British Columbia Hansard — 5 March 2026, p.m., Issue 134 (43rd Parliament, 2nd Session)

20260305pm-Hansard-n134

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Second Session, 43rd Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday, March 5, 2026 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 134 THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Wendy Cocchia, CM, OBC Second Session, 43rd Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Raj Chouhan EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ................................................................................................... Hon. David Eby, KC Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities .......................................................... Hon.

Brittny Anderson Minister of Agriculture and Food ..............................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General and Deputy Premier ............................................................................................................... Hon. Niki Sharma, KC Minister of Children and Family Development ......................................................................................................Hon.

Jodie Wickens Minister of Citizens’ Services ......................................................................................................................................Hon. Diana Gibson Minister of Education and Child Care ............................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness ................................................................................ Hon.

Kelly Greene Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions .................................................................................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Minister of Environment and Parks .................................................................................................... Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson Minister of Finance ......................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Brenda Bailey Minister of Forests .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Ravi Parmar Minister of Health ........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Josie Osborne Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs ...........................................................................................................Hon.

Christine Boyle Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ........................................................................Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert Minister of Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Bowinn Ma Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth ...................................................................................................................... Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies .................................................................. Hon. Rick Glumac Minister of Labour .............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Jennifer Whiteside Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals .....................................................................................................................Hon.

Jagrup Brar Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills ........................................................................................Hon. Jessie Sunner Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................ Hon. Nina Krieger Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services ........................................................................ Hon.

Terry Yung Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction ...............................................................................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport ............................................................................................................. Hon. Anne Kang Minister of Transportation and Transit ................................................................................................................ Hon.

Mike Farnworth Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship ............................................................................................... Hon. Randene Neill Minister Without Portfolio ..............................................................................................................................................Hon.

Grace Lore LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition ......................................................................................................................................Trevor Halford Leader of the Third Party .................................................................................................................................................Jeremy Valeriote Deputy Speaker ......................................................................................................................................................................

Mable Elmore Assistant Deputy Speaker .................................................................................................................................................Lorne Doerkson Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ......................................................................................................................George Anderson Clerk of the Legislative Assembly....................................................................................................................................Kate Ryan-Lloyd Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel ......................................................................................................................Seunghee Suzie Seo Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly...............................................................................................................

Artour Sogomonian Clerk of Committees .............................................................................................................................................................. Jennifer Arril Committee Clerk ......................................................................................................................................................................

Karan Riarh Committee Clerk .........................................................................................................................................................................Darryl Hol Senior Legal Counsel .................................................................................................................................................................Hayley Hill Sergeant-at-Arms ..................................................................................................................................................................

Ray Robitaille Director of Hansard Services .......................................................................................................................................D’ Arcy McPherson Legislative Librarian ...............................................................................................................................................................Peter Gourlay

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS BY PARTY BC NDP Anderson, Hon. Brittny ........................................... Kootenay Central Anderson, George ................................................ Nanaimo-Lantzville Arora, Rohini ....................................................................Burnaby East Bailey, Hon. Brenda ................................Vancouver–South Granville Beare, Hon.

Lisa .......................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry .................................................................Surrey-Guildford Blatherwick, Jennifer ....................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Boyle, Hon. Christine .............................Vancouver–Little Mountain Brar, Hon. Jagrup ......................................................Surrey-Fleetwood Chandra Herbert, Hon. Spencer ..................... Vancouver–West End Chant, Susie .............................................

North Vancouver–Seymour Choi, Paul ..................................................Burnaby South–Metrotown Chouhan, Hon. Raj ................................. Burnaby–New Westminster Chow, George ....................................................Vancouver-Fraserview Davidson, Hon. Tamara / Laanas ...........North Coast–Haida Gwaii Dhir, Sunita .............................................................Vancouver-Langara Dix, Hon. Adrian .................................................. Vancouver-Renfrew Eby, Hon. David, KC .......................................

Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable ................................................. Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike .................................................Port Coquitlam Gibson, Hon. Diana ........................................Oak Bay–Gordon Head Glumac, Hon. Rick ...................................... Port Moody–Burquitlam Greene, Hon. Kelly ..............................................Richmond-Steveston Higginson, Stephanie ........................................Ladysmith-Oceanside Kahlon, Hon. Ravi .............................................................. Delta North Kang, Hon.

Anne ......................................................... Burnaby Centre Krieger, Hon. Nina ...............................................Victoria–Swan Lake Lajeunesse, Dana ..............................................Juan de Fuca–Malahat Lore, Hon. Grace .................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Ma, Hon. Bowinn ................................... North Vancouver–Lonsdale Malcolmson, Hon. Sheila .........................Nanaimo–Gabriola Island Morissette, Steve ...................................................Kootenay Monashee Neill, Hon. Randene ............................

Powell River–Sunshine Coast Osborne, Hon. Josie ....................................... Mid Island–Pacific Rim Parmar, Hon. Ravi ...............................................Langford-Highlands Phillip, Joan / Amshen .....................................Vancouver-Strathcona Popham, Hon. Lana ........................................................ Saanich South Rotchford, Darlene ...............................................Esquimalt-Colwood Routledge, Janet .............................................................Burnaby North Sandhu, Harwinder ......................................................

Vernon-Lumby Shah, Amna ............................................................. Surrey City Centre Sharma, Hon. Niki, KC ....................................... Vancouver-Hastings Sunner, Hon. Jessie ....................................................... Surrey-Newton Toporowski, Debra / Qwulti’stunaat .......................Cowichan Valley Whiteside, Hon. Jennifer ...................New Westminster–Coquitlam Wickens, Hon. Jodie ............................. Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Yung, Hon.

Terry .................................................Vancouver-Yaletown CONSERV ATIVE PARTY OF BC Banman, Bruce .......................................................... Abbotsford South Bhangu, Harman .................................................. Langley-Abbotsford Bird, Rosalyn .............................................

Prince George–Valemount Block, Lynne ..............................................West Vancouver–Capilano Chan, Hon ..................................................................Richmond Centre Chapman, Brent .................................................................Surrey South Clare, Sheldon .................................... Prince George–North Cariboo Davis, Pete ..................................................................Kootenay Rockies Day, Brennan ...........................................................

Courtenay-Comox Dew, Gavin ..................................................................Kelowna-Mission Dhaliwal, Mandeep .......................................................... Surrey North Doerkson, Lorne .....................................................

Cariboo-Chilcotin Gasper, Reann .......................................................Abbotsford-Mission Giddens, Kiel ..............................................Prince George–Mackenzie Halford, Trevor ......................................................Surrey–White Rock Hartwell, Sharon ..............................................Bulkley Valley–Stikine Hepner, Linda ................................................Surrey–Serpentine River Kindy, Anna ........................................................................North Island Kooner, Steve ............................................Richmond-Queensborough Loewen, Kristina ..........................................................

Kelowna Centre Luck, Tony ..........................................................................Fraser-Nicola Maahs, Heather ......................................................... Chilliwack North McCall, Macklin .........................................West Kelowna–Peachland McInnis, Scott ......................................... Columbia River–Revelstoke Milobar, Peter ............................................................

Kamloops Centre Mok, Lawrence ...........................................................Maple Ridge East Neufeld, Korky ............................................................Abbotsford West Neufeld, Larry ...........................................................Peace River South Paton, Ian ..............................................................................Delta South Rattée, Claire .................................................................................Skeena Rustad, John ...................................................................Nechako Lakes Stamer, Ward .........................................Kamloops–North Thompson Tepper, Br yan ............................................................

Surrey-Panorama Toor, Jody ............................................................Langley-Willowbrook Van Popta, Misty..............................................Langley–Walnut Grove Warbus, Á’a:líya ..............................................Chilliwack–Cultus Lake Wat, Teresa .........................................................Richmond-Bridgeport Williams, David ...............................................Salmon Arm–Shuswap Wilson, Donegal ............................................Boundary-Similkameen BC GREEN PARTY Botterell, Rob .......................................Saanich North and the Islands Valeriote, Jeremy .....................................

West Vancouver–Sea to Sky INDEPENDENT Armstrong, Tara .....................Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream Boultbee, Amelia .............................................Penticton-Summerland Brodie, Dallas .................................................... Vancouver-Quilchena Kealy, Jordan ............................................................. Peace River North Sturko, Elenore ......................................................... Surrey-Cloverdale PARTY STANDINGS Total seats – 93 BC NDP – 47 | Conservative Party of BC – 39 | BC Green Party – 2 | Independent – 5

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF RIDINGS A Abbotsford-Mission ........................................................Reann Gasper Abbotsford South ........................................................... Bruce Banman Abbotsford West .............................................................Korky Neufeld B Boundary-Similkameen .............................................Donegal Wilson Bulkley Valley–Stikine ............................................... Sharon Hartwell Burnaby Centre ...........................................................Hon.

Anne Kang Burnaby East ......................................................................Rohini Arora Burnaby–New Westminster .................................. Hon. Raj Chouhan Burnaby North ..............................................................Janet Routledge Burnaby South–Metrotown .................................................. Paul Choi C Cariboo-Chilcotin .......................................................Lorne Doerkson Chilliwack–Cultus Lake .............................................. Á’a:líya Warbus Chilliwack North ..........................................................

Heather Maahs Columbia River–Revelstoke ...........................................Scott McInnis Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .............................. Hon. Jodie Wickens Coquitlam-Maillardville .................................... Jennifer Blatherwick Courtenay-Comox ............................................................ Brennan Day Cowichan Valley ....................... Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat D Delta North ................................................................Hon.

Ravi Kahlon Delta South ...............................................................................Ian Paton E Esquimalt-Colwood ................................................Darlene Rotchford F Fraser-Nicola .......................................................................... Tony Luck J Juan de Fuca–Malahat ...............................................Dana Lajeunesse K Kamloops Centre ............................................................. Peter Milobar Kamloops–North Thompson .........................................

Ward Stamer Kelowna Centre ........................................................... Kristina Loewen Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream ......................Tara Armstrong Kelowna-Mission ..................................................................Gavin Dew Kootenay Central ............................................ Hon. Brittny Anderson Kootenay Monashee ....................................................Steve Morissette Kootenay Rockies................................................................... Pete Davis L Ladysmith-Oceanside ........................................

Stephanie Higginson Langford-Highlands ................................................ Hon. Ravi Parmar Langley-Abbotsford ....................................................Harman Bhangu Langley–Walnut Grove ..............................................Misty Van Popta Langley-Willowbrook ............................................................ Jody Toor M Maple Ridge East ............................................................Lawrence Mok Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ........................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim ........................................ Hon.

Josie Osborne N Nanaimo–Gabriola Island ..........................Hon. Sheila Malcolmson Nanaimo-Lantzville ................................................. George Anderson Nechako Lakes ....................................................................John Rustad New Westminster–Coquitlam .................... Hon. Jennifer Whiteside North Coast–Haida Gwaii ............Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson North Island ........................................................................Anna Kindy North Vancouver–Lonsdale .....................................Hon.

Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour ...............................................Susie Chant O Oak Bay–Gordon Head ......................................... Hon. Diana Gibson P Peace River North ..............................................................Jordan Kealy Peace River South ............................................................Larry Neufeld Penticton-Summerland .............................................. Amelia Boultbee Port Coquitlam ................................................. Hon. Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Burquitlam ........................................Hon.

Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast ............................. Hon. Randene Neill Prince George–Mackenzie ...............................................Kiel Giddens Prince George–North Cariboo ......................................Sheldon Clare Prince George–Valemount ...............................................Rosalyn Bird R Richmond-Bridgeport .......................................................... Teresa Wat Richmond Centre .................................................................. Hon Chan Richmond-Queensborough ............................................

Steve Kooner Richmond-Steveston ...............................................Hon. Kelly Greene S Saanich North and the Islands ....................................... Rob Botterell Saanich South ......................................................... Hon.

Lana Popham Salmon Arm–Shuswap ................................................David Williams Skeena ..................................................................................Claire Rattée Surrey City Centre ...............................................................Amna Shah Surrey-Cloverdale .......................................................... Elenore Sturko Surrey-Fleetwood ....................................................... Hon. Jagrup Brar Surrey-Guildford .................................................................

Garry Begg Surrey-Newton ........................................................ Hon. Jessie Sunner Surrey North ............................................................Mandeep Dhaliwal Surrey-Panorama ..............................................................Br yan Tepper Surrey–Serpentine River ................................................

Linda Hepner Surrey South ..................................................................Brent Chapman Surrey–White Rock .......................................................Trevor Halford V Vancouver-Fraserview .....................................................George Chow Vancouver-Hastings ........................................ Hon. Niki Sharma, KC Vancouver-Kensington ...................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Langara .............................................................Sunita Dhir Vancouver–Little Mountain ............................. Hon.

Christine Boyle Vancouver–Point Grey .........................................Hon. David Eby, KC Vancouver-Quilchena ......................................................Dallas Brodie Vancouver-Renfrew ................................................... Hon. Adrian Dix Vancouver–South Granville ................................ Hon. Brenda Bailey Vancouver-Strathcona ..................................... Amshen / Joan Phillip Vancouver–West End .......................Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert Vancouver-Yaletown ..................................................Hon.

Terry Yung Vernon-Lumby ....................................................... Harwinder Sandhu Victoria–Beacon Hill ................................................. Hon. Grace Lore Victoria–Swan Lake ................................................Hon. Nina Krieger W West Kelowna–Peachland ..........................................Macklin McCall West Vancouver–Capilano ................................................Lynne Block West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ...................................... Jeremy Valeriote

CONTENTS Thursday, March 5, 2026 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Tributes ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5475 Doug Creba Hon.

Sheila Malcolmson Kuldip Singh Thandi Sunita Dhir Statements ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5475 Kalle Eriksson Participation at Milano Cortina Paralympic Games Scott McInnis Orders of the Day Third Reading of Bills ..................................................................................................................................................... 5476 Bill 3 — Budget Measures Implementation Act (No. 2), 2026 Second Reading of Bills .................................................................................................................................................. 5476 Bill 2 — Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2026 (continued) Gavin Dew Jennifer Blatherwick Bruce Banman Amna Shah Kiel Giddens Hon.

Diana Gibson Scott McInnis Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat Tony Luck Hon.

Jodie Wickens Reporting of Bills ............................................................................................................................................................. 5507 Bill 5 — Trade Recognition Act Third Reading of Bills ..................................................................................................................................................... 5507 Bill 5 — Trade Recognition Act Second Reading of Bills .................................................................................................................................................. 5507 Bill 2 — Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2026 (continued) Hon.

Jodie Wickens Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room Committee of the Whole ................................................................................................................................................ 5508 Bill 5 — Trade Recognition Act Hon. Ravi Kahlon Kiel Giddens Gavin Dew Jeremy Valeriote Ian Paton Rob Botterell Sheldon Clare

Proceedings in the Birch Room Committee of Supply ...................................................................................................................................................... 5529 Estimates: Ministry of Education and Child Care (continued) Lynne Block Hon. Lisa Beare Steve Kooner Heather Maahs

5475 THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026 The House met at 1:01 p.m. [The Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Tributes DOUG CREBA Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: I rise to give homage to Doug Creba. This tribute knits together the words of Jan Pullinger, John Little and Sue Creba. Sue and Doug were a partnership. They helped build a fairer and more just community, and our region will be poorer now that one of the partners is gone. Our deepest condolences to Sue, their terrific kids and grandchildren. Doug was a person who made things happen. He met life, including political life, head on.

Doug was a constitu - ency and ministerial adviser to both Jan Pullinger and then Evelyn Gillespie, both MLAs and ministers. He or - ganized for Bob Skelly and, with the BCGEU, bargained the NDP constituency assistants’ first collective agree - ment. Doug served on the B.C. NDP’s provincial council and on the Nanaimo riding association executive, includ - ing mine. Jan Pullinger was Nanaimo’s first female MLA. I’m the second. Doug worked very hard to elect us both, again and again. This political work was built on a strong social justice foundation. Doug and Sue volunteered in Africa for four years.

In Nanaimo in the ’80s, Doug worked for unem - ployed workers, then as a support worker, then as a social housing manager. Doug lived his values in every way in his life — of sharing, of inclusion, of supporting one an - other — sometimes fighting peacefully for justice, fairness and the greater good of all. Doug single-handedly rescued our Mid Island Co- op. Or better, he gathered a team of dedicated folks who together rescued the co-op and made it a thriving, profit- making business. If you get a yearly profit rebate, his friends say it’s because of Doug Creba.

Doug was in charge of backstage security at both the MusicFest in Courtenay and Islands Folkfest in Duncan for many years, providing a secure and safe place for or - ganizers, performers and volunteers. This summer Howie and I loved seeing him hold court at the Providence Farm beer garden for the last time. His astonishing bucket list this past 12 months took Doug and Sue to Scotland and to Cape Breton. They took the train across the country. Fiddle music dominated each brilliantly optimistic tour.

In true Doug fashion, over his last 13 days, he was ser - enaded daily in Nanaimo Regional Hospital by musical visitors from near and far, to the benefit of those in the adjacent rooms in palliative care. I heard Doug’s hospital bed was pulled into the NRGH courtyard for a huge Fid - delium show — true or not, legend. [1:05 p.m.] Doug spent his life giving all he could to the people and the community around him. He fed us, literally. He was fun, hard-working, caring and richly human. Doug died surrounded by friends and family through the evening, exactly the kind of full house he would’ve appreciated.

Huge thanks to the wonderful NRGH palliative care team. They were exceptional. Doug lived and died with courage and a great deal of love for and from those closest to him. May we all live life so large, be so loved and leave such impact. KULDIP SINGH THANDI Sunita Dhir: I rise today with profound sadness to honour the life of Mr. Kuldip Singh Thandi, a respected community leader who passed away peacefully at the age of 80 after a courageous year-long battle with cancer. Mr.

Thandi devoted many years of dedicated service to the Khalsa Diwan Society of Vancouver, where he served with distinction as both president and treasurer. In these roles, he led with integrity, humility and deep commit - ment to seva, selfless service, inspiring all those who had the privilege to work with him. He was a remarkable organizer and a trusted voice in the community. Through his leadership and generosity, he strengthened the Ross Street gurdwara and supported countless families. His wisdom, kindness and willingness to serve made a lasting and meaningful difference in the lives of many. Mr.

Thandi’s contributions to the gurdwara and to the broader community will not be forgotten. His legacy of service will continue to inspire future generations. A memorial service for Mr. Kuldip Singh Thandi will be held on March 8 at 12:30 pm at Riverside Funeral Home in Delta, followed by Antim Ardas prayers at 2:30 pm at Ross Street gurdwara. On behalf of the Legislative Assembly and the people of Vancouver-Langara, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and the entire community during this difficult time. May Waheguru bless his soul with eternal peace.

Statements KALLE ERIKSSON PARTICIPATION AT MILANO CORTINA PARALYMPIC GAMES Scott McInnis: I’d just like to highlight a very import - ant moment for a former student of mine coming from Kimberley. Kalle Eriksson has been selected to compete

5476 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 in the visually impaired para-alpine team in the Milano Cortina Paralympics. Kalle is 21 years old, grew up skiing at the Kimberley Alpine Resort. He began his journey with the para-alpine team in ’24-25, winning ten medals, including two golds, with his guide Sierra Smith, who is a former World Cup skier herself. I’m just wishing Kalle all the best. I hope to provide up- dates on some medal success for him. He’s a ripping skier, but even more, he’s just a heck of a young man. Thank you very much, and good luck, Kalle. Orders of the Day Hon.

Mike Farnworth: I call third reading on Bill 3, Budget Measures Implementation Act (No. 2), 2026. Third Reading of Bills BILL 3 — BUDGET MEASURES IMPLEMENTATION ACT (No. 2), 2026 The Speaker: The question is third reading of Bill 3, Budget Measures Implementation Act (No. 2), 2026. Division has been called. [1:10 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.] Members who are participating remotely, please make sure your cameras are on. Member for Kootenay-Rockies, would you please con - firm that you are in a private place — indoors and private? Pete Davis: Yes, I confirm I’m in a private place indoors. The Speaker: Thank you.

Members, the question is third reading of Bill 3, Budget Measures Implementation Act (No. 2), 2026. [1:25 p.m.] Motion approved on the following division: YEAS — 46 Lore Blatherwick Dhir Routledge Elmore Toporowski B. Anderson Neill Osborne Brar Krieger Davidson Parmar Sunner Beare Greene Wickens Kang Begg Arora Higginson Sandhu Lajeunesse Choi Rotchford Chant Phillip Popham Dix Sharma Farnworth Eby Bailey Kahlon Chandra Herbert Whiteside Boyle Ma Yung Malcolmson Gibson Glumac Shah G. Anderson Chow Morissette NAYS — 42 Loewen Kindy Milobar Warbus Halford Rattée Kooner Banman L. Neufeld Van Popta Dew Clare K.

Neufeld Rustad McInnis Valeriote Botterell Bhangu Paton Day Chan Toor Hepner Giddens Dhaliwal Wilson Maahs Block Stamer Gasper Mok Davis Kealy Brodie Sturko Boultbee Williams Chapman Bird Doerkson Luck Tepper The Speaker: Bill 3 has been read a third time and has passed. Hon. Mike Farnworth: In this chamber, I call con - tinued second reading on Bill 2, Budget Measures Imple - mentation Act. In

Section A, the Douglas Fir Room, I call continued committee stage on Bill 5, the internal trade act. In

Section C, the Birch Room, I call Committee of Sup - ply debate on estimates for the Ministry of Education and Child Care. Second Reading of Bills BILL 2 — BUDGET MEASURES IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2026 (continued) The Speaker: The member for Kelowna-Mission will continue his debate on second reading. Gavin Dew: Bill 2 also contains a technical-looking amendment to the Assessment Act. [Mable Elmore in the chair.] That deserves much more scrutiny than it will prob - ably get. It amends

section 19 of the Assessment Act by adding a new subsection, 19(6.1). Here is the government’s wording: “Subject to subsections (5) and (7), in determining ac - tual value, the assessor is not required to consider any re - striction placed on the use of the land and improvements by a person other than (

a) the Crown, (

b) a local govern - ment as defined in the

schedule to the Local Government Act or (

c) a local trust committee as defined in the Islands Trust Act.”

