean. We want to make

sure that the government of British Columbia always stands up for the

people of British Columbia — not offshore investors, not governments in

other jurisdictions but the people of B.C. We’ll continue to do

that.

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

supplemental.

A. Wilkinson: Well, it seems the Premier has already forgotten the fact that we,

the taxpayers of British Columbia, are now going to pay for his blunder.

The Premier seems to think he’s going to get better coastal protection

out of this new deal. Well, he has already snubbed his nose at Ottawa

about their $1.5 billion coastal protection plan. Meanwhile, we have

tankers going by Victoria every day, on their way to Washington

state.

The Premier has accomplished nothing on this file. When will he

admit his mistake, eat some humble pie and go cap in hand to Ottawa and

ask for better coastal protection?

Hon. J. Horgan: Something that the member on the other side has forgotten, and

perhaps his colleagues as well, was the submission by the government of

British Columbia in 2016, as part of the National Energy Board hearing,

where the government of British Columbia said: “One particular challenge

of the recovery of diluted bitumen from water arises when the product

becomes submerged or sinks. The evidence shows that this may occur when

it hits fresh water. The province submits that the effectiveness of the

techniques has not been proven, particularly in British Columbia’s

rivers.”

If anyone has forgot anything, it’s people on that side of the

House, who disregard it now, the impacts on British Columbia.

M. Bernier: From day one, the Premier has known that he could not block the

Trans Mountain project. He’s chosen to play politics rather than

actually working for the best interests of British Columbia. His actions

are now costing British Columbians and Canadians billions of dollars.

Let’s be clear on one issue here. This was a project that was going to

be funded by private interests, by private groups. Instead, now it’s

going to be funded by the taxpayers of Canada and British

Columbia.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, if we may hear the question.

M. Bernier: I’ll make it easy. Why did the Premier continue on with his

reckless actions that are going to cost all Canadians money?

Hon. J. Horgan: There’s nothing at all reckless about living by the rule of law.

There’s nothing at all reckless about asking a court, a third party, to

clarify jurisdictional disputes within our Canadian confederation.

That’s what we’ve done. I think that the member, if he wants to ask

questions about reckless expenditures of public taxpayers’ money, should

run for parliament and go to the House of Commons and ask the federal

Finance Minister.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Peace River South on a supplemental.

M. Bernier: British Columbians right across this province have come out loud

and clear with their support for this project, yet this NDP has just

tried to downplay that fact. The majority of people have come out in

favour of this project. This government has ignored that. They’ve

ignored those voices. They’ve ignored the people of British Columbia.

Instead, he’s catering mostly just to his most important constituents,

which I think are sitting down at the end, the members of the coalition

party, the Green Party.

The Premier needs to actually acknowledge that his politically

motivated actions have only displaced private investment. Will he do

that today?

Hon. J. Horgan: Again, in July, the government changed. The people on that side of

the House did not want to stand up for the interests of British Columbia

and the coast. We do. At that time, there was an election, and almost 60

percent of those who cast ballots, cast ballots for parties who had a

different perspective than those on that side of the House. That seems

to be forgotten by the member who raised the question.

We have, from the beginning, worked with Kinder Morgan. As they’ve

presented themselves, seeking permits, we’ve granted those permits. We

have not harassed the company in any way. The decision to invest tax

dollars in the project was not made by this parliament. It was not made

by this government. It was made by the federal Liberal Party in

Ottawa.

[11:05 a.m.]

PASSENGER FERRY SERVICE

PROPOSAL FOR SAANICH

INLET

A. Olsen: Recently the hon. Premier was in the local media speculating on an

idea to connect the Saanich Peninsula and Cowichan Valley by a bridge.

This idea has come up every decade or so, usually after an incident

turns increasing congestion on the Malahat into gridlock. A shiny bridge

with architectural splendour makes for grand politics, but it’s not the

best solution. It will be a giant black hole in our budget, increase

greenhouse gas emissions and cars on the road and require expensive

upgrades to Beacon, Mt. Newton, Keating, Sayward, Haliburton and

Uptown.

To the Minister of Transportation, there are ongoing discussions

about a passenger ferry service across the Saanich Inlet. If the

provincial government was part of the dialogue, it would provide

certainty to potential service providers and commuters that a passenger

ferry service is supported and will be around now and in the future.

Will you work with me and the various stakeholders already at the table

to investigate ferry services across the Saanich Inlet?

Hon. C. Trevena: I appreciate the question from the member of the Third Party. He’s

right. Every time there’s a crisis, we’re starting to look at different

solutions. We are looking, again, at the report that came in 2007 and

the potential of a bridge. We are looking at other avenues to deal with

what is clearly a problem for people on the south Island, people who are

travelling across the Malahat.

