First Session, 43rd Parliament

Official Report

of Debates

( Hansard )

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 9

The Honourable Raj Chouhan , Speaker

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

Contents

Orders of the Day

Throne Speech Debate (continued)

Sheldon Clare

Hon. Diana Gibson

Peter Milobar

Rohini Arora

Korky Neufeld

Hon. Anne Kang

Lorne Doerkson

Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat

Sharon Hartwell

Sunita Dhir

Teresa Wat

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

The House met at 1:32 p.m.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. Ravi Kahlon : I call continued debate on the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

Sheldon Clare : It is my pleasure and privilege to rise today and respond to the throne speech.

I congratulate the Speaker on his acclamation in this important role.

I look forward to working with you to support the democratic processes in our constitutional

monarchy.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

These are unique and challenging times for British Columbians, and it is my deep honour

to be entrusted by the people of Prince George–North Cariboo to represent them in

this chamber and to hold the government to account.

Thank you to my daughters, Elise and Danielle Clare, for their support and for keeping

me grounded. They have grown into fine young women and great skiers.

I am proud of both of you.

I only wish that my parents, Hilliard and Helen Clare, were alive to see their oldest

son elected to this House. They taught me and my younger sister, Karen, and two brothers,

Kevin and Bryan, important lessons about community service, responsibility and fairness

that inspired my interest in politics.

I very much want to thank my friends who have supported me, and my political family

— that team of dedicated volunteers led by my campaign manager, the capable and effective

Dr. Elizabeth Wilson, ND.

Elizabeth, I appreciate your energy and dedication in building the success that got

me to this position.

I am likewise incredibly grateful to all those who went to some 14,000 doors and drove

all over this massive riding to put up signs, raise funds, put me up and give me good

advice.

To my staff — my executive assistant, Ethan Williams; senior constituency assistant,

Adam Schaan; constituency assistant, Johnathan Raine; and administrative assistant,

Shalan Pozer — thank you so much for your hard work in getting our offices up and

running and for serving the day-to-day needs of our constituents.

I would also acknowledge my predecessor, Coralee Oakes, who served in this place for

12 years. She has moved on to become a director with Barkerville Heritage Trust. I

wish her all the best.

In contrast to comments made by the NDP, this isn’t the B.C. Liberal Party. While

there are some who have seen the light provided by Conservatives and joined us, we

are quite different, as you are discovering. There may be opportunities for some shared

ideas across the floor. Let’s find those opportunities and build bridges.

[1:35 p.m.]

I tip my hat to the classy victory of the Canadian hockey team in the 4 Nations tournament

in Boston last week. It demonstrated incredible teamwork and sportsmanship. I am especially

proud of their coach, Jon Cooper, a two-time Stanley Cup winner from Prince George,

British Columbia. The grace and humility presented by the Canadian team should be

an example for us all in what was a hard-fought tournament.

Since the election in October, I have hosted several meet-and-greets, attended many

community events and recently held a transportation town hall meeting in Quesnel with

our Transportation critic, the member for Langley-Abbotsford.

I look forward to continuing direct engagement with my constituents and bringing their

concerns to the Legislature. Regardless of whose sign, if any, a constituent displayed

on his or her lawn, I am here to serve everyone in my riding, and I will continue

to reach across the political spectrum to engage.

I have travelled most of the breadth and width of the spectacular riding of Prince

George–North Cariboo. However, there still are some areas to see, and I include in

this the community of Kluskus in the far west of the constituency. I look forward

to spending time there this August at their annual powwow.

As many of my fellow rural colleagues can attest, representing the hinterland of this

province presents unique challenges. The scale and scope of our geography is immense.

With a riding the size of Belgium, ensuring that my staff and I regularly reach its

various unique communities is essential to my work as its representative.

Just two weeks ago I travelled some 1,000 kilometres by road, touring the southern

reaches of my riding, visiting McLeese Lake, Wildwood, Williams Lake, Horsefly, Beaver

Valley, Likely, Big Lake, as well as Wells.

With all this engagement, the consistent theme from people of all backgrounds and

political persuasions is that times are tough, folks are struggling, and action is

essential. The deep feeling of insecurity is pervasive, and concerns for the future

are all too real. What is not only expected but absolutely needed for the constituents

of Prince George–North Cariboo is a responsive, responsible government.

This throne speech broadly fails to meet the expectations and needs of British Columbians.

I cannot help but feel some déjà vu with the rhetoric this government has presented

to the people of this province.

So many of the platitudes in the throne speech are regurgitated commitments yet to

be fulfilled from a tired government with a reduced and marginal mandate. Anything

of value in the throne speech was merely lifted from the Conservative Party’s platform

in one of the most remarkable pivots of all time.

In December, I outlined some of my key priorities for 2025, including health care,

jobs, agriculture, mining, forestry, public safety and transportation. Subsets of

those priorities involve decriminalization and the plague that is the drug crisis.

An overarching problem affecting all those issues is DRIPA. In Prince George–North

Cariboo, application of DRIPA policies is driving resentment and division and is working

strongly against any hope for reconciliation.

The most pressing matter that I have heard from the constituency of Prince George–North

Cariboo arises from our failed health care system. The Speech from the Throne reads:

“Providing life-saving care for everyone, without taking out a credit card.”

That comment simply does not reflect the reality that people are facing. My constituents,

who are travelling out of British Columbia to get life-saving treatments, are being

forced to choose between their health or their credit cards. That situation is unacceptable

when they have already paid taxes in British Columbia for a system that continues

to fail them.

My office has heard from many people worried for themselves and their loved ones about

either keeping the doctor they have or waiting an indeterminate amount of time to

acquire a family doctor. The other issue is the excessive delays obtaining diagnostic

services and treatment. It is especially concerning for the elderly and the most vulnerable

and those affected by life-threatening conditions.

I have heard from doctors looking to leave British Columbia because they cannot provide

the services their patients need. Many are overworked and stressed. Some are unable

to be in reliable contact with their families. I have encountered nurses who are leaving

the profession due to overwork, ill treatment and even violence in their work environments.

I have constituents who are opting to travel to Mexico, the United States and other

countries and provinces to get the health care they need and often at considerable

cost.

[1:40 p.m.]

This is Canada. This is British Columbia. Our constituents should not have to resort

to such measures to ensure their well-being.

Recruiting doctors from other countries is, in effect, a brain drain that removes

the best and brightest from those places and thus serves to make a provincial problem

a global one. Key to this uncertainty in our health care system is the struggle to

train, recruit and retain health care workers.

Despite the valiant efforts of local governments, including a joint initiative between

the city of Quesnel and the Cariboo Chilcotin regional hospital district board, communities

are in competition with each other to attract a limited number of health-related professionals.

The throne speech states: “Your government is responding by adding more nurses and

family doctors, opening more community clinics and building more hospitals than ever.”

This ambitious claim belies the reality that medical professionals are moving away,

and some are even leaving their professions. The vaccine mandates of the COVID era

forced out many health care professionals, some who have long since left for greener

pastures elsewhere or changed their professions, never to return.

To that end, I look forward to the conclusion of the series of ongoing reviews, including

by the Office of the Merit Commissioner, who I had the pleasure of meeting with in

Victoria last week. It’s time to make these people whole. Perhaps the House could

consider including municipal workers in the mandate of the Office of the Merit Commissioner,

to review municipal worker terminations during the COVID period.

How are people in Williams Lake and surrounding area, which includes many of my southern

constituents, supposed to process such empty rhetoric when just the past Family Day

weekend, again, the emergency room at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake closed

its doors to the public? Promises of access to more health care professionals ring

hollow in the face of closed emergency departments.

You had better believe the constituents of Quesnel, Williams Lake and across the rural

parts of Northern and Interior Health, in my riding, are not experiencing what the

throne speech claimed. Quote: “In the past two years, British Columbia has connected

hundreds of thousands of people to a primary care provider. More are being connected

every day.” Is it just one for hundreds of thousands? It sure feels like it in many

communities.

My office has been working with the Canadian National Institute Deafblind Community

Services British Columbia to provide profound and life-changing support for deafblind

people throughout our province. A particular interest and concern is the state of

intervener services moving forward. Intervener services enable some of our most vulnerable

constituents to participate in society.

As a constituent of mine from McLeese Lake, who my staff have met with, stated: “I

want to have intervening service until the day I die. I don’t want to be just left

wasting away in my own mind. It’s very vital that all of us who are deafblind can

be able to participate. We have perfectly good minds. We have intelligence. We just

can’t access a lot of the information that everyone else can.”

A further response from the Minister of Health and the Minister of Social Development

and Poverty Reduction on the standing of intervener services in British Columbia moving

forward will be appreciated. I do appreciate the preliminary response.

I look forward to finding cooperation this session for the end to hospice palliative

care fees offered by the various health authorities in the province. End-of-life care

groups throughout British Columbia have reached out to me to express their desire

to see an end to such fees so people can die with dignity without the stress of leaving

additional costs for their loved ones.

The NDP claim that they are addressing crime in the throne speech and throughout the

campaign, but tell that to the people of Prince George, Williams Lake, Hixon, Quesnel

and rural communities across British Columbia. These communities are withstanding

the very worst of this government’s failure on drugs and crime.

Repeat violent offenders are back on the streets within hours, thanks to soft-on-crime

policies that prioritize criminals over their victims. Police officers across rural

and urban communities are stretched thin. They are disrespected and they are undermined

by this government’s failure to empower them to do their job and to protect our streets.

British Columbians are fed up. They deserve to be safe in their homes and in their

communities. But instead of locking up real criminals, this government has decided

to focus its energy on doing such things as supporting the disarming of law-abiding

constituents. It is becoming clear to me and to millions of British Columbians that

this government has no concern for prudent and effective public safety policy that

supports families and businesses.

[1:45 p.m.]

The government claims to be tackling crime, yet its current tendency of ignoring the

activities of terrorist sympathizers, drug dealers and organized crime is unacceptable.

It’s time to fight crime. To that end, decriminalization policy is a complete and

utter failure. It needs to end now.

As a longtime post-secondary educator and faculty union bargainer for many years,

I am concerned with the state of education in British Columbia. I was pleased to meet

with the presidents of the University of Northern British Columbia and the College

of New Caledonia, as well as the Faculty Association of the College of New Caledonia,

to discuss their ongoing and contrasting situations.

Declining enrolments, both from domestic and international students, have caused pressures

on administrations, staff and especially faculty. Of particular concern is maintaining

existing programs needed to support opportunities at rural campuses and the needs

of immigrants and Ukrainian refugees.

In meeting with the Prince George for Ukraine group, a society advocating for those

training that is currently in jeopardy. These people are refugees, and they are in

need of that support.

As well, there is a need to return to merit and academic excellence in all levels

of education, and it is frankly insulting that DEI is used to limit critical analysis.

There’s, likewise, a need to end programs that limit the role of parents in the K-to-12

system and that cause confusion among young children. It is the case that Conservatives

oppose bullying every day. And virtue signaling around such an important matter needs

to end.

As someone who has negotiated for faculty and walked picket lines, I am concerned

about the state of the impending and ongoing bargaining situation in B.C. It will

be critical to balance fiscal needs with the needs of workers while getting solutions

at the negotiating tables. I was grateful to be welcomed at the picket lines of postal

and railroad employees in both Quesnel and Prince George to hear their concerns and

also to encourage a rapid resolution of the issues.

Also, there are concerns about shutting down driver-training schools in British Columbia

at a time when such skills are essential for the jobs that enable our logistical operations

to support all sectors of our economy.