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5477 Why does that matter? Because in the real world, prop - erty values are affected by risk. They are affected by un - certainty. They are affected when buyers worry that un - resolved claims, disputes or assorted constraints could delay development, increase legal exposure or reduce the practical use of land. This amendment appears to make it easier for B.C. As - sessment to say: “Unless that restriction comes from gov - ernment, we are not required to take it into account.” That raises an obvious question about clause 28.

Does this mean a fee simple property owner could see the market value or appraised value of their land diminished because buyers and lenders price in uncertainty on the land base from unresolved land claims, but the assessed value is artificially propped up because the assessor is “not required” to consider restrictions not imposed by government? In plain language, could British Columbians end up paying higher taxes on a paper value that ignores real market uncertainty? This is not a small technical point.

It goes directly to whether people are being taxed on what their property is truly worth in the market or on a cleaner, fictional value that is more convenient for government revenue. To be fair, the act still requires assessors to consider certain registered covenants, but that only sharpens the question. The minister should answer clearly, and we will ask in committee stage. When unresolved asserted claims impair market value in practice, is B.C. Assessment ex - pected to reflect that reality or pretend it doesn’t exist?

Bill 2 is also about protecting the discretion of the executive and reducing legislative scrutiny. It extends the period through which deficits may be forecast. It raises the threshold for capital projects that must be specific - ally stated to the Legislative Assembly from $50 million to $125 million. That scopes out a lot of projects, including projects we’ve seen delayed in this budget. [1:30 p.m.] Bill 2 also quietly reduces accountability for capital spending by changing the Budget Transparency and Ac - countability Act threshold, as I previously mentioned.

On its face, that sounds like a technical adjustment. In prac - tice, it means fewer major projects are singled out and scrutinized. It means fewer projects are forced into the sunlight of this House as distinct line items that members and the public can track. We saw how important that was in this budget, with the significant changes in the delivery date, if ever, of a number of long-term-care facilities. The government will argue that inflation and construc - tion costs justify this change, but that argument is back - wards.

If project costs are rising and the risk of overruns is rising, transparency should go up, not down. When the stakes get bigger, the reporting should get sharper, not softer. This is not happening in isolation. This government’s approach to infrastructure accountability has a pattern. In the Ministry of Infrastructure service plan, the gov - ernment does not even publish a clear, measurable, on- time budget target. They acknowledge they will develop specific objectives and performance measures later, to be determined.

That is the opposite of what the public expects, espe - cially from a ministry created to deliver projects on time and on budget, which now can’t even define a target for delivering projects on time and on budget. British Colum - bians don’t want a government that comes back after the fact and says: “We will decide what success looks like in next year’s document.” Put those two choices together, and the direction is ob - vious. First, they avoid clear targets on whether projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Then they raise the reporting threshold so fewer projects have to be specific - ally stated to this House. That is not better governance. That is reduced accountability, by design. If this government is truly confident in its capital man - agement, it should be willing to measure performance openly and report more, not less. A serious government sets clear targets, reports consistently and accepts scrutiny. This bill moves in the opposite direction. Then there is perhaps the most revealing part of this bill.

After raising taxes on paycheques, expanding the PST, squeezing homeowners and protecting the tax base wher - ever it can, this government also decided to abolish the independent Office of the Merit Commissioner — not re - form it, not strengthen it, not modernize it; abolish it. An office created in 2001 to provide independent over - sight of whether appointments in the B.C. public service are actually based on merit is being folded into the very machinery it is supposed to oversee. Bill 2 removes the Merit Commissioner as an officer of the Legislature, re - defines the Merit Commissioner as the head of the B.C.

Public Service Agency acting in that capacity, repeals the core independent oversight provisions and routes report - ing to a minister instead of this House. The government will try to dress this up as efficiency or cost savings, but the annual budget for the office is about $1.7 million. That’s a lot of money, but in the scale of a provincial budget, it’s pocket lint. Even the outgoing commissioner warned publicly that the cost of losing in - dependent oversight may far exceed the savings from eliminating a small oversight body.

He pointed out that a non-partisan, multiparty legislative committee approved a three-year budget for the office only months earlier and recognized its role in upholding merit-based practices. So this is not some obvious, commonsense cleanup of a stale institution. It is the government wilfully choosing to get rid of an independent watchdog that the Legislature had literally just affirmed. The timing is awfully convenient, is it not? This is not happening after a long run of glowing audit results and

5478 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 perfect confidence in the system. The Merit Commission - er’s own materials noted an increase in “merit not applied” findings and a decrease in “merit” findings. The office’s reporting showed “merit not applied” findings rising to 10 percent. The commissioner then said publicly that the most recent audit found the highest rate of flawed hiring processes and outcomes in nearly a decade. So this government’s answer to rising concerns about merit is not more scrutiny; it’s less.

Their answer to a watchdog raising alarms is to take away the watchdog. [1:35 p.m.] That is what makes this so politically revealing. The government is not eliminating an office because the prob - lem disappeared. It is eliminating an office because the office still mattered. When trust in institutions matters, when competition for jobs is tighter, that is exactly when independent oversight becomes more important, not less. Bill 2 does not merely rename the office. It guts the very architecture of independence. It repeals the provisions dealing with appointment, audit, review and dismissal processes.

It strips away powers to compel answers and disclosure. It changes the annual report so it goes to the minister, not the Legislative Assembly. And then, in the transitional provisions, it dissolves the office and transfers its property, records, liabilities and unspent budget to the Ministry of Finance. It defangs and neuters the watchdog. That is not an efficiency measure. That is a consolida - tion of control. It is the executive branch taking the files, taking the budget, taking the reporting line and taking the oversight in-house. There’s also a transparency problem here.

Bill 2 re - moves the Office of the Merit Commissioner from the list of public bodies under FOIPPA and creates a carve-out so records held by or for the Merit Commissioner, or related to the commissioner’s functions before this amendment, are outside the normal access route. The government will say privacy protections still apply, and technically, that’s true. But the political fact remains. This bill abolishes an independent office and at the same time creates a special rule that makes access to its old rec - ords harder through the ordinary public route.

For a government already known for secrecy, that’s not a good look — not a good look at all. They’re burying the records, sweeping them under a rug, shutting down the watchdog. That should tell you exactly what you need to know: that this government has something to hide. There’s another layer of irony here. The office’s man - date was expanded in 2018 to include dismissal reviews. More recently that work was affirmed as important and meant to remain independent from government.

Yet now, through a bill — a budget bill, of all things — the govern - ment is scrapping that independent structure and handing the function to the bureaucracy itself. That is not just in - consistent; it is cynical. It says independence is important right up until independence becomes inconvenience. Let us be plain about what is happening here. This gov - ernment is abolishing an independent office that exists to make sure public service hiring is based on merit, at the very moment that the office is reporting more problems in the system. It is moving oversight from the Legislature into the executive.

It is weakening transparency around the old records, and it calls that progress. British Columbia needs high-quality public servants chosen on merit, not a system where friends and insiders can be rewarded with cushy jobs while taxpayers are told to trust the same government that just fired the referee. Taken together, Bill 2 tells British Columbians exactly what this NDP government is about. More tax on work. More tax on services people rely on. Less relief for rural and northern homeowners. Higher carrying costs for people who defer property taxes so they can stay in their homes.

More room for government discretion. Less legis - lative scrutiny. And above all of that, the abolition of an independent office that exists to make sure merit, fair - ness and accountability still mean something in the public service. This bill is not just a budget implementation bill. It is a statement of priorities, and those priorities are badly out of step with what British Columbia needs right now. Jennifer Blatherwick: I am here today to speak in sup - port of Bill 2. Our budget does not pretend the world is easy.

It rec - ognizes fiscal constraint and the enormous challenge of a much smaller working generation supporting our parents as they age and need more complex care. We simultaneously also need to invest in the future of the young people of this province, especially with training that allows them to create a stable life here. This budget eyes the challenges honestly and chooses stability, fairness and long-term strength for British Columbia. [1:40 p.m.] It’s not a budget crafted in comfort or a time of global abundance. Each line recognizes a time of uncertainty — economic, environmental, geopolitical and social.

We hear in our offices every day of the struggles and successes of our constituents, our neighbours. We hear about the effect of tariffs. We see the changes in people’s everyday choices. Their choice is to buy and support Can - adian, to buy local, to ensure that we stay strong. I’m so heartened when I go to local farmers markets, the restaurants in my area, the small local businesses, and I see more of my neighbours than ever before continuing to invest dollars back into our province with their choices, to ensure that we choose Canadian.

Sometimes those choices are hard. “Made in Canada.” “Grown in B.C.” Looking for those labels means we need to take time, make the effort and vote carefully with our limited budgets. Each individual choice is a powerful in - vestment in B.C.’s future. Thank you.

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5479 This budget recognizes the difficulty of those hard- thought, careful choices and respects them. Here’s what we know. We cannot ruthlessly cut our way to a stronger province. On the other hand, borrowing has consequences, even if those funds are investments in capital projects and in people that are growing our province. It’s reasonable and prudent to sustain services for our province, our busi - nesses, our non-profits and our people. We defend our core services and discipline the spending.

This budget tells the story of global economic uncer - tainty, our changing alliances and our commitment to forge our way through to the future by strengthening international relationships with our long-standing part - ners and reaching out to create new paths with our newer allies. Across the globe, we see slower economic growth, shaped internationally by trade uncertainty, war and the ongoing climate crisis. Here in B.C., we have localized challenges that we must respond to: the stresses created by reduced federal immigration targets and rising borrowing costs world - wide.

The budget must also grapple with the rising cost of debt. Every dollar spent on interest is a dollar not spent on nurses, teachers or public safety. The budget maintains front-line core services in health care, education and so - cial services, while making deliberate, thoughtful choices to slow spending growth, modernize revenue and protect the front line. This budget demonstrates a commitment. Front-line services will be protected at levels comparable to pre- pandemic benchmarks, even as economic seas become rougher. That means concrete investments in the supports that protect us here in B.C.