It is an area where we have issues of safety, where we’re dealing

with that. Also, it does narrow up through a provincial park. So we’re

looking at all different avenues to try and make sure that access to the

capital regional district can be kept open. I would be happy to sit down

with the member to talk about ideas that he and others have.

Mr. Speaker: Saanich North and the Islands on a supplemental.

A. Olsen: We’ve long needed better transit on the Saanich Peninsula and in

the Cowichan Valley. Yesterday, in response to a question from my

colleague from the Cowichan Valley, the Minister of Transportation

referred to the government’s transportation vision.

We’ve had reports, studies and visions drafted, shelved and

collecting dust on how to improve the transportation system on south

Vancouver Island. There is a strong economic case for a passenger and

complementary vehicle ferry service between Cowichan Bay, Pat Bay and

Swartz Bay. There’s a social and economic and environmental case for a

rapid bus system on the Pat Bay Highway, serviced by better

neighbourhood transit services.

To the Minister of Transportation, we don’t need a big, shiny, new

bridge. What we need is a flexible, cost-effective, reliable service

today and for the long term so people can invest and we can improve the

quality of life on south Vancouver Island. When will you join the

stakeholders at the table to seriously discuss a passenger ferry service

on the Saanich Inlet?

Hon. C. Trevena: I think that we’ve sat down and talked with the member about

visions for transit and transportation on the south Island, the Saanich

Peninsula, right across out to Sooke. We were also talking about going

up to the Cowichan Valley. We have a record investment in B.C. Transit.

Our government is ensuring that people can afford to travel and can

afford to travel easily. Obviously, there are problems with delays when

there are accidents, and so on.

I agree with the member. We do need to have a vision, and I’m

happy, as I said before in answer to his previous question, to sit down

and talk about different ideas to ensure that we can get people moving

safely and effectively across the south Island.

DISPUTE WITH ALBERTA ON

TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE AND

PURCHASE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

S. Bond: This government is a national embarrassment. They have known from

the moment they took office that they could not stop this project. We’ve

certainly seen them surprise British Columbians with new taxes, but

they’ve managed to take this to a whole new level. Now Canadians from

coast to coast to coast will be paying billions of dollars for this

Premier’s actions, to replace private sector investment with public,

taxpayer dollars.

The Premier knew he couldn’t stop the project, but that didn’t

stop his reckless actions. Now, today, Canadian taxpayers are paying the

bills instead of the private sector. When will this Premier stand up and

explain to Canadians how he’s responsible for this mess?

[11:10 a.m.]

Hon. J. Horgan: I thank the member for her question. It is apparent, I think, to

anyone who has been paying attention over the past number of months that

the actions of this government have been fairly straightforward. We

enjoined two lawsuits that were already underway. We talked about

consulting with British Columbians about ensuring that we had a

regulatory regime in place that would protect the public interest, the

people of British Columbia’s interest.

Interjections.

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

Hon. J. Horgan: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

When our adjoining neighbour in Alberta said that they didn’t feel

that we had the jurisdiction, we asked them to join with us, to go to a

higher court, as civilized people would do, as friends would do, to find

a solution to an impasse and a divide. They declined to do that, so we

went on our own.

Now, if the member on the other side and her colleagues seem to

think that using those tools available to us to protect B.C.’s interest

is somehow disrespectful of federal taxpayers, I don’t think she

understands how decisions are made in this country.

The federal government made a decision that they will be

accountable for, and it’s appropriate that if those on that side of the

House do not want to do or understand the business of this place, they

should run for federal parliament and ask the federal Finance Minister

why he made his choice.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Prince George–Valemount on a

supplemental.

S. Bond: What’s blatantly obvious is that this Premier’s disrespect for

British Columbians includes the fact that despite the fact he knew he

couldn’t stop this project, he continued with his reckless actions,

which today have resulted in private sector investment walking away from

British Columbia and forcing taxpayers to pay for this

project.

Let’s listen to what the Premier said this morning: “It doesn’t

matter who owns the pipeline.” Well, actually, it does matter who owns

the pipeline. This Premier can stand in this place and deny and deflect

all he wants, but he has managed to take a fully financed,

private….

Interjection.

S. Bond: Pardon me?

Interjection.

S. Bond: I did hear you, and you should withdraw that remark.

He has managed to take a fully financed, private sector project

and turn it into a public, taxpayer-owned enterprise.

Can the Premier stand in this House today, look at British

Columbians and explain why he put Canadian taxpayers on the hook for a

private sector project?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. J. Horgan: I appreciate that the member on the other side wants to somehow

put, onto this side of the House, responsibility for the dereliction of

duty of the former government by allowing the federal government to take

complete charge of the National Energy Board decision-making process, by

giving away our ability to protect the interest of British

Columbians.