Forestry remains the economic bedrock of communities across Prince George–North Cariboo.

I have met with industry in my area, including Parallel Divisions and Dunkley Lumber,

to discuss the growing concerns of fibre access, permitting, international trade relations

and the baggage of years of disruptive NDP forest policy. Forestry needs stability

to function well. To that end, it is time to come to a fair softwood lumber agreement

with the United States once and for all.

When I met with the Horsefly River Roundtable, they raised concerns with me about

the need to protect the watershed and salmon habitat that require proper land management.

While resource extraction is essential to British Columbia’s economic success, it

must be sensitive to requirements for fish to flourish, respecting the vital role

our ecosystem plays in our economy and for First Nations’ food supply, as well as

for commercial fishers and recreational anglers. It is really important to look after

this.

As our economy faces continued uncertainty, an uncertainty that certainly existed

prior to the recent election of the President of the United States, clarity is required

so that the private sector can have confidence in its investments into British Columbia.

The mining sector is an important long-standing contributor to the economy of Prince

George–North Cariboo. As we continue to diversify from a forestry-dependent economy,

mining has enormous potential to provide good-paying jobs. But these jobs, both union

and non-union, and the sector itself face great uncertainty due to DRIPA and the incoming

mineral claims consultation framework. I hear about this every day. My staff are called

about it all the time.

In the face of prolonged delays in permit processing, one hopes for sincerity in the

comments from the throne speech indicating that permits will start being processed

expeditiously. Our Mining critic, the member for Kootenay-Rockies, will be in my riding

in March to hear from stakeholders deciding whether to keep investing in this unstable

environment or to leave the province for good.

On agriculture, it is a privilege to lend my support to the Nazko First Nation’s ongoing

food security and sovereignty initiative. Having already achieved two phases, significant

milestones, phase 3 seeks to further enhance their capacity to address food security

challenges.

[1:50 p.m.]

From installing modular facilities for food processing — including canning, cold storage

and dehydrating — to upgrading greenhouse systems and improving soil, Nazko First

Nation aims to increase food production and extend the growing season. Phase 3 is

a critical next step to improve access to nutritious and culturally relevant foods

and to promote the long-term sustainability of their food systems.

My office is also in discussions with ʔEsdilagh First Nation to assist in enhancing their food production capacity to better serve

members.

This session I will also be championing a long-standing issue of immense importance

to cattle ranchers, range users and even animal rights groups alike, that being fencing

along publicly owned railway lines. The British Columbia NDP, during their time in

opposition, tabled the B.C. Rail Corridor Safety Act, 2007, seeking to address this

matter. This issue needs to be revisited, and there is room to cooperate on this file.

My office has been in communication with the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association, and I look

forward to bringing forward ideas that may, in cooperation with our federal counterparts,

finally resolve this issue.

The Tidewater Renewables refinery and hydrogen plant in Prince George faces closure

if B.C. subsidies to out-of-province competitors that prevent it from being competitive

are continued. To that end, I want to make sure that the members understand and support

the member for Prince George–Mackenzie’s pending bill to help address that significant

problem. It’s important to protect this critical infrastructure by allowing it to

compete on a level playing field, because if this refinery closes, it will never open

again. Passing that member’s bill will benefit all British Columbians.

The throne speech claimed: “When we build roads, highways and public transit, we help

make workers more productive by getting them to their jobs and back to loved ones

faster.” Yet when it comes to Highway 97 and the substantial bottleneck at Quesnel,

these words ring hollow for all who use this important provincial transportation corridor.

During my recent town hall in Quesnel, many issues, needs and concerns regarding transportation

were raised by local government representatives, community groups, medical professionals

and especially the public. Issues raised included the state of Highway 97 Quesnel

River Bridge and the Quesnel rail overhead bridge, the urgent need for the Quesnel

north-south interconnector, the serious public safety concerns with the proposed permanent

closure of sections of the Quesnel-Hixon Road, the Old Prince George Highway, the

status of various Cariboo Road recovery projects in need of redress and the quality

of general winter road maintenance.

According to our own analysis, the superstructures on Highway 97 at Quesnel need replacement,

as they are at the end of their service life. Further to this point, we have received

reports of concrete falling from the Highway 97 Quesnel River Bridge and nearly hitting

local search and rescue teams while training under the structure.

The north-south interconnector is not just critical to the city of Quesnel. It is

an essential component of the province’s transportation network. To replace the bridges,

they will need to be serviceable while their replacements are being constructed. It

is unlikely that engineers will continue to certify these bridges as serviceable for

much longer, if at all.

In addition to mitigating the increasing costs to maintain these aging structures,

justifications for the Quesnel north-south interconnector include the reduction of

pollutants to the Quesnel airshed, relieving traffic congestion in the city of Quesnel,

accommodating the passing of extraordinary loads to improve supply chain networks

in the province, revitalizing the downtown road network opportunities in Quesnel and

improving pedestrian, cyclist and motorist safety.

Quesnel-Hixon Road is a critical alternative route in the event that portions of Highway

97 north of Quesnel are shut down. Such an event, an unfortunate fatal vehicular accident,

occurred in November at Hush Lake, which shut down Highway 97. Due to the closure

of the Quesnel-Hixon Road, no alternative routes were available.

I was at that accident, and like many others, I was forced to turn back to Prince

George. This event, as noted by Quesnel physician Dr. Johannes McDonald, prevented

a premature baby in critical medical need from being transported in a timely manner

from G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel to the University Hospital of Northern

British Columbia in Prince George. It’s a drive of approximately an hour and a half.

[1:55 p.m.]

There have been many other such incidents along the stretch from Dunkley Lumber through

to Ten Mile Lake which have closed Highway 97 for extended periods of time.

Olsen Road is in dire need of repair due to numerous potholes and degrading shoulders.

Having travelled these roads several times recently, I can tell you that on Olsen

Road there is insufficient winter maintenance, with minimal sanding. Olsen Road has,

in addition to residential traffic, industrial, agricultural and recreational users.

This traffic includes school buses, logging trucks and hay trucks. There’s no turning

lane, north- or southbound, on Highway 97 at the intersection with Olsen Road. The

limited line of sight and undulating ground at the approaches to the intersection

have resulted in numerous close calls and significant vehicular accidents, including

with loaded logging trucks.

Another pressing infrastructure need in my riding is the Three Rivers Community Forest’s

application for fuel management on Dragon Mountain. Dragon Mountain possesses the

north Cariboo’s main communications tower site. This critical infrastructure requires

protection through extensive fuel management activities. Forest Enhancement Society

of British Columbia funding will enable this important work to be expedited.

My office will continue working with the cities in my riding, including Quesnel, Prince

George, Williams Lake and all of the smaller rural communities, as well as with the

province, to better ensure the safety of the constituents, their property and the

critical infrastructure that we all rely on during the wildfire season.

This throne speech and all its claims of change raise these questions. Why did it

take close to a decade, a near $10 billion deficit and a $100 billion debt load for

the NDP to finally decide, if only in rhetoric, to change course? Why was nothing

done before? It has become obvious to many working people that the NDP and its champagne

socialists do not represent them or their families. They are finding a welcome home

in the Conservative Party of British Columbia. I met them at their doors.

Due in no small part to a legacy of poor governance for many years, this government

today is woefully unprepared to address the unprecedented challenges our province

faces. Before you think I am referring to our neighbours to the south when I speak

of the challenges we face, in fact, what I am referring to are the ghosts of NDP policy

past coming back to haunt us all, and DRIPA being a paramount example of these policies.

The lack of a coherent answer on how the government plans to get shovels in the ground

while accommodating those who wish to shut down industry and resource development

is deafening.

Police officers need and deserve our support to deal with the crime that they are

facing. Let’s enable Crown prosecutors to end decriminalization and put people who

are committing crimes, attacking businesses, breaking windows and starting fires into

places where they can be properly incarcerated or receive the treatment they need

to get better. Let’s get that done.

Our province and its people deserve our very best efforts in these unprecedented times.

I thank you for the ability to speak to you today, and I wish everyone all the very

best in this session of the Legislature.

Hon. Diana Gibson : As Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation in an era of unprecedented

economic threats, it’s my privilege to serve British Columbians by committing all

my effort and those of our government to protecting and growing our economy. We will

continue the supports and talent needed within a strong and robust economic environment

for businesses to grow and expand and create good jobs for people and families throughout

British Columbia.

British Columbians have told us of their concerns during this stressful period of

instability and uncertainty that Trump is causing. We will not leave our people and

industries to fend for themselves. British Columbians are united, and we are standing

together to defend our workers and industries and seize opportunities with other partners.

[2:00 p.m.]

We will continue full steam ahead, strengthening and defending our economy. What a

privilege to navigate our economy through this challenging moment with this government

and with Premier David Eby. With businesses and citizens feeling the uncertainty from

south of the border, our government and Premier Eby have been unwavering.

The strategy we have is to respond….

Deputy Speaker : Member, just a reminder that we don’t use names.

Hon. Diana Gibson : Oh, sorry. No names. The Premier. Thank you.

Our strategy has been strong: to respond, strengthen and diversify our economy to

meet this challenge. It’s important to not underestimate what a challenge it is that

we’re meeting. But at the same time, though this is a challenge, it also comes with

an opportunity too. I want to speak a little bit to that because with that opportunity

sits the ability to strengthen and diversify our economy.

B.C.’s tech sector, which is one of our fastest-growing sectors…. In fact, B.C.’s

life sciences and biotech sector is the fastest-growing in the country. I was recently

meeting with a small start-up here in Victoria, MarineLabs, a company that was working

on cutting-edge AI solutions for shipping and real-time weather for monitoring the

environment for marine operators. And they were, at the same time, collecting data

for monitoring our climate change.

It’s two graduates from the University of Victoria with an idea, using AI to track

weather and ocean health and help mitigate the impacts of climate change at the same

time. They started with a laptop, a borrowed office space and a dream. Today they’re

hiring talent, expanding their reach and putting B.C. on the map as a leader in AI-driven

sustainability.

This is what B.C.’s tech sector is about — ingenuity, resilience and the drive to

make a difference. It’s why our government is prioritizing investments in innovation,

making sure companies like theirs have access to funding, mentorship and the support

they need to continue to grow.

I have another example, coming up from in the Interior last fall, speaking with two

young women who had just completed a coding boot camp through the provincial skills

training program. She told me how she’d struggled to find stable work before enrolling

in the program. But after six months of training, she landed a job at a fast-growing

tech firm specializing in cybersecurity.

That’s why the investments outlined in our throne speech, especially those focused

on skills training, digital literacy and workforce development, are so crucial. We

cannot lead in tech without investing in people. That’s why our government is expanding

tech training programs, increasing support for co-op placements, working with post-secondary

institutions to ensure graduates have the skills that employers need. We’re making

sure B.C. workers, no matter where they live, no matter their background, can access

high-paying jobs in our innovative sectors.

These are just a few examples of the many I have met in the months recently. I’ve

been working across the economy, meeting with businesses, with industry associations,

with community leadership and local governments, talking about how we work together

to unlock innovation and economic growth. This is part of our strategy to strengthen

the economy and to diversify it.

There was another innovation at the Invictus Games. It was so exciting to see the

exoskeleton, with Chloë walking across the stage, somebody who had been in a wheelchair

standing up and walking with the flag across the stage — with incredible innovation

by local B.C. companies, making someone walk again. This is the kind of innovation

our economy has.