Over $2.8 billion in new fund - ing, over three years, is directed to strengthening health care, expanding capacity, supporting workforce recruit - ment and improving access to mental health and addic - tions treatment. We will keep connecting people to family doctors and nurse practitioners. Back in 2010, under the previous gov - ernment, there was a promise that everyone would have a family doctor by 2015. I want to acknowledge that there was, at the time, an enormous and complex challenge in growing and expanding our health care system. Personnel were retiring in an unprecedented wave.

As the pattern of service of medical professionals changed, the dominant age demographic was beginning to shift from working-age adults to seniors. The province was becoming increasingly urbanized, but rural, remote and northern areas still needed support, services and connections. All of those challenges meant that the previous gov - ernment could not complete their promise. By the time they left government in 2017, there were 900,000 people — close to one million people — without a doctor, 250,000 more people without a doctor than before they made that promise.

I wish they had succeeded, because that would have been good for all people here in British Columbia. It was a tough challenge, and the past plan didn’t work, but now, in 2026, every single one of those challenges has intensi - fied. We now have a higher proportion of seniors than at any other time in our history, plus there is now a global shortage of health care workers, with other provinces and countries competing fiercely for the same pool of doctors, nurses and health care professionals. Yet even with all of those challenges, let me talk about what is working: the current plan under this government.

B.C. is succeeding. We are turning a corner. We have at - tached a record number of people to family doctors. In 2024, we attached a record number of 250,000 people, outpacing the population growth of 167,000, and 4,000 people are connected each week, which is a 52 percent in - crease from the previous year. Additionally, more than 850 new family doctors have been added since the launch of the new physician pay model in 2023. We now have the most doctors per capita of any province in Canada, with more on the way.

We will keep going. [1:45 p.m.] Of that $2.8 billion, $131 million is specifically dedi - cated to evidence-based mental health and addictions ser - vices, helping ensure that we are able to support the most vulnerable people in this province. Health care matters, and education matters. For fam - ilies and children, we will spend $634 million over three years strengthening K-to-12 education, hiring more class - room teachers, special education teachers, counsellors and psychologists. We know how important it is for families to have safe, accessible and affordable child care.

We want parents to be able to choose to participate in our economy, so this budget commits $330 million to maintain affordable child care fees and support operators and educators. These his - toric and ongoing investments in child care have allowed thousands and thousands of women to choose to join the workforce. In the last quarter of 2025, over 900 new child care spaces opened all across this province.

Here are some: Burnaby, 74 spaces, including 24 for infant and toddlers; Courtenay, 31 spaces, including 15 for infant and tod - dler; Douglas First Nation, 46 spaces; Kelowna, 48 spaces; Langley, 72 spaces; Maple Ridge, 110 spaces; Merritt, 76; North Van, 37; Skatin, 26; Sooke, 37; Sorrento, 56; Surrey, 80; Vancouver, 32 spaces; and Victoria, 224 spaces. Deputy Speaker: Member, I’m just going to interrupt you and recognize the member for Vancouver-Langara. Sunita Dhir: Can I seek leave to make an introduction? Leave granted.

5480 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 Deputy Speaker: Proceed. Introductions by Members Sunita Dhir: It’s my absolute pleasure to welcome, on behalf of the member for Vancouver-Fraserview, 28 grade 5 students along with their teacher, Joanna Molt. They are from École Anne-H ébert, which is the first francophone school in B.C., established in 1983. The school serves 323 students from kindergarten to grade 6. May we all welcome them to this House, please. Debate Continued Deputy Speaker: The member for Coquitlam-Mail - lardville continues.

Jennifer Blatherwick: Every one of those spaces I mentioned represents a family that is able to find care for their child, more freely make choices about their future and participate as they choose in the economy. We need to make sure that the economy is strong, resilient and di - versified while being able to take on opportunities of the future. We have to grow the economy in a way that’s good for B.C. and for Canada. We need to be responsive, ensure we all benefit and build towards the future. Budget 2026 advances the Look West: Jobs and Prosper- ity for a Stronger B.C. and Canada strategy.

So $241 mil - lion to double trades training and apprenticeship seats by ’28-29. This is the largest investment in trades train - ing in our history. This represents training opportunities for good family-sustaining jobs. A new $400 million B.C. strategic investment special account to co-invest with the federal government on nation-building projects to bring capital to this province. And $40 million to strengthen permitting capacity in natural resource and tourism sec - tors, some of the heart blood of B.C.’s economy. Expanded incentives for manufacturing, clean technology and innovation.

These investments recognize that economic security is national security and that British Columbia is positioned to have a pivotal, nationally vital role to play in Canada’s energy transition, critical mineral supply and trade di - versification. Together these large investments in the lar - ger economy and the small investments in people’s lives are the companion building blocks of a functioning, close- knit, interdependent society. This budget will continue to improve another key pil - lar of our common good: public safety.

We want people to feel safe in their neighbourhoods, on their bus rides, their walks home and in their small businesses. Budget 2026 commits $139 million over three years to address repeat violent offending and property crime. This includes the new chronic property offending intervention initiative, expanded resources for the provincial foren - sic firearms lab and support for faster investigations and charge approvals. Compassion and accountability are not opposed to each other. They work hand in hand. Communities deserve safety, where families can reliably build lives and busi - nesses.

Individuals deserve pathways out of cycles of harm. [1:50 p.m.] Public safety is not an abstract policy discussion. It’s not a statistic on a spreadsheet or line item in a budget. It’s something people live every single day in their com - munities. Budget 2026 tackles those realities in response to data with collaboration across all levels and thoughtful and careful planning. The budget provides $139 million over three years to strengthen public safety and restore confidence in the justice system, not through slogans or through shortcuts but through targeted, evidence- informed action.

I want to thank the Minister of Public Safety and their staff for their work, recognizing that repeat offending has historically been one of the highest costs to the justice sys - tem — enforcement costs, court costs, holding costs — yes, but also to businesses and individuals in the community and, ultimately, also to the individuals who commit the offences. The research into patterns of crime is clear. A rela - tively small number of individuals are responsible for a disproportionate amount of property crime and violent reoffending.

Ignoring that reality does not serve compas - sion, rehabilitation or the most effective implementation of public safety. With the introduction of the chronic property offend - ing intervention initiative, we’ll see a focused, coordinated approach designed to intervene earlier, supervise more effectively and disrupt the cycle of repeated harm. This initiative improves coordination, bringing together law enforcement and prosecutors and probation services and social supports to ensure that individuals who repeatedly offend are no longer passed from one system to another without accountability or follow through.

This budget recognizes that intervention is more ef - fective with enforcement, and enforcement with support has the best chance of success. The answer is not choosing one over the other. It is ensuring that all the resources, ef - forts and policies align to increase the chance of ending the cycle. Swifter and more efficient processes are good for everyone. Budget 2026 expands resources for the provincial for - ensic firearms lab, accelerating ballistic analysis, firearm tracing and investigative timelines.

Thorough, careful in - vestigation is a cornerstone of our justice system, and in - creasing efficiency while maintaining integrity is essential. Delayed evidence is delayed justice, and delayed justice undermines both deterrence and fairness. Enhancing forensic capacity means faster investiga -

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5481 tions, stronger cases and quicker charge approvals. We know the necessary responses can look different across the province. What’s needed in Coquitlam-Maillardville looks different from what may be needed in downtown Vancouver or what is required in rural, northern or sub - urban communities.

Budget 2026 supports community-specific safety re - sponses, which means targeted enforcement, improved ac - cess to justice services and stronger coordination between police courts and social agencies, including action to ad - dress the extortion crisis that has affected businesses and families in multiple regions of this province. The creation of a dedicated task force paired with ex - panded victim supports and federal partnership funding reflects an understanding that economic intimidation is not just a criminal issue. It is a threat to community stabil - ity and economic confidence.

The budget ensures we meet that threat with full cooperation across every sector and level of government and law enforcement. Holding individuals accountable for repeated harm - ful behaviour is not incompatible with breaking cycles of harm by continuing to support people, especially young people, with treatment, housing support or mental health services. We can align public safety investments with ex - panded mental health and addictions treatment, recogniz - ing that untreated illness and trauma can drive cycles of offending. We must respect and support victims of crime and the damage done to communities.

We must also see the hu - manity of those repeating cycles of harm without ever ex - cusing the harm itself. These public safety investments are part of a thought - ful fiscal framework that responds to debt-servicing costs that put pressure on the future. The budget invests in programs that deliver measur - able outcomes, safer communities and reduced repeat offending. In those communities, we will continue to system - atically approach one of the defining challenges of life in British Columbia, the issue of housing.

Over the next three years, there is a budget of $37.7 billion for taxpayer- supported infrastructure. We will continue to build the supports that British Columbians need. Investment in schools, hospitals, transit, and housing continue. We will see thousands of units of housing come online. But we have to integrate into that plan today’s economic condi - tions, not yesterday’s projections. Affordability measures remain in place through the B.C. family benefit, stable child care funding and targeted housing tax measures.

The budget updates the speculation tax for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners, and the additional school tax is strengthened for homes valued over $3 million. These measures are about fair - ness, ensuring that those with the greatest capacity con - tribute appropriately while services remain protected for everyone. [1:55 p.m.] Modernizing B.C.’s tax base is an essential piece of this budget. Comparatively, our provincial sales tax has had one of the narrowest applications in Canada, even as a significant

section of our economy has shifted toward services and digital platforms. The application of our tax policy must be fairly applied across sectors, and we must ensure that our revenue system is resilient to the changing composition of the economy. Beginning on October 1, 2026, the budget expands the PST to selected professional services, including account - ing, bookkeeping, property management and non-resi - dential real estate commissions, to be consistent with tax - ation in other sectors at the standard 7 percent rate.

Archi - tectural, engineering and geoscience services will be taxed on only 30 percent of the purchase price, maintaining a balance between revenue generation and infrastructure cost control. Budget 2026 also makes targeted adjustments to in - come taxation, an increase of half a penny per dollar in the first tax bracket rate with a corresponding increase in benefits for the 40 percent of British Columbians who are low income. This small change means that B.C. is still one of the lowest-taxed provinces for working- and middle- class families.

This budget in 2026-2027 doesn’t chase applause or leave people behind in education, in health care or so - cial services. It tells the truth. We face pressures, but we will protect the services people rely on. We will invest in growth, in skills and in reconciliation, and we will keep going. Bruce Banman: It’s always a pleasure to be able to re - spond to a bill. In this case, it’s Bill 2. I’ll be speaking about the failures and concerns surrounding the 2026 British Columbia Budget Measures Implementation Act.

While budgets are intended to guide a province to - wards economic stability and improved public services, this particular bill, this legislation in front of this House, raises several very serious concerns. Rather than strength - ening British Columbia’s long-term financial health and improving affordability, critics argue that the 2026 imple - mentation act introduces policies that actually may in - crease financial pressure on residents and businesses, de - lay important infrastructure and create uncertainty about this province’s economic future. Now, I know that we talk an awful lot in this building.