When we were sworn in, in July, as I have said repeatedly, we

undertook to engage in court actions already underway. We continued to

issue permits when they were requested by the proponent. When it came

down to talking to British Columbians, which I would expect all of the

members of this House would support, about how we best protect the

things that matter most to British Columbians — our natural splendour,

our marine economy and all that goes with that…. When we asked to

consult with people, our neighbours went wild. Rather than be

provocative, we said: “How can we work…?”

For your political purposes, you can do that, but we said quite

clearly to our neighbours and to our members of the Canadian family:

“How do we work together to resolve a difference of opinion?” I’m

surprised with the ragtag bunch over there. They often have differences

of opinion. How do they resolve them? By going to dispute resolution.

That’s what the courts are for. That’s what we proposed to

do.

[11:15 a.m.]

T. Stone: This is beyond bungling on the government’s part. This is an

absolute sheer dereliction of the responsibility of this government,

which is now going to cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

British Columbians deserve much better leadership than what we’ve

seen from this NDP government, which continues to play politics with the

futures of British Columbians, mostly to appease the junior coalition

party down there, the Green Party. Instead of working collaboratively

with other provinces, instead of working collaboratively with the

federal government, the Premier continues to put his own political

future above that of B.C.’s relationship with the rest of

Canada.

The Premier knew all along that he couldn’t stop this project. So

why does he continue with his politically motivated and reckless

actions?

Hon. J. Horgan: I’ll just refer the member to a meeting last week in Yellowknife,

where I sat down with Premiers from other jurisdictions. We got along

very well. We talked about issues that were important to Canadians. With

the exception of one member, the member from Alberta, everyone around

the table — from Saskatchewan, from Manitoba, from Nunavut, from the

Northwest Territories and from the Yukon — said: “We need to act

together as a unified force in the west to protect the interests of all

Canadians.” That is what cooperation and leadership look

like.

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

supplemental.

T. Stone: Well, congratulations to the Premier. He has managed to take a

fully funded, multi-billion-dollar private sector project and turn it

into a taxpayer project. This Premier and this government have managed

to drive the nationalization of a multi-billion-dollar private sector

asset. Their actions continue to send chills through the international

investment community.

Standing up for British Columbia should mean having a constructive

this Premier started a fight with Alberta, created a constitutional

crisis, and now this British Columbia government is a national

embarrassment.

The Premier has known, again, from day one that he could not stop

this project. Why does he continue with his reckless actions, which will

now cost British Columbia taxpayers and all taxpayers billions of

dollars?

Hon. J. Horgan: I appreciate there’s not much going on, on the opposition benches.

They’re trying to grab a tiger as it runs by, but surely, they

understand…. Some of them were in cabinet, surprising as that may seem,

and they would know that when the federal government makes a decision to

expend money, it’s the responsibility of the federal government, not

this parliament.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, when you’re ready, we will continue question

period.

G. Kyllo: This Premier started an NDP trade war. He created a constitutional

crisis and sent a chilling message to investors and has now cost British

Columbians and all Canadians billions of dollars for a project the

private sector was going to build. The Premier has known all along that

he could not stop this project. Why did he continue his reckless

actions?

Hon. J. Horgan: Again, the opposition is trying to have it both ways. On the one

hand, they say: “Surely, you knew you couldn’t stop it.” Then they’re

saying: “Why are you trying to stop it?” First of all, they say: “It’s

fully funded. It’s fully funded by the private sector.” Now it’s not —

not by any decision of this parliament, not by any decision of this

government.

The federal government made the decision to take tax dollars and

invest them in a private company. That’s their business. If you have a

concern with that, again, I encourage members to resign their seats, run

for parliament and take it up with Mr. Morneau.

[11:20 a.m.]

Mr. Speaker: The member for Shuswap on a supplemental.

G. Kyllo: Well, this is a self-serving government that acted blindly and

recklessly. The Premier’s reckless behaviour and ill-conceived actions

have received the rebuke of the federal government and will cost

taxpayers billions of dollars. The Premier is squarely to blame. Why did

he continue his reckless actions when he knew that he couldn’t stop the

project?

Hon. J. Horgan: I’m appreciative of the member reading the same question over

again to me so that I can give him a similar answer. That is: the

federal government today made a decision to take tax money and invest it

in a private company. That was not a decision made by us. It was not

motivated by us. In fact, I counselled against it. I advised the Prime

Minister weeks ago that it was the wrong course of action. They

disregarded that advice and carried on. What I think we need to

do….

Interjections.

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

Interjection.

Hon. J. Horgan: This from the man who drove ICBC off a cliff.

I appreciate that the well of questions is fairly empty. They’ve

only got the one to read and pass from member to member to read over and

over again.