When I first moved to B.C. from Alberta to be the CEO of our growing company, I was

so surprised at how many businesses and community organizations there were. I asked

one of the local foundations if there are more here than elsewhere. And I was told

that yes, B.C. is one of the most densely populated areas for small businesses and

for new associations and non-profits.”

I noticed when two or three people would get together to solve a problem here in B.C.,

they’d form a new business. It’s an incredible culture of ingenuity and problem-solving

and innovation that is really one of our major strengths. These individuals are the

backbone of our communities and our economy. They’re our neighbours, they’re our friends,

they’re our family, and they’re what helps our communities to thrive. They’re also

the value proposition that B.C. brings to the opportunity in this crisis for us to

thrive and grow. It’s our people.

[2:05 p.m.]

When a large tech company looks to set up in B.C., they ask one question: what’s the

talent pipeline? It’s our strong and excellent academic institutions that are helping

to educate and build that talent pipeline. It’s our entrepreneurial businesses in

that ecosystem, giving them those jobs, starting that first idea, scaling, growing,

manufacturing, doing clinical trials and building our economy.

I want to turn now to trade diversification because that’s the other really important

pillar of our response strategy to tariffs. Despite the Trump threats, we are ensuring

this province has an economy where B.C. businesses can grow, expand and provide jobs

for people — excellent, quality jobs. We’re using B.C.’s strengths to create more

opportunities for our businesses to export, attract investment, drive sustainability

and economic growth.

Through our trade diversification strategy launched in 2023, B.C. has been effectively

diversifying our trade and will continue to do so. B.C.’s international trade, when

compared to other Canadian provinces, is already quite diverse.

Our two-pronged approach has made us successful in reducing trade reliance for a more

resilient economy. One, we are creating new opportunities for trade and investment

in new markets while expanding in existing markets. Two, we’re increasing the number

and diversity of our exporters in B.C.

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about the incredible work our ministry

team is doing. B.C. has a network of over 50 trade and investment representatives

in 14 key markets, including the U.K., the EU and the Asia Pacific. We’ve established

trade representation in Mexico, Taiwan and Vietnam to help B.C. businesses reach new

markets and form valuable partnerships.

Over the past year, we’ve received considerable interest from three highlighted markets,

including visits by a Taiwan hydrogen delegation, a delegation of Mexican business

leaders and entrepreneurs and a multiprovincial delegation from Vietnam.

We have opened a Forestry Innovation office in Vietnam to promote B.C. wood products.

In Vietnam, our team has leveraged the CPTPP to create opportunities for B.C.’s blueberries

and other products that have achieved new market access. We have been promoting B.C.

as a supplier of low-carbon innovation and resources in Taiwan, and we’ve seen increased

interest in B.C.’s solutions.

Our newly opened office in Mexico has been establishing relationships with prominent

Mexican industry organizations and clusters in aerospace, ICT and clean tech to promote

B.C.’s capabilities, promote collaboration and lay the groundwork for future trade

and investment opportunities.

The Minister of State for Trade and the Parliamentary Secretary for Asia-Pacific Trade

and I are fighting for B.C.’s exporters, businesses of all sizes in all sectors that

are contributing to the strength of the province’s economy and ensuring people in

communities throughout the province have sustainable jobs. B.C. offers multiple programs

to support businesses with their efforts to be successful exporters. Our export navigator

program, delivered by Community Futures B.C., gives B.C. businesses access to free

export advisory services. This is something that will become increasingly critical

as this trade crisis unfolds for us.

Our export navigator assist program is delivered with export advisers based in communities

across the province, who help B.C. businesses to become export-ready. These are small

and medium-sized businesses. These are the local entrepreneurs I’m talking about.

Since September 2024, export navigator clients have also had access to a new export

navigator technical specialist pilot, providing access to advisers with specialized

expertise in areas such as cross-border legal, accounting and logistics.

Since its launch in 2016, the export navigator has provided export advisory services

to over 1,200 companies. We also offer a trade accelerator program that is designed

to help them in the next stage as small and medium-sized entrepreneurs develop new

market entry strategies and enter new markets to expand their export goals.

The B.C. trade accelerator program has been running since 2017 and has been delivered

by the World Trade Centre team. Since it started, 554 companies have graduated. This

number represents so many more people, families and communities that have benefited

from the courageous and determined business owners with a vision and the ability to

see it through.

As a former business owner myself, I have a deep respect for those who are facing

these challenges and the boldness it takes to go forward. Exporters face many challenges

beyond their control.

[2:10 p.m.]

Of course, right now at this moment, Canadians and British Columbians are facing unprecedented

and unjustified tariff threats from the United States, and yet we stand strong and

defend British Columbians, workers and industries. We stand up to defend our industries

so that we have well-paying jobs for our workers and communities.

Exporters have told us about the challenges they’re facing dealing with these shifting

regulations, with challenges like cultural language differences, currency fluctuations

and, of course, global inflation. Despite these challenges, B.C. exporters have been

successfully creating and shipping world-class products and services to global markets.

In 2023, B.C. exported more than $56 billion worth of goods. In 2022, B.C. exported

over $32 billion worth of services. That was a 23 percent increase over the prior

year. These are powerful numbers.

There is an interesting story behind them, and that is the diversity of our trade

activity. We have diversity of destination, and we continue to expand our international

markets for B.C.’s goods and services. B.C. conducts significant trade with several

economies, including the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Germany

and the United Kingdom, amongst others. In 2023, aside from the United States, our

top markets were China, at nearly $8 billion, and Japan, with over $6 billion worth

of goods.

And there’s diversity in our export products. B.C.’s exporters represent a wide variety

of exports, including from energy products to solid wood, from professional services

to marine technologies, from life sciences to food and beverage and so much more.

As you can see, B.C. is a source of high-quality goods and services across both natural

resources and the technology sectors.

There’s diversity. I’m proud to say that our strategy involves everyone from Indigenous

groups to underrepresented communities, making sure diverse voices are part of our

international trade efforts. Our trade diversification strategy is working, and we

will continue to build on it with initiatives such as the trade accelerator program

and our excellent export navigator services program.

Our trade team continues to advance trade diversification opportunities in many areas,

including value-added innovation in forestry and other natural resource sectors, to

unlock jobs as well as in emerging sectors like our tech and life sciences.

B.C.’s trade and invest representatives promote B.C. as a prime location for investment

in quality goods and services, driving sustainable, innovative and inclusive economic

benefits for British Columbians. No one can deny British Columbia’s key trade advantages

as Canada’s west coast capital of opportunity and a global gateway.

I look forward to working with the Parliamentary Secretary for Asia-Pacific Trade

to further engage with B.C. businesses to better understand the challenges and opportunities

they see in bringing their products to markets across the EU, the U.K., the Asia Pacific

and more. The parliamentary secretary’s personal experience and skills with the Korean

language and culture will support our efforts to expand trading relationships with

South Korea and across the Asia Pacific and to advance our economic and cultural goals

of increasing prosperity and relationships across the Pacific.

British Columbians have also told us it’s vital that we explore new opportunities,

not just internationally but across the country, to unlock economic development through

unlocking interprovincial trade. B.C. is working with our provincial counterparts

to identify regulatory requirements in each jurisdiction with the intention of achieving

mutual recognition that will cover goods and services across Canada. Our current global

uncertainty posed by potential tariffs from the United States and the Committee on

International Trade at the end of January provides an opportunity to boldly move forward

with new agreements.

Just last week I was in a meeting with my counterparts from across the country and

the federal government talking about internal trade, and later this week I will be

doing more of the same. This is an opportunity for us to come to the table with new

energy, to reduce barriers and unlock economic development. B.C. has been a leader

in reducing internal trade barriers.

Let me emphasize that B.C. is already the least U.S.-trade-reliant of the Canadian

provinces. Our province is one of the founding parties of the new west partnership

trade agreement, a regional trade enhancement agreement that surpasses the Canada

free trade agreement in terms of ambition, coverage of economic sectors and lack of

exceptions.

B.C. has also been a strong advocate for all provinces and territories and the federal

government to conclude an agreement through mutual recognition of goods and services.

Our goal is to unlock economic development through reducing unnecessary regulations

and duplication so that we can create more jobs and make ourselves more resilient

to the U.S. tariffs.

[2:15 p.m.]

As we continue to work with our Canadian counterparts, we will ensure we uphold our

commitments to British Columbia’s First Peoples, First Nations and Indigenous communities

for economic development as well as investment in a climate that is environmentally,

ethically and economically conscious.

We’re working hard on multiple fronts to ensure British Columbians have the tools

and resources they need to live the life they want here in our beautiful province.

We will continue to help them advance in their business, their education, and get

the skills they need for great jobs and much, much more.

Another area where we’re unlocking economic development within the province is ease

of doing business. In our mandate letters and in the throne speech, strong commitments

have been made for the government, in this time of uncertainty, to ensure we don’t

have unnecessary barriers to business growth and economic development.

I’m engaging with businesses and meeting with businesses across the economy, large

and small and from sector to sector, to talk about how we can identify and unlock

barriers that might be getting in the way of growth and economic success. Since 2016,

our coordinated omnibus regulatory amendment process, better regulations for British

Columbians, has delivered over 4,000 regulatory amendments through eight processes.

We’re updating our laws and regulations by transitioning from paper-based processes

to more efficient electronic methods for citizens and businesses — for example, e-transfers,

payments and posting notifications online. What we’re doing is creating easier and

and convenience. We have not slowed down on our work to streamline permitting and

reduce red tape, and we’re already seeing the benefits of new investments in projects

like the Cariboo Gold mine in Wells and Artemis Gold’s Blackwater gold project.

We are introducing regulation to ensure rapid permitting and robust regulation of

renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar. These new projects will supply

communities, people and businesses with clean energy while ensuring First Nation interests

and environmental mitigation are protected and maintained. The development and construction

of new clean energy projects will generate between $5 billion and $6 billion in private

capital spending throughout the province.

These projects are part of our commitment to fast-track 18 projects to grow the economy

and reduce B.C.’s reliance on trade with the U.S. This entire list includes energy,

mining and critical minerals that are worth approximately $20 billion and will employ

8,000 people across the province. We continue that trend of approving projects, working

with investors and growing our economy in the face of U.S. tariff threats through

our three-part approach: respond, strengthen and diversify.

Another area we’re helping unlock industrial and economic development in is with our

industrial land. Industrial lands can be challenging to access, and we’re working

with our municipal partners, industry and communities to ensure that we are protecting

industrial land and that it’s being used to its best use. This is another mechanism

for us ensuring business can grow and thrive in our communities.

Our government will work to create an inventory of existing industrial lands in this

province and carry out a land use assessment so that we can continue to create economic

development and an environment that supports economic growth and job creation in B.C.,

making it easier to do business while developing a strategy for protecting and growing

our industrial land.

Another area where B.C. has been investing is in our rural economic diversification.

We’ve got a rural economic diversification and infrastructure program.

Over these last three years, we have been supporting local governments, First Nations

and other organizations to strengthen their communities through REDIP, our rural economic

diversification and infrastructure program. Through the first two intakes, we committed

$99 million for over 300 projects that will make a positive impact for people in communities.

We’ve also got our rural business and community recovery initiative, which has been

investing through our Island Coastal Economic Trust, the Economic Trust of the Southern

Interior and the Northern Development Initiative Trust. These trusts have helped create

90 advisory positions focused on recovery and economic development.