There is always, sort of…. Well, one side spins, and then the other side counter-spins. But I think it’s important to hear what those from outside of this building actually have to say, and I would like to read into the record some of them. Let’s start with the media. Rob Shaw says: “B.C.’s new budget hikes taxes to gen -

5482 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 erate more than $800 million in revenue, with increases to personal income tax and the PST scope, but still pro - jects a record-breaking $13.3 billion deficit and skyrock - eting debt levels, and it holds the line on education, health spending.” That was Rob Shaw. “B.C. is raising personal income tax on the first $50,363 to try and generate new revenue as the budget sinks in red.” Also Rob Shaw. “It’s the first time the lowest income tax bracket has been raised since 2000, when the B.C. Lib - erals first took power.” Rob Shaw.

The Times Colonist: “The B.C. budget brings public ser- vice cuts, delays to Vancouver Island projects. Highlights from 2026 B.C. budget? Growing deficit, tax hike and PST changes.” Les Leyne: “Tax adjustments coming to offset projected deficit jump in B.C. budget.” [2:00 p.m.] The CBC: “The B.C. budget increases tax increases, 15,000 public job cuts projected, a $13 billion deficit.” The CTV: “This fiscal year, B.C.’s deficit is expected to reach $13.3 billion, the highest it has ever been.” The Vancouver Sun : “Higher taxes, more debt: five ways the 2026 B.C. budget will affect you.” The Globe and Mail ….

Not really a stellar review thus far on this budget, from the press. The Globe and Mail: “B.C. budget projects record-breaking $9.6 billion deficit, rising to $13.3 billion next year.” I could go on and on. Mo Amir: “David Eby’s entire premiership can be sum- marized by B.C.’s 2026-27 budget: no vision, just managed decline, self-contradictory, no principles, no consistency….” Deputy Speaker: Member, just a reminder not to use names. Bruce Banman: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was do - ing a quote. So I appreciate that. Deputy Speaker: Yeah, even in a quote.

Bruce Banman: Thank you, Madam Speaker. “The Premier’s entire premiership can be summarized: self-contradictory, no principles, no consistency, trying to please everyone but pleasing no one, a generational price tag for British Columbians.” That was Mo Amir. “I’m sorry,” he goes on, “but his government can’t believe that an $11 billion budget deficit is unsustainable.” Stakeholders. It’s one thing for the press to speak, but what do the stakeholders actually have to say?

The CFIB says that B.C.’s entrepreneurial drought deepens as Budget 2026 increases taxes for everyone. “Break out the ibupro - fen because Budget 2026 will be a huge headache for small businesses, not what’s needed when we’re facing entrepre- neurial drought,” said Ryan Mitton. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Bailey needs to cut government spending and stop piling more debt on taxpayers. Government spending has rocketed up too far too fast.

It’s time for the government to put down the credit card,” says Carson Binda. “Brace yourselves for big tax hikes and more debt.” The Independent Contractors and Businesses Associa - tion: “Tax increases, historic deficits and record debt make the Premier’s 2026-27 B.C. budget challenging for B.C. construction businesses. “First, a personal income tax hike will put half a bil - lion more out of B.C. workers’ pockets. It gets worse. The NDP are reintroducing bracket creep, which punishes workers who move from one tax bracket to another by taking more out of their paycheques.

This makes it more common for a person to get a raise, move up to the next tax bracket and actually take home less money due to higher taxes.” Think about that for a minute. So you unwittingly get a raise from your boss, or you move, thinking you’re actually getting a better job, and you’re actually going to take home less money than you were at a lower wage. Bravo. Well done on this budget. Bravo. I could go on. The Business Council of B.C.: “We’ve got about $4 billion in the budget in tax in - creases, and that’s really concerning, because the pri - vate sector is already very, very weak.

The deficit de - teriorates to a record $13.3 billion, $3.1 billion larger than projected in last year’s budget. “At 2.9 percent of GDP, the deficit far eclipses the one during the COVID-19 emergency in 2021, when the government ran a deficit of $5.6 billion, of 1.8 per - cent of GDP.

And B.C.’s finances have unravelled at a breathtaking speed over recent years as spending growth has far outpaced revenue growth. [2:05 p.m.] “Households and businesses also faced around $4 billion in tax hikes over three years to try to plug the fiscal hole in a further blow to private sector eco - nomic activity.” I’ve got about ten more pages. None of them are com - plimentary to this budget. Implementing this, actually, is the highlight of the fail - ure of this government over the last ten years. They went from a surplus that they inherited to the point where we are now approaching, I believe, $182 billion.

Interjections. Bruce Banman: If the members want to get up and speak, I suggest they stand up and speak. Perhaps the member would like to get up and speak. The B.C. seniors advocate: “It’s going to put pressure on family caregivers, people who should be in the work - force, who are now caring for that senior, and it’s also go -

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5483 ing to create a situation where the seniors are not getting the kind of care they should be.” The BCGEU. “Health care, education, child care, public safety, public services — these services allow our mem - bers to go to work, businesses to operate and commun - ities to thrive. They lower household costs and create sta - bility in uncertain times. Weakening them doesn’t solve a deficit.

It shifts costs directly onto working families,” says Paul Finch, president of the BCGEU. “You cannot build a productive economy on a crum - bling public foundation,” says Paul Finch. “Any cuts to front-line services, any cuts to unionized employees that provide critical services to British Columbians is just go - ing to hurt people that need those services right now. It is also going to hurt the economy.” I think it’s important to listen to the agriculture sec - tor, as well, that is particularly abundant in my riding of Abbotsford South. This budget is disappointing.

British Columbia currently ranks last among other provinces in operating funding for its Ministry of Agriculture. How - ever, there is a long history of underfunding the sector in this province most recently. Based on the five-year rolling average, B.C. is still last place at 3.4 percent compared to 4.6 percent for New Brunswick. We placed behind New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in funding agriculture, yet we brag about it all the time in this House.

Spending on the Ministry of Agriculture and Food would need to increase an estimated 25 percent from $143 million to $179 million to contend with New Bruns - wick for 9th place. Nothing like racing to the bottom, is it? As has been mentioned by others, this budget is noth - ing to cheer about, and the implementation of this act is nothing to cheer about. As mentioned in, I believe it was, clause 25 this government has decided that the Merit Commissioner is no longer required. Well, that’s interest - ing. That’s troubling.

I know if this side of the House had proposed that, that side of the House would be screaming their heads off be - cause we’d be hiring all our insider friends. That’s what the Merit Commissioner is for. It is to ensure that insiders and people that we owe political favours to don’t get plum jobs. Well, there have been a few plum jobs that have been pointed out already on that side of the House, like joke writers getting outrageous amounts of money. [2:10 p.m.] There have been some problems already on that side of the House.

The Merit Commissioner goes on, actually, to say that there has been an increase in problems that they’ve identified. What is this government’s response to that? Well, rather than strengthening the Merit Commissioner’s pos - ition, streamlining it, improving the powers to ensure that the public’s money…. You know, this is not our money. It’s not. These are hard-working British Columbians that pay their taxes, hard-working businesses that fund our econ - omy, that pay it in goodwill, hoping that the rules in place make sure that there’s going to be transparency, fairness and honesty.

The Merit Commissioner was put in place to ensure that, not just when one side is there but when all sides…. No matter who forms government, the Merit Commis - sioner is there to ensure that things don’t get out of hand, that we’re not giving plum jobs to insiders, that we’re not stacking the deck on what should be neutral. The one thing when I was a mayor is that I was always impressed and amazed at how neutral the staff were. It’s for good reason. Even in our offices, in our constituency assistants, I know my staff pride themselves in being apolitical.

It’s a very difficult challenge for them to do be - cause, to the best of my knowledge…. I like my staff, and they like me, but they have a job to do. You can’t just say when the phone rings: “Hi, who did you vote for last time? Oh, I’m sorry. You voted for the wrong team. We’re not going to help you.” It’s not sup- posed to work that way. The Merit Commissioner is put in place so that the bureaucracy remains neutral. It’s a very important job. What this government is doing is basically saying: “You know what? No, we don’t want that. Let’s get rid of that. That’s a little pesky. No, no, no. I don’t like it.

Let’s just fire him. We’re going to eliminate the position totally.” It’s outrageous, and the public actually should be right- fully outraged as well, because one day this side of the House is going to be government. Do you really want us hiring all our inside friends? I don’t think it’s wise. This position is there for a reason. This government has already been accused of being the most secretive government because of what they’ve done with FOI requests, and: “Oh, now, wait a minute.

In the budget now, we’re going to actually….” They’ve become a little persnickety about: “You know, these FOIs are just too tedious to write. We’re going to tighten it up to make it even more difficult for FOIs.” The public and the press should be outraged that this government is actually doubling down on reducing trans - parency, instead of increasing transparency. Good govern - ance requires transparency. Sometimes, yeah, when you’re on that side of the House having to answer questions, it’s annoying. It’s inconvenient. Well, tough bananas. That’s what you signed up for. It’s just too darn bad.

That’s the nature of the business that you signed up for. Good governance requires transparency, because what transparency does is it insists that we end up with good governance. You have to be held accountable, and you can’t hide everything behind glass doors. This isn’t The Wizard of Oz . You don’t get to hide behind a curtain and pull strings. Good governance requires transparency, and what this government is doing is the exact opposite of that,

5484 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 at a time when they’re spending more money than they’re taking in. [2:15 p.m.] There are some other things that are very, very, very concerning about this particular implementation. When you have destroyed the economy to the point that this gov- ernment has…. They can blame it on everyone else, but when you’re running a business, if situations change, you have to learn to adapt. If you don’t adapt, you’re going to go bankrupt. Well, governments also can go bankrupt. We now have a record deficit. We have a record debt of $182 billion.

Divide that by 5.5 or 5.7 million people and tell me what you get. Somebody’s got to pay it. I don’t think I’m going to be around long enough to pay that debt back. It’s no wonder the youth are fleeing. If I got stuck with that credit card bill, I’d be leaving too: “Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. I’m out of here. You go pay your own debts.” Decisions have consequences. Then, when you start running out of businesses, because they’re closing down, and when the economy starts to tank, there’s only one thing you can do, and that’s to raise taxes, which is exactly what they’ve done. Who do you end up going after?

Well, they’ve gone after the working poor. That tax rate is rising, as it was mentioned. The other one that they’re going to hit is they’re go - ing to go: who else do you go after? Seniors. They go after seniors because, actually, seniors have assets. Then what you do is sign seniors up to say: “Hey, you know what? We want you to stay in your home because we don’t have a long-term-care facility for you.” Oh, that’s right. We cancelled all those. We’ve can - celled six of those. Abbotsford cancelled one. Campbell River cancelled one or delayed. Chilliwack, cancelled or delayed.