I am proud of the work we have done to defend the interests of

British Columbia. I sleep very well at night knowing that I’m doing my

level best to make sure the people of British Columbia have a government

that cares for them, working every day to make life better for British

Columbians, not the corporate backers that funded the other

side.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO

ANTI-PIPELINE

ACTIVITIES

M. de Jong: While the Premier was finding a way to turn a lawfully approved

project that was entirely self-financed and now turn that into a

publicly funded project that will require taxpayers to fund billions and

billions of dollars…. While the Premier was embarking upon this

brilliant strategy for that to happen, something else took place. An NDP

Member of Parliament was convicted of criminal misconduct. The leader of

the federal Green Party was convicted of criminal misconduct.

The pipeline is going to be built. It’s now going to be built by a

Canadian Crown corporation. I ask for the Premier today to stand in this

House, do his duty and condemn those who would purport to engage in

criminal misconduct to prevent a lawfully approved project from

proceeding.

Hon. J. Horgan: I thank the member for his question. I will say to him that there

are court proceedings underway about how lawful the decision to proceed

with the pipeline was. He will know that. I’m sure he’s scooting past

that for the interests of his

preamble.

When it comes to lawful civil disobedience, I think all members of

this place respect and understand that in this great country, we have

the right to exercise our disapproval of governmental process. But we

also have a responsibility, all of us, to uphold the rule of law. That

is why we are in court rather than stomping our feet, putting up

obstacles to trade. Instead, we are saying: “Let’s go to court and

determine what’s the best outcome for British Columbia.” That’s been our

objective from the beginning.

The member’s question was quite clearly directed at those who

would protest in a violent way. I categorically reject that, and I know

he shares that view, as all members do. Civil disobedience is a

fundamental right in our country. All of us will want to uphold that.

Breaking the law is not.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Abbotsford West on a supplemental.

DISPUTE WITH ALBERTA ON

TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE AND

PURCHASE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

M. de Jong: The Premier’s brilliant strategy, which has landed us, at this

point, where a privately funded project is now going to be relying upon

billions of public dollars…

[11:25 a.m.]

Interjections.

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

M. de Jong: …cannot help but put at risk funding that might otherwise have

been earmarked for other projects to help build British

Columbia.

Will the Premier stand and be honest with British Columbians and

acknowledge that as a result of the failed, flawed, irresponsible

strategy that he has pursued, funding that would otherwise be available

to fund much-needed projects in British Columbia will now be diverted by

the federal government to fund this pipeline project that otherwise

would have been paid by — guess what — private capital, free and clear

from any taxpayer involvement?

Hon. J. Horgan: Again, I know that the rhetoric is at a high level here. We’re at

the end of the session. This is an opportunity for those who haven’t had

a chance to stand up to flex their rhetorical muscles. But the facts are

Columbia — of which I have no authority or no ability to influence,

apparently has decided to take tax money and invest it in a pipeline. I

counselled against that to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of

Finance when I was asked.

For those on that side of the House to somehow suggest that we,

over here, have been staying up late at night finding ways to convince

the Minister of Finance in Ottawa to spend money on a private company is

a stretch and maybe a bridge too far.

With respect to investment in British Columbia, I’m very proud to

say that we have invested billions and billions and billions of dollars

in new housing initiatives, new child care initiatives, reducing costs

for people, building the Pattullo Bridge, making sure we’ve got transit

right across the Lower Mainland and ensuring that we can make life

better for the people of this province and, in the process, protect what

is so important to all of us: our natural beauty, our powerful economy

and the innovation and creativity of British Columbians. I’m proud of

that. You should be too.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO

ANTI-PIPELINE ACTIVITIES

M. Polak: I’m going to do more than suggest that these guys caused the

problem. I’m actually going to lay it out a little bit, because here’s

how it happened.

First, we had an agreement between the Greens and the NDP, which

allowed them to form a government. Then we had the Premier leave town

and the Environment Minister….

Interjection.

M. Polak: Oh, I’ll start again. Good. I’ll start again.

Once they’re propped up by the Greens…. And by the way, the

agreement did have a significant amount to do with fighting the Kinder

Morgan project. Then the Premier leaves town, and while he’s away, the

Environment Minister decides to throw in….

Interjection.

M. Polak: Exactly. He decides to throw in…. The Environment Minister,

without the permission of his Premier, decides to throw in an additional

requirement on the advice of his Bowen Island activist friends. Now the

Greens and the Bowen Island activists find themselves the proud part

owners of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, if we may hear the question.

M. Polak: Now that they are the proud part owners of this pipeline, I wonder

if they will have the courage to stand up…. And we’re not talking about

violent protest. The leader of the federal Greens was convicted of

criminal misconduct, not because of violence.