A key part of strengthening and diversifying our economy is also, of course, value-added

on our natural resources. I’m very proud to be able to speak to the B.C. manufacturing

jobs fund. This fund has been working to build not just value-added in our forestry

and in our agro sector but also supporting manufacturing jobs in emerging sectors

like our life sciences and tech.

[2:20 p.m.]

This fund has committed $146 million towards 132 projects to date, unlocking private

investment of over $1 billion. This leads to the creation and protection of over 4,700

jobs, more than half of which are in the forestry sector. Every $1 million invested

in that program is creating $7 million in total direct capital investments in B.C.,

as well as $590,000 in tax revenue for the province and $5.3 million in provincial

GDP.

This is how we strengthen and diversify our economy in response to tariffs. We unlock

private sector investment through government initiatives that build our manufacturing

and that diversify and support our economy with value-added and emerging sectors.

I want to turn now to a few minutes’ talking about my riding of Oak Bay–Gordon Head.

Oak Bay–Gordon Head is a beautiful and welcoming place. Like the rest of our province,

it’s diverse, it’s welcoming, and it’s home.

The other day I was in the community on the weekend with the FIRST Tech and Robotics

competitions. This brings me back to B.C.’s advantages, our innovation and the spirit

we see in our community.

I was working with a bunch of youth that were involved in a tech challenge with a

robot competition, making their robots move blocks, stack them, hang them on hooks

and do incredible things. So many of the young people in this competition were women,

which brings me to a moment where I get to acknowledge that International Women’s

Day is coming.

The kinds of programs we’re working on help encourage women in STEM — sciences, technology

and math. The young women that I saw in this robotics competition were just thriving

and were ready to unlock their futures with innovation, growth and inspiration. It

was something that made me feel so inspired to see and so excited about our future.

We face huge challenges in this province, but we also have incredible advantages:

our people, our culture of innovation and our incredible academic institutions, two

of which sit in my riding of Oak Bay–Gordon Head.

It’s my privilege to be able to engage with both University of Victoria and Camosun

university college, both of which have incredible engineering, tech, biosciences and

also humanities and programs that are teaching the next generation of citizens. To

be able to engage with them in this moment is also a recognition of the opportunity.

We have incredible advantages in this province with our citizens, with our academic

institutions, with our incredible quality of life and welcoming communities that are

bringing innovation, development and economic growth to our province.

For me, I also want to thank the incredible team of people that got me elected in

the community of Oak Bay–Gordon Head. There’s my family, of course, one of whom is

my daughter, who also is looking at a STEM future thanks to the support that the B.C.

government gives to our institutions and communities to grow women in STEM.

My mother was a single mom who inspired me by never letting a door be closed. When

she was younger, her father had said to her: “You can be either a teacher or a nurse.”

She thought, “I don’t want to be either,” but she went ahead, became a nurse, had

five kids and ended up a single mom.

One day she had the opportunity to go back to school in her 50s and get a PhD, and

she did. Then she became the head of a university institute, became the head of Canadian

Circumpolar Institute, worked at Canadian International Health Institute as an adviser

and had an incredible new career.

She taught me that it doesn’t matter what stage of your life you’re at and what comes

your way, we can all have an opportunity to ensure doors stay open for us and for

women coming ahead of us, and that there isn’t a moment in life where you can’t say

there’s a door we can open.

She showed great courage, as a low-income mom with five children, to follow her dream,

which wasn’t easy and inspired me to continue in my life to pursue dreams, goals and

ambitions that brought me here, into the incredible privilege of being in this House

today — to be able to speak to the agenda of our government to continue to build opportunities

for women and for all of our citizens of British Columbia with inclusive economic

growth, with diversity and with businesses that can thrive across communities.

[2:25 p.m.]

Hon. Speaker, let me reassure you and all British Columbians that my ministry team

and I will work with the Minister of Finance to review all of our programs and initiatives

to ensure programs remain relevant, efficient, grow our economy and keep costs low

for British Columbians and B.C. businesses. Underlying all our work is partnership,

collaboration with Indigenous people and First Nations rights holders for economic

reconciliation.

With the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act as the foundation, we’re

taking action to support a future where First Nations are full participants in the

social, cultural and economic landscape of our province. We look to a future where

First Nations are driving economic development in B.C., where First Nations are leaders

and decision-makers in shaping sectors and emerging opportunities.

We’re taking an active role in promoting growth for First Nations communities and

their businesses, creating a business climate where First Nations lead and benefit

from the development in their territories.

I want to take a moment to say what a privilege it was to be at the First Nations

Leadership Gathering, where First Nations came forward with economic development opportunities

that ranged from fisheries and forestry to clean tech, where First Nations are taking

on initiatives in their communities and working in collaboration with their local

governments and with industry to unlock economic development, and where we can work

together to meet the challenge of this moment and unlock that growth in an inclusive

and diverse economy.

We will continue to collaborate with businesses, workers and communities to attract

investment in our new and traditional sectors, as well as emerging sectors of our

economy, to talk about how we can use AI to harness our strengths, grow our economy

and improve and grow our jobs. We can adopt it across traditional sectors and new

sectors, where we can create innovation and increase productivity.

We are going to work with approaches that will bring certainty for business and security

for workers and that will generate the wealth needed to support the essential services

British Columbians rely on.

What I’ve talked about today is a ministry that’s focused on working to meet this

moment for British Columbians, to respond, strengthen and diversify. We’re going to

be strengthening this economy every day, all day, meeting with businesses, meeting

with industry associations, meeting with communities and talking about what we can

do together to meet this crisis moment, as British Columbians, standing strong for

jobs and communities.

We’re going to be working every day to diversify our economy and diversify our trade

relationships, to work with other countries and across this country with other provinces

and the federal government, to continue to diversify our trading relationships and

unlock economic development by the movement of goods and services across this country

so that we can protect jobs that our citizens in British Columbian communities rely

on, jobs that create the kind of fabric that we all need to thrive.

These are the people going out in our community to get their hair cut, to buy local

products, to eat in the local restaurants. This is what supports our communities to

thrive, and this is what we will be defending. British Columbia’s government every

day will respond, strengthen and diversify going forward. We hope to work together,

collaboratively across all sectors, to ensure we’re able to continue to do that.

Peter Milobar : It’s my pleasure to rise to the throne speech in my first time representing the newly

named riding of Kamloops Centre.

Certainly, every election is always a bit of an interesting journey, and this one

was likely more interesting than most, especially for me. When the switch was made,

Elections B.C. created two new geographic ridings within Kamloops. They left the name

of one the same — Kamloops–North Thompson, which I previously represented — which

created further confusion in the communities as to how the new boundaries got reshaped.

With Kamloops Centre being half the population of the former Kamloops–North Thompson

and the other half the population of the former Kamloops–South Thompson, it really

was a bit of a challenge getting people to understand exactly which ridings both I

and the now member for Kamloops–North Thompson were running in. Then you couple in

the chaos — let’s face it — and the B.C. politics craziness of what unfolded over

the summer in late August and early September.

[2:30 p.m.]

I found myself with a decision to make: to continue to seek office and do the work

that I love so much as an MLA and hope the electorate would bring me back here or

to start looking to do other things within my life. Certainly, this job is a passion

of mine. It wasn’t an easy decision to come to one way or the other, because you’re

always looking at things.

Since I first was elected in 2002 as a city councillor and 2008 as a mayor and then

2017 as my first time as an MLA, I’ve always had a very strong core group of supporters

behind me and electorate that have always felt very comfortable and feel like they

know what they get when they vote for me. I’ve always prided myself on that, of trying

to be good to my word and good to my actions on how I move forward.

For those that have supported all the way along, I really did lean on and rely on

their advice and reaching out to them to find out what they thought I should do or

not. Overwhelmingly, they were encouraging me to continue to seek to be an MLA, to

bring my voice here on their behalf of Kamloops Centre residents and to really bring

forward my perspective to mix in with the 92 other perspectives in this place for

the betterment of all British Columbians.

I really do want to thank all of those people who have been there every step of the

way on this journey with me. Certainly, as I say, amazingly enough, a great many of

them are actual volunteers. I’m not going to start naming them all because I’ll miss

some for sure. But there has literally been a very strong core group of community

leaders behind me since 2002. They’ve really just been there whenever I need them

to help and to support and to move me through various election cycles.

I have had interesting elections. I won my first mayor’s race quite handily. In my

second mayor’s race, I was three hours away from an acclamation, and I wound up only

winning by 235 votes. Then it was a complete landslide the next time. And then a 4,500-vote

margin the first time I got elected as an MLA, down to 196 votes the second time and

then back up to 2,000 this time despite all that turmoil.

Again, I very much view those elections as snapshots in time, but one thing that I’ve

tried to be consistent in is seeking the advice of those that I truly do respect in

the broader community and then trying to conduct myself and be good to my word.

So obviously, there’s a volunteer side, but there’s also the family side of the equation

and my wife Lianne, my kids. My youngest was only, I think, four years old when I

first got into public office. My oldest was only eight, and they’re all adults now.

They’re all married. I’m fortunate that they all happen to live in Kamloops, and I

have three grandkids as well.

You start looking at that and that expanded family that’s growing the whole time doing

this job, and you realize just how important it is in terms of that to set example

even within your own family. I say all that because as I’m standing here saying this,

I realize that even during the election and even before all the transitions happened

at end of August, early September, there were people coming to me. There were gatherings.

There were meetings we had where people were wanting to know what exactly would I

do, faced with some of the turmoil that we’re seeing in the world today.

One of those events was actually a gathering with leadership with Tk’emlúps where

it was what they call the sacred covenant with the Catholic Church around residential

schools and trying to get access to records and how they were going to work forward

with the Catholic Church to work on the Kamloops residential school issues, moving

forward. I was honoured there to be presented with an owl staff, representative of

the Le Estcwicwéy̓, the missing.

There, in front of probably 150 or so Tk’emlúps members, a very respected former Kukpi7,

Manny Jules, who I’ve considered a friend for many years now, point-blank asked me

when I was at the podium in front of everyone: “What will you do in the face of denialism?

What will you do in the chamber? Will you be our voice to push back against that?”

I flat-out said: “Yes, I absolutely would.”

I wouldn’t be true to my commitments if I didn’t take opportunities that have presented,

unfortunately, over the last week or so out there to make sure people understand exactly

where I stand on things.

[2:35 p.m.]

I come from this with a bit of a background that maybe people aren’t quite aware of.

I come with this not just because of my commitment to the broader membership, to respected

Elders and current leadership but also with my own family. My wife and my kids are

all Indigenous. My grandchildren are Indigenous. My son-in-law is a Tk’emlúps band

member.

These types of things are very personal, so when denialism does from time to time

raise up in the broader conversation both in B.C. and across the country, it has a

direct impact on Tk’emlúps. They’re faced with people literally showing up with shovels

to try to prove a point, to get into secure areas. We wouldn’t expect that in any

other situation, yet it seems to be fair game.

So to those back home that I’ve made commitments to in terms of keeping my word and

standing up and speaking out, making it very clear where I stand on certain issues….

I want the Tk’emlúps membership to know. I want the rest of my constituents to know.

I know there will be many, unfortunately, that don’t agree with me, and that’s okay,

I guess.

We’ll try to bring people along this journey, but I wouldn’t be fulfilling what I

went through making decisions in the summer, early fall about trying to come back

to this place if I didn’t stand here right now and lead off with these words as well.

That kind of struck me as I was talking about family and supporters.

With that, we’ll switch gears a little and talk about the actual throne speech, which

was very similar to former throne speeches. It’s almost like a rinse-and-repeat on

this side of the House when we have throne speeches.