Cottonwood’s long-term care is cancelled or de - layed. Delta is cancelled or delayed. Fort St. John is can - celled or delayed. Squamish is cancelled or delayed. It works out to 1,200 beds cancelled or delayed. “Seniors, we want you to stay at home because we’ve got nowhere but a hallway to put you in at a hospital.” Then what you do to them is say: “Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re going to make it more affordable. We know you’re hard up. We’re going to let you defer your property taxes. We’re going to have a nice low rate for you because we want to be nice to you.

You’re actually helping us be - cause it will cost us less to keep you in your home than it would be to put you into a long-term-care facility, even though you probably need one. We’re going to push you there as long as you can.” What did they do with that? Well, now that you’ve signed up…. Once you’ve signed up, now you’ve got to pay it back in order to get out of it, which the seniors don’t have. Now what they did is…. This is the ultimate bait- and-switch. “We’ve signed you up to this thing.

Now we’re going to take from prime minus 2, which is a pretty good deal….” Literally, what I heard is that they’re accusing sen - iors of somehow making money by investing. So they go: “We can’t have that. We don’t want you in- vesting in the economy that’s already poor. We don’t want you helping out in any way you can to help offset so you can stay home. Yes, we know we don’t have a place for you. But what we’re going to do to you now that you’ve signed up for this deal is….

We’re going to change it from prime minus 2 to prime plus 2, and we’re going to compound the interest.” If a credit card company tried to pull that kind of non - sense off, there would be all kinds of screaming and all kinds of people that would be yelling to try and do this. It is outrageous that we would do something like this to the very people that built this country, the very people that are on a fixed income, trying to stay in their house. We’ve now, midstream in an agreement, changed the rules on them. That is not only shameful; it’s reprehensible. [2:20 p.m.] “We don’t have a place to put you.

We’ve just shut down the building of 1,200 beds in long-term-care facilities. We don’t have a doctor for you. We don’t have the at-home- care people, even, for you. Now we’re going to charge you compound interest.” I don’t know how members on that side of the House that say they’re for seniors, say they’re for people on a fixed income and say they’re for the poor can sleep at night. This is what happens when you mismanage a budget and you mismanage an economy and spend money as if there is no tomorrow, and you know full well that you’re not going to be in government and have to clean up the mess that you left.

It’s reprehensible behaviour. It’s reck - less behaviour, and it is incompetent at a gross level to be able to do this to certain individuals. I wish just for once I could get up and say: “You know what? I’ve got nothing to complain about on this side of the House.” I really do. Interjection. Bruce Banman: I know. The other side says: “No, no, that’ll never happen.” Darned right it’ll never happen, be- cause you guys keep mismanaging stuff so much. You give me an encyclopedia to read from, on what’s wrong. On this budget, I’ll go over a few of the other things. You know, I had a 30-minute speech.

I haven’t even gotten to it yet. The rising provincial debt and deficit concerns, as I’ve gone over, increased the financial pressures on seniors, through the property tax deferral changes. It delays and reduces infrastructure projects. There are concerns about the housing affordability and development. We had con - tractors in here talking about what this is going to do. How does that affect them? How does this affect home prices? Okay, now you’ve got to pay PST on the accountant.

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5485 You’ve got to pay PST on engineering firms. You’ve got to pay PST on all of the things that go into actually building a home. For all those reports that were PST-exempt, now there’s going to be a 7 percent added cost. The average cost of a building, when you build it now, is about 30 percent of what you pay for your property, for your new home, as government-demanded requirements. Now there’s going to be another 7 percent on top of that, on a lot of these services. What would have been wise would have been, if you want to stimulate the economy….

Do you remember the GST rebates back in the day? It was one of the biggest building booms we’d ever seen. Rather than be innovative, and we want to have home affordability, if we’d say, “You know what? It’s PST-free on anything to do with construc- tion,” we would have a massive increase. If what happened to the GST is similar — I believe it would be — we would have a massive demand, and we’d spur it. You know what? That would sure as heck help out our forest industry. Oh, wait a minute, they can’t get any fibre to be able to supply the two-by-fours. We’d have to prob - ably bring them in, because you have….

Oh, that’s right. They’ve mismanaged that as well. This particular budget is so bad on so many levels and so shortsighted on so many levels. It provides little or no help to anyone. It’s grasping at straws, and I believe it will be the ultimate failure of this government. I believe it will be the downfall. This government has become so en - trenched in ideology that they can’t…. They have forgot - ten how to actually help people. You need to have a small sliver of taxes from a very big pie to have a robust economy.

If you do not have a robust economy, you have to start going deeper and deeper into people’s pockets. That’s exactly what this budget has done. [2:25 p.m.] It has cut the very nature of things we need, like long- term-care facilities. It has hurt businesses by adding PST onto services that they don’t need at a time when they’re already under immense pressure. It goes after people on minimum wage and seniors. Now people — I would say to them — are going to look and say: “Jeez, do I want a raise? Do I want to work over - time?

Because if it bumps me into the next tax bracket, in addition to the extra half percent I’m going to get clipped already by this budget, I’m going to be worse off.” Like groceries and rent aren’t hard enough to buy already. This budget and the implementation of it helps ab - solutely no one. It removes safeguards in place, like the Merit Commissioner, to make sure that there is transpar - ency. I know this budget got recorded as a D. I would say it’s a triple-F — failure, failure, failure. I wish it was different, for the sake of this province.

I wish it was different, for the sake of those that are trying to open up a business or trying to feed themselves or stuck with the very difficult choice of deciding whether they’re going to pay rent or food or just pack up and move. It is generally a pleasure to speak in this House, but I found no pleasure in talking about this particular imple - mentation act, because there’s not a heck of a lot of good to cheer about. Amna S hah: I am quite pleased to rise today to speak in support of Bill 2, the Budget Measures Implementation Act.

Before I begin, I just want to acknowledge and thank all of the staff that make us look good in our communities and the work that we do, who dedicate, really, their lives to servicing our constituents; and also all of the people that stand with us, whether we’re in our constituencies or whether we’re coming to this amazing chamber to do the people’s work. I extend my sincere gratitude to all of their service, because it truly does transform lives. This budget that we’re talking about, through the Budget Measures Implementation Act, is about protecting the services that people really rely on.

It’s a bit more than that. It’s not just about protecting the services. It’s about continuing to build on the record level of investment in infrastructure, in health care, in education, in housing, so that we can improve our communities, our standard of living, meet the needs of the people across the province. I know that for the past eight years, this government has been investing in communities across British Colum - bia, and it’s to benefit everyday British Columbians, not just the specific few but everyday British Columbians.

I want to take a quick trip down memory lane for what prompted some of these key investments that have truly changed the lives of people, including people that I love and that I care about, the people that are closest to me. I take a trip back in my mind to my brother’s challenges crossing the Port Mann Bridge, at the time, which was tolled quite heavily. And it was to the general discontent of the majority of my community. I mean, who wants to pay to use a bridge every single day just to get to your job that provides you and your family sustenance? I don’t think anybody ever wants to do that.

But as an individual, my brother, who was helping build this province, had to go over that bridge every single day. He complained to me…. [2:30 p.m.] You know what? Going over that bridge was something that affected my preference and where I would like to take a job, actually. I was quite young, and I wanted to be cog - nizant, because it builds up over a year. It’s in the multiple thousands, actually, depending on how much you used that bridge. I remember MSP premiums and my co-workers, my colleagues, having to pay that. It truly was a burden.

I think back to my mom, who’s been an educator her entire career, an early childhood educator, a Montessori

5486 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 teacher who’s educating children in their most formative years of their lives, a Montessori teacher with great hopes and aspirations to help shape our future, who wasn’t even making a decent wage at the time. It was heartbreaking to see how much she put into it, as I know many educators do. It was difficult for her, even, to see some of the parents who would struggle to pay their child care fees. It wasn’t a good time. I saw a lot of people in my com - munity, my closest loved ones…. I did see them struggle.

That’s why the investments that this government has made over the years are really transformative on people’s lives. I saw that happen. Just to get back to some of these challenges, look at the tolls on the bridge. When we went out there and spoke to people and we heard that this was not what it is that people wanted…. They couldn’t afford it. The B.C. government of the day…. We removed the tolls on the bridges. We got rid of the MSP premiums. They were not just an inconven - ience; they were major burdens on people’s families. My mom was the beneficiary of the wage increases for ECE teachers directly.

The parents that she knew who were putting their kids through child care were the bene - ficiaries of the early stages of the child care plan from its inception. All of these investments that we’re talking about had a direct impact, and they matter. This budget is about building on those investments. These investments have been poured in despite all of the challenges that we faced. We’re talking about some of the most challenging times in our province’s history, in national history, global history. I mean things like COVID-19 that really stopped our lives.

One day we realized that, oh my gosh, this is some - thing like we’ve never seen before. The impacts of that are still felt today in our communities. I’m talking about floods, wildfires, and now we’re still facing challenges. We’re talking about a trade war that’s threatening attacks on us, dependent on what a certain individual feels like when he wakes up in the morning — we’re good, then we’re not good — affecting our economy every single day. You know what? Looking back, I’m so grateful to be a British Columbian because we have seen our communities come together, helping each other.

We have seen our com- munities lifting each other up. I want to take this moment to thank every single Brit - ish Columbian who has stood up to get us through some of these challenges. In the pandemic, we had heroic health care workers, day in and day out, who spent time away from their families to put themselves in harm’s way to help others, to save lives. [2:35 p.m.] I want to thank the member for Vancouver-Kingsway, who at the time was the Minister of Health. He stood up every single evening, every single day with Dr. Bonnie Henry to give us an in-depth analysis of what was going on in the province.

There was immense work that was put in through the Ministry of Health, through doctors, through nurses, through all of the workers, the essential workers in our hospitals, in our communities, and I want to thank them. I just want to thank them. We had neighbours who were helping each other through floods, through wildfires, through some of the most horrific moments of each other’s lives. All of these things affected us, and they still continue to do so. It’s a difficult time. I completely feel that. It is a dif - ficult time all across Canada, in every single province in this country. And you know what?

Even though we have the second-lowest net GDP-to-debt ratio, families are still feeling it. Families are feeling it. With Budget 2026, it provides $37.7 billion over three years for capital projects like schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, transit, because we know we have to keep our economy going. I support a budget that cares for people in my commun- ity, in Surrey. It’s about investing in our kids. It’s about investing in health care.

It’s about expanding opportun - ity, figuring out creative and innovative solutions and partnerships with other sectors — even non-profit organ - izations, the business sector — so that communities have what they need to thrive, and that again, we are working together. This year’s budget continues to deliver some of the most historic investment that Surrey has ever seen. I’ll just start off with health care. We had this constant conversation about us needing a new hospital in Surrey for many years — actually, probably for a decade. We knew that we were about to expand in population and growth, and we needed that.