Will this government condemn the actions of those who would seek

to thwart this project that has been legitimately approved and will now

be the taxpayers’ project?

Hon. J. Horgan: I apologize to all members for being colour blind and not knowing

the green light was not a red light to allow that last question. But it

does provide me with an opportunity to talk about the confidence and

supply agreement, which is almost a year old. That confidence and supply

agreement has meant that for the past ten months, we’ve had a government

that has been focusing on people. We’ve had a government that has

invested in child care. We’ve had a government that has invested in

transition housing for women fleeing domestic abuse.

We’ve had a government supported by our Green partners in making

sure we have an innovation commissioner and an innovation commission to

make sure that the new economy that is just right here ready to take off

has a government that’s supportive of that.

[11:30 a.m.]

The confidence and supply agreement has led to good government.

I’m sorry that those on the other side are unhappy about that, but

British Columbians are delighted.

[End of question period.]

Reports from Committees

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE

S. Bond: I have the honour to present the first report by the Select

Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The report summarizes the

committee’s activities in 2017 and 2018.

I move that the report be taken as read and received.

Motion approved.

S. Bond: I ask that the House move a motion to adopt the report.

Mr. Speaker: Is leave granted?

Leave granted.

Mr. Speaker: Member, please proceed.

S. Bond: I just want to make some very brief comments. The report considers

activities in 2017 and 2018. In the current parliament, the committee

actually looked at 13 reports on a very wide variety of topics.

Committee members worked very hard to do their work in a very

collaborative and constructive way. We do want to thank, on behalf of

the committee, the Auditor General, the comptroller general and their

staff and the many dedicated public servants who provided the committee

with information which informed our deliberations.

I also want to thank the Clerk of Committees office, in particular

Kate Ryan-Lloyd and her team, for their fantastic support and to thank

the committee members for the hard work, the dedication and the

cooperative spirit, especially the Deputy Chair, the member for

Esquimalt-Metchosin.

M. Dean: I would also today very much like to thank the Chair, the member

for Prince George–Valemount, for her leadership in helping the committee

complete a substantial body of work. I want to echo her thanks to the

Clerks and the hard work of all their team. They helped us with

organization, support, logistics and also preparing a very

well-summarized and presented report.

Thank you to the Auditor General and her team — they complete a

major amount of work each year, and they provide really valuable

insights to us — and also the comptroller general.

Thank you, as well, to all of the ministry staff. They made the

time to present to us, and they took the time to show how they were

responding to the recommendations of the Auditor General’s

reports.

Thank you, as well, to everybody on the committee. We had a large

agenda, and we completed it in a way that was thorough and proficient.

Everyone showed their commitment to the work in reviewing the process,

preparing for each meeting and engaging in such a constructive

way.

I look forward to our work together ahead.

Motion approved.

Tabling Documents

Hon. C. James: Pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, I’m pleased to present

reports for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, on all amounts borrowed

by government and all amounts loaned to government bodies. These reports

provide an overview of the province’s borrowing activity in fiscal

’16-17.

Petitions

T. Shypitka: I wish to present two petitions today, the first one being signed by

nine residents along Highway 395, all within half a kilometre of a rock

quarry near Bateman Road, near the thriving community of Elko in Kootenay

East. The residents urge the Ministry of Mines to address the noise

pollution near zoned residential areas.

The second petition I have is signed by 701 residents, mainly from the

communities of Elkford, Sparwood and Fernie, all within the Elk Valley of

Kootenay East. This petition urges government to take immediate intervention

to put a definite end to the proposed Bingay coal mine. The residents cite

issues such as short- and long-term negative effects to critical ecosystems,

wildlife populations, water wells, access to recreational areas, air and

noise pollution.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Farnworth: For the next 15 minutes or so, for what’s left of this morning, I call the

estimates of the Attorney General in this chamber. In the Douglas Fir Room, for

probably an even shorter amount of time, I call the estimates of the Ministry of

Advanced Education, Skills and Training.

[11:35 a.m.]

Committee of Supply

ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF

ATTORNEY

GENERAL

(continued)

The House in Committee of Supply (Section B); L. Reid in the

chair.

The committee met at 11:36 a.m.

On Vote 14: ministry operations, $470,469,000

(continued) .

J. Yap: In the time that we have, I’d like to canvass the minister on a

few items in the B.C. Lottery Corp. service plan. The minister has

focused recently on money laundering, with public comments to the effect

that…. He asserts that there’s a serious money laundering problem at

B.C. casinos and that more needs to be done by government to eliminate

it.

The service plan shows, in fiscal 2016-17, casino revenue of $1.85

billion. For 2017-18, the forecast is $1.941 billion, for the current

year, this year, $1.92 billion, followed by, in the out years, $1.947

billion and $1.976 billion.