Again, we’re facing a tariff threat like never before, and the government’s response

to that is: “We’re going to grow the economy. We’re going to speed up permits. We’re

going to help industry. We’re going to get competitive.” Well, let’s look at those

statements. What the government is actually saying with all of that is that they will

use tariffs as the excuse to finally take action on the economy that the business

community and the broader population has been calling for the whole time they’ve been

in government.

They’re essentially saying that they’re okay running record deficits in this province,

knowing they’re leaving money on the table by not having a fully functioning, firing

economy. They know that steps could have been taken to accelerate permits. They’re

admitting now that government revenues could increase if resource projects were going.

They’re admitting that we have a skills shortage that hasn’t been addressed, so now

they’re trying to scramble and say that they’re going to create these spaces. They’re

admitting that they’ve been lagging in the tech area.

All with record deficits — record deficits that far exceed anything that happened

in COVID. No wonder the Premier, bizarrely, went back to World War II to try to evoke

imagery about a trade war. He’s far outstripping spending on COVID, so I guess he

didn’t want to use the most recent economic crisis that struck our province as how

to respond.

Governing is not easy. The hardest thing you can do when you’re governing is say no,

because you get way more good suggestions and ideas on how to spend taxpayers money

than you have money to do. This government has been unwilling to say no for 7½ years.

Lord only knows what that means for public sector bargaining in the backdrop of all

of this, where 80 percent of public sector unions are up for negotiations this year,

I believe, if they’re unwilling to ever say no.

Despite the fact that they defended running record deficits and insisted that they

were doing all they could do to keep the economy moving, now in an effort to try to

deflect away from what will be, undoubtedly, a sea of red ink in their budget next

Tuesday, they’re trying to blame a possible tariff war with the United States. I say

“possible” because last I checked, it was supposed to start a month ago, and it didn’t.

[2:40 p.m.]

We also don’t know how long, if it starts, it will actually continue on for, but this

government seems to want to go all in on the excuses ahead of time for why they’re

going to fail. It’s peppered throughout the throne speech, with all the same language

they have said year after year after year in this place.

I’ve lost count of how many years they said they were going to speed up permitting.

One year when they were going to speed up permitting, the current Premier’s plan was

to hire 200 more staff to speed up permitting, even though we haven’t seen any permitting

speed up, not cut through all the rules and the regulations and the 96-page applications

you need to fill out and condense those down to speed things along. No, let’s hire

200 more bureaucrats, because more bureaucrats, apparently, is more efficient to the

NDP. It simply defies logic.

Then in a year where the only way they can cling to power is to cut a deal with the

Greens yet again…. It feels like the first time I got elected to this place, in 2017,

all over again. The deal they cut with the Greens…. Literally, a few days later, they’re

announcing that they’re waiving environmental assessments for wind farms.

I still don’t understand how the Greens reconcile that. I don’t understand how an

industrial road you need to build into the back forty to build a wind farm, going

over creeks, going through denning areas, interrupting potential freshets, spawning

seasons, bird migration paths…. TMX had to halt construction for certain cycles of

salamanders.

I don’t know how building that exact same industrial road to get the equipment in

you need to build a wind farm is okay to do without an environmental assessment, but

if you’re building that same road to open up a logging cutblock, you’re mired in years

of regulatory hurdles. If you’re putting that same industrial road in to open up a

mining area — years. If you’re TMX, this is literally the government that was going

to use every tool in the toolbox to stop you from doing it, and they had to go through

a lot of hurdles.

My old riding, Kamloops–North Thompson, had probably the longest stretch of the TMX

pipeline. It had almost a third of the stretch of the whole pipeline in that one riding.

Fairly well versed with it. The amount of start and stop that was forced upon it because

of this government and the added cost to us, the ultimate taxpayers, because the federal

government had to come in and buy it…. Guess what? We’re federal taxpayers as well.

Now we’re supposed to believe, at the eleventh hour of a tariff war, that this government

has figured out how to speed up permits and environmental assessments. I want to be

100 percent clear. We are not saying as B.C. Conservatives that there should be no

environmental oversight. We’re saying it should be efficient, it should be quick,

and it should actually get to the root of what you’re actually trying to protect or

not.

We’re the only jurisdiction that takes as long as we do to set out the standard that

a company needs to adhere to for the environmental assessment. That’s a problem. That’s

a problem when this government suddenly jumps to handpicking one type of industry

to get special treatment. But as with all NDP promises, it’s always in the fine print.

I touched on this yesterday, and I know the Energy Minister wasn’t thrilled with this,

but we’re now — what? — 3½ months post cabinet being sworn in. We’re 2½ months post

the Energy Minister saying that there was going to be this expediated process. Yet

he’s acknowledged they need to bring the legislation to this House to make that expediated

process happen. But all their speeches in the last 2½ months have talked about the

expedited process like it’s already there. It’s not. Not only that, the legislation

isn’t in front of this House.

[2:45 p.m.]

So the big, urgent tariff war lectures we got yesterday and wrapping in the flag from

the government…. Despite all of that, and despite what we’re hearing in their throne

speech debates, they don’t have the legislation ready for us.

How urgent is it? Tariffs are supposed to hit in seven days. Do we wait till May?

Do we wait till there’s a week left in session to have it finally brought forward?

I get that it might be complex, but the Premier yesterday in question period, when

he was asked about the carbon tax on dirty coal…. Yet again, I would love to hear

how the NDP is explaining this to the Green Party.

We’re suggesting a carbon tax on the dirty coal being mined — newsflash for the Premier

— in Republican states. That should be right in his wheelhouse, getting shipped up

to Canada, coming through Kamloops on record-long coal trains to get to our port because

they can’t get into a U.S. port because they won’t accept it because it’s so dirty

of a coal to burn in other jurisdictions.

This is the government that’s supposed to be all about bringing down our emissions.

What do they do when a rational, logical way to try to get the attention of the Americans

around not only softwood but the tariff fight in general…? Bringing in a carbon tax

— not a tariff, a carbon tax — which we have taxing authority in this province to

do and holding it in trust until the softwood lumber deal is finally solved.

The Premier’s response in question period was: “Well, if it was easy, we would absolutely

do it.” It’s in Hansard . Go look it up. Apparently, this Premier and this government, in a tariff war, are

only prepared to do what’s easy.

Again, governing is hard. There was an economic crisis in 2008. There was COVID. There

were intervening potential problems, things around SARS and other issues like that.

There’s now a tariff threat. There’s always something in the life of most governments

— especially if they last more than one term, and this is now the third term for this

government — that is going to come up. So excuses don’t cut it.

You shouldn’t have put your name on the ballot if you weren’t prepared to deal with

the unexpected big issues that come up. “If it was easy, we would absolutely do it.”

That’s the man-of-action Premier, talking yesterday.

I can only imagine, with that throne speech and based on what the election promises

were and what the NDP candidates thought they were running on as a platform, the shock

it must be for them all to be in this place and, an hour before the first question

period, find out that safe supply is now cancelled.

They certainly didn’t campaign on that. They certainly weren’t told by the Premier:

“Don’t worry. Once we get in, we’ll just get rid of safe supply.” I can’t imagine

what it must be like, especially the new MLAs, finding how fast and easy it is for

a Premier to snap their fingers and make a fundamental change in policy like that.

Now, again, to be clear, we agree it should be scrapped. We also were asking for drugs

in playgrounds to be scrapped, and it took over a year of haranguing the Premier to

deal with that. It took over two years to get safe supply actually acknowledged, despite

diversion and everything else being raised for two years in this place. I can only

imagine sitting in a caucus room in the NDP, thinking: “What did I sign up for? And

what am I to believe that I’m being told is the direction of our party?”

We heard today the Solicitor General say that we’re playing politics with diversion.

Well, isn’t it convenient that for the government who got called out by a report being

released about diversion, its first response was to blame us for releasing a report,

even though police confirm it will not impact any investigations whatsoever? Actually,

we checked and had that confirmed with police before we released it. We weren’t trying

to be irresponsible with the information.

You have a government that’s hiding information before an election, during an election,

after the election, and their first response is to blame the opposition for doing

their job and letting the public know what’s actually going on.

[2:50 p.m.]

Their second response was to wait until an hour before question period, despite the

report being out for a few weeks before we actually started in this place, and say:

“You know, we were working on this all along. The timing was just coincidental. We’ve

been planning to get rid of decrim all along.”

Come on, let’s see you raise hands on the other side. How many people campaigned knowing

they were getting rid of decrim all along? I thought so.

We had secret land deals in Pender Harbour, where on August 1, the government tells

everyone in Pender Harbour: “Don’t worry. We’ve come up with a new dock management

strategy.”

On August 26, they sign a secret deal without telling the broader public what’s going

on, one that actually has financial implications for governments, moving forward,

at about $20 million a year. On the grand scheme of things, not huge dollars to a

$90 billion budget. But still you’re locking in future governments, and you’re a month

away from a general election that you’re not confident, at that point, that you’re

going to win. But you don’t tell anyone, and it goes totally contrary to what you

were telling people in the broader public on August 1.

At the same time, you have the Premier saying: “Don’t worry. We’re never bringing

back the Land Act changes again.” Well, how can anyone believe that now?

When you talk about divisions within Indigenous communities, the government has a

large share of this as well. They set expectations in Indigenous communities to an

unrealistic level because they oversell what is actually happening in a legal framework

basis. They continually go and talk in private and never include the public in those

conversations.

You would have thought they would have learned with the whole caribou problem that

they had up in the Peace country a couple years ago and how that blew up on them.

But they just keep going back to the same thing, and then they change their packaging

a little and say: “Trust us. We’ve learned. We’re doing it different.” That’s what

this throne speech is. It’s just repackaged language saying they’re going to do the

exact same thing over and over and over again.

Now, it was likely an easy transition between the Energy Minister and the Health Minister

because they switched roles. And I say it must have been an easy transition because,

apparently, the briefing books just changed. For the previous 7½ years, all we kept

hearing, when we talk about mental health and addictions and the fentanyl crisis and

the absolute mess of health care is: “We have much work to do. We’re working on it.

We’re hard at work.”

That’s what we heard from the former minister repeatedly in question period. I’ve

heard that as an answer in almost every single health question this session already,

and we’re only four days in to question period.

It’s interesting to me that this government has a new-found way to expediate permits

for energy projects. They suddenly have a new-found way to bring efficiencies and

improve our health care system, with the two ministers that used to be responsible

for those exact two roles switching places.

Again, it’s a shuffling of the deck chairs. Unless there’s meaningful change, meaningful

action actually taken — not words, action — the outcomes are going to be the exact

same. And that’s the underlying problem with the throne speech. It’s high on rhetoric.

I mean, somehow, the Premier managed, in a ministerial statement around a three-year

sombre recognition of the war in Ukraine, to start politicizing the tariff war again.

He seems just infatuated with war metaphors and the tariff.

The Ukraine conflict. The Ukraine war is in real time with brutal atrocities happening,

and the Premier learned nothing from trying to compare somebody’s house being bombed

to someone losing their job and having issues with their bank around mortgages. He

didn’t learn from that like four days earlier, so he just doubles down in the response

about the war in Ukraine. Overshooting the runway again.

[2:55 p.m.]

The words and the track record are consistent. This Premier has overshot the runway

continually. He overshot the runway with the prop rep vote. Some say it was on purpose

just to appease the Greens, to have the vote but make sure it failed. We’ll never

actually know. Only the Premier actually knows. Overshot the runway on using every

tool in the toolbox for TMX.