It’s unfortunate that the place where it could have been was sold off. It’s unfortunate. But we had to get back to the drawing board. We had to fix the mistakes of that previous government. So that’s exactly what we did. We’re continuing to de - liver that new Surrey hospital and B.C. cancer centre. It’s a $2.88 billion project. It’s not a small project. It’s a state- of-the-art facility, which includes 168 in-patient beds, ad - vanced imaging, surgical suites, oncology services and, yes, an emergency department as well. I’ve heard mis - information out there about it not having an emergency department.

It certainly does. Let’s just correct the record here. I’ve been to the site multiple times to see the progress and to see how many skilled-trades workers, construction workers, are working at this site. For some of them, this is their first job. They’re being trained in partnership with the developer, with the contractors, with the government to unlock opportunities for workers who are just starting off in our skilled-trades sector and our construction sec - tor in general. I’m incredibly excited to see this state-of- the-art facility come to life when it’s done.

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5487 In my own riding of Surrey City Centre, we have made and continue to make some enormous investments in making it a place of educational excellence. We’re talking about the new medical school, the first in over 50 years, coming to Simon Fraser University — in 55 years, to be exact — which is going to train 648 future doctors in a 12-storey facility that includes a family clinic and child care spaces. [2:40 p.m.] We’re talking about education for the future.

We know people want to have families and still be able to go to school and still train to become doctors, and we need to accommodate that. So we build with that. This project in itself is going to create over 3,000 jobs. As we see it open in 2030, we have an interim space that’s ongoing, ready to accept new medical students this com - ing year. I am so excited for the first cohort of 48 students that are going to be attending the first medical school here in B.C. in over 55 years. I really am.

And I know the fam - ilies in my riding and the families across Surrey are happy about that too, because they want to be able to live, they want to be able to work, they want to be able to play in their city and locally. And you know what? Also a special place in my heart is the cardiac catheterization suites that were just opened in Surrey Memorial Hospital. A person who’s very near and dear to me just recently had a procedure at one of those cath lab beds. Just to see that that transfer to Royal Col - umbian didn’t need to happen…. That’s what needed to happen before.

Patients had to be transported over the bridge to Royal Columbian, and it just was not ideal for anybody getting treatment at cath labs that was living south of the Fraser River. And we’re not done. We’re going to continue to invest through our acute care tower, which is going to expand capacity. I heard members talk about that today. It’s go - ing to expand capacity at Surrey Memorial Hospital, in - cluding specialized services, women’s health, pediatric services.

So there is a lot more coming in terms of invest - ments for health to really expand and make health care services available to people living south of the Fraser. I just want to speak quickly about mental health care and our investments in mental health care with this budget, and protecting the health care services that people count on. We want to make sure that we have the resources to keep hiring the doctors and the nurses and the health care workers that we need so that people can rely on getting care when they need it.

This budget provides $131 million to support mental health and addictions treatment, including expanding ACT teams all across the province, 100 new involuntary care beds in Surrey and Prince George, and really expand - ing mental health supports across our province and in Surrey as well. I was just at an announcement to open up ten new treatment beds at a detox facility in my riding as well. I feel quite lucky. One of the things that really is so near and dear to me is our continued expansion of Foundry centres all across our province.

Surrey City Centre just opened a new Foundry centre, which was so needed in our community, a brand- new area of help and mental health supports for our youth aged up to 24 years of age. We’re going to continue to expand, through this budget, new Foundry facilities across the province. We have 19 open right now. I think we’re going to get 16 more that are on the way. These services, which are accessible in many different languages, are culturally safe and informed men - tal health care and primary health care, life skills training, all under one roof. These are transformative spaces for our community.

So we’re not going to just step back, because we under - stand the crucial need for these services, especially dur - ing times of global instability, economic instability. We understand the need for these very crucial services. [2:45 p.m.] I just want to pivot over to some of the investments in education in Surrey and the historic investments that we’ve already made and continue to make. Clayton Heights Secondary. We’re doubling capacity there with new additions to the school that have spaces for Indigenous learning, for child care.

This project that’s going to open its doors in 2029 is going to be a welcome addition to the Clayton Heights community. Fleetwood Park too. I see the member from Fleetwood is here in the chamber with us, who I know is very happy about expanding room for 800 more students at Fleet - wood Park Secondary. It is going to be completed in just a couple of years. Projects like this just mean less crowding in our class - rooms, in our schools, at a point where Surrey’s popula - tion has really exploded in such a short period of time.

We know that we have to act and we have to act quick, and this budget ensures that we continue with that type of work. Education, whether it be early childhood education or whether it be elementary, secondary…. We all know that our post-secondary students require extra assistance at times and extra care, and they do deserve that. When I was at Kwantlen Polytechnic University to unveil the new $143 million student housing and dining project, I just realized how many families that’s ultimately going to impact. I mean, 358 beds, a 161-seat dining hall, hundreds of jobs in the creation of that space.

It is almost up to, I would say, 800 direct and indirect jobs that it’s go- ing to create. It’s going to be the first student housing that KPU has ever had. We’ve seen the transformation of KPU from Kwantlen University College to Kwantlen Polytechnic

5488 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 University. We can’t stop there. It can’t be stagnant. It has to continue. It’s important for families, especially during this time of global instability, to be able to get around with ease. There are more and more families that are switching from their car commutes to using public transit. I know that every time I have any meetings or any events in downtown Vancouver, the SkyTrain is the way that I go downtown. I would not get into a car and drive downtown — many rea - sons why. I fully support taking public transit because it’s so convenient.

We’re trying to make it even more convenient for people outside of the Vancouver downtown core to get there and back home. The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain exten - sion, which is 16 kilometres of an expansion of the Expo Line, is so important to families in Surrey, families in Langley and beyond, because it really unlocks the oppor - tunity for jobs, for opportunities. These are not just com - mutes; they’re livelihoods. I referenced earlier in my speech that even something as simple as tolls actually made me reconsider the oppor - tunities in my life.

Really bridging that connection that previously wasn’t there is going to unlock economic op - portunities and benefits for communities outside of Van - couver and Surrey and Langley. This budget supports that development. It supports the very strong need for that type of development and innova - tion that we need in our province right now. [2:50 p.m.] Really, when you take all of these things together, these projects represent billions of dollars in investments, tens of thousands of jobs and a future where our schools, our hos - pitals, our universities are ready for the next generation.

They’re places of excellence. They’re innovative. They’re creative. They’re a draw for people — not just locally, not just out of town, but a draw for the rest of the world. We have people in our communities who are leaders in different sectors and fields, and we have to invest in them, which is why this budget doesn’t just support core ser - vices, doesn’t just preserve them, but it looks to opportun- ity and advancing opportunity for the amazing people in this province who are going to take us forward.

So while we protect our critical services, such as health care and education, we just want to make sure that people get the support that they need, when they need it. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Addictions and Anti-Racism Initiatives, that is the work that I do every single day. It’s finding opportunities, cre - ative projects that bring our community together. So when I speak about things like Foundry or mental health care, it comes from deep within me, because I see how many lives it transforms every single day.

I see it in the youth that use Foundry services, who say to me that they never thought that they could feel so safe getting treatment, getting health care, that things are so accessible that they just have to take out their phone. They just have to look for appointments, in the comfort of their own room, feeling like they can finally not be alone. These are the things that we need to ensure that we keep investing in, and that’s what Budget 2026 really does here, so I’m proud to support Bill 2 for the implementa - tion.

There’s so much here that we need to really highlight, because our commitment to British Columbians has never wavered. It never has, and it never will. At a time like this, where there are multiple threats on the horizon…. We are going through that right now. We see what’s happening in the world, and really, I’m worried about what that may bring, just like the families of Surrey, Brit - ish Columbia, just like the families of British Columbia everywhere. But I know, and I am confident, that we can get through this when we get through it together. We’ve done it before; we can do it again.

When we roll out a budget that protects what matters most to people, it strengthens the system that people rely on. It builds a more resilient, more equitable, more caring province, and it also recognizes that we have a lot more work to do. I don’t think there’s anybody on this side of the House that thinks: “Drop the budget, we’re done, and yay.” I don’t think any of us believes that. We’re fully in understanding of the challenges that we face right now, and I commend all of the members in this House — all of them, both sides — for the work that they do every day.

We may not see eye to eye on things, but I truly feel as though all members of this House care for British Columbians. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of the other members more, to be able to work with them on some cre - ative and innovative ways on how we move forward, be - cause there is no other way. Today I thank you for enter - taining my thoughts on this bill.

Again, I just want to give a big thank-you to my staff here at the Whip’s office, my staff in my constituency of - fice and all of the people who uphold the work that comes not just out of this chamber but out of the constituency offices, out of the ministers’ offices, out of the public ser - vice offices. [2:55 p.m.] I don’t think that I could find a bunch that I could be more proud of, and it’s been an honour of a lifetime. I never thought I would be here, but I truly am thankful for everyone that surrounds me. Kiel Giddens: I rise today to speak to Bill 2, the Budget Measures Implementation Act.

I do want to thank the previous speaker for her words about the work we all do in our constituency offices. I fully agree that all of us are here to serve the public and work on our constituents’ behalf. Whether we agree with a policy or not, the intent behind it and the care is real, I believe, as well. So I thank the member for her comments. I want to start with what the Budget Measures Im -

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5489 plementation Act, Bill 2, actually is achieving, and that is something I did not hear from the previous member. There was a lot of talk about spending, so what was ac - tually in the budget. But I want to get into what this par - ticular bill actually means. When we hear the words “budget implementation,” yes, that sounds like the administration of the budget and the spending. It looks like a routine piece of legislation that just adjusts the financial rules, and spending happens. But let’s call this bill what it really is. It’s a tax bill.

That’s something that we didn’t hear from the previous com - ments. Bill 2 is the legislation that turns the tax increases from this year’s budget into law. [Lorne Doerkson in the chair.] Every tax increase that families and businesses will feel from this year’s budget is implemented through this bill. When we debate Bill 2, we’re debating the real financial consequences that British Columbians will face in their paycheques, in their household bills and in the cost of running a business.

Unfortunately, when we look at the contents of this bill, what we see is government asking British Columbians to pay more at precisely the moment when many of them can least afford it. Earlier this session, just a couple of weeks ago when we debated the budget, I spoke about the people I represent in Prince George–Mackenzie. I spoke about the seniors who come into my office because they can’t keep up with the rising cost on a fixed income.

I spoke about working fam - ilies who are watching their paycheques shrink as grocer - ies, fuel, housing and child care are paid, but there’s too much month at the end of the money. I spoke about small business owners who are exhausted from rising costs and regulatory pressure. Those conversations are the lens that I am looking at this legislation in Bill 2 with. When I apply that lens of those families, the seniors, the small businesses, I see a series of tax measures that will increase the cost of living and the cost of doing business across the province.

Let me begin with one of the most significant meas - ures in this bill, and it’s the increase to the lowest personal income tax bracket. Bill 2, as it is in the budget, raises the base provincial income tax rate from 5.06 percent to 5.6 percent. I know that sounds like a very small amount, but this is significant. This is a 10 percent increase in the lowest tax bracket. For the lowest earners in the province, this hits their wallets the hardest, and it’s broad-sweeping.