Now, the minister suggests that he is going to crack down on money

laundering, which he has publicly claimed is a huge problem, and that

the anti-money-laundering measures that he’s introduced, and will

introduce, will reduce, if not eliminate, money laundering. If money

laundering has been such a large problem, as the minister says that it

has — meaning that dirty money is being used in casinos, played in

casinos and some of it lost in B.C. casinos — can the minister explain

why casino revenues have not correspondingly gone down with the proposed

crackdown on money laundering?

Hon. D. Eby: I thank the member for giving us a heads-up so we could have the

right staff in the right place at the right time. We had a bit of a

discussion yesterday, as I was surprised to answer so many referendum

questions. We got the right staff over. But just for the record, we did

not know that the referendum would be the sole topic

yesterday.

I do appreciate knowing what we’re talking about because then I

can be more prepared. We do have the staff here today to assist us on

B.C. Lottery Corp., gaming policy and enforcement branch and Ministry of

Attorney General, and I’ll do my best to answer.

The member is certainly correct that I am concerned about a lack

of attention that the previous government paid to a very serious issue

in our casinos. I retained Dr. Peter German to advise me on the extent

of the issue, to tell me what reforms, if any, were needed to address

it. He is an internationally recognized anti-money-laundering expert.

He’s a former senior RCMP officer. He’s literally the author of the

Canadian textbook on anti-money-laundering law.

[11:40 a.m.]

His report has produced a number of recommendations for

government. I am working hard with ministry staff to get that report out

to the public as quickly as we can. There are privacy issues and law

enforcement issues that we have to address before we can publicly

release it. We’re doing that as quickly as we can because we want to let

the public know. Certainly, the member, as part of the public and the

opposition and a member in this House, deserves to know, if he doesn’t

already, some of the concerns and ways in which they could be

addressed.

The specific question that the member raises about the budget for

government and for BCLC in terms of revenues going forward and: “How can

it be, if this is a serious issue and you’re cracking down on it, that

you are not addressing it in the revenue line?” We are,

actually.

We did a fairly significant round in the media on this issue and

the fact that government was taking a responsible approach with our

partners at BCLC to attempt to project the impact of additional controls

on large, suspicious cash transactions taking place in B.C. casinos.

BCLC did work with a third-party firm to try to identify that. They

project the impact on government revenues to be around $60

million.

I want to note a couple of things about that. First of all,

implicit in the member’s question is that, absolutely, it is the

responsible thing to do, when you’re going to take action that could

potentially have an impact on gaming, to incorporate that into the

budget.

I also want to note that taking this action does a couple of

things. One is that it assures communities that are thinking about

having a facility in their community that the government will ensure the

responsible operation of gaming. They can have confidence that issues

will be addressed, which is critically important because without that,

you don’t get the social licence. You don’t get the community support

for that.

The second is that gaming is part of our tourism industry. It’s a

part of the ways in which British Columbians entertain themselves in the

province, lawfully. So for British Columbians and tourists who come here

to know that this is a jurisdiction that takes these issues very

seriously and that we’re, in fact, leaders in this area is very

important to me. I know it’s important to BCLC, and I know it’s

important to the gaming policy and enforcement branch. I know it’s

important to every single person that works in a gaming facility in the

province.

The member is right. There are costs associated with this. But it

is absolutely the right thing to do, and ultimately, in the long term,

it is revenue-positive for us. It creates an environment in which people

can have confidence in, first of all, saying: “Okay, we can support a

gaming facility in our community, because we know it’s going to be done

properly.” Also, people going to gaming facilities can have confidence

that this is a lawful, fun, entertaining thing to do, as many people do

and as they will continue to do in British Columbia.

J. Yap: FINTRAC, the federal agency responsible for the reporting,

tracking and investigation of suspicious financial transactions,

provides statistics on such reporting by sector. Is the minister aware

of the relative FINTRAC statistics reporting by sector?

Hon. D. Eby: Can the member be more specific about which statistics he’s

looking for? Certainly, I think we can probably provide B.C. suspicious

cash or large cash transaction figures, but I’m not sure that that was

the member’s question. If he could clarify for me exactly what he’s

looking for, we’ll do our best to get it.

J. Yap: I have seen the statistics. I just wondered if the minister is

aware that as a percentage of suspicious cash transactions reported,

casinos account for less than 10 percent of the total reports. In fact,

for 2016-2017, the latest full year of information, casinos accounted

for less than 7.5 percent of all suspicious transactions.

In other words, the majority — i.e., about 93 percent — of such

transactions happen outside of casinos, in entities such as banks, trust

companies, security firms, credit unions, money service businesses,

precious-metal dealers, life insurance, etc. I’m wondering if the

minister is aware of that, in the relative terms of a sector.