I think we were on about year 4 when he was the Attorney General before he even came

close to having a decision in the Supreme Court this government even came close to

winning. I think we were at O and nine at that point. I was calling him the O-fer

Attorney General.

Continually overshooting the runway, continually dragging B.C. down as an investment

climate.

Now in the middle of a potential tariff fight — when we’re desperate to attract investment,

where we’re already the least competitive jurisdiction in Canada, if not North America

— we have no commitment on what’s going to happen on carbon tax. It’s playing games

with that. We have no commitment on what’s going to happen on tax structure overall

to help the investment climate in B.C. A hurried rush to get down to L.A. to hobnob

down there and give a tax break. Great. The film industry is very important in B.C.

I understand that.

You know what else is really important? People having groceries in their house. Suddenly,

the government didn’t have money for that, even though they promised it. They like

to talk about our promises in a campaign. It’s interesting, given that they were already

at a $9.5 billion deficit and their promises exceed over $3 billion a year.

Last I checked, that would have put them well past a $12.5 billion deficit, yet they

insist ours was going to be $11 billion based on our campaign promises. But far be

it for me to let the numbers and the facts get in the way of the spin that comes from

this government.

This government that talks about hiring freezes, that’s supposed to be overseen by

the Finance Minister…. I have lost count of how many people have either been hired

or promoted in the Finance Ministry since the discussion of this has happened, and

not for actually doing finance work. All are in the communications department for

the Finance Minister, because that’s critical to the function of government.

While other ministries are worried they might be getting laid off, the Finance Minister,

who’s supposed to be overseeing the austerity of the government overall, is making

sure her spin doctors are very well paid and promoted and expanded within her own

ministry.

That’s the decision-making that we’re seeing out of this government right now. That’s

what we’re going to keep holding to account. They would love to be talking about something

other than this throne speech, but unfortunately, the government has no other business

for us to work on.

We’ll continue to do our part and speak to the throne, point out the hypocrisy of

this government, wait for a piece of legislation that has some substance to it, especially

something that might have anything to do with the tariff war whatsoever. And in the

meantime, we’ll just have to wait, I guess, and see how long that actually takes.

Thank you for this time.

Hon Chan : I seek leave to make an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Hon Chan : It is truly exciting to welcome another group of students from Richmond Secondary

School in my riding of Richmond Centre to the Legislature today. This is the second

day in a row, and it is fantastic to see so many young people eager to learn about

our democracy.

These students are the future of our province, and it is our responsibility to ensure

they grow up in a safe, supportive and prosperous community.

Let’s give them a big round of applause and warmly welcome them to this House.

Deputy Speaker : Thank you, and welcome to our throne debate.

[3:00 p.m.]

Debate Continued

Rohini Arora : It’s an honour to be standing here speaking in support of the throne speech as a

representative for the riding of Burnaby East.

I’m grateful to be speaking to you all on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, including the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

Thanks to both Elders Frank George and Mary Thomas for the heartfelt welcome. I have

deep gratitude for the medicine that was offered on the day of the throne speech.

I honour their wisdom, traditions, culture. I come with all due respect, and I will

move on this territory with integrity.

I also acknowledge that I am privileged to live and work on the lands of the hən̓qəmin̓əm̓ - and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-speaking peoples, who share a deep connection to the water and the lands since time immemorial.

I am honoured to call Burnaby East my home for over 20 years, and it’s where I got

to marry the love of my life. I wouldn’t be here without the support of my own family,

who I’d like to take a moment to thank.

My husband, Luis, who was my rock throughout the campaign. He ensured the kids were

fed and the medicine was had. And by kids, I mean our geriatric guinea pigs, Junebug

and Luna. We lost Luna recently, and it has been heartbreaking to not hear her little

wheek-wheeks when we come through the door, demanding snacks. My husband is such a

loving fur dad.

My mom, Maninder, is the real all-star in my life. She had my sister and me 10½ months

apart. She was a shift health care worker, and she used to carry us both in her arms,

hopping on a bus, dropping us to daycare and going about her day. She worked very

hard to ensure we had every opportunity.

You see, we are Sikh Punjabis, a minority faith back in my parents’ home country.

Our grandparents were all displaced from the Pakistan side of Punjab after partition

in 1947. There was a lot of violence and fear at that time. My maternal grandmother

and her family lost their home, belongings and her brother, trying to get to safety.

Many people belonging to the South Asian community, particularly from India and Pakistan,

are still dealing with the intergenerational trauma of that colonial violence.

After my grandfather passed, my mom made her way here to Vancouver as a teenager,

and she had to start all over. All of my drive to make change comes from my mom, a

strong, independent woman who came here for a better life. A union activist herself,

I have seen her speak up in the toughest of spaces. That’s shown me that when you

speak truth to power, there’s nothing to fear.

Because of my mom’s benefits, my sister and I had access to PharmaCare and dental

care until the age of 25. I remember paying for a crown myself and being shocked by

the bill. It made me realize the value of having a union job and that it cut costs

so that you could plan for the future.

So a shout-out to my union, United Steelworkers Local 2009. It’s why my sister, Jasleen,

and I have inherited our mother’s advocacy to fight for what’s right.

Like any sibling, I have wanted to protect her and my family. I have been on the other

side, and I know firsthand how tough life can be. Today I see my sister so happy and

healthy and doing what she wants with her life. It’s all thanks to our parents’ sacrifices.

I’m thankful to my brother-in-law, Justin, for loving her and being such a doting

husband. I have to thank both of them for gifting me my little squirrel, my nephew,

Jeevan, my own daily reminder of a future worth fighting for.

I know my dad, who is no longer here, is proud of this family and of me, I hope. I’m

grateful to my family for their continued love and support. And I must tell you, running

as a candidate yourself truly requires the encouragement and support of your family,

friends, loved ones, plus a strong campaign team, donors, an engaged electorate and

the dedicated volunteers who are the bedrock of any campaign.

[3:05 p.m.]

I couldn’t have achieved success without my campaign manager, Derek, and my campaign

team: Anika, Angela, Cody, Paramvir, Pritpal, Avtar, Daniel, Cassandra and Pranjali.

This team was truly the dream team.

It’s through the many connections I made that I crossed paths with the youngest volunteer

on my campaign, Abigail, whom I’d met with her lovely mom. At just eight years old,

this strong-willed and smart girl didn’t hesitate to get involved. She dropped leaflets,

knocked on doors, played with the neighbourhood cats and ensured to let them know

that I was running.

Abigail has been a continued source of inspiration for me, because at just eight years

old, she shared her dream of becoming Prime Minister one day. She asked me tough questions

about education on our first meeting, and I realized this was a very serious endeavour.

In fact, at five years old, she had already made up her mind, and with a family that

fully supports her, I’m sure she will realize this dream. I’m on her volunteer list,

and if anybody else wants to join me, they’re most welcome.

It’s also with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to thank the former MLA

for Burnaby-Lougheed, Katrina Chen, who encouraged me to run, and former MLA Jane

Shin for her words of wisdom and support. The work they both did for British Columbians

is immeasurable and paved the way for this brown girl from Burnaby. Not too long ago,

racialized and Indigenous communities couldn’t vote, let alone run.

It was amazing to connect with so many people who shared the same vision to make Burnaby

East and the province, this beautiful vision, a reality. Many of these folks have

been dedicated volunteers over decades, like my EDA volunteers. For many, it was their

first time working on a campaign. I want to thank each volunteer who came rain or

shine, who drove, dropped leaflets, put up signs, knocked on doors, ran zone houses

and brought food. This win would not have happened without their support.

And I want to thank the donors. Your donations meant we could run a winning campaign,

so thank you.

Learning about the history of B.C. has taught me of the sheer will, strategy, resilience

and grit of so many communities, driven by their own sense of justice.

I want to honour the many early anti-racism advocates and workers who fought for our

right to vote and to be here: Harry Daniels, a Cree leader and founding member of

the Indian Brotherhood of Canada, now known as the Assembly of First Nations; Mary

Two-Axe Earley, a Mohawk woman who fought for Indigenous women’s rights; Alexander

Cumyow, a leader in the Chinese community; D.P. Pandia, who not only fought for South

Asians but also a woman’s right to vote; and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,

who fought to form their own union because early unions didn’t accept Indigenous,

Black and people of colour. And many more.

I could spend all day talking about these trailblazers. Without their work, myself

and many members in this chamber wouldn’t be here. I hold their contributions dearly

and recognize that there is more work to do to address the structural and systemic

inequity that impacts marginalized communities today.

Systems of oppression operate together. I’ve learned that if only one piece is addressed,

the whole system stays intact. Many people experience ableism, racism, homophobia

and transphobia as a by-product of the patriarchy. When anyone has an intersectional

identity, the marginalization compounds.

These are not abstract ideas but result in real-life consequences. For example, I

am a woman. I’m a woman of colour. I’m often only seen as my gender or as a person

of colour, but to truly understand me, you have to acknowledge that I am both at the

same time.

[3:10 p.m.]

This statistic from missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls really hits home.

Indigenous women and girls are four times more likely to be the victims of violence

than non-Indigenous women. To truly understand any issue, we have to acknowledge people’s

intersecting identities in order to address the inequity they face.

Coming to Canada as an immigrant, my mom’s hope was that one day, when she had her

own family, things would be different. But there were still challenges. My sister

and I went to a school that didn’t always understand many of the cultural communities

that were a part of it, and the experience was not a fun one. School staff didn’t

understand us, and we were looked at as foreign — which meant, often, that our humanity

felt dismissed.

There was, and remains, an undercurrent to assimilate, and while learning the rules

of Canada and its ways is important, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t challenge

harmful perceptions or that you have to abandon your culture, your language and your

identity to survive.

I am thankful for this life experience, because it allows me to bring these lenses

to Burnaby East and to the people I serve. It is the epitome of diversity, a mosaic

of the rich and vibrant cultures of people from all around the world. I met so many

people from different backgrounds at every single door — First Nations and Métis;

South, Southeast, West and East Asian; Afro-Caribbean; Italian; eastern European;

and a growing Middle Eastern, East African and Latin community.

Burnaby is one of the most diverse cities because there is no majority group. Over

120 languages are spoken across Burnaby, and it’s a marvel. I am transported around

the world just walking down the street in my own neighbourhood.

It has also long been known as a sleepy suburban neighbourhood of Vancouver, where

working people built their homes and raised their families. Only the latter is true.

It is still a largely working-class riding, and it’s growing.

People choose to live there because it has beautiful scenery, mountains and the Burrard

Inlet, forests, conservation areas and Barnet Beach all in one spot, including one

of the best universities, Simon Fraser University, and a growing life sciences industry

in Amgen and Stemcell Technologies, working on cutting-edge care that utilizes your

own body’s ability to heal you.

In the city, major funding investments by this government in clean energy, like hydrogen,

are ensuring that we move to a green energy future.

The expansion of the Burnaby Hospital, including the B.C. cancer centre, will allow

for more people to get care closer to home. Many people are sharing that they found

a family doctor, and this is thanks to the work of this government, including more

nurses and addressing international credentials to ensure we get them working quickly.

While there is more work to do, it makes me proud to know that this government works

round the clock to address the health care challenges we face.

Growing up, I worked in the family business in Burnaby East, which meant that I connected

with working people in the neighbourhood, hearing their stories of what worked and

what didn’t in community. As the child of a working family, I recognize the people

who work hard every single day to make B.C. the amazing place it is today. Small businesses

are the backbone of our communities, making our province more creative and vibrant.