That, in fact, impacts all families, because the lowest tax bracket in - cludes everyone, as well, at the first levels of their tax, so that’s significant. This is the first increase in the lowest provincial in - come tax rate since 2008. For nearly two decades, govern - ments of different political stripes recognized that raising the base income tax rate affects everyone and particularly those who can least afford it.

Because the lowest bracket applies to the first portion of income that every taxpayer earns — that’s what I just referenced — that means this tax increase affects workers, seniors, young families and new entrants into the workforce. [3:00 p.m.] Those young workers are who I’m very concerned about. They’re trying to make it. They’re trying to afford their first home, perhaps. They’re trying to, perhaps, move out of their parents’ house, but it makes it much more dif- ficult to do when we’re taxing them more. Everyone pays this.

It comes at a time when British Columbians are already facing the most significant af - fordability pressures in a generation. As I said, groceries are more expensive. Housing costs still do remain extra - ordinarily high. Fuel costs are high, particularly in north - ern and rural communities, which I represent. Insurance, utilities, transportation costs — all high costs on families. The question British Columbians are asking is really a simple one. Why is the government choosing this mo - ment right now, when British Columbians are struggling, to raise income taxes? The income tax changes don’t stop there.

Bill 2 also includes a policy that may sound technical but has con - sequences. It’s the freezing of the income-tax-bracket in - dexation. Previously, income tax brackets rose with infla - tion. That means as wages increased to keep up with rising prices, workers were not pushed into higher tax brackets simply because inflation had increased their nominal in - come. The indexation was designed to protect taxpayers from something economists call “bracket creep.” Bill 2 freezes that indexation.

In practice, that means that as inflation continues and as wages slowly rise to keep pace with the cost of living, more and more income will be taxed at higher rates. Workers may receive modest wage increases simply to keep up with rising prices, but instead of those increases helping them to get ahead, they will increasingly be cap - tured by the tax system. Even if someone’s real purchasing power doesn’t improve they will still pay more tax. That’s not tax fairness. It’s simply a quiet way of increasing the tax burden year after year.

A very glaring tax measure in Bill 2 is one of the most significant expansions of the provincial sales tax in, I would say, a generation. For the first time, the PST will apply to a wide range of professional and business ser - vices. This includes accounting services, bookkeeping services, architectural services, engineering services, pri - vate security and non-residential real estate management. All of these services will now be subject to 7 percent PST. These aren’t luxury services; they’re the cost of doing busi- ness. They’re essential components of operating a business responsibly.

I’ve spoken many times in the House about my own family’s small business, that I grew up with. My dad still

5490 B ritish Columbia Debates T hursday, March 5, 2026 runs Giddens Services, an appliance and electronics re - pair business. This will go to the costs that my father and my uncle, the two business owners, pay for bookkeeping; that they pay for all of their accounting, that they pay for the things that they need, fundamentally, to run their business. Engineering and architectural services are required for the construction sector and real estate development. Se - curity services are increasingly necessary for businesses facing vandalism, theft and property crime. I’m going to touch on that a little bit more.

These are operational necessities. When the government adds 7 percent tax to those services, it increases the cost of running a business across the province. This comes at a time when the payroll taxes and the cost of doing business has been added on many areas. I recall the government…. When the NDP first came in, they didn’t run on an employer health tax, but it hit small businesses very hard, including my own family business. This is all passed through in higher prices, reduced invest - ment and fewer jobs overall.

I have talked about this in the House before, but be - fore entering public life, I served as president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. I spent a lot of time listen- ing to small business owners. I know how tight the mar - gins can be, because I’ve talked to them about it. I know that many businesses operate on very small profit margins as it is, while trying to keep their employees working and their communities thriving. For those businesses, the ex - pansion of PST to professional services is something ma - jor, and it has real cost for them. Consider a business that hires private security though.

Because theft and vandalism have become serious prob - lems in communities, small businesses in Prince George have had to do just that. [3:05 p.m.] Larger businesses in Prince George, like London Drugs, have security present at all times in their stores. They’re paying this every day and then having to pass that on. We’ve seen in Vancouver that cost led to the closure of the London Drugs location in the former Woodward’s build - ing. Those businesses will now pay 7 percent more for pro - tection for their business and their properties.

The city of Prince George pays for private security in our downtown as a band-aid solution because of the grow- ing cost of vandalism and theft and challenges that we have, that we’ve talked about so many times in this House. Now we’re actually going to be saddling municipalities with that increased cost and that goes on to people’s prop- erty taxes. Those are the taxes that each and every home - owner is going to pay. Every business pays into property taxes. Layer after layer of cost is added when we add taxes like this, and it happens at a time when business confidence in British Columbia is already fragile.

When taxes and costs rise faster than economic growth it discourages invest - ment and it discourages entrepreneurship. Who wants to start a new business when they know that it’s just going to be harder and harder to get ahead? We heard the business surveys from the Victoria busi - ness improvement association. The majority of businesses would actually leave and shut down their business if they weren’t locked into leases. That’s the dire situation that we are in, in this province right now when it comes to busi - nesses and entrepreneurship. Ultimately, that’s going to hurt us in the long run.

It’s going to hurt job creation. It’s going to hurt those opportunities for young people in this province. These tax measures, as I’ve said, will not only affect businesses. They’ll affect homeowners. Many strata cor - porations rely heavily on professional services, particu - larly accounting, engineering and property management. Those services are essential to maintaining safe buildings and properly managed communities. But when these services are suddenly subject to a new 7 percent tax, the costs of operating strata buildings rise.

We know that can often lead to disputes when strata cor - porations are trying to save to make sure that they can af - ford to pay for improvements to the building and not just for the basic services that they need to operate as a strata. Condo owners in British Columbia will see their monthly costs increase. Strata fees are going to rise for those who are in those buildings. These folks are not go - ing to receive any additional services in return for that ex - tra tax that they’re paying. It’s simply a new tax embedded in their monthly bills. When we were talking about the budget….

This is an area I talked about already, but there is a measure in Bill 2 that will have a particularly significant impact on rural and northern communities. This bill removes distinctions that previously recognized the realities for northern and rural homeowners under the homeowner grant program. For decades, those distinctions acknowledged that the cost of living in rural and northern communities is differ - ent. Travel distances are longer. Heating costs are higher. Fuel costs are higher. Access to services often requires significant travel, yet under this legislation, those distinc - tions are removed.

For homeowners in northern communities, includ - ing those in Prince George–Mackenzie, that change will translate into higher property-tax costs. For some house - holds, that change is going to mean $200 more per year. And $200 might not sound like a lot of money, but on a household budget, that’s significant when it comes tax time, when we all pay our property taxes. When you combine it with higher energy bills, higher grocery costs, higher insurance premiums and the higher taxes else - where in the system, it adds up and families notice. That’s not to mention….

This is something that needs to be repeated time and time again in this House. The

Thursday, March 5, 2026 B ritish Columbia Debates 5491 wealth generated in this province — so much of it comes from rural and northern B.C. The mines and obviously, the forest sector still contribute so much to the province. LNG and natural gas sector. Natural gas certainly did contribute a lot to this year’s budget and that needs to be recognized. That also should be recognized for the natural gas workers who get up every single day to make sure we have safe, heated homes in our province, everywhere in B.C. [3:10 p.m.] Bill 2 also expands PST to items and services that many people rely on every day.

The removal of certain exemp - tions means that services like basic cable and land-line phone services will face higher taxes. Maybe some people might dismiss this as outdated technology, but in rural communities, land lines remain an essential form of communication. Of course, these long-standing services that PST didn’t apply to previously, seniors rely on them. Nearly all sen - iors, including those who may be watching at home today, are watching on a basic cable package.

They want access to see what we’re doing here in the Legislature, and they want access to information about the news and what’s happening in our province. Is that too much to ask? Rural households rely on these services as well when cell cover - age is unreliable. Emergency services rely on land lines, and that’s going to have a cost to volunteer fire departments, for example. When those services become expensive, it disproportion - ately affects those who are already on fixed incomes. That is why these budget measures are such a massive impact to seniors.

It’s so challenging to see a demographic and people who have given so much to our province, to have them on a fixed income being saddled with these extra costs to their daily budgets. Of course, what makes these tax increases particu - larly difficult to justify is the broader fiscal context. This year’s government revenue is projected to reach approxi - mately $85 billion. That’s the highest revenue level in the province’s history. Despite all of that, at all of these tax increases, we have a record deficit. The province is pro - jecting a deficit exceeding $13 billion, as we know.

British Columbians are being asked to pay more in taxes, and the government finances continue to deterior - ate. It’s a structural deficit. Government is basically try - ing to plug holes in the Titanic at this point with these measures. That raises a fundamental question about the government’s overall fiscal management. Instead of sad - dling it on the backs of seniors and small businesses and families, government needs to look at how it’s managing its fiscal framework overall. If revenue is reaching record highs and taxes are in - creasing, why are deficits still growing?

The answer, as many economists have pointed out, is that spending growth has been outpacing revenue growth for several years. When that happens, deficits become structural, as I have said. That leads to rising debt, and rising debt leads to higher debt-servicing costs. Those costs ultim - ately compete with funding for essential public services like health care, education and infrastructure. Every dol - lar spent on debt-servicing is a dollar that can’t be spent elsewhere. I want to talk a little bit about accountability.

These budget measures also contain provisions that eliminate something that we have talked about already extensively in this House, mostly in question period. It’s the elimina - tion of the Office of the Merit Commissioner and trans - ferring, as the Finance Minister tried to argue, its respon - sibilities to the public service bureaucracy within the pub - lic service. The Merit Commissioner played an important role in ensuring that hiring in the public service followed the merit principle.

Not only that, I want to point to the fact that something else was added to the Merit Commission - er’s responsibilities a number of years ago. There were, ob- viously, wrongful dismissals, which were something that were added to the Merit Commissioner’s responsibility. We need to have just service for public sector workers. If they are wrongfully dismissed from their job, they need recourse. The Merit Commissioner reviewing that is a proper check on government accountability. Indeed, I would say that the Legislature, an all-party committee, did agree with that. I’ll quote David McCoy, the Merit Commissioner.

He said: “A non-partisan multi - party committee of the B.C. Legislature recognized this in December when they approved a three-year budget to our office to continue our independent oversight of hiring and dismissals process in the B.C. public service. The commit - tee expressed appreciation for the office’s dedicated com - mitment to upholding merit-based practices in public ser - vice hiring.” [3:15 p.m.] That’s how important this was. All parties were in - volved in this. Members from both sides of the House made that recommendation. Yet on the same day the budget was introduced, we had the commit

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20260305pm-Hansard-n134
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20260305pm Hansard n134
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	de672724d054ab2598c7ff5f09a71df387492908

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