[11:45 a.m.]

Hon. D. Eby: The controls around anti–money laundering in British Columbia and

the responsibility of this ministry relate to, in terms of gaming — the

member is right — a small piece of what the federal

anti-money-laundering agency, FINTRAC, does. FINTRAC has all kinds of

areas of responsibility where they ask different entities and agencies

to report to them transactions. It all goes to the central processing. I

picture it as a big warehouse, and I often wonder who’s working there

and what happens once the reports go in, but that’s a separate

issue.

There are a whole bunch of industries that report to this federal

agency, of which, the member is right, casinos are but a small part. The

member may have heard in media, actually, that Dr. German, in an interim

memo that was released, raised issues around luxury cars and the

purchase of luxury cars with large amounts of cash, the ability of

people to sell these cars for cash, as a vehicle for money

laundering.

If the nature of the member’s question is, “Are there other ways

to launder money?” the answer is yes, absolutely. No question. In terms

of this ministry, our responsibility and the commitment of B.C. Lottery

Corporation, the gaming policy enforcement branch and the ministry and

all of our partners, the service providers and the employees in the

casinos and onward…. Our commitment is in relation to gaming, because

that’s what we’re responsible for, but the federal responsibility is

much larger.

We also, as a side note, in terms of jurisdictional

responsibility, have repeatedly…. BCLC has raised concerns about this

gaming policy enforcement branch. I have called on the service providers

of gaming facilities and called on the federal government to increase

enforcement, to provide increased resources to the RCMP to deal with the

international aspects of money laundering related to gaming — but not

exclusively, in other areas as well. There’s been a source of

frustration that illegal gaming activities, illegal gaming houses, are

not being shut down.

I have a personal frustration with the so-called grey market — in

my opinion, illegal, unlawful gaming operations that appear to operate

with impunity here in British Columbia, the federal government’s

responsibility, and few, if any, anti-money-laundering controls. We keep

saying to the federal government: “Come on. Step up to the table in your

areas of responsibility on enforcement, on prevention, on detection.”

We’re going to keep that pressure up.

The member is right that there is this broader federal

responsibility here, but in terms of this ministry and this government

and my responsibility here, it is focused on that small area of

FINTRAC’s work.

J. Yap: I appreciate the minister confirming on the record that, in terms

of the overall problem with money laundering, casinos are but a small

portion of the totality of money laundering, unfortunately, that

happens.

We’ll move on to the interim report from Dr. German, which was

released in December 2017, with two recommendations. One of these — that

the government has accepted that cash buy-ins of $10,000 or more would

require a source-of-funds receipt.

Can the minister advise the House on how this policy is

going?

Hon. D. Eby: I wonder if the member could advise, specifically, when he asks

how the policy is going, what he is interested in, and I’ll do my best

to provide answers to him.

J. Yap: Can the minister advise why $10,000? Why is this threshold set at

$10,000?

Hon. D. Eby: The interim recommendation set by Dr. German was meant to provide

some guidance in the interim, while he prepared his report and

recommendations about how to deal with quite a serious problem and a

perception, increasing perception, among the public that we weren’t

addressing the issue.

When I came in to this job, I had a report waiting on my desk from

a firm called MNP that raised some very serious issues in my mind. I had

a briefing from a regulator that raised some very serious issues in

mind. I retained Dr. German, and I said: “Listen. You’re going to go do

the report. It’s going to take some time, but please don’t wait. If you

have interim recommendations, please don’t wait until you’re done the

report to tell me, because if we have an issue, I want hear from you

sooner about what we should be doing.”

He provided the interim recommendation for us around a $10,000

threshold for source of funds, the “where does your money come from”

questions and a form to be created and an increased presence of

regulators in the casino. I was very grateful for him in doing that,

because it provided us with the ability to begin addressing concerns

right off the bat without having to wait for the full report.

The member may be pleased to know — I’m not sure, but I am

certainly pleased — that there are more than 40 recommendations that

have come forward from Dr. German. Staff are working on them right

now.

[11:50 a.m.]

We’re trying to get them released publicly, with a full report as

soon as possible, and this is just an interim step to address this

issue. There is a larger set of reforms that Dr. German has recommended

that staff are working on.

J. Yap: The other recommendation which government accepted and the

minister referred to is the presence of regulators at every casino — or,

at least, high-volume casinos. Can the minister advise on how that

program is going, the recommendation to have regulators on site in

casinos on a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week basis?

Hon. D. Eby: Specifically to the member’s question, when he asks, “How is it

going…?” Are you asking about implementation of the program, or are you

asking about activities engaged in by the regulator? If the member could

be specific, then I’ll do my best to answer.

J. Yap: Sure. How many casinos have these regulators on a 24-7 basis?

Maybe we’ll start with that.