My focus is to see to it that my community and communities across B.C. continue to

thrive.

The Kensington Plaza complex is in the northwestern part of my riding. It’s a one-stop

shop for everything you need. On weekends, many stop at Cockney Kings Fish and Chips,

which has been a popular spot for 60 years. It has won best in Burnaby for 25 years.

One of my favourite spots in Kensington is called the Ambit Café, and I often drop

in for a London fog and a tuna melt. They have these pink pickled onions. Everyone

who knows me here knows I love pickled onions.

[3:15 p.m.]

The Forest Grove area is known for co-op housing, which provides affordable, quality

housing for people of all budgets. At the doors, many constituents shared their concerns

about affordable housing. For seniors and low-wage workers, moving doesn’t just mean

they lose the familiarity of their surroundings. Schooling can be disrupted, child

care ends up being further away, and a loss of social networks often means isolation.

So I was thrilled to see that the government provided funding to preserve 425 units

of affordable co-op housing for seniors and people with low incomes on Mayberry and

Cardston in my riding. This government has shown it understands the value of quality

and affordable housing, which provides stability, especially for marginalized communities.

Farther east in the riding, we have the amazing K-Town plaza, a bustling business

community near Lougheed Town Centre, which has great food, cafés, notaries, insurance,

hair salons and nail salons, like Diva Brow Bar and Spa, owned by Maria Ko. I’m a

regular there, because Maria goes the extra mile for her clients.

There is the Anvely centre, owned by Angelina Park, which is made up of several small

businesses. There you’ll find music and choir lessons, skin care, a dance studio,

a florist, a clothing designer and more. It has a central space for the community

to meet.

My constituency office is in the Crest Plaza, in the most southern part of the riding,

with my team that I could not do my job without: Jessica Wei, Lynn Hardy and Paul

Dayson.

The threat of tariffs has shown that we will stand up for each other, bringing us

closer together as we witness the potential for increased costs on goods, particularly

in the agro-industry, manufacturing and retail. This is a shared challenge, and it

has united us.

People are rallying to support local business, and the government is working to ensure

that we protect and grow jobs here at home by fast-tracking resource projects while

maintaining strong standards. It has reinforced the importance of collaboration, resilience

and commitment to strengthening our provincial economy while protecting the livelihoods

of all British Columbians.

Now I’m going to turn to child care — a very, very important topic. We know that access

to affordable child care is life-changing, and it matters, given this moment that

we are in.

My parents needed to work when I was young. We wouldn’t have had food in the fridge

or even a roof over our heads if they hadn’t. Like so many families in our province,

especially those with single parents, we went to daycare, babysitters and sometimes

the neighbours. These experiences weren’t always safe, and I wish we’d had the ChildCareBC

plan back when I was young.

It’s why I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as the Parliamentary Secretary

for Child Care. Along with the Minister of Education and Child Care, I look forward

to advancing our government’s goal of building a future where access to affordable,

quality, inclusive and culturally relevant child care is a core service that people

can rely on.

Child care is critical for parents, especially mothers, to work, study and pursue

opportunity. It is a necessity for gender equity. This investment doesn’t just benefit

parents; it strengthens our economy. Research confirms that access to affordable child

care has a positive impact, not only on a woman’s employment but on their earnings

as well. Our ChildCareBC investments are part of building a stronger B.C. for everyone.

On affordability, a big part of our ChildCareBC plan is reducing the cost of child

care for families. For many families, it can be the biggest household expense. As

our province faces great economic uncertainty, families are worried about the cost

of living going up even more and are worried about how far their budgets will stretch.

[3:20 p.m.]

I’m proud to say that since introducing our child care plan, we have lowered the average

cost of child care by over 50 percent. Families are paying an average of $19 a day.

Without our programs, those families would be paying an average of $47 a day. In Burnaby

alone, over $4 million has gone back into the pockets of families in 2024-25.

Parents of over 154,000 children are receiving reductions on their child care bills

thanks to our ChildCareBC affordability programs.

For example, Tanya, a mother in B.C., shared how she felt to be receiving these savings.

She said: “I’m very happy and lucky that my daughter is in a high-quality care centre,

and I appreciate the government working with them to lower the fees. This will have

a big impact on my family. With the extra savings, we will pay off our debts faster,

have extra recreational activities for the kids and save for the future.”

Like Tanya, for families with children kindergarten-aged and younger, accessing child

care in participating licensed programs has been saving parents up to $900 a month

per child. We know that the cost of child care doesn’t end when children start school,

which is why, in September 2023, we expanded the fee reductions to include families

of children in licensed preschool and before- and after-school care. Families needing

additional child care hours are saving up to $145 a month per child.

We also have the $10-a-day ChildCareBC program. Families of more than 15,300 children

are paying just $10 a day for child care. And we are on track to reach 20,000 $10-a-day

child care spaces by spring 2026. In Burnaby, there are 480 $10-a-day spaces.

Kim, a parent at one of these centres, said: “Becoming a part of the $10-a-day program

is truly life-changing for our family. This will give us a chance to save for them,

provide more opportunities for learning and play and ease finances at a critical time.

In particular, for a child who benefits from additional support, we can’t understand

enough how much this means to our family.”

Families can also access additional income-tested support through the affordable child

care benefit, which can add further savings of up to $1,250 per month, per child.

For some families, the combination of the affordable child care benefit and either

the $10-a-day or fee-reduction programs means child care at no cost.

We know that some families struggle to find child care, but I can say that things

are getting better. Since 2018, the number of licensed child care spaces has grown

from 111,000 to 159,000. Our government has funded the creation of more than 40,000

new child care spaces since 2018, with over 23,000 of these spaces already open and

serving families.

In Burnaby, our government has funded 580 new child care spaces, including two big

projects announced last summer. So 160 more spaces are coming to Simon Fraser University

and 74 child care spaces co-located in a new affordable housing development.

We are also helping unlicensed child care operators who provide child care in their

home to become licensed through the start-up grants program. This program not only

creates more options for families but also ensures that unlicensed providers are meeting

government requirements for health and safety, staff-to-child ratios and more, giving

parents more options and peace of mind.

Before I go further, I’d just like to take a moment to acknowledge the people who

make child care centres possible — and a shout-out to the racialized and Indigenous

providers who are helping to foster a culturally sensitive environment. We rely on

child care providers to partner with us to deliver critical core services to B.C.

families.

[3:25 p.m.]

We couldn’t do this without you folks. I’ve got to look up in the camera so I can

see you in the eye. We want to support your success. That’s why we are supporting

child care providers through enhanced funding to help cover operational costs.

Child care also needs the skilled professionals who provide early learning and safe

care, allowing children to thrive, families to be supported and workplaces to be successful.

I’m so thankful for the incredible people who have a passion to make a difference

in the lives of children and have chosen child care as their profession.

With the supports from our government, there has never been a better time to become

an ECE. We continue to support educational and training opportunities for ECEs, along

with the compensation and recognition they deserve. With up to $6 per hour in wage

enhancements from the government, the median ECE wage is now $29 an hour. In Burnaby,

over 180 ECEs and over 30 child care facilities are receiving that wage enhancement.

We know that the wage enhancement and other measures have a direct impact on the sector,

especially on recruitment and retention. This is an investment that is making a difference.

In fact, here’s what Suzanne, an ECE, said: “As professionals in this field, we create

kind, inclusive, responsive environments that support children to reach their potential

in a constantly changing world. The additional hourly wage raise is another financial

step to keep us in this field.” We know there is more to do, and we are developing

and testing a wage grid for ECEs.

Since 2018, the province has been helping to create over 14,000 new child care spaces

on school grounds, with more than 6,000 of these spaces open and providing care for

children, helping younger children become familiar with their school communities and

providing an easy transition for older children moving between their school and before-

and after-school child care. Along with the minister, we will continue to implement

our mandate item and prioritize before- and after-school child care on school grounds

and space for child care as we build or replace schools.

We can’t have quality child care without ensuring that we also have inclusive child

care. We know families of children with support needs face unique challenges, and

we’re committed to making child care a core service where all children are welcomed,

supported and valued. As a person living with a disability, I can attest to how important

inclusive options are, and we want children who need supports to be included and not

othered. Having inclusion in child care is crucial to allow children to thrive, learn

and belong in community.

Through our ChildCareBC plan, we have committed to partnering with First Nations and

Indigenous organizations to build culturally relevant child care that meets the unique

needs of Indigenous families. We’ve heard their need for choice and flexibility in

the types of child care available to them and the importance of a holistic approach

that supports their distinct cultures and languages.

I also owe a big debt of gratitude to my friend Katrina Chen as well as Mitzi Dean

and our member for Victoria–Beacon Hill, who have all taken action for families in

B.C. in the role of the Minister of State for Child Care. I am indebted to the people

who have come before me and who have dedicated so much of their energy and time to

make life better for working families, for women and for newcomers through our ChildCareBC

plan.

Korky Neufeld : I’m honoured to rise in this House to give my response to the throne speech.

[Mable Elmore in the chair.]

Like the member across the aisle, I am also an immigrant, like many British Columbians,

of German background and of German Mennonite heritage. I had a chance to go to the

library here at the Legislature to look up the history of the Mennonites here in British

Columbia. Many Mennonites immigrated in the early 1900s but actually couldn’t start

voting until 1949.

[3:30 p.m.]

Well, my grandfather, David Neufeld, at age 44, was arrested, tortured and killed

in the Ukraine in 1935, all because of his faith in God, in the backdrop of communism

and socialist views and beliefs.

My parents, with their families, escaped Russia under the tyranny of Stalin. With

immigration to most countries not an option, they were relocated to Paraguay, South

America, by MCC, Mennonite Central Committee.

I actually have a painting in my constituency office of the steamboat the Volendam,

which brought my parents to their new homeland in Paraguay. This painting was painted

by my niece Jocelyn Neufeld.

I would like to say thank you, Jocelyn. Great painting. It will remind me every day

of why I’m here and to be so grateful to be in this great country.

This new homeland that my parents went to in Paraguay was called the Chaco desert,

and I found out that there were four other people groups that tried to tame the Chaco,

but nobody could until the Mennonites got there. At great personal cost, today it

flourishes with agricultural productivity.

Just before COVID, in March 2019, I visited my birthplace — Paraguay, South America

— with five of my older brothers. I visited the Mennonite museum in Filadelfia, Paraguay,

which revealed to me just how difficult it was for those first Mennonite settlers

who came to this desert land. I saw the farmlands, the agricultural vitality of this

former desert land absolutely transformed.

But my parents realized there would be a better future in Canada for their children

and for future generations, so they uprooted and moved once again. We landed in Canada

on November 20, 1964. My parents had about $1,000 in their pocket and eight children.

We arrived in Canada, and relatives wanted to take our family on a tour of a new homeland,

Vancouver. But my father instead went to Army and Navy to buy work clothes, to buy

tools and a lunch bucket, and he started working the very next day.

We still have my father’s lunch bucket. We’ve bronzed it, put a nice plaque on it.

It stands there, prominently displayed, to remind us of what he did for us. Our dad

worked six days a week for many years, provided food on the table. Feeding ten growing

children is no small task. Putting clothes on our back and a roof over our heads….

Today all their children, my siblings and I, have become contributing citizens to

our communities and to this province.

I would like to give a shout-out to my siblings right now. I would like to say hi

to my oldest identical twin brothers, Werner and Wolfgang; to my other older brothers,

George, Henry, Walter and Herb; and to my younger siblings, sister Lydia and — second

set of twins — brother David and sister Betty. That’s right. My mom was a courageous

woman.

I won’t regale you with stories of our upbringing. You are going to have to wait for

the movie or the book. Our father, our dad, Rudolph Neufeld, passed away on Father’s

Day, June 16, 2013, at the ripe age of 91. Our mother, Susa, passed away on July 8,

2022, at the age of 94.

When I talked to my parents, they never thought they’d reach that age, coming from

a war-torn country, being malnourished. My dad was 5 foot 10. His father was 6 foot

4. All their children are over 6 feet. He was malnourished. It stunted his growth.

He never thought he’d live to the age of 91. What a great, great country we have here

in Canada. What a great opportunity.

I had the privilege and honour of being my mom’s caregiver for almost ten years after

my dad passed away, because she lived in Abbotsford. I can tell you stories of navigating

the health system. I could tell you lots of stories. I’m just going to tell you one

story.

My mother tripped on the sidewalk in the city of Abbotsford, fell down and hit her

head on concrete. We took her to the ER. Now, she’s 93 years old. We sat there for

five hours, finally got into triage, and then after triage, we sat another several

hours before they took us into another room where there were curtains set up with

about six chairs behind each cubicle of curtains and the nursing station is in front.

Every one of those chairs was filled with residents of Abbotsford who needed help.

My mother sat there. Then it took several hours to get an MRI on her head only to

show that she had bleeding on the brain. I was told that they were going to have to

monitor her overnight. Now, remember she’s 93.

[3:35 p.m.]

So I sat back down, and we waited. And we waited. Then I went up to the desk, and

I said: “When is she going to get a bed? When is she going to get a room?” Oh no,

there’s no bed. There’s no room. She has to sit there in that seat, at 93. “We’re

going to monitor her from the desk.”

The health care workers and doctors are overworked. It’s not their fault. But folks,

this is unbelievable. My parents faithfully paid their MSP and taxes and felt very

proud to do so and obligated and responsible. But when they needed the health system

most, it failed them, like so many British Columbians today.

To think that one day one of their children would sit as an MLA in this province,

in this Legislature — I don’t think it even crossed their mind. But I’m sure my parents

would be very proud. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my father and mother who risked

everything so that I could have this opportunity and this privilege.

You see, my parents left a British Columbia to their children filled with hope and

opportunity. But it’s not so today. I cannot say I’m leaving a better British Columbia

to my children and their children’s children. That is why I’m a candidate, and that

is why I’m an MLA — to stand up and fight for my children and their children’s children

and for your children and their children’s children, to be able to have a hope and

build a future in this province.

I also owe some thank-yous, because I could not get here on my own.

First of all, I’d like to thank my wife, Cynthia, who has supported me and partnered

with me through every adventure in life together, and there’s been many.

So thanks, Cynth; appreciate it.

To our children: our firstborn son, Josiah, and his spouse, Alyssa, who have gifted

us with one grandson, Bearett, who is five years old, and a beautiful granddaughter,

almost two, in March, Everlee; our only daughter, Janessa, and spouse, Bryan — we

have two granddogs, Chicago and Cash, gotta say hi to them; our second son, Jesse;

and our youngest son, Jaden.

I could not be prouder of who each of you have become.

Thank you for your love and your unwavering support of me.

I also want to thank those people who supported me during the election.

Too many to name, but you know who you are, and I know who you are.

To my volunteers, to my campaign manager….

I especially want to thank the residents of Abbotsford West, who shared with me their

concerns about the condition of every sector of our economy and every area of our

community. They have concerns for their children’s hope and future in this province.

Many shared tears with me as I knocked at their doorstep. They were losing hope. They

were seeing no path forward. I am reminded of them while I serve in this House every

day.

Finally, I want to thank my CA, Jean Hooge, a veteran constituency assistant who more

than manages the office. She deeply cares about our constituents who daily come through

our office doors.

Thank you, Jean.

Now to the work at hand, why I’m here. As the critic for Post-Secondary Education,

I just want to thank the Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills for

our brief introductory meeting just the other day. I’ve already done some research.

I have some more questions, and I’ll be contacting you shortly. So thank you for that.

I have visited many public and private institutions across the province, from presidents

to administrators to educators to researchers to student unions and students. She

knows about that because she followed some of my trail as I followed some of her trail.

Many institutions will not be able to reach their budgets in the coming year. They

will need to have significant cuts, submit deficits for the coming year.

Also, students are facing unaffordable costs and safety issues in our publicly funded

institutions. Especially Jewish students today face threats and blockages to classrooms

because of their heritage. This is not Palestine; this is British Columbia. B.C. taxpayers’

public institutions…. On those campuses…. Appalling and disgusting.

The unaffordable costs of these students is tuition, housing, food insecurity and

transportation.

[3:40 p.m.]

Many young people are going to have to make a choice. They may have to forgo a post-secondary

education because it’s just not affordable anymore. It’s unaffordable for them.

At a time when we have workforce shortages in every sector, we need students to go

on and get the trades, get the technologies, get the education so they can enter our

workforce, but now it’s becoming unreachable for many.

I hope it doesn’t become a rich man’s hobby of going to school and not allowing everybody

in the province to get an education. We will need to look at delivering post-secondary

education differently if we hope for this to change, both in the private and public

sector. I did not hear much of that in the throne speech.

Regarding the riding I am privileged to represent, that is Abbotsford West. Abbotsford’s

population growth is projected to be about 250,000 by 2050. We are a rapidly growing

region. This will require major infrastructure investment throughout our city. Sixty-four

percent of our residents work in Abbotsford, but 36 percent rely on the transport

corridor in the Fraser Valley east of the Port Mann Bridge. I’m not sure if any member

in this House has ever experienced navigating the traffic gridlock on Highway 1. It’s

a religious experience. More on this later.

The Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre was built in 2008, and it did not

take long to become well over maximum capacity. ER overcrowding, beds in the hallway,

staff overworked. Sound familiar? It’s in every community across our province. Our

health care workers are stretched beyond their ability to cope. Patients are more

than frustrated with a lack of services and long wait times. I experienced this scenario

many times, personally, looking after my parents. Our hospitals urgently need specialists

and front-line nurses, like all other regions across this province.

Let’s touch on the agricultural land reserve and land commission. What is unique about

our city is that it is boxed in by ALR, agricultural land reserve. So 78 percent of

our land is in the ALR, which means very little land for housing, commercial and industrial

use. Abbotsford has a major shortage of industrial lands.

This province needs to majorly reform the ALR, which was formed in 1973 with very

few improvements since. The ALC, Agricultural Land Commission, is 50 years old. B.C.

has changed, but they have not. It needs to be updated. The ALC needs equal representation

from all regions of the province so that we can get answers and solutions for every

sector of this province.

Let’s talk about the Fraser Valley Highway 1 corridor. There’s an improvement plan

underway. Phase 3A is presently underway. This will improve 53 kilometres of highway,

from 264 to Mount Lehman, right at the entrance of our city, scheduled to be completed

by 2029. Phase 3B, the next 39 kilometres in the Abbotsford corridor to Highway 11,

Sumas Way, will be completed in 2031.

But here it is. No commitments beyond 2031. Here’s the problem. Sumas Way is a large

U.S.A. border crossing. Highway 1 is the major trucking route for most goods and services.

As the flood of November ’21 revealed, it is a major artery for the rest of the province

and beyond. There are no commitments to continue Highway 1 improvements beyond Sumas

Way or the Highway 11 crossing.

While our city is very thankful for these long-awaited improvements, it is crucial

that this government commits to Highway 1 improvements all the way to Yale Road west.

It cannot create a logjam of traffic within our city corridor. Let’s finish the work.

It benefits all of British Columbia.

Let’s hit the Sumas Prairie flood mitigation project. Many choose to forget that the

Sumas Prairie had a flood in 1990. How many remember that? When the Nooksack River

in Washington state overflowed its banks from heavy rainfall, 1,000 people were evacuated

on both sides of the border. Two people perished. The water receded after about a

week.

Here’s a good thing. The Nooksack River International Task Force was created. This

task force included members from federal, provincial, local governments, both in the

U.S. and Canada. Problem? They failed to meet on a regular basis. In fact, they didn’t

meet for over seven years consecutively. A nice glossy report was created but little

to nothing initiated.

[3:45 p.m.]

The latest flood of November 2021 was even more devastating, and not only to the Fraser

Valley but far beyond. This could have been prevented. Had they looked at the report

from 1990, initiated those initiatives from that report, they could have prevented

this.

This devastation impacted other regions to the interior corridor of Highway 1. This

flood was the top ten for insurable natural disasters in Canadian history — top ten.

I will not go into details on the impact except to say many farmers still have not

been adequately compensated. Oh, our Prime Minister came in. He told us he was standing

with us, got a nice photo op, and now, no federal money. Nothing.

This present government has committed, however, $76 million to upgrade the Barrowtown

pump station, but it only protects one-third of the farmland in the Sumas Prairie

from future flooding. The Sumas Prairie mitigation plan requires both provincial and

federal funding to protect the rest of the two-thirds of the Sumas Prairie farmland.

For future food security reasons alone, we need the Sumas River conveyance system

and the First Nations component, the spirit of the lake habitat enhancement and flood

storage, to be completed. You asked the question why. Good question. Because 65 percent

of dairy and eggs from the province comes from Abbotsford.

I had the privilege of meeting with the B.C. Dairy Association here at the Legislature

last week. Dairy farmers in B.C. contributed $1.2 billion in provincial GDP. They

support over 12,500 jobs. But dairy farmers in B.C. are in survival mode today. Costs

keep rising, profits keep plummeting, and bureaucracy is killing the industry.

Our dairy farmers are asking this provincial government for four things.

One, reduce business costs for dairy farms. How do you do that? By tax reduction for

farmers — carbon tax, PST exemptions; by cost offsets for feed, for fuel, for operations;

by enhancing financial options on ALR lands; by program tailoring to expand insurance

coverage, reduce premiums and adapt existing programs to the needs of the farmer,

not the politicians.

Two, investment in dairy processing, tax credit incentives to encourage processing

growth and improve capacity and strengthen the industry.

Three, secure water resources — this is absolutely crucial — by creating an agricultural

water reserve to protect water access under watershed security strategy; by local

water governance to establish a framework involving farmers and fund water management

and streamlining permitting for on-farm water storage.

This will help the farmers grow the feed. And this feed makes its way down to the

Fraser Valley and feeds…. A lot of our food that we take for granted lands on our

kitchen tables. But if they do not deal with the water, they can’t grow the feed.

Without that, our food source will be minimal.

Four, disaster preparedness recognition and essential service designation. That’s

what they’re asking for. This recognizes farmers as essential service providers for

emergency response and access during natural disasters. Flood infrastructure investment

by prioritizing funding for flood prevention and infrastructure to protect farmland

and secure food supply in the Fraser Valley and beyond.

Let’s get back to Abbotsford. We urgently need to complete all three phases of the

flood mitigation plan. Only if we commit to completing all of this work will British

Columbians be assured of a sustainable food supply. Had all levels of Canadian and

Washington governments acted on the study of 1990, the flood of 2001 would not have

been as impactful.

[3:50 p.m.]

But instead it cost more than $2.4 billion in damages, and costs are still rising.

Many farmers are still not in full production. Second and third generations of farmers

still do not know their future moving forward. Their children may not be able to carry

on farming. This will negatively impact all British Columbians.

Let’s talk about homelessness, mental health, addiction and crime. We used to only

see this homelessness, mental h