Hon. D. Eby: There are five casinos that are higher-volume casinos in the Lower

Mainland that are targeted by this program. The reason for the increased

regulator presence in those casinos is that it provides the opportunity

for casino service providers to immediately have access, when any issue

comes up, to a regulator. The regulator can ensure that proper steps are

being followed with any issue that arises within the casino. That was

the intention of Dr. German’s report.

Previously, the regulator was not available on a 24-hour basis in

these facilities. It was a Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five presence of

the regulator. I can certainly speak for myself. Whenever I found myself

in a casino, it has not been Monday to Friday, nine to five. It’s been

when I’ve been out with friends on a weekend or something like that or

out with my brothers in Ontario. It’s not Monday to Friday, nine to

five.

That’s when most of the business in a casino takes place. It’s on

weekends and evenings, so it makes sense that the regulator would be

present in these higher-volume periods. Again, another recommendation

from Dr. German — a recommendation that required additional resources

for the gaming policy and enforcement branch to be able to do that work.

Government ensured that they had the resources to be able to deliver

what we believe to be a necessary service.

I should also note that even though, previously…. The regulator

being there in those limited hours didn’t mean that there was no

monitoring happening. I don’t want to leave that impression at all. What

this does is it increases…. The regulator was always available to the

facilities on an as-needed basis. This is a more proactive approach to

ensure that the regulator is present at the casino on an as-needed

basis.

J. Yap: I heard the minister say that five casinos have such regulators on

a 24-7 basis. Is that correct?

Hon. D. Eby: The regulator is redeploying regional resources to increase

presence in the casino. They’re in the process of hiring, as well, to

ensure full coverage. Currently they are not at 24-hour coverage in the

casinos. The four-in-the-morning presence is not there yet, but it will

be there, and they’re working to do that as quickly as they

can.

What they are focusing on right now are the peak activity times at

these facilities, and ultimately, it will be 24-7.

Noting the hour, I move the committee rise, report progress and

ask leave to sit again.

Motion approved.

The committee rose at 11:54 a.m.

The House resumed; Mr. Speaker in the chair.

[11:55 a.m.]

Committee of Supply (Section B), having reported progress, was

granted leave to sit again.

Committee of Supply (Section A), having reported progress, was

granted leave to sit again.

Hon. D. Eby moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:56 a.m.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE

DOUGLAS FIR ROOM

Committee of Supply

ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF ADVANCED

EDUCATION, SKILLS AND TRAINING

(continued)

The House in Committee of Supply (Section A); B. Ma in the

chair.

The committee met at 11:37 a.m.

On Vote 11: ministry operations, $2,211,614,000

(continued) .

S. Gibson: It’s good to be here. It’s an important discussion on Advanced

Education.

I’m going to return a little bit, regarding the funds in the

labour market strategy and planning sections. There was a transfer to

Jobs, Trades and Technology, and we’re kind of wondering about

that.

Can the minister elaborate on what this split was intended to

accomplish? Why were those funds routed? What programs have been

retained in Jobs, and what programs have been moved? It’s really all

about that split. I’m just asking for some clarification.

[11:40 a.m.]

Hon. M. Mark: Thank you to the member for the question. It’s nice to be back in

the little House.

Out of the $8 million, $4 million was transferred for DataBC, and

then $4 million was transferred for data innovations. With respect to

what remained for labour market program funding, from the federal

government, $112.5 million, and from the provincial government, $16.9

million was retained.

S. Gibson: What was the intention? What was the purpose of doing that? Why

was that done?

[11:45 a.m.]

Hon. M. Mark: When we formed government back in July, this was a government

decision, just like our ministry was amalgamated with Skills Training

and public post-secondary. DataBC and data innovation were determined to

be more aligned with the Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology’s

mandate. B.C. Stats also went with that ministry.

I believe that that minister is up later on today for estimates.

It might be a more appropriate minister to ask the question

of.

S. Gibson: I’m advised that the board of directors of the B.C. Society of

Landscape Architects still hasn’t been appointed following the

transition of government. I’m wondering why that hasn’t taken place,

with the months that have passed.

Hon. M. Mark: We’re going to squeeze in one last response before we break. Thank

you for the question.

I understand that the society is functioning, that they’ve got

quorum. We are routinely looking for candidates. We’ll be making

appointments shortly, and we’ve been working with the society to do so.

If there’s more detail that you’d like me to be aware of, we can always

follow up with the society.

I believe I’m responsible for 287 appointments for all the public

post-secondary institutions, not including the other regulatory bodies.

It’s an ongoing process that we’re working on with BRDO to make

appointments.

I move that the committee rise and report progress and ask leave

to sit again.

Motion approved.

The committee rose at 11:48 a.m.